Suite of Old American Dances, Robert Russell Bennett

The Edina High School Concert Band, Paul Kile, Conductor
2024 ASBDA National Convention, Minneapolis, MS
The Western One Step included in the Suite of Old American Dances, is a somewhat misleading title. As Frederick Fennell points out, “The composer informed me that this is also a dance known as the Texas Tommy, an obviously bright-eyed tune with an equally bright-eyed tempo.” Little is known about the Texas Tommy, one of the obsolete forms of the one-step. This dance, from the early 20th century, is believed to have originated in brothels and saloons, where ladies of the evening were known as “tommies.” There is a record of the Texas Tommy appearing in the New York Lafayette Theatre production of Darktown Follies in 1913.