The Bird Dance: Canada’s connection to the enduring poultry polka

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Maybe you danced to it at a wedding or a birthday party you’d rather forget? Edmonton band the Emeralds released the Bird Dance (also known as the Chicken Dance) on K-Tel in 1982 and it soon became a hit in North America. Modern versions have kept the tune clucking nearly four decades later.

Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-the-bird-dance-a-craze-born-in-canada-is-39-years-old-celebrate-with/
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The call came from Bernie Wilock, sometime early in 1982. Mr. Wilock was an accountant, but, like everyone who worked at K-Tel then, he juggled a wide array of jobs. On that day, he had been tasked with finding a way to introduce one of Europe’s most popular dance tracks to the Canadian market.

“I have a song that I want you guys to record,” Mr. Wilock said, when Allan Broder answered his jangling telephone in Edmonton.

“Is it the Bird Dance?” Mr. Broder asked.

Maybe it was fate or precognition, or simply an instinct that the strange little ditty from Europe would be a perfect fit for Mr. Broder’s band, The Emeralds. Whatever the case, it felt meant to be.

When Mr. Wilock asked how he’d guessed, Mr. Broder said, “I just know.”
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