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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 พ.ค. 2024
- That Tap Dancing Was Crazy
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I'm old enough to remember when this stuff was still a thing. Young people have no clue about what they missed. THIS video shows what REAL magic is.
Fred Astaire said this was the best dance sequence ever put on film. The production was running out of money and time. Cab Callaway was concerned that the Nicholas brothers needed more rehearsing, but they told him they needed only One rehearsal, play the music and 'we've got this'! They did it All in One Take!! Fayard and Harold Nicholas were brothers but not twins. Fayard (the taller one) was 6 years older than Harold (mustache). What dedication to their craft! No computer manipulation, no tricks, just plain Great Talent, due to sacrificing no doubt grueling practice. What can you say about Cab Callaway!! What a showman! Very few people can fill the whole stage and light it up with such personality and talent, that band was tight, what a wonderful production. From the movie "Stormy Weather", starred Lena Horne, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, Ethel Waters and More! How blessed we can see it because it was preserved on film!! At the end up on stage behind Cab Callaway you'll see Lena Horne in that gorgeous black sparking dress and white fur, beside her Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson! Look at those beautiful gowns the ladies are wearing, look at those Handsome men in uniform! So Proud of the talent and absolute Class! You just can't beat it!!Just TH-cam The Nicholas brothers and you'll see some even more unbelievable dance routines.
Gregory Hines once said that you would need CGI to make a film about the Nicholas Brothers. No human could imitate them!
Enjoy the brilliance of your people my sister. Stormy Weather is the name of the movie.
Exactly leswood5634! Young people in the black community have no idea the Amazing heritage they have! The Talent of So many! Something to be Sure to be So Proud of!!!!
When people tell me there were no athletes like todays athletes show them these guys!!🎉🎉
Girl, this is your heritage! I can tell you really enjoyed it!
Simply the best tap dancers ever! If you liked this video, you will also like "Nicholas Brothers - Down Argentine Way (1940)"
The Nicholas brothers were awesome and the greatest tap dancers of their era! Gregory Hines was another great tap dancer and sang beautifully with Luther Vandross ...
Talent personified... So glad you got around to reacting to this. Salute Queen 👑
The Nicholas Brothers were a phenomenal duo. The younger brother, Harold, was married to Dorothy Dandridge. They had a daughter who was born with a severe brain injury due to a lack of oxygen at birth. Harold was out and Dorothy tried to wait until he came home before heading to the hospital.
An incredible duo-and so classy! They did another number when they were younger called ‘Lucky Number’. You should check it out! They were much younger-and they also sing:)
Yes, please check this one out!
The Nicholas Brothers were awesome!, Superstars of their generation. Even had a chauffeur driven limo when they were teenagers! Check out the movie Stormy Weather from which this clip was taken made in1943, Lena Horne was in this also. Cab Calloway was something else! had his own orchestra when just in his twenties! and was the house band at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem for many years. another great tap dancer was Sammy Davis Jr. there is a video of him, his dad and uncle when he was in his twenties.. they were known as the Will Mastin Trio! there is a lot to learn about this genre! thanks for your wonderful reaction young lady!...
Stormy Weather is the movie with Lena Horne.
So glad you enjoyed this. I was raised on this type of entertainment and my mom loved the Nicholas Brothers.
I love seeing people react to this. One of the greatest dance performances I've ever seen. Never seen so many splits in a dance performance and they made it look effortless.
It’s from the movie Stormy Weather
This was the BEST tap dance performance ive EVER seen ...i read they did this on one take ...shot out to the Nicolas Brothers! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I watch the Nicholas Brothers every chance I get. Here's part of their story.
The Nicholas Brothers, Fayard (1914-2006) and Harold (1921-2000), got their big break in 1932 when they were hired to perform at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem. They were just 11 and 18 years old, respectively, and their dazzling performances alongside legendary jazz musicians like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Ethel Waters made them instant sensations.
Their appearance in the short film "Pie, Pie Blackbird" (1932) with the Eubie Blake Orchestra caught the attention of Hollywood executives, who convinced them to move to California. Over the next few decades, the Nicholas Brothers became world-renowned dancers, known for their high-flying acrobatics, unique blend of tap and ballet, and their overall pristine performance style. They starred in numerous movies and continued to perform on stage, film, and television well into the 1990s.
Maybe the greatest and most acrobatic dancers of All-Time. Another vintage class of the Nicholas Brothers was Way down Argentina.
Those are the historical GREAT Nicholas Brothers 1943 from the stormy weather movie: Fun Fact Harold Nicholas(the one who slid down the left side of the staircase slope) played the drunk old man choreographer for the Five Heartbeats in the movie.
I've been waiting for you to do this one. Considered the best dance routine of all times by the Nicholas Brothers. And Cab Calloway is a legend.
As a former dancer who tapped, they were definitely 2 of my inspirations! And Cab, he was amazing as well ❤
Most places were segregated back then, but the Cotton Club was OUR place to go in New York, according to my late Grandpa, " Coolest thing was lots of upper-class whte folks came to see the music, too, resulting in many interracial freindships made there from people who would never meet otherwise "
Stormy Weather!
I’m so glad you saw this! They were incredible!
This is from the musical "Stormy Weather". Fats Waller was on the piano. At the end, that was Lena Horne in the gown on stage. Every time you hear that trumpet sing out, it was Dizzy Gillespie. Also in the movie was Dooley Wilson, who played Sam in "Casablanca" the year before. This movie had just about every big name in black entertainment at the time.
The great Lena Horne singing "Stormy Weather" . . . . . from this very same movie . . . check it out. YOU'RE WELCOME!
Hi Sheray! LOVE your channel! I believe this was done in ONE take! The Nicolas brothers were PHENOMENALLY talented! Thanks for great reaction! Peace and Blessings from Australia.
Cab was the older gentleman in the Blues Brothers who told Jake and Elwood to get to church. He sung, later in the movie. The Nicholas brothers and Sammy Davis Jr got me into tap, seeing Sammy live a few times, and the brothers on TV and in film.
The movie is called " Stormy Weather"
Their parents were in Vaudeville. The dad told Fayard to use his hands to set him apart. He also claps sometimes. I've watched this a hundred times +. I love watching younger people's reaction to this pure talent on display.
Watch Gal from Kalamazoo and Lucky Number(when they were younger). I've saved all their dances on TH-cam in a Yahoo folder. Love watching them.
You should see their dance routine with gene Kelly (taper,singin in the rain)in the movie the pirate.
From my understanding. They did this in one take.
I THINK THAT SEQUENCE IS FROM A MOVIE MADE IN THE LATE 1930S CALLED 'STORMY WEATHER'. THOSE SPLITS THEY KEEP DOING.....I ALMOST EXPECTED TO SEE A NUT COME ROLLING OUT OF THEIR PANTLEGS.
I love this!
Tol you. It's 2 more they got that's even better. Try The Nicholas Brothers-Down Argentine Way & I've got a Gal in Kalamazoo. Both in color
great reaction
You've just witnessed history GOLD, Pure Talent!!😊
Check out the entire movie "Stormy Weather". Great black actors and actresses were in this movie. From what I understand they were running out of film and had to get this dance sceen on the first take, and they did.😊
And that was definitely pure talent
The greatest African American tap duo in history!
Sheray, would you buy a costume, shiny tap shoes, and make a video?
💕💕
A fantabolous reaction 🕺🏾👨🏼🎤🕺🏾! Fred Astaire told the Nicholas Brothers that their dance sequence was "the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen". (Hep Hep) Jumpin' Jive was written by Cab Calloway, Frank Froeba, and Jack Palmer and released as a non-album single. It has since appeared on many Cab Calloway compilation albums. Originally recorded on July 17, 1939, on Vocalion Records, it sold over a million copies and reached #2 on the Pop chart.
The song and dance scene is from the 1943 movie: Stormy Weather, the same film as your previous Fats Waller "Ain't Misbehavin'" reaction. The film starred: Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller, Nicholas Brothers, Ada Brown and Dooley Wilson. In 2001, the film: Stormy Weather, was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The song has been covered by many artists including 📻: Joe Jackson, Benny Goodman, The Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and more.
Lyrics 🗒:
Hep-hep!
De-boodle-de-ack, de-boodle-de-ackasaki!
Hep-hep!
Oh, rang-tang, te-dah-dah,
Hep-hep!
Gonna tell you 'bout the jumpin' jive,
Hep-hep!
Jim, jam, jump, the jumpin' jive;
Hep-hep!
Cats gonna beat out this mellow jive;
Hep-hep!
Beat it out on the mellow side.
Boy?
Whatcha gonna say there, gate?
Oh, boy!
Whatcha gonna say there, gate?
Palomar, Shalomar, Swanee shore,
Let me dig that jive once more,
Boy!
Lay it right on down to the gator.
Oh, boy!
Lay it flat as a gator.
Now, can't you hear those hepcats call,
Yeah!
Come on, boys, let's have a ball!
The jim, jam, jump on the jumpin' jive
Makes you dig your jive on the mellow side,
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
The jim, jam, jump is the solid jive
Makes you nine foot tall when you're four foot five,
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
Now, don't you be that ickeroo,
Get hep, come on and follow through,
Then you get your steady foo,
You make the joint jump like the gators do,
The jim, jam, jump on the jumpin' jive
Makes you like your eggs on the Jersey side,
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
The jim, jam, jumpin' jive
Makes you hep-hep on the mellow side!
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
The jim, jam, jump on the jumpin' jive,
Will make you dig your jive on the mellow side,
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
The jim, jam, jump, the solid jive
Makes you nine foot tall when you're four foot five,
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
Now, don't you be that ickeroo,
Get hep, come on and follow through,
Then you get your steady foo,
You make the joint jump like the gators do,
The jim, jam, jump on the jumpin' jive
Makes you like your eggs on the Jersey side,
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
The jim, jam, jumpin' jive,
Makes you hep-hep on the mellow side;
Hep-hep!
Hep-hep!
(Scat singing)
Now, I've told you 'bout the jumpin' jive,
The jim, jam, jump, the jumpin' jive,
I know you dug this mellow jive,
Oh, you dig it on the mellow side.
Cab Calloway Info 📰:
Cabell Calloway III was born on December 25, 1907, in Rochester, New York. He passed away on November 18, 1994, in Hockessin, Delaware. He was an Jazz singer, actor and Bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music era. His niche of mixing Jazz and Vaudeville won him acclaim during an entertainment career that spanned over 65 years. He has received numerous honors and accolades including: the National Medal of Arts, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award inducted into the Big Band And Jazz Hall of Fame, inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame, and more.
Cab Calloway grew up in the West Baltimore neighborhood of Druid Hill. He often skipped school to earn money by selling newspapers, shining shoes, and cooling down horses at the Pimlico racetrack where he developed an interest in racing and gambling on horse races. After he was caught playing dice on the church steps, his mother sent him to Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School in 1921, a reform school run by his mother's uncle in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Cab Calloway resumed hustling when he returned to Baltimore and worked as a caterer while he improved his studies in school. He began private vocal lessons in 1922, and studied music throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and teachers' disapproval of Jazz, he began performing in nightclubs in Baltimore. His mentors included drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones. Cab Calloway joined his high school basketball team, and in his senior year he started playing professional basketball with the Baltimore Athenians, a team in the Negro Professional Basketball League. He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in 1925.
Cab Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the most popular dance bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. His band included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Jonah Jones, and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, guitarist Danny Barker, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Cozy Cole.
Cab Calloway had several hit records in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming the first African-American musician to sell one million copies of a single record. He became known as the "Hi-De-Ho" man of Jazz for his most famous song: "Minnie The Moocher", originally recorded in 1931. He reached the Billboard charts in five consecutive decades (1930s-1970s).
Cab Calloway also made several stage, film, and television appearances until his passing in 1994 at the age of 86. He had roles in Stormy Weather (1943), Porgy And Bess (1953), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and Hello Dolly! (1967). His career enjoyed a marked resurgence from his appearance in the 1980 film: The Blues Brothers.
In 1985, Calloway and his Orchestra appeared at The Ritz London Hotel where he was filmed for a 60-minute BBC TV show called The Cotton Club Comes to the Ritz. Adelaide Hall, Doc Cheatham, Max Roach, and the Nicholas Brothers also appeared on the bill.
A performance with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra directed by Erich Kunzel in August 1988 was recorded on video and features a classic presentation of "Minnie The Moocher", 57 years after he first recorded it.
In January 1990, Cab Calloway performed at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, with the Baltimore Symphony. That same year he made a cameo in Janet Jackson's music video "Alright".
He continued to perform at Jazz festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Greenwood Jazz.
In 1992, he embarked on a month-long tour of European Jazz festivals. He was booked to headline "The Jazz Connection: The Jewish and African-American Relationship", at New York City's Avery Fisher Hall in 1993, but he pulled out due to an accidental fall at home.
Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907 - November 18, 1994) Passing 🙏🏾:
On June 12, 1994, Cab Calloway suffered a stroke at his home in Westchester County, New York. He passed away five months later from pneumonia on November 18, 1994, at the age of 86, at a nursing home in Hockessin, Delaware. He was survived by his wife, five daughters, and seven grandsons. Cab Calloway was laid to rest at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
****CONTINUE BELOW****
Miscellaneous Notes 🗃:
In 1961 and 1962, he toured with the Harlem Globetrotters, providing halftime entertainment during games.
His autobiography: Of Minnie The Moocher And Me, was published in 1976.
In 1985, Town Supervisor Anthony F Veteran issued a proclamation, declaring a ''Cab Calloway Day'' in Greenburgh, New York.
In 1990, Cab Calloway was featured prominently in Janet Jackson's music video for her song: "Alright".
In 1990, Cab Calloway was presented with the Beacons in Jazz Award from The New School in New York City. New York City Mayor David Dinkins proclaimed the day "Cab Calloway Day".
In 1992, the Cab Calloway School of the Arts was founded in Wilmington, Delaware.
In 1994, Calloway's daughter Camay Calloway Murphy founded the Cab Calloway Museum at Coppin State College in Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1998, the Cab Calloway Orchestra directed by Cab Calloway's grandson Chris "CB" Calloway-Brooks was formed.
In 2009, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy released an album covering Cab Calloway's music titled: How Big Can You Get? - The Music Of Cab Calloway.
In 2012, Cab Calloway's legacy was celebrated in an episode of PBS's American Masters titled: "Cab Calloway - Sketches".
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) annually honors the Jazz legend, a native of Rochester, NY, with a stakes races restricted to NY-bred three-year-olds, as part of their New York Stallion Series. First run in 2003, The Cab Calloway Stakes has since undergone various distance and surface changes. The race is currently run at Saratoga Racecourse, Saratoga Springs, NY, one of America's most popular, premier racetracks. The Cab Calloway Stakes celebrated its 13th renewal on July 24, 2019, and was won by Rinaldi.
Cab Calloway's boyhood home at 2216 Druid Hill Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, was demolished on on September 5, 2020, despite objections from his family and National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Filmography 📽:
The Big Broadcast (1932)
International House (1933)
The Singing Kid (1936)
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937)
Stormy Weather (1943)
Sensations Of 1945 (1944)
Ebony Parade (1947)
Hi De Ho (1947)
Rhythm And Blues Revue (1955)
Basin Street Revue (1956)
St Louis Blues (1958)
Schlager-Raketen (1960)
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
The Littlest Angel (1969)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Movie-Video Shorts 🎥:
Minnie The Moocher (1932)
Snow-White (1933)
The Old Man Of The Mountain (1933)
Betty Boop's Rise To Fame (1934)
Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (1934)
Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party (1935)
Hi De Ho (1937)
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938)
Meet The Maestros (1938)
Alright by Janet Jackson (1990)
Stage Musicals 🎬:
Porgy And Bess (1953)
Hello, Dolly! (1967)
The Pajama Game (1974-73)
Bubbling Brown Sugar (1976-77)
Uptown...It's Hot! (1986)
Honors & Awards 🏅:
1967: Best Performance, Outer Critics Circle Awards (Hello, Dolly)
1987: Inducted into Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame
1990: Beacons in Jazz Award from The New School in New York City
1993: National Medal of Arts from US Congress
1993: Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, University of Rochester
1993: Cab Calloway School of the Arts dedicated in his name in Wilmington, Delaware
1995: Inducted into International Jazz Hall of Fame
1999: Grammy Hall of Fame Induction Award for "Minnie The Moocher"
2008: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
2019: "Minnie The Moocher" added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry
2020: Inducted into The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame
Cab Calloway Albums 📀:
Cab Calloway And His Orchestra (1943)
Cab Calloway (1956)
Cotton Club Revue 1958 (1958)
Hi De Hi De Ho (1959)
Blues Makes Me Happy (1962)
Cab Calloway '68 (1968)
Some more good Cab Calloway songs 🎶: Minnie The Moocher, Saint Louis Blues, The Man From Harlem, Beale Street Mama, Saint James Infirmary, Nobody's Sweetheart, Easy Joe, Bugle Call Rag, Six Or Seven Times, You Rascal You, Kickin' The Gong Around, Cabin In The Cotton, Strictly Cullud Affair, Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day, Reefer Man, Hot Toddy, Congo, The Scat Song, Little Child, I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues, Keep That Hi-De-Hi In Your Soul, The Honeydripper, History Repeats Itself, Blues In The Night, Moon Glow, Trickeration, Let's Take The Long Way Home, I See A Million People, FDR Jones, Geechee Joe, The Lady With The Fan, Peckin', Bojangles Steps In, Ogeechee River Lullaby, Chinese Rhythm, Nagasaki, You're The Cure For What Ails Me, Copper Colored Gal, Moon At Sea, Ain't That Something, Wake Up And Live, Zah Zuh Zaz, Tarzan Of Harlem, Mister Toscanini Swing For Minnie, Dinah, Bye Bye Blues, 'Long About Midnight, Black Rhythm, Angels With Dirty Faces, Rail Rhythm, She's Tall She's Tan She's Terrific, Every Day's A Holiday, The Moment I Laid My Eyes On You, Fifteen Minute Intermission, Dinah, Swing Swing Swing, How Come You Do Me Like You Do?, Frantic In The Atlantic, Ebony Silhouette, Some Of These Days, Jitterbug, Manhattan Jam, The Calloway Boogie, Wake Up And Live, The Wedding Of Mr And Mrs Swing, Mama I Want To Make Rhythm, Eadie Was A Lady, Pickin' The Cabbage, Take The A Train, Savage Rhythm, Tweedlee Dee, Pluckin' The Bass, Don't Falter At The Alter, Willow Weep For Me, Ain't Got No Gal in This Town, Happy Feet, I Love To Singa, You Gotta Ho-De-Ho (To Get Along With Me), At The Clambake Carnival, I'll Be Around, Everybody Eats When They Come 'Round To My House, I Beeped When I Shoulda Bopped, Rhapsody In Rhumba, Hi-De-Ho Man (That's Me), Harlem Camp Meeting, A Chicken Ain't Nothing But A Bird, Angeline, San Francisco Fan, Are You All Reet?, I've Got The World On A String, Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea, The Ghost of Smokey Joe and I Ain't Gettin Nowhere Fast.
Fun Fact 🕵🏼♂: Cab Calloway was the first African-American to have a nationally syndicated radio program: The Cab Calloway Quizzicale (1941 - 1942).
You should also check out Hellzapoppin!! That entire dance sequence is perfect ❤
The movie this came out in was Stormy Weather
I said it before Sheray. You need to start a movie reaction channel.
You could start with GREASE,
FOOTLOOSE from 1984,
RENT,
or the Marilyn Monroe classic GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES.
You could also start with this movie as well.
Keep going and enjoy
🥀🌹🏵🪷
Some reactions to consider 🤔: Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand The Rain Live (fritz5139 YT channel), Grandmaster Melle Mel - White Lines Don't Don't Do It Music Video (UPROXX YT channel) or Irene Cara - Fame Music Video (DiscoBar80 YT channel).
*Missy Elliott got her sample for her song: The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly), from Ann Peebles' song: I Can't Stand The Rain.
& The movie is Stormy Weather.
The Nicholas Brothers Info 📰:
The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of brothers, Fayard Nicholas (1914-2006) and Harold Nicholas (1921-2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their unique interpretation of a highly acrobatic technique known as "flash dancing", they were also considered by many to be the greatest tap dancers of their day, if not all time. Their virtuoso performance in the musical dance number: "(Hep Hep) Jumpin' Jive", with Cab Calloway And His Orchestra, which was featured in the 1943 movie: Stormy Weather and has been praised as one of the greatest dance routines ever captured on film.
Growing up surrounded by vaudeville acts as children, they became stars of the Jazz circuit during the Harlem Renaissance and performed on stage, film, and television well into the 1990s. Diminutive in size, they were appreciated for their artistry, innovation, and soaring leaps. The Nicholas Brothers were particularly known for their expressive use of their hands and arms while dancing, particularly tap. One of their signature moves was to leapfrog down a long, broad flight of stairs, completing each step with a split.
Fayard Antonio Nicholas was born October 20, 1914, in Mobile, Alabama. Harold Lloyd Nicholas was born March 17, 1921, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Viola Harden (maiden; 1893-1971), a pianist, and Ulysses Dominick Nicholas (1892-1935), a drummer.
The Nicholas Brothers grew up in Philadelphia, afteer the family moved to the City in 1926. They were the sons of college-educated musicians who played in their own band at the Standard Theater. At the age of three, Fayard Nicholas would always sit in the front row while his parents worked, and by the time he was ten, he had seen most of the great African-American vaudeville acts, particularly the dancers, including such notables of the time as Alice Whitman, Willie Bryant and Bill Robinson. The brothers were fascinated by the combination of tap dancing and acrobatics. Fayard Nicholas often imitated their acrobatics and clowning for the kids in his neighborhood.
Neither Fayard Nicholas nor Harold Nicholas had any formal dance training. Fayard Nicholas taught himself how to dance, sing, and perform by watching and imitating the professional entertainers on stage. He then taught his younger siblings, first performing with his sister Dorothy Nicholas as The Nicholas Kids, later joined by Harold Nicholas. Harold Nicholas idolized his older brother and learned by copying his moves and distinct style. Dorothy Nicholas later opted out of the act, and The Nicholas Kids became known as The Nicholas Brothers.
As word spread of their talents, The Nicholas Brothers became well known around Philadelphia. They were first hired for a radio program: The Horn And Hardart Kiddie Hour, and then by other local theatres such as The Standard and The Pearl. When they were performing at The Pearl, the manager of The Lafayette, a New York vaudeville showcase, saw them and immediately wanted them to perform for his theater.
In 1932, they became the featured act at Harlem's Cotton Club when Harold Nichols was 11 and Fayard Nichols was 18. They astonished their mainly white audiences dancing to the Jazz tempos of Cab Calloway's song: "Bugle Call Rag", they were the only entertainers in the African-American cast allowed to mingle with white patrons. They performed at the Harlem Cotton Club for two years, working with the orchestras of Lucky Millinder, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Jimmy Lunceford. During this time, they made their uncredited movie debut, in the 1932 short: Pie Pie Blackbird, featuring Eubie Blake And His Orchestra. The Nicholas Brothers attributed their success to their unique style of dancing - a hybrid of tap dance, ballet, and acrobatics sometimes called "acrobatic dancing" or "flash dancing" - which was greatly in demand during this time.
Producer Samuel Goldwyn saw them at the Harlem Cotton Club and invited them to California to be a part of the film: Kid Millions (1934), their first performances in a Hollywood movie. The brothers made their Broadway debut in the musical: Ziegfeld Follies, of 1936. They so impressed their choreographer, George Balanchine, he invited them to appear in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical: Babes In Arms, in 1937. With George Balanchine's training, they learned many new stunts. Their talent led many to presume they were trained ballet dancers.
By 1940, they had moved to Hollywood and for several decades divided their time between movies, nightclubs, concerts, Broadway, television, and extensive tours of Latin America, Africa, and Europe. They toured England with a production of the musical: Blackbirds. Fayard Nicholas career was interrupted from 1943 to 1944 when he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He achieved the rank of Technician fifth grade while in WWII. Harold Nicholas avoided the draft in World War II, after lies about being gay and smoking reefer failed, because he was underweight.
In 1957, The Nicholas Brother would release an album: We Do Sing, as well as a collaboration album: Calypso w/ Frank Barcley's Calypso Band. Harold Nicholas would go on to release two more albums as a solo artist including the Latin Mambo album: O Fabuloso (1960), and New-York Paris (1960). The Nicholas Brothers had previously released two singles in 1936 (Keep A Twinkle In Your Eye / Your Heart And Mine) and 1937 (Wrap Your Cares In Rhythm And Dance / They Say He He Ought To Dance) as well.
The Nicholas Brothers would continue to perform live on stage at special events, in films, in TV specials-TV shows, in stage musicals and the like throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In 1992, a documentary film: We Sing & We Dance, celebrated their careers and included tributes from Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, MC Hammer and Clarke Peters.
In 1985-86, Harold Nicholas played the role of "Daddy Bates" in the National Tour of the Broadway musical: The Tap Dance Kid. In 1993, he starred in the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre's world premiere of the musical: If These Shoes Could Talk, an original tap dance musical by Lee Summers and Kevin Ramsey. The leading character, a seasoned triple threat/hoofer: "Dr Rhythm", was specifically written for Harold Nicholas and would be his farewell stage performance in a musical.
After his dance career ended, Fayard Nicholas and his wife, Katherine Hopkins Nicholas, embarked on a lecture tour discussing dance. In 2003, Fayard Nicholas served as "Festival Legend" at the third "Soul To Sole Tap Festival" in Austin, Texas.
Teaching 👨🏾🏫:
The Nicholas Brothers taught master classes in tap dance as teachers-in-residence at Harvard University and Radcliffe at Ruth Page Visiting Artists. Among their known students are Debbie Allen, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson. Several of today's master tap dancers have performed with or been taught by the brothers: Dianne Walker, Sam Weber, Lane Alexander, Mark Mendonca, Terry Brock, Colburn Kids Tap/L.A, Channing Cook Holmes, Chris Baker, Artis Brienzo, Chester Whitmore, Darlene Gist, Chris Scott, Tobius Tak, Carol Zee and Steve Zee.
The Nicholas Brothers Passing 🙏🏾:
1. Harold Nicholas (March 27, 1921 - July 3, 2000)
He passed away on July 3, 2000, age 79, of a heart attack following minor surgery. His body was cremated and the ashes were placed at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.
2. Fayard Nicholas (October 20, 1914 - January 24, 2006)
He passed away on January 24, 2006, of pneumonia contracted after a stroke, at the age of 91. His memorial service, presided over by Mary Jean Valente of A Ceremony of the Heart, was standing-room only and featured personal tributes, music, dance, and one last standing ovation. He was laid to rest at Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, California.
Miscellaneous Notes 🗃:
Harold Nicholas had a daughter with actress Dorothy Dandridge named Harolynn Nicholas.
The Nicholas Brothers gave a royal command performance for King George VI at the London Palladium in 1948.
A retrospective of The Nicholas Brothers work in films appeared at the 1981 Academy Awards ceremony.
Carnegie Hall sold out for a tribute to The Nicholas Brothers in 1998.
During the course of their lives, The Nicholas Brothers performed for nine different presidents of the United States.
The Nicholas Brothers home movies were selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry in 2011. Several of these home movies were preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.
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Honors & Awards 🏅:
Harold Nicholas received the DEA Award from the Dance Educators of America
Harold Nicholas received the Harbor Performing Arts Center Lifetime Achievement Award
An honorary doctorate from Harvard University was awarded to The Nicholas Brothers
Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame for The Nicholas Brothers (1978)
Harold Nicholas received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Best Principal Performance, Stompin' At The Savoy (1981)
Ellie Award National Film Society for The Nicholas Brothers (1984)
Apollo Theater's Hall of Fame First Class Inductees for The Nicholas Brothers (1986)
Ebony Lifetime Achievement Award for The Nicholas Brothers (1987)
Fayard Nicholas received Broadway's Tony Award for Best Choreographer for Black and Blue along with his collaborators Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, and Frankie Manning (1989)
Kennedy Center Honors for The Nicholas Brothers (1991)
The National Black Media Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award for The Nicholas Brothers (1992)
Flo-Bert Award for The Nicholas Brothers (1992)
New York's Tap Dance Committee, Gypsy Award for The Nicholas Brothers (1994)
A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for The Nicholas Brothers (1994)
Professional Dancer's Society, Dance Magazine Award for The Nicholas Brothers (1995)
The Samuel H Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement in Modern Dance for The Nicholas Brothers (1998)
National Museum of Dance Mr & Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame Inductees for The Nicholas Brothers (2001)
The Nicholas Brothers were inducted into the inaugural class of the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame (2002)
Filmography 📽:
Pie, Pie Blackbird (1932)
The Emperor Jones (1933 Harold Nicholas)
Syncopancy (1933 Harold Nicholas)
Kid Millions (1934)
An All-Colored Vaudeville Show (1935)
Coronado (1935)
The Big Broadcast Of 1936 (1935)
The Black Network (1936)
My American Wife (1936)
Babes In Arms (1937)
Calling All Stars (1937)
My Son Is Guilty (1939)
Down Argentine Way (1940)
Tin Pan Alley (1940)
The Great American Broadcast (1941)
Sun Valley Serenade (1941)
Orchestra Wives (1942)
Stormy Weather (1943)
Take It Or Leave It (1944)
The Reckless Age (1944 Harold Nicholas)
Carolina Blues (1944 Harold Nicholas)
Dixieland Jamboree (1946)
The Pirate (1948)
Pathe Newsreel (1948)
I'm In The Revue (1950)
El Misterio Del Carro express (1953)
El Mensaje De La Muerte (1953)
Musik Im Blut (1955)
Bonjour Kathrin (1956)
L'Empire De La Nuit (1963 Harold Nicholas)
The Liberation Of LB Jones (1970 Fayard Nicholas)
Uptown Saturday Night (1974 Harold Nicholas)
That's Entertainment! (1974)
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? (1975)
Disco 9000 (1976 Harold Nicholas)
That's Dancing! (1985)
Tap (1989 Harold Nicholas)
That's Black Entertainment (1990)
The Five Heartbeats (1990 Harold Nicholas)
"Alright" (1990 Janet Jackson music video)
The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing And We Dance (1992)
Funny Bones (1995 Harold Nicholas)
I Used To Be In Pictures (2000)
Night At The Golden Eagle (2002 Fayard Nicholas)
Broadway: The Golden Age, By The Legends Who Were There (2003)
Hard Four (2005)
Nicholas Brothers Albums 📀:
We Do Sing (1957)
Calypso w/ Frank Barcley's Calypso Band (1957)
Harold Nicholas Albums 📀:
Cha Cha EP w/ Norman Maine Et Son Orchestre (1959)
Chante En Italien EP (1959)
Bébé, Mon Bébé EP (1959)
O Fabuloso (1960)
New-York Paris (1960)
Some good Nicholas Brothers songs 🎶: The Frim Fram Sauce, I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Close Your Eyes, One Meat Ball, Esto Es Lo Ultimo, Autumn Leaves, Oh Lady Be Good, Wrap Your Cares In Rhythm And Dance, Good Rockin' Tonight, What Is This Thing Called Love, September Song, Johnny Gone, Hey Liley Liley Lo, Keep A Twinkle In Your Eye, 'S Wonderful, Rip It Up, Your Heart And Mine, Alright Okay You Win, The Foggy Foggy Dew and They Say He He Ought To Dance.
Fun Fact 🕵🏾♂: Tap dancing legend Gregory Hines declared that if ever a movie was made of The Nicholas Brothers' life that their dance numbers would have to be computer generated because no one could duplicate them.
Have you seen the video...'old time stars dance to 'Uptown Funk' BY bRuno Mars & Mark Ronson ? Classic old time dancers set to the song .....Amazing old school . i believe someone edited it carefully together about 10 years ago
chatanooga choo choo is also remarkable have to wait until end of video
wATCH THE MOVIE: IT'S GREAT. THE NAME OF THE MOVIE IS sTORMY WEATHER/
They don't make em lika that anymore fr. It feels like creativity died fr. Especially now with ai and electronic soulless sounds
People today tend to sleep on the musicians and dancers from days past. They were amazing at what they did.