Dance
Get the lowdown on influential dance icons from 45 years of locking
We're looking back at the pioneers of locking, from the dance floors of the iconic nightclubs to the streets of South Central Los Angeles. These are the names you definitely need to know.
Locking has been a big feature of dance over the past 45 years. From legendary James Brown performances to Michael Jackson music videos and hugely respected battles featuring Just Debout and KOD, locking is one of the most influential street dances of our time and it's brought cultures together and inspired countless moves.
So join us as we take a trip back to the origins of the dance move and pay some respect to the pioneers who got it all started and continue to have a big impact the scene.
Charles 'Robot' Washington
Back in the late 1960s in South Central LA, Charles 'Robot' Washington tested a dance move he and his brothers created. By blending robot moves at the club to soul and funk music, he sparked a phenomenon so huge that it not only landed him a spot on the Soul Train TV show and the crown of 'Godfather of party dances', but it also ignited a whole new dance style. It inspired a young dancer named Don Campbell to make his Robot Shuffle, a key move in a fresh new genre about to break called locking.
Don 'Campellock' Campbell
Don ‘Campbellock’ Campbell created locking by mistake after watching fellow students dance the Funky Chicken, The Sling and The Slide in his school lunch room. Campbell put his own signature sharpness to the popular moves, shocking friends who cheered across the packed cafeteria while shouting, “Do that lock, Campbell, do that lock!" The street dance style became known as Campbellocking and later locking.
Damita Jo Freeman
The first lady of locking and the original Soul Train gang member, Damita Jo Freeman hit the scene as Don Campbell’s first ever dance partner on the show. Damita said the lockers of the ’70s were to Soul Train what the Harlem Globe Trotters were to basketball. And while her other girlfriends moved to the back of the dance floor to make way for the newly famous boys of locking, Damita stepped forward. Her unique style caught the attention of James Brown, who invited her to accompany him on stage for Super Bad.
The Toota Woota Sisters and co
Damita Jo might have been the first lady of locking, but she wasn’t the only influential one. Arnetta 'Netta Bug' Johnson prompted the formation of Creative Generation, which was the first ever unisex locking group led by Don 'Campbellock' Campbell before cutting out her own moves in the first ever all-female locking group, the Toota Woota Sisters. And you can’t talk about the ladies of locking without mentioning Compton dancer, Freddie Maxie, and the prolific goddess that is Pat 'The Butterfly' Davis. They were two of the earliest dancers and biggest stars of Soul Train.
Toni 'Mickey' Basil
The only female in The Lockers and an accomplished ballerina and choreographer, Toni 'Mickey' Basil is most noted for incorporating her ballet into locking and her continuous spins. Her dance career spans more than 50 years: she started out doing choreography for TV and movies in the 1960s before working with dozens of stars such as Tina Turner and David Bowie and then singing the 1982 hit, Hey Mickey. Also, a video of her dancing went viral last year showing her locking like a boss at the age of 73! Without Toni’s contribution as a manager to The Lockers and her show business experience and connections, locking as a dance form may never have reached the commercial level it did.
Tony 'Go Go'
Tony 'Go Go' Lewis co-founded the first ever syncronized locking group in the early 1970s called the GoGo Brothers. He was an original member of The Lockers and crews like 33rpm, but his greatest accolade comes from his monumental impact in bringing locking to Japan in the 1980s. Teaching the original art of locking, Tony developed and created Japan’s style as well as pioneered the lock fusion sub-genre and is still active on the scene with the new GoGo Brothers today.
Shabba-Doo
Unlike the many locking kings of South Central, Adolfo 'Shabba-Doo' Quinoñes came from Chicago. Despite being one of the last to be introduced into the locking circuit in 1973, he quickly became one of the quickest and smoothest dancers around. You might have seen him as an original member of The Lockers, but you most likely know him from playing the part of Ozone in the 1984 cult movie, Breakin’, and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, alongside loads of other cameos and performances.
Scoo B Doo
Last but certainly not least, day one locker Jimmy 'Scoo B Doo' Foster danced, toured and performed with pretty much every locking group going. An original member of The Lockers, the Soul Train Gang, Creative Generation and the Something Special locking crew, he was integral to introducing locking to Japan and created numerous locking handshakes, steps and routines with fellow locking legend Greg Pope 'Cambellock Jr' with his own step known as the Scooby-Doo.
