I got to meet Cab Calloway way back in 1991. My army unit had just landed in NY after the Gulf War and we were put in our own terminal because we still had our weapons. Anyways he came to our area and shook all of our hands and welcomed us home. He was a a very nice and kind gentleman. It is a memory I’ll never forget
The physical condition these men had to be in to pull off dance moves the likes of these is nothing short of miraculous. So much more than great dancers. World class athletes as well.
We will NEVER see this level of showmanship and artistic genius ever again.....how there's not a statue to the Nicholas Brothers anywhere I'll never know......and to think that they did this IN ONE TAKE is the most astonishing thing of all
The Nicholas brothers were amazing. No dancers today could touch their level of talent. You're right people back overall dressed better than we do today. We're much more concerned with comfort than apperance today.
Fayard and Harold were astonishing. People like gene kelly and Fred Astaire said they were the best hoofers they ever saw and I believe Fayard opened a dance studio and taught the likes of Michael and Janet Jackson to dance. The brothers were one of a kind.
@@Great-Documentaries Apparently, the Nicholas Brothers were visiting artists at Harvard and Radcliffe. The Jacksons were students in some of their master classes.
Well you asked so here goes. I loved your reactions and comments. This movie came out in 1943, the year I was born. Back then very few homes had a radio, and nobody had a television so entertainment was not an everyday event. so dinner clubs like this existed and people would get dressed up in Tuxedos and Ball Gowns to have dinner and dance to orchestras like this. Your wife is correct and you NEVER saw a woman wearing slacks. Men wore hats and suits unless working at manual labor. I started playing jazz music in 1949 when I was 6 and when I was 12 I started playing at jazz clubs in bands like this, and I continue performing to this day at 80 years old. I regret that I could never dance though.
The look dudes face when they were jumping over each other on the stairs and eding in the splits is pretty mych the look on every guys face when they watch it. 😁
One of the best dances ever filmed!! The Nicholas Brothers were the best of the best!! This is American tap dance at its finest. I'm a tap dancer and had the honor of meeting them.
Most people couldn't afford this kind of clothing. This is one of the greatest dance sequences ever filmed. It was done in one take. Due to wartime shortages thay didn't have the film for a second take.
I agree! However, it wasn't filmed in one take. That is a myth. It doesn't matter though! It's still one of the all-time greatest dance numbers ever filmed, and there are a lot of people who would agree with you, including many of the greatest dancer.
I was watching the news one day in 1990 and they said you could get cheap tickets to the American Dance Honors at San Diego Convention Center, so I got three and we went a week later. So many star's of Broadway and movies Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Shirley MacLaine, Patrick Swayze, Paula Abdul and many more, 2 of the entertainers were the Nicholas Brothers both in their 70's they were still as good as they were in "Stomy Weather,"😊 I never saw so many star's in one place ever, I will never forget that night! Peace✌️ ☮️ and Love❤️ Gary 😊
I have seen this a few times & it always amazes me. These brothers were extremely talented. It always gets me when they do the split jumps. You would think they would hurt themselves. Glad this film clip has been preserved for the younger generation to see.
1940s Swing music is one of my very favorite genres. It’s Happy Music! You absolutely cannot help but smile when you hear it. This number, in particular, I’ve watched countless times, and it never gets old. It’s the perfect marriage of music and motion. Always awe inspiring. Cab Calloway was famous for his “scat” singing, which is nonsense syllables put to music, so don’t worry if you didn’t get all the words - you’re not supposed to. I always feel grateful that younger people are exploring these gems from the past so that they are appreciated and not forgotten.
They had run out of funds and film so they had one rehearsal and shot the entire sequence in One Take. Fred Astaire said it was the Best dance number ever put on film.
Very enjoyable reaction! The expression of pure joy on your faces was priceless. I have yet to see a man react to the brothers leap frogging over each other down the staircase without making pained expressions!
Cabell Caloway III, known professionally as Cab Calloway, was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the swing era. Fayard Antonio Nicholas was born October 20, 1914, in Mobile, Alabama, and Harold Lloyd Nicholas was born March 17, 1921, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Harold Nicholas played the role of Ernest "Sarge" Johnson in the movie the Five Heartbeats. Harold was also the first husband of the actress Dorothy Dandridge. This is a form of Jazz called "Swing". The people in the video are members of The Silent Generation, those born 1928-1945 with the end of WW II. The women are not "Flappers", that was during the Roaring 20s. This movie was during the "Jazz Age", the in-crowd were called "Hep cats" for the men and "Kittens" for the women. In 1939, the jazz singer Cab Calloway published Cab Calloway's Hepster's Dictionary: Language of Jive. A hep cat was "a guy who knows all the answers, understands jive." The hep cats and hepsters Calloway described would in the following years become known as hipsters. Those who were hip eventually became Hippies by the mid 1960s.
Oh, what a fantastic choice, this is a master dance performance for the ages, and so much fun. You'll both love it for sure - thanks for getting me bopping along at my desk 🙂
Yes, prior to the 1950s people were expected to dress more formally than they do now. My mother was born in 1950 and told me when she was a little girl in elementary school they always had to wear dresses - no trousers. They could put trousers on under their dress to walk to school in the winter to keep their legs warm, but they had to take them off when they got there. She said for "dressy" occasions when she was a little girl, she had a petticoat that was so full and starched so stiffly she could hold her arms straight out to the sides and touch the skirt of her dress.
I worked at JCPenney styling salon in the mid to late 1980s and we were required to wear dresses or skirts, pantyhose, our hair had to be fully styled. I remember going to work when my hair had been air-dried (it looked good - infusium was the leave-in product I used) and I was afraid I would get in trouble, but my boss surprised me and said she loved it. All the women in the entire store were called by our first names. The men’s names were “Mr so and so.” 😩
I love this video, I've watched it a lot, the dancing and the music are absolutely fantastic, especially the dancing! These brothers are so talented and so good to watch. Loved your reaction, thanks so much for reacting to this fabulous video! 😊😊
I actually met Cab Calloway in Savannah in the '80s. Almost got to play with him, but I was 3rd Call, and they only needed two players. I did go to the gig, and during the intermission, I got to shake his hand and talk for a couple minutes. He had to have been in his late 70s then, and he performed his ass off!
Aussie here. Mum loved watching this, and I watched with her this and stacks of old American movies. There’s a great doco on TH-cam with the boys, older, talking about their past and old home vids as well titled, *The Nicholas Brothers Story* Great to see them as children dancing too.
When I was young, over 50 years ago, our mom took my sister & I to see Cab Calloway. It was at the Miami Marina, a small outdoor concert venue, people could pull up in their boats too. My sister & I really enjoyed it.
thx loves- i remember those days- when i used to go downtown on the bus with my grandmother- she was all dressed up in a cute dress and a hat to die for -! and i was a little boy in my shirt and tie ! just to go shopping = aww memories of those days - thx for lovin great ol music- love ya
Way before my time but man did I enjoy that! The expression on my face mirrored the both of yours. You're right about the clothes, people took pride in how they presented themselves to the world. Sadly pajama pants and house slippers in public are pretty normal now. Great reaction, for me too lol. We love y'all's sweet souls❤
Something that no one catches, because there's so much greatness happening, is when they both jump on the piano at the exact same moment, making one sound. Looks and sounds like a small thing, but try it sometime with another person. Try jumping together and landing at exactly the same moment. Timing. Timing is everything in music and dance. So glad film exists so that this is here forever.
The Nicholas Brothers were once young - go back in history to check them out up to what you saw on this film video. Cab Calloway is also very talented and was very well known - check him out as well. RIP Cab.
What you just watched was nothing but GOD given talent. This was done in one take. The Nicholas Brothers were the best tap dancers in the world. No one today could even come close to pull this off and I mean no one. The movie is called "Stormy Weather" (1943).
"Flying Down To Rio" (1933) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, in their first on screen pairing, is a film you need to see, if for nothing else, the Carioca song and dance scene. Fred and Ginger were known to dance a bit or quite a bit, but for this they were primarily spectators for the show that the locals put on. Sometimes hard to find the full Carioca long dance and song scene, so just watch the movie on a Sat. night.
Cab and his amazing band were the house band at the Cotton Club in Harlem. This version is colorized. Personally I prefer the original B&W. The made up words Cab was using is called scat singing. He was great at it, as was Ella Fitzgerald. The dancers feet were actually additional percussion instruments. Just amazing. The title song, Stormy Weather, was sung by Lena Horne. It became her trademark song...she was my dad's favorite.
Joe Jackson put out an album of swings cover songs in early 1980s. It includes the song down here- Jumpin’ Jive. I saw him live in mid eighties and he played some of those songs. Good stuff.
Cab Calloway was a big horse player. He used to live in southern Queens ,New York .Back in the 60's when I also played the horses , I often saw him around the $ 100 bet windows in the clubhouse of both Aqueduct and Belmont Racetracks .I wouldn't say that I knew him ,but we were nodding acquaintances . He was about 60 or so then and was always a very well-dressed and elegant gentleman with a huge smile that lit up a room . Unlike the present day there was a lot of great music made back then. You should do more music videos from the 1930's through the 1970's
These gentlemen were born into a Vaudeville family and went on stage as toddlers. They were the best of the best. Do watch the movie - fantastic, you will see a young Lena Horne who was a wonderful vocalist . Sadly fabric is gone. Women’s clothing was made of fabulous breathable silks,,cottons, linen, velvets wools, various weights with embroidery and beads all cut to flatter . Men’s clothing also . I’ll take the fabric of old any day instead of the throw away clothes that are made of plastic of today that just causes more pollution.
They are doing the same things we used to, except it's on a smaller screen and right at their fingertips. If we could have watched these shows on phones back then, we would have had our noses in the phones too. Instead, we had out noses on a giant box in the living room.
An an historian I can tell you that you would CERTAINLY not want to go to the past. I mean do I have to tell you what Poland was like in 1943 when this movie came out? Do I have to tell you what it was like for the Blacks in this movie in 1945? 90 million people died in World War 2. As for what they are wearing, this is a movie and these costumes were made by the wardrobe department, but then you also couldn't go buy a t-shirt a tie-dye shorts at Walmart in 1943. When I first saw this video in 1994, I was angry because I had seen all the white musicals and felt cheated that this gem featuring MUCH better dancing than anything Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly could pull off had not been on TV instead. Imagine if the Nicholas Brothers had been allowed to be in those musicals instead of Fred or Gene alongside white women. The past was a dreadful time and things are MUCH better now. That's reality.
Yes, but we can still enjoy the artistry they created. I, too, always take nostalgia with a big grain of salt, thinking about the horrible prejudice of the past. Let’s not go back!!
Brings water to my eyes seeing how talented the Nicolas Brothers and Cab Calloway were. And like she said, the style of the people and their style of dress makes me yearn for that. In America, most people dress very sloppily nowadays--- and everywhere.
The words were Cab's own jive language. My mother told me they had to keep the women from Cab Calloway. The Nicholas Brothers are Iconic. Stormy Weather would be great for you to watch. It is a great movie. Glamour. Great dancing, singing. Beautiful black men and women!
Some of the way Cab Calloway was singing is called Scat. A was of jive singing. By the way, love you guys reaction. I just subscribed!! You have to check out Cab Calloway's most famous song, Minnie the Moocher.
Speaking of clothes of the day, my company bought an old bricklayer's guild hall as an expansion to our corporate headquarters. While cleaning up the building, we found an old panoramic photo of the guild members from the late 1930s. Almost all of them wore suits except for a few, but they had suit pants on with white shirts and ties, and every man wore a hat. Think of it. You had bricklayers who were considered hard working salt of the earth, certainly not rich by anyone's standards, and every single one of them was dressed impeccably.
While I wouldn’t say they “taught” Michael orJanet Jackson to dance, they both were definitely inspired by the Nicolas Brothers, They are featured in Janet’s music video for her song “Alright “. Cab Calloway makes a cameo appearance.Also featured is Hollywood dancer Cyd Charice
Yes back in the day. We dressed for the occasion. Be it going to work.church.grocery store.wedding.family picnic. When you dress different for the occasion you yourself feel different.. That is good health. When you dress the same ALL the time it robes you of feeling special or good about yourself
you really should check out florence and the machine. she has a sensational voice. i would suggest that to start with one of her very best which is "You've got the Love" it is done at a benefit for teenage cancer. it has an orchestra plus all the bells and whistles.
I got to meet Cab Calloway way back in 1991. My army unit had just landed in NY after the Gulf War and we were put in our own terminal because we still had our weapons. Anyways he came to our area and shook all of our hands and welcomed us home. He was a a very nice and kind gentleman. It is a memory I’ll never forget
Great experience; wonderful memory.
Wow how nice 😊
Wow I love this story! Thanks for sharing! Cab was tops!
The Nicholas brothers are hands down the best dancers ever captured on film imo
I agree 100%
MC Hammer pretty good
The physical condition these men had to be in to pull off dance moves the likes of these is nothing short of miraculous. So much more than great dancers. World class athletes as well.
There were only a handful of all black cast movies made then. This is a national treasure.
We will NEVER see this level of showmanship and artistic genius ever again.....how there's not a statue to the Nicholas Brothers anywhere I'll never know......and to think that they did this IN ONE TAKE is the most astonishing thing of all
My mother passed 2 yrs ago and even at 90 she was always "put together" when she went anywhere! 😊
Even Fred Astaire said they were the best dancers he ever saw.
The Nicholas brothers were amazing. No dancers today could touch their level of talent. You're right people back overall dressed better than we do today. We're much more concerned with comfort than apperance today.
They were all so classy; the audience too.
The Nicholas Brothers began as children street dancers. A lifetime of work developing their talents.
And Cab Calloway was a TRIP!
The brothers had been dancing and performing since they were kids. There are film clips of them as boys dancing. Wonderfully talented!
Fayard and Harold were astonishing. People like gene kelly and Fred Astaire said they were the best hoofers they ever saw and I believe Fayard opened a dance studio and taught the likes of Michael and Janet Jackson to dance. The brothers were one of a kind.
Neither of them taught any Jackson how to dance.
@@Great-Documentaries Apparently, the Nicholas Brothers were visiting artists at Harvard and Radcliffe. The Jacksons were students in some of their master classes.
Another GREAT hoofer:
Jimmy Cagney. See 1942's "Yankee Doodle Dandy".
Another great hoofer was Jimmy Cagney. See him blow the roof off in "Yankee Doodle Dandy".
Well you asked so here goes. I loved your reactions and comments. This movie came out in 1943, the year I was born. Back then very few homes had a radio, and nobody had a television so entertainment was not an everyday event. so dinner clubs like this existed and people would get dressed up in Tuxedos and Ball Gowns to have dinner and dance to orchestras like this. Your wife is correct and you NEVER saw a woman wearing slacks. Men wore hats and suits unless working at manual labor. I started playing jazz music in 1949 when I was 6 and when I was 12 I started playing at jazz clubs in bands like this, and I continue performing to this day at 80 years old. I regret that I could never dance though.
Thank you 😊
The look dudes face when they were jumping over each other on the stairs and eding in the splits is pretty mych the look on every guys face when they watch it. 😁
Cab Calloway made a cameo appearance in the "Blues Brothers" movie.
He was 70+ and still sounded really good.
How do they pull themselves up from the splits like that?! Imagine the strength!
One of the best dances ever filmed!! The Nicholas Brothers were the best of the best!! This is American tap dance at its finest. I'm a tap dancer and had the honor of meeting them.
that my friends is pure talent and entertainment
This was filmed in one take, according to many sources. Astounding!
Cab invented COOL, everyone has been playing catch up ever since🤩
One of the greatest tap dance dance acts of all time, there is a wonderful documentary about them on TH-cam, "The Nicholas Brothers Story"..
The Greatest!
Most people couldn't afford this kind of clothing. This is one of the greatest dance sequences ever filmed. It was done in one take. Due to wartime shortages thay didn't have the film for a second take.
When people went out in public, they dressed the best they could. Everybody.
@jgriffin282 not everyone. But it was far more common. There's always been slobs.
I agree! However, it wasn't filmed in one take. That is a myth. It doesn't matter though! It's still one of the all-time greatest dance numbers ever filmed, and there are a lot of people who would agree with you, including many of the greatest dancer.
No, but they didn't wear Pj's to the grocery store either and they had a set of good clothes.
Love this clip! Cab Calloway was a treasure, and the Nicolas Brothers too! Thanks for sharing this one. 🙂
The movie, "Stormy Weather", is terrific with great music. Lena Horne sings the title song.
I love Fats Waller part on that movie
I was watching the news one day in 1990 and they said you could get cheap tickets to the American Dance Honors at San Diego Convention Center, so I got three and we went a week later. So many star's of Broadway and movies Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Shirley MacLaine, Patrick Swayze, Paula Abdul and many more, 2 of the entertainers were the Nicholas Brothers both in their 70's they were still as good as they were in "Stomy Weather,"😊 I never saw so many star's in one place ever, I will never forget that night! Peace✌️ ☮️ and Love❤️ Gary 😊
I have seen this a few times & it always amazes me. These brothers were extremely talented. It always gets me when they do the split jumps. You would think they would hurt themselves. Glad this film clip has been preserved for the younger generation to see.
1940s Swing music is one of my very favorite genres. It’s Happy Music! You absolutely cannot help but smile when you hear it.
This number, in particular, I’ve watched countless times, and it never gets old. It’s the perfect marriage of music and motion. Always awe inspiring.
Cab Calloway was famous for his “scat” singing, which is nonsense syllables put to music, so don’t worry if you didn’t get all the words - you’re not supposed to.
I always feel grateful that younger people are exploring these gems from the past so that they are appreciated and not forgotten.
They had run out of funds and film so they had one rehearsal and shot the entire sequence in One Take. Fred Astaire said it was the Best dance number ever put on film.
I really liked seeing to he smiles that came on your faces. This one never gets old. 👍😄
Very enjoyable reaction! The expression of pure joy on your faces was priceless. I have yet to see a man react to the brothers leap frogging over each other down the staircase without making pained expressions!
Two of the best dancers of all time
You have jsut watched one of the most athletic and dynamic dance routines ever recorded.
My hips and knees hurt just watching these guys.
That’s entertainment 👍
Just imagine .... they had to do this in ONE TAKE! This was even before my day but that was REAL entertainment!!!
I love, Love, LOVE old musicals with dancing! Such athleticism, skill, and talent. I really wish the Nicholas Brothers had been in more films.
This makes my heart happy every time I see it
Cabell Caloway III, known professionally as Cab Calloway, was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the swing era. Fayard Antonio Nicholas was born October 20, 1914, in Mobile, Alabama, and Harold Lloyd Nicholas was born March 17, 1921, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Harold Nicholas played the role of Ernest "Sarge" Johnson in the movie the Five Heartbeats. Harold was also the first husband of the actress Dorothy Dandridge. This is a form of Jazz called "Swing". The people in the video are members of The Silent Generation, those born 1928-1945 with the end of WW II. The women are not "Flappers", that was during the Roaring 20s. This movie was during the "Jazz Age", the in-crowd were called "Hep cats" for the men and "Kittens" for the women. In 1939, the jazz singer Cab Calloway published Cab Calloway's Hepster's Dictionary: Language of Jive. A hep cat was "a guy who knows all the answers, understands jive." The hep cats and hepsters Calloway described would in the following years become known as hipsters. Those who were hip eventually became Hippies by the mid 1960s.
I’ve looked at this about 20 times best dancers ever.
That was a great example of a slice of time and history of entertainment. Nicholas Brothers were amazing.
One take. No wires or CGI: pure talent.
Oh, what a fantastic choice, this is a master dance performance for the ages, and so much fun. You'll both love it for sure - thanks for getting me bopping along at my desk 🙂
Yes, prior to the 1950s people were expected to dress more formally than they do now. My mother was born in 1950 and told me when she was a little girl in elementary school they always had to wear dresses - no trousers. They could put trousers on under their dress to walk to school in the winter to keep their legs warm, but they had to take them off when they got there. She said for "dressy" occasions when she was a little girl, she had a petticoat that was so full and starched so stiffly she could hold her arms straight out to the sides and touch the skirt of her dress.
I worked at JCPenney styling salon in the mid to late 1980s and we were required to wear dresses or skirts, pantyhose, our hair had to be fully styled. I remember going to work when my hair had been air-dried (it looked good - infusium was the leave-in product I used) and I was afraid I would get in trouble, but my boss surprised me and said she loved it.
All the women in the entire store were called by our first names. The men’s names were “Mr so and so.”
😩
I love this video, I've watched it a lot, the dancing and the music are absolutely fantastic, especially the dancing! These brothers are so talented and so good to watch. Loved your reaction, thanks so much for reacting to this fabulous video! 😊😊
I actually met Cab Calloway in Savannah in the '80s. Almost got to play with him, but I was 3rd Call, and they only needed two players. I did go to the gig, and during the intermission, I got to shake his hand and talk for a couple minutes. He had to have been in his late 70s then, and he performed his ass off!
You are going to LOVE this!
Loved this seen it before It's awsome
Fabulous is how I describe these dancers and musicians!
So glad to see you experience this. They were amazing dancers. Cab Calloway was a highly respected Big Band Leader.
Fabulous .
This "All Colored Jam" wasn't half ass bad
I really, really enjoyed it bery, very much. Have a Blessed Evening. Adios.
I read somewhere that this was filmed in one take, what talent!
Aussie here. Mum loved watching this, and I watched with her this and stacks of old American movies. There’s a great doco on TH-cam with the boys, older, talking about their past and old home vids as well titled, *The Nicholas Brothers Story* Great to see them as children dancing too.
Your reactions brought tears to my eyes.
One of my favorites ever!
When I was young, over 50 years ago, our mom took my sister & I to see Cab Calloway. It was at the Miami Marina, a small outdoor concert venue, people could pull up in their boats too. My sister & I really enjoyed it.
I don’t remember dancing, just the band & Cab singing.
Great reaction, I really enjoyed the performance of Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Bros. along with you! 🙂
thx loves- i remember those days- when i used to go downtown on the bus with my grandmother- she was all dressed up in a cute dress and a hat to die for -! and i was a little boy in my shirt and tie ! just to go shopping = aww memories of those days - thx for lovin great ol music- love ya
Way before my time but man did I enjoy that! The expression on my face mirrored the both of yours. You're right about the clothes, people took pride in how they presented themselves to the world. Sadly pajama pants and house slippers in public are pretty normal now. Great reaction, for me too lol. We love y'all's sweet souls❤
They were amazing!
Lena Horne was in Stormy Weather.
Something that no one catches, because there's so much greatness happening, is when they both jump on the piano at the exact same moment, making one sound. Looks and sounds like a small thing, but try it sometime with another person. Try jumping together and landing at exactly the same moment. Timing. Timing is everything in music and dance. So glad film exists so that this is here forever.
I must also say they the piano is a rock. Talk about a reinforced platform to land on. Not a bit of movement after having two grown men land on it.
So GLAD you discovered/reacted to this… These brothers were AMAZING! (I’m also so GRATEFUL to the genius who colorized this.)
The Nicholas Brothers were once young - go back in history to check them out up to what you saw on this film video. Cab Calloway is also very talented and was very well known - check him out as well. RIP Cab.
Thanks!
Thank you kindly 💚
Michael Jackson learned how to moon walk watching films of Cab Calloway.
Cab Calloway was still performing in the 1980 Blues Brothers movie.
Joy in motion.
I've watched this many times, but also have excuses to watch whenever its available 😂.... Love your reactions 👏.
He was also in The Blues Brothers even in 50s pop artists wore suits
Love it!! Classic talent!! ❤❤❤
old school americana talent, a gift. time is only as one remembers. great talent and review.
What you just watched was nothing but GOD given talent. This was done in one take. The Nicholas Brothers were the best tap dancers in the world. No one today could even come close to pull this off and I mean no one. The movie is called "Stormy Weather" (1943).
The best thing about this is that this was UNREHEARSED
"Flying Down To Rio" (1933) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, in their first on screen pairing, is a film you need to see, if for nothing else, the Carioca song and dance scene. Fred and Ginger were known to dance a bit or quite a bit, but for this they were primarily spectators for the show that the locals put on. Sometimes hard to find the full Carioca long dance and song scene, so just watch the movie on a Sat. night.
wonderful review ! thanks for playing the whole clip !
Cab and his amazing band were the house band at the Cotton Club in Harlem. This version is colorized. Personally I prefer the original B&W. The made up words Cab was using is called scat singing. He was great at it, as was Ella Fitzgerald. The dancers feet were actually additional percussion instruments. Just amazing. The title song, Stormy Weather, was sung by Lena Horne. It became her trademark song...she was my dad's favorite.
Joe Jackson put out an album of swings cover songs in early 1980s. It includes the song down here- Jumpin’ Jive. I saw him live in mid eighties and he played some of those songs. Good stuff.
Cab Calloway was a big horse player. He used to live in southern Queens ,New York .Back in the 60's when I also played the horses , I often saw him around the $ 100 bet windows in the clubhouse of both Aqueduct and Belmont Racetracks .I wouldn't say that I knew him ,but we were nodding acquaintances . He was about 60 or so then and was always a very well-dressed and elegant gentleman with a huge smile that lit up a room . Unlike the present day there was a lot of great music made back then. You should do more music videos from the 1930's through the 1970's
One could get seriously injured dancing like that.
I was never as fit as that in my entire life... the whole thing was such Fun !!... A Time when Hollywood was Hollywood not Hollyweird.
These gentlemen were born into a Vaudeville family and went on stage as toddlers. They were the best of the best. Do watch the movie - fantastic, you will see a young Lena Horne who was a wonderful vocalist . Sadly fabric is gone. Women’s clothing was made of fabulous breathable silks,,cottons, linen, velvets wools, various weights with embroidery and beads all cut to flatter . Men’s clothing also . I’ll take the fabric of old any day instead of the throw away clothes that are made of plastic of today that just causes more pollution.
I'm an old fart from back in these times and we were watching stuff like this not spending all day with our noses in our phones. A bygone era.
They are doing the same things we used to, except it's on a smaller screen and right at their fingertips. If we could have watched these shows on phones back then, we would have had our noses in the phones too. Instead, we had out noses on a giant box in the living room.
I hurt each time I see the stairs part. I did buy the movie on DVD. Love it.
An an historian I can tell you that you would CERTAINLY not want to go to the past. I mean do I have to tell you what Poland was like in 1943 when this movie came out? Do I have to tell you what it was like for the Blacks in this movie in 1945? 90 million people died in World War 2. As for what they are wearing, this is a movie and these costumes were made by the wardrobe department, but then you also couldn't go buy a t-shirt a tie-dye shorts at Walmart in 1943. When I first saw this video in 1994, I was angry because I had seen all the white musicals and felt cheated that this gem featuring MUCH better dancing than anything Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly could pull off had not been on TV instead. Imagine if the Nicholas Brothers had been allowed to be in those musicals instead of Fred or Gene alongside white women. The past was a dreadful time and things are MUCH better now. That's reality.
Yes, but we can still enjoy the artistry they created. I, too, always take nostalgia with a big grain of salt, thinking about the horrible prejudice of the past. Let’s not go back!!
Remember, YES, the world used to have REAL TALENT entertainment.
Even Fred Astaire considered the Nicholas Brothers his "tap heroes". This is unparalleled skill.
Brings water to my eyes seeing how talented the Nicolas Brothers and Cab Calloway were. And like she said, the style of the people and their style of dress makes me yearn for that. In America, most people dress very sloppily nowadays--- and everywhere.
Очень нравится ваша реакция 👍
Особенно на Rammstein
Respect from Chechnya
The words were Cab's own jive language. My mother told me they had to keep the women from Cab Calloway. The Nicholas Brothers are Iconic. Stormy Weather would be great for you to watch. It is a great movie. Glamour. Great dancing, singing. Beautiful black men and women!
Cab Calloway literally invented what we call SWAG..
That's a great movie all round. You saw Lena Horne and Louis Armstrong on the stage at the end there.
Bill Robinson
Fred Astaire said this was the greatest dance number ever recorded.
Some of the way Cab Calloway was singing is called Scat. A was of jive singing. By the way, love you guys reaction. I just subscribed!! You have to check out Cab Calloway's most famous song, Minnie the Moocher.
Love it. Check out the Joe Jackson version.
Speaking of clothes of the day, my company bought an old bricklayer's guild hall as an expansion to our corporate headquarters. While cleaning up the building, we found an old panoramic photo of the guild members from the late 1930s. Almost all of them wore suits except for a few, but they had suit pants on with white shirts and ties, and every man wore a hat. Think of it. You had bricklayers who were considered hard working salt of the earth, certainly not rich by anyone's standards, and every single one of them was dressed impeccably.
Back in the day you use to have an outfit for the morning and one for the afternoon and dress up for dinner in the evening.
How times have changed .
While I wouldn’t say they “taught” Michael orJanet Jackson to dance, they both were definitely inspired by the Nicolas Brothers, They are featured in Janet’s music video for her song “Alright “. Cab Calloway makes a cameo appearance.Also featured is Hollywood dancer Cyd Charice
Yes back in the day. We dressed for the occasion. Be it going to work.church.grocery store.wedding.family picnic. When you dress different for the occasion you yourself feel different.. That is good health. When you dress the same ALL the time it robes you of feeling special or good about yourself
They did this in one take.
Those days people participated in life, now we seem to only observe life!
you really should check out florence and the machine. she has a sensational voice. i would suggest that to start with one of her very best which is "You've got the Love" it is done at a benefit for teenage cancer. it has an orchestra plus all the bells and whistles.