The Jerk was a popular dance craze from the 1960s. The song, The Jerk was written by Don Julian and first recorded in 1964 by his L.A. soul vocal group, The Larks for the Money label. The song scored a top ten chart position.[1]
The Jerk is basically the Monkey, but with arms and hands moving as if conducting a band, crossing wrists in front of the chest, then sweeping out, in time, or at half time, with the body's movement, to the count of four. The hands are up at face level. On count 1, the outward sweep, the hands are "pushed" out into the outward sweep, giving a jerky motion. For a little more style, the fingers are snapped on the two outward movements—the first and third counts of your hand motion.
The band The Capitols performed a 1966 hit song called "Cool Jerk", written to capitalize on The Jerk's popularity. The song has been covered by several bands, including The Go Go's. The band Rocket from the Crypt recorded the song "When in Rome, Do the Jerk" in 1998 as a homage to the dance.