According to The
New Grove Dictionary of American Jazz:
"
Shuffle (1) A dance step of indefinite
southern black-American origin, perhaps dating from the
18th century, in which the feet are moved rhythmically acorss the floor without being lifted.
"(2) A rhythm derived from the dance step. The tern is onomatopoeic, "sh" describing its
characteristic smoothness (and especially its sound when played on the
snare drum). The alternation of long and short syllables (shuf-fle, shuf-fle,...) evokes its distinguishing rhythm, a subdivision of the beat into
uneven triplets which is more specific than the fundamental
swing or
boogie-woogie rhythm only in that it is usually played legato and at a relaxed tempo. The shuffle rhythm is generally confined to earlier styles of
jazz, up to and including swing..."
The Dictionary goes on to point out the
plethora of song titles which have contained the word "shuffle." These include:
"Showboat Shuffle," by King Oliver
"Riverboat Shuffle," by Frankie Trumbauer
"Syncopated Shuffle," by Duke Ellington
"Futuristic Shuffle," by Jan Savitt
"Boogie Stop Shuffle," by Charles Mingus
"Boneyard Shuffle," by Hoagy Carmichael and Irving Mills
"Harlem Shuffle," by Bob Relf and Earl Nelson
(there is also the version by the Rolling Stones)
"Shuffle Along," by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake
"Shuffle Off to Buffalo," by Al Dubin and Harry Warren
"Shufflin' Sam," by P.G. Wodehouse and Jerome Kern
"Soft Shoe Shuffle," by Spencer Williams and Maurice Burman
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