Chicago 50 - No. 45 - Hot Honey Rag

"Bobby had the audacity to present us as 'poetry in motion, two moving as one.' Each of our movements was perfectly matched to the microsecond. We went all-out on 'Hot Honey Rag,' as the emcee announced: 'Okay, let's pick up the pace, let's shake the blues away, let's make the party longer, the skirts shorter and shorter, let's make the music hotter. Let's all go to town in a fast car and keep it hot!'

"And we did, changing into fringed skirts that whipped around in time to the music. I was proud to be next to Gwen. The proximity made me feel taller, bigger, and more accomplished than I had ever felt before in my life. It was, simply, exhilarating. We apparently conveyed that to the audiences as well because they began to like the show."

--Chita: A Memoir by Chita Rivera

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The music of Ted Lewis and His Band inspired several songs that Kander and Ebb wrote for Chicago. Below, in the 12th Street Rag, you can hear one of the melodies that made its way into "Hot Honey Rag":