Designed For Dancing:
How Midcentury Records Taught America To Dance
A fabulous book by Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder. Available on Amazon and through Penguin Random House. Published by MIT Press. Makes a great gift – Valentine’s Day, birthdays, weddings…!
Features almost 300 full color reproductions of midcentury dance albums with insightful and entertaining commentaries on each one.
•Best Music Books to Broaden Your Horizons, Goodreads
•Nominated for the Selma Jeanne Cohen Prize in Dance Aesthetics, American Society for Aesthetics, 2023
•Finalist for the Oscar G. Brockett Book Prize for Dance Research, Dance Studies Association, 2022
•Finalist for the Prize for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research, the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, 2022
Listen on Spotify and Follow on Instagram
Praise for Designed for Dancing
“a visually striking and thought-provoking volume that delves into the captivating world of mid-century record covers and their influence on American culture.“ –Jo Read, Dance Research review
“In producing Designed for Dancing, Borgerson and Schroeder co-create a distinctive yet tangible window of opportunity through which to chronicle, digest or at least imagine the heart and soul of the mid-twentieth century cultural experience for the 21st century. In doing so, they co-construct what can only be described as a 21st century masterpiece - an alluring, stunningly beautiful tour de force.“ –Sharon Ponsonby-McCabe , JCB journal review
“What an impressive, comprehensive, beautifully laid out piece of work.” –Jeff Gold, author of Sittin' In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 50s.
“hundreds of album covers, many full page and wonderful. Each is accompanied by a close reading, delving into typography, photography, who the photographer was, his or her predilections; and the same for the cover designer.” –CA Modern
“By taking seriously all three elements of the ‘composite artifact’ that is the LP record (photography and design on the front cover, text about the LP on the back, and of course, music on the vinyl) Borgerson & Schroeder have done no less than invent a novel subgenre of book…” –W. Norman, Amazon review
“a fascinating yet approachable read and a gorgeous feast for the eyes.” –Christine Green, (585) magazine
“what a treat! seems I’ve been waiting for this book for decades! I highly recommend checking this one out.” –Art Chantry, graphic designer
Designed for Dancing is both scholarly and eminently accessible…beautifully written introduction.” –Aaron Stander, Michigan Writers on the Air
“The authors do important and entertaining work informing readers how the convergence of dancing and music – and album cover art – impacted American identity at midcentury.” –Joe Maita, Jerry Jazz Musician
“…not just a picture book (although it’s generously filled with album covers) but a deep dive into the Postwar phenomenon that found its way to virtually every American’s life…a must-have history.” –Print Magazine
“What an extraordinary accomplishment -- this is a game changer for our understanding of mid-century America.” –Penny Von Eschen, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of American Studies, University of Virgnia
“An intriguing look at social dance culture through a material lens. For scholars and aficionados of mid-20th-century popular culture.” –Library Journal
“From hula to rock and roll, belly dance to square dance, tango to Polish polka, Borgerson and Schroeder provide a treasure trove of information, research, and warm memories!” –Anthony Shay, Professor of Dance and Cultural Studies, Pomona College, California
“Dance music LPs of all styles and nationalities were prize possessions in my family's home, and this cover collection reminds me of the infectious sounds streaming from the record console and the joyful music that filled the air with happiness” –Steven Heller, cochair MFA Design, School of Visual Arts, New York
“Midcentury Americans sure did love that living-room shimmy. This beautifully illustrated compendium reveals the long-forgotten cosmopolitanism and playfulness of Cold War America. It also makes you want to dance. Who could ask for more?” –Fred Turner, author of The Democratic Surround: Multimedia and American Liberalism from World War II to the Psychedelic Sixties
“Recommended.” –Rough Trade
“A great body of work beautifully done.” –Mark Havens, Professor of Industrial Design, Thomas Jefferson University
In Designed for Dancing, vinyl record aficionados Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder celebrate dance records of the 1950s and 1960s as expressions of midcentury identity, fantasy, and desire. The stories begin with the memorable and striking album covers which were central to the way records were produced and promoted.
Dancing allowed people to sample aspirational lifestyles, whether at the Plaza or in a smoky Parisian café, and to affirm ancestral identities with Irish, Polish, or Greek folk dancing. Dance records invited consumers to dance in the footsteps of the Other with “hot” Latin music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and Hawaiian hulas.
Bought at a local supermarket, department store, or record shop, and listened to in the privacy of home, midcentury dance records offered instruction in how to dance, how to dress, how to date, and how to discover cool new music—lessons for harmonizing with the rest of postwar America.
About the Authors
Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder are a creative team – writing, teaching, and collecting vinyl records together for over 25 years. Their previous book, Designed for Hi-Fi Living: The Vinyl LP in Midcentury America, was named a best book of 2017 by the Financial Times and a best music book of 2017 by Vinyl Factory. (Here at the 2021 Polka Festival in Cedar, Michigan.)