A friend sent me a link to the music video for a song called Lambada performed by a group called Kaoma. Apparently it was really popular in 1989:
According to a wikipedia article about Lambada:
Lambada (pronunciation (help·info)) is a dance which became internationally popular in the 1980’s. The exact origin of the dance is somewhat disputed but it is known to have begun in Brazil and has forerunners such as the forró, sayas, the maxixe, and the carimbó.
Lambada entered the global mainstream when the Brazilian pop group Kaoma recorded a number one worldwide summer hit “Lambada” which sold 5 million singles in 1989
This song made Lambada dancing mainstream which in turn made Freak Dancing (aka freaking) mainstream. Of course Lambada looks modest compared to Freaking. And by the look of it, Lambada actually requires skill.
Amazing to think that 10 years later we were freak dancing at middle school dances as a result of this one song.
UPDATED: The title of this post had the word ‘origins’ misspelled so I fixed at. For the record, I am not promoting freak dancing, I’m simply admiring the impact (for better or for worse) of music on our lives.
November 19, 2007 at 9:40 am
while the Lambada is a sensual dance.. I was doing “the freak” in high school in the 70’s while in New York city.
also
“Le Freak” is a 1978 hit disco song by Chic. The title and lyrics reference the dance knownas the Freak.
it was It was the band’s third single and first Billboard Hot 100 number-one song. A New York Times critic describes the song as a “haunting, minimalist pop-funk built around the guitar and bass”. “Le Freak” bears the distinction of being the highest selling record ever on Atlantic Records, and the highest-selling single ever on WEA until it was displaced in 1990 (by Madonna’s “Vogue”).