Bill Butler (skater)

For other people named Bill Butler, see Bill Butler (disambiguation).

Bill Butler, also known as Mr. Charisma, is a roller skater and choreographer credited with the invention of jam skating.[1][2]

The National Museum of Roller Skating referred to Butler as "an original influencer" in jam skating, stating that "Butler’s iconic moves and styles inspired many of the popular moves and styles of today".[3]

The New York Times and The City Reliquary have referred to Butler as "the Godfather of Roller Disco".[1][2]

Life

Butler is from Detroit, Michigan and skated at the Arcadia Rink.[3]

While stationed in Alaska, Butler invented the jammin' rollerskating technique.[4]

In 1957, when stationed in Brooklyn as a young serviceman, Butler visited the Empire Roller Rink, then owned by Hector and Henry Abrami. Upon his arrival, Butler noted that all the skaters were Black, but the music did not reflect their cultural preferences. In his own words:

When I got there it was all organ music. Nothing related to black people and how we danced. So I brought my own music with me, and asked Mr [Henry] Abrami if he would play a number I had, Night Train by Count Basie.

The skaters responded positively to the disc-jockeyed music, and following this, the rink began to play jazz and R&B records; with "Butler...at the forefront of this new age for skating".[4] Meanwhile, Butler also introduced Empire's skaters to jam skating.[5][4] Skater Gloria McCarthy, whose father owned the rink, started a "Bounce" night to showcase Butler's new style.[5]

By 1979, Butler became the rink's instructor, performer, and creative consultant.[6] A photograph shows Butler at a Casablanca Records party at Empire, instructing Cher by leading her by the hand.[6] Butler's "stylish tricks...made the [Empire Roller Disco] a HOT destination" [sic], as it "drew storied celebrities away from the snooty uptown clubs (Studio 54) down to the warm & accepting Brooklyn Rink".[7] The most notable celebrity guest was Cher,[7] who hosted Billboard's Disco Forum skate party at the Empire Roller Disco that year.[8][9] Others included Prince, Grace Jones, Madonna, and Olivia Newton-John.[10][11]

He is also credited with popularizing the "roller rocking" and "Brooklyn Bounce" techniques at Empire Roller Rink in the late 1950s to the 1980s.[12][13][14][15]

Butler was the skate director for the 2006 film Roll Bounce,[16] having "had control over all aspects of skating in the film".[3] He introduced the film as a special guest during a 2023 event at The City Reliquary.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Undiscarded: Stories of New York: Ep7 – Rollerskate". The City Reliquary. 2023-05-17. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  2. ^ a b Carmel, Julia (December 30, 2020). "Meet Bill Butler, the Godfather of Roller Disco". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jam Skating | Your Audio Tour". youraudiotour.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  4. ^ a b c "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll — Boy's Own". 2020-11-16. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
  5. ^ a b "Undiscarded: Stories of New York: Ep7 – Rollerskate". The City Reliquary. 2023-05-17. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  6. ^ a b Kelly, Wilhelmena Rhodes (2009-08-31). Crown Heights and Weeksville. Arcadia Publishing. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-4396-2233-9.
  7. ^ a b "Undiscarded: Stories of New York: Ep7 – Rollerskate". The City Reliquary. 2023-05-17. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  8. ^ Bego, Mark (2001). Cher: If You Believe. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 9780815411536.
  9. ^ "What's Hot! What's Not!". Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life. 1979. p. 19. Cher held a party here recently . The crowd is mostly black and flashy . The music is heated . There are neon palm trees , mirrored balls , loud sounds , and hordes of street people having fun . It is not as snazzy as the Roll - A - Palace, but it's funky.
  10. ^ Reaven, M., Zeitlin, S. (2006). Hidden New York: A Guide to Places That Matter. Rutgers University Press, 114.
  11. ^ Ortiz, Lori. (2011) Disco Dance. ABC-CLIO, 127.
  12. ^ Carmel, Julia (December 30, 2020). "Meet Bill Butler, the Godfather of Roller Disco". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  13. ^ Reaven, M., Zeitlin, S. (2006). Hidden New York: A Guide to Places That Matter. Rutgers University Press, 114.
  14. ^ Saraniero, Nicole (May 19, 2023). "The Legacy of NYC's Empire Roller Rink". Untapped New York. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  15. ^ Thomas, Andy (December 9, 2020). "How NYC's '70s roller-discos rivaled established clubs". wax-poetics. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  16. ^ "Summer of Skate Film Series: Roll Bounce featuring Bill Butler: July 13th". The City Reliquary. 2018-06-19. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved 2025-01-03.