When The Alligator Dance Hit Cincinnati, A Judge Made It Nationally Famous

Surely, you have enjoyed that cinematic classic, “National Lampoon’s Animal House.” Surely you remember the toga party at Delta House. Surely you savored the jumpin’ jive of Otis Day & The Knights. If so, you will recall John Belushi, as Bluto, screaming, “Gator!” as everyone drops to the floor and writhes in frantic ecstasy.Did you know that scene just might possibly have been inspired by an incident in Cincinnati?Bluto’s shout was the cue for everyone to do The Alligator, a dance performed lying on the floor involving a lot of wriggling and groping. A dance by that name is referenced in the song, “Land Of A Thousand Dances,” a hit for Cannibal and the Headhunters in 1965 and for Wilson Pickett a year later.“Land Of A Thousand Dances” was composed in 1962 by Louisiana R&B singer Chris Kenner and “Alligator” may have been invented by him simply to rhyme with Mashed Potato. There is scant evidence that such a dance actually existed in 1962. Most of the other dances in Kenner’s recital…