Originally choreographed by Vancouver-based line dance choreographer Bill Bader, the original history of the line dance "Boot Scootin' Boogie" has its roots in Canada. The dance is sometimes referred to as "Vancouver Boot Scootin' Boogie." Other cities have claimed it as their own, putting their own regional variations on the original dance. As one of the world's most popular beginner line dances, "Boot Scoot Boogie" is also known as the "Calgary Boogie," "Montreal Shuffle," "Philadelphia Special" and "Missouri Boot Scoot."
Most of the time, "Boot Scootin' Boogie" or "Boot Scoot Boogie" is danced to the Brooks & Dunn version of the song. Originally written by Ronnie Dunn, it was an album cut recorded by Asleep at the Wheel that inspired Bill Bader to write the line dance.
Line dances like the "Electric Slide" and "Cupid Shuffle" have been used to break the official Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Line Dance. But from 1996 to 2001, line dancers in Tamworth, Australia for six consecutive years set and defended their Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Line Dance, with "Boot Scootin' Boogie" referred to by Aussies as "Boot Scoot Boogie."
Surpassing his "Boot Scootin' Boogie" record, Bader has the international distinction of having a second Guinness World Record line dance, when over 12,000 dancers in Singapore performed the "Singapore Sling."
Bader first got bitten with the line dancing bug back in the 1970s, with disco line dances like the hustle. Since then, he has been teaching line dancing around the world.