<Tr> <Th> Songwriter (s) </Th> <Td> Composer: Chris Smith Lyricist: Jim Burris </Td> </Tr> <P> "Ballin' the Jack" (sometimes misspelled "Balling the Jack") is a popular song from 1913, written by Jim Burris with music by Chris Smith . It introduced a popular dance of the same name with "Folks in Georgia's' bout to go insane ." It became a ragtime, pop, and trad jazz standard, and has been recorded hundreds of times by many prominent artists . </P> <P> The origins of the term are obscure . Around the same time the song came out, the expression "ballin' the jack" was used by railroad workers to mean "going at full speed," but it is not clear whether the dance or railroad reference came first . The composer and entertainer Perry Bradford claimed to have seen the dance steps performed around 1909 . </P> <P> The dance moves were standardized in the Savoy Ballroom, and put to music by Smith and Burris in 1913 . The tune became popular in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1913 . </P>

Gene kelly and judy garland ballin the jack