Dance Mogul Magazine · Honoring Our Legacy
Don “Campbellock” Campbell: Dance Mogul Magazine’s Tribute to the Father of Locking
He could not do the Robot Shuffle, so he invented something better. Our 2013 sit-down with the creator of locking, founder of The Lockers and our first Lifetime Achievement honoree, updated with his full story.
Originally published March 1, 2013 · Updated November 5, 2026 · Dance Mogul Magazine
In Memoriam
Don “Campbellock” Campbell (January 1951 – March 30, 2020). When Dance Mogul Magazine first published this tribute in 2013, we called him a living legend. He passed away on March 30, 2020, at 69. This update keeps our original tribute and adds the full story of what he gave the world. For our complete memorial biography, read Don ‘Campbellock’ Campbell: In Memoriam.
Don “Campbellock” Campbell, “The Father of Street Dance,” during his sit-down with Dance Mogul Magazine. Photo: Dance Mogul Magazine.
Dance Mogul Magazine had the honor to sit down with Don “Campbellock” Campbell to hear his story of how he created the locking dance. Toni Basil noticed his style, the Lockers dance group was formed, and the rest was history. Viewers saw them on Soul Train and on variety and late-night television, and Basil helped carry the Lockers to international fame and icon status.
Don Campbell’s locking predates hip-hop. It helped revolutionize and shape street dance as we know it today. In 2013, Mr. Campbell became Dance Mogul Magazine’s choice to receive our first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award given to a dancer, in recognition of his humanitarian effort to unite the world through dance and culture.
File // At a Glance
Name — Don “Campbellock” Campbell
Born — January 1951, St. Louis, Missouri
Raised — South Central Los Angeles; Manual Arts High School
Created — The Campbellock, today called locking (around 1969–1970, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College)
Television — Soul Train from 1971, dancing with Damita Jo Freeman
Recording — Funk single “The Campbellock” (1972)
Group — The Campbellock Dancers, renamed The Lockers (1973), with Toni Basil
Honors — Dance Mogul Magazine’s first Lifetime Achievement Award to a dancer (2013); 2019 Los Angeles City Council motion to name an intersection in his honor
Died — March 30, 2020, Santa Clarita, California, age 69
1969
Locking is born
in a college cafeteria
1971
His Soul Train
debut
7
Original Lockers
in the 1973 lineup
50+
Years of locking
around the world
Who Was Don “Campbellock” Campbell?
Don “Campbellock” Campbell was the dancer who created locking, one of the first street dance styles, and co-founded The Lockers, the group that took it from Los Angeles clubs to national television. Born in St. Louis in January 1951 and raised in South Central Los Angeles, he did not set out to be a dancer at all. He was an art student. A dance he could not quite do turned into a dance nobody had seen before.
His invention spread through Soul Train, through The Lockers, and eventually through the music videos and stadium tours of pop’s biggest stars. Every locker in a cypher today, from Los Angeles to Tokyo, is working from the vocabulary he started.
How Locking Began: The Mistake That Made a Dance
Around 1969, Campbell was studying commercial art at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. He first approached the campus dancers as subjects to sketch, then joined them. When friends tried to teach him a popular move called the Robot Shuffle, he could not get it. He kept stopping, freezing his arms in place between motions.
Those freezes became the signature. According to Campbell’s own account on his official site, the cafeteria crowd started chanting for him to “do that lock.” He took the style into the clubs of South Central and the San Fernando Valley, entering dance contests night after night. Fellow dancer Fred Berry later recalled that contest hosts eventually just handed Campbell the money, because no one would dance against him.
Dance Note
Locking is built on sudden stops: the dancer “locks” in place, then releases into big, playful movement. Points, wrist rolls, knee drops, splits and a lot of personality are part of the vocabulary. The original name, the Campbellock, was shortened to “locking” after a dispute over the name.
Soul Train and the Fight for Dancers’ Pay
In October 1971, as Soul Train went into national syndication from Los Angeles, Campbell appeared on the show and stole it, dancing with Damita Jo Freeman. Viewers across the country saw locking for the first time. In 1972 he recorded a funk single, “The Campbellock,” and toured with dancers billed as the Campbellock Dancers.
Then he asked a question that still matters to every working dancer: should the people who make the show exciting be paid? In 1973, Campbell was removed from Soul Train after he tried to organize the dancers to seek compensation, according to his official biography and a 2019 Los Angeles City Council motion honoring him. He lost the platform. He kept the principle.
The Lesson
Dancers deserve to be paid for the value they create. Don Campbell stood on that in 1973, long before most of the industry would say it out loud.
The Lockers: The Group That Changed the Face of Dance
With Toni Basil, a choreographer he knew from the club scene, Campbell turned his circle of dancers into a professional act. In 1973 the group’s original lineup came together: Don “Campbellock” Campbell, Toni Basil, Fred “Mr. Penguin” Berry (later “Rerun” on What’s Happening!!), Adolfo “Shabba-Doo” Quiñones, Bill “Slim the Robot” Williams, Leo “Fluky Luke” Williamson and Greg “Campbellock Jr.” Pope.
Their first television appearance was the 1973 ABC special Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever. Appearances on The Tonight Show, The Carol Burnett Show and other network programs followed. According to the group’s official history, Toni Basil coined the term “street dance” in a 1974 interview, a phrase that now names a global art form.
The Lockers’ influence never stopped. Campbell’s official site credits locking as a core ingredient in Michael Jackson’s choreography, and the style resurfaced in pop videos for decades. Read more about two original members in our features on Shabba-Doo and on the New York locking pioneer Shock-a-Lock, who appears with Don in our 2013 photos.
Our 2013 Tribute: Dance Mogul Magazine Sits Down With Don Campbell
In 2013, Dance Mogul Magazine sat down with Don “Campbellock” Campbell to record his story and honored him as a living legend and icon. These are the photographs from that day and from the event stage where the locking community gathered around him.
From our original 2013 tribute: the living legend Don “Campbellock” Campbell with Shock-a-Lock, New York’s first locker. Photo: Dance Mogul Magazine.
Don “Campbellock” Campbell on stage with members of the locking community. Photo: Dance Mogul Magazine.
Lockers from several generations gather on stage around the creator of their style. Photo: Dance Mogul Magazine.
The locking family on stage. Photo: Dance Mogul Magazine.
Honoring Don “Campbellock” Campbell on stage. Photo: Dance Mogul Magazine.
From Our 2013 Tribute
Imagine for a moment with me: when we are born, we are not quite sure what our purpose will be in our lifetime. We are not sure at what age, if ever, we will find our purpose. What if we get chosen? What if we don’t have a say in what our purpose is? Imagine being chosen to do something you have no knowledge of.
Imagine Mr. Don “Campbellock” Campbell, the Father of Street Dance to some. Imagine being trained by a spirit to do something that would influence millions of people all over the world, no matter their race, creed or color. Imagine that, and you didn’t even know it was coming. Imagine being the vessel that is chosen for that task. Imagine being used even though we are imperfect.
Imagine being chosen to do something that nations, world powers, wars and religion have failed to do. Imagine having it on your résumé that you contributed to uniting the world through the arts. Imagine that. #Respect
Teaching the World: Don Campbell’s Later Years
Campbell spent his later decades as locking’s teacher and ambassador. For roughly his last 15 years, he and his son, Dennis Danehy, taught the basics and history of locking in New Zealand, China, Russia, Japan, Mexico and beyond, with Danehy demonstrating and Campbell telling the story, according to The New York Times. In 2019, a Los Angeles City Council motion proposed naming the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Stocker Street “Don ‘Campbellock’ Campbell Square,” near the clubs where locking grew up.
He died in Santa Clarita, California, on March 30, 2020, at 69. The dance outlived the man who created it by accident, and it is still growing.
What the Next Generation Should Learn
Your mistake might be your signature. Locking exists because Don Campbell could not do the Robot Shuffle and refused to stop dancing.
Know your value. He gave up the biggest dance platform in America rather than accept that dancers should work for free.
Build the team. One stylist became a movement when he gathered The Lockers and partnered with Toni Basil.
Teach the history with the steps. He spent his final years making sure dancers knew where locking came from, not just how it looked.
Why Don Campbell Matters to Dance Mogul Magazine
Dance Mogul Magazine was built to bridge the generational gap between the arts and education, and to make sure the people who created this culture receive their credit while the world is still listening. Don Campbell was our first Lifetime Achievement honoree for a reason: his story holds everything we believe about dance. Creativity, ownership, fair pay, community and a gift that crossed every border. Explore the full Soul Train Dancers archive and every pioneer on The Legacy.
Don “Campbellock” Campbell Timeline
1951 — Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in January; his family later moves to Los Angeles.
1969–1970 — Creates the Campbellock while studying commercial art at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College; builds the style in LA dance clubs and contests.
1971 — Debuts on Soul Train as the show begins national syndication from Los Angeles, dancing with Damita Jo Freeman.
1972 — Records the funk single “The Campbellock” and tours with the Campbellock Dancers.
1973 — Removed from Soul Train after organizing dancers to seek pay; forms the original Lockers with Toni Basil and five other dancers; first TV appearance on the ABC special Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever.
2000s–2010s — Teaches locking and its history worldwide with his son, Dennis Danehy.
2013 — Sits down with Dance Mogul Magazine and receives DMM’s first Lifetime Achievement Award given to a dancer.
2019 — Los Angeles City Council motion proposes “Don ‘Campbellock’ Campbell Square” at Crenshaw Boulevard and Stocker Street.
2020 — Dies March 30 in Santa Clarita, California, at age 69.
Frequently Asked Questions About Don Campbell and Locking
Who invented locking?
Don “Campbellock” Campbell created locking around 1969–1970 while he was a student at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. It was first called the Campbellock.
How did locking get its name?
Locking comes from the way Don Campbell froze, or “locked,” his arms between moves when he could not complete the Robot Shuffle. The dance was first called the Campbellock, and the name was shortened to locking after a dispute over the name.
Who were the original Lockers?
The original 1973 Lockers were Don “Campbellock” Campbell, Toni Basil, Fred “Mr. Penguin” Berry, Adolfo “Shabba-Doo” Quiñones, Bill “Slim the Robot” Williams, Leo “Fluky Luke” Williamson and Greg “Campbellock Jr.” Pope.
Was Don Campbell on Soul Train?
Yes. Don Campbell debuted on Soul Train in 1971, dancing with Damita Jo Freeman, and introduced locking to a national audience.
Why was Don Campbell removed from Soul Train?
In 1973, Don Campbell was removed from Soul Train after he tried to organize the show’s dancers to be paid for their appearances, according to his official biography and a Los Angeles City Council motion.
When did Don Campbell die?
Don “Campbellock” Campbell died on March 30, 2020, in Santa Clarita, California. He was 69.
What award did Dance Mogul Magazine give Don Campbell?
In 2013, Dance Mogul Magazine named Don “Campbellock” Campbell the recipient of its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award given to a dancer, honoring his effort to unite the world through dance and culture.
Continue Your Journey
Don ‘Campbellock’ Campbell: In Memoriam
Shock-a-Lock: New York’s First Locker
Shabba-Doo: Street Dance Pioneer and Breakin’ Film Star
Tyrone “The Bone” Proctor: Honoring the Waacking Pioneer
Sources: Dance Mogul Magazine (2013 tribute and sit-down); The New York Times obituary by Daniel E. Slotnik (April 23, 2020); The Lockers official history (thelockersdance.com); Don Campbell’s official site (campbellock.dance); Los Angeles City Council motion 19-1287 (Oct. 23, 2019); Intersections South LA (April 2020).
Tags: Don Campbell · Campbellock · Locking · The Lockers · Soul Train · Toni Basil · Street Dance History · Honoring Our Legacy
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