The Word 'Hipster' Shall Always Be With Us

The Word 'Hipster' Shall Always Be With Us

Being a word geek, this is the sort of scenario in which I'd advise caution; I was genuinely curious what we writers would be losing if we threw out "hipster." So I went to the archive. The first time hipster was published in the Tribune was in 1946, in reference to the fascinating character who claims to have coined the word: Harry "The Hipster" Gibson, aka Harry Raab, a Jewish kid from the Bronx who cut his teeth in playing pianos in Harlem speakeasies, eventually working as Fats Waller's fill-in... and, his proponents claim, pioneered the style associated with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard years before anyone had figured out how to rock.

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