3. Gandy Dancer

This entry has a deceptive name. Gandy Dancer didn’t dance at all. Instead he created and maintained rail road tracks. The equipment used to lay down tracks was called gandy and dancing was a playful attribute given to the workers’ movements. Since rail roads were much important in the start of the 20th century, Gandy Dancing was considered a permanent and safe job.

However small wages and hard labor meant that these jobs were mostly taken by poor immigrants. In order to lay down the tracks, it was important that workers worked in alignment. In order to effectively achieve this many rhythmic tunes were formed that are still cherished today.