Cab Calloway & The Nicholas Brothers "Jumpin' Jive"- Stormy Weather 1943 (REACTION)

Cab Calloway & The Nicholas Brothers "Jumpin' Jive"- Stormy Weather 1943 (REACTION)‪@rioreactions6914‬

[@athlonen]

Let's put it this way about this routine. Fred Astaire, who was not only Michael Jackson's main influence, but is arguably the best dancer/performer of all time, stated that this dance routine by the Nicholas Brothers is the best/greatest dance routine to ever be put to film. That's from Fred Astaire. Both he and Gene Kelly wanted to perform with the Nicholas Brothers, but Hollywood was so segregated at the time that it took a long time for that to happen.

[@beaujac311]

I would say that James Brown was Michael's main influence when it came to dance. Now he did admire and was influenced by Fred Astaire.

[@theresap.3305]

@@beaujac311💯

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

👌🏿@@theresap.3305

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

That makes sense to me!@@beaujac311

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@janetmueller9195]

It wasnt just a "propaganda movie". It was a black movie made for entertainment! Such talent!!!

[@SM-js1dw]

To join Cabs orchestra you couldn't be any old musician. He had the creme de la creme of contemporary talent on board. Each and every one of his band members were top notch in their field.

[@andyleclerc3600]

It was the same with Spike Jones and the City Slickers. You not only had to be the best at your instrument, but because of the frantic comedy in Spike's shows, you had to have dplot second timing to help pull off a gag, then back to your instrument.

[@xiurong888]

Calloway and his band were the house band at the Cotton Club in Harlem. My dad's favorite singer was Lena Horne, who sang the title song in this film. It became her trademark. I can recall her singing it on TV when I was growing up. I was born 10 years after this film. One of the brother's was married to the wonderful Dorothy Dandridge, who is also in this film.

[@jeandoten1510]

Cab Calloway sings with his band because he's a singer. Benny Goodman plays the clarinet with his band because he is a clarinetist (one of the best ever). Glen Miller played the trombone--you get my drift. Louis Armstrong & Ray Charles were.extra special.

[@ahermannblue]

I'm pretty sure it was Lena Horne in this movie, not Dorothy Dandridge.

[@HRConsultant_Jeff]

The movie was made for a black audience as well. However, the Nicholas Brothers were known by both black and white audiences through TV later.

[@Gloren50]

Because of segregation, there was a 'separate' Black film industry. There were many all-Black films. This film, Stormy Weather, starring Lena Horne, is one of my favorites. Because it was during WWII, it didn't matter, a Black film or a typical white Hollywood film, there were always men and women in uniform.

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

Thanks for the View & Background Info!

[@cheriegordon8199]

This DJ first says whites are in the audience and thinks that's crazy. At the end of the film he finally realizes that it is an all black film. He probably thinks the women were white because only light skinned black women were hired for film. According to the biographer of Lena Horne, light skinned actresses/ dancers were referred to as "chlorines". Even though the DJ says he saw the Ken Burns's jazz documentary, he really is clueless how popular and exemplary the Nicholas Brothers were. Fred Astaire said Jumping Jive was the greatest dance number ever made for American film. The Nicholas Brothers choreographed this routine and did it in one take. They also starred with white performers, Glenn Miller and Gene Kelly.

[@Eniral441]

This is back when they would film all this in one take. No mistakes.

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

That's Amazing! Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@julietfischer5056]

There were retakes when needed. The Nicholas Brothers were so good they didn't need more than one take.

[@taverngeek1631]

They famously claimed this was done in one take. Though, it consists of several scenes with the change of camera angles being another scene. Back then it was considered important to show the dancer's skill by filming them in full length for up to a minute before a change in camera angles "justified" ending one scene before the dancers tired. So there would have been a pause from dancing on the stage as they moved equipment around to set up the next camera angle. Dance scenes were not typically filmed in one take. The Astaire Rodgers rolling skate dance took over 100 takes to get right. Even normal dances were often filmed a couple dozen times to get the best one. One of the trademark Nicholas Brothers moves was rising from the splits with no hands. That's not something Astaire or Gene Kelly ever did, not even when Kelly danced with them in The Pirate. Also, there is one small mistake in this dance. As they jump from the bandstand to the floor, only one of them does the jazz splits. The other is mostly split, but lands on a front foot.

[@athlonen]

@@taverngeek1631 This one actually was filmed in one take. This was one of the first scenes to use multiple cameras during the same take, which gives you those angles you refer to. There were seven different cameras being used for this single scene. All of this was explained by Fayard Nicholas himself, who said - on camera at that - that this was done in one take.

[@taverngeek1631]

@@athlonen I respectively disagree. It would have been pointlessly complicated and risking needing to redo the dancing due to technical errors if trying to film it as one long dance. Movies are shot in sequences of scenes with designed lighting and so on. The number of takes is how many times it is needed to film one scene. So Fayard was correct to say it was done in one take, but that does not means it was done as one long continuous dance. The camera for the jump from the stage onto the piano would be located where the introduction of the Nicholas Brothers has people sitting at tables. Every reason to plan to break it into a another scene to get the camera angle right and give the brothers a chance to cool down so they don't look sweaty. Likewise, for the change of scene to the giant staircase. This was not a big budget movie in a position to spend extra money to film this as a continuous dance. It would have been planned as multiple scenes and being quite happy to film just one take per scene. Larger budget movies will film multiple takes in case there is some flaw such a microphone or lighting error in the first take.

[@dianavanderclute4322]

I believe the piano player is Fats Waller, and yes, he was famous (Ain't Misbehaving). Cab is "scatting" when he sings a run on. Lived this! Thank you!

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

YES I specifically remember Bradford Marcellus imitating Fats during the Ken Burn's doc "JAZZ"! Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@webbtrekker534]

The piano player looks nothing like Fats Waller. Fats Waller was in Stormy Weather but not in this part of the movie. Here is Fats: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoSxgaOpqNeofLs

[@janeperez3750]

It is not Fats Waller, however Fats Waller is in this as well as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ada Brown and Lena Horne, ALL GIANTS. You really need to watch it...

[@simply_psi]

The piano player on this was the legendary Benny Payne

[@bhibels8601]

I am glad that You learned about these brothers. In those days no one could really match these superathletes!!!!!!!!!!!!! So talented!!!!!!!!

[@josiahslack8720]

In the late '80s, I went to a tap concert in Boston. At one point a screen was lowered and a filmed performance of the Nicholas Brothers was projected onto it. And then the brothers themselves came onstage and matched the routine step for step. The whole concert was one of the most joyous I've ever been to.

[@shevawn1973]

No the Nicholas Brothers just had one rehearsal for this fan e and did it all in one take. Very talented and professional.

[@GinMae]

Thanks, Old School - the dance routine, as I've heard, was pretty much one take... Cab is doing what used to be called "Scatting" in the jazz world.. he was amazing... but this performance really features Harold & Fayard Nicholas... nobody has been able to touch their tap talent.... even Fred Astaire was amazed... hope you also see more Cab & the brothers... (Nicholas Bros.. in "Down Argentine Way"... they started as young children.. and they also sang.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5SlcpiEbt6thcU) For Cab.. if you haven't seen him do "Minnie the Moocher" you are missing out, big-time: he was an astonishing performer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp7UZYiKabuhmKc) appreciate your reactions...

[@kemitamenophis3221]

Great to see a Hip-Hop head recognize that Cab was spittin' verses here. My introduction to Hip-Hop was right after I moved from Detroit in 1978 when Kool Herc put on a block party in Central Park.

[@johntheroux832]

So many great dancers back in the 30's 40's and 50's. The Nicholas brothers were probably the best. I'm white from the 50's and listened to Cab Calloway all the time.

[@yambo59]

Everything was done FOR REAL back then, no movie tricks or fancy cuts - these guys danced live all the time in large supper club and dance stage venues on a regular basis, they WORKED for their money.

[@hockemeyer1]

This movie has some of America's greatest entertainers including Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, Lena Horne and Dizzy Gillespie.

[@debjorgo]

Most of these big bands would play for a guest singer. Or they would have a roster of singers. The band leader usually played an instrument. Some singers, like Calloway, had their own band.

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@blessed5545]

First of all this is pure genius. This was done in one take. The Nicholas Brothers are the best tap dancers in the world. They danced with nothing but elegance. No one today could do this routine. No, there were no special effects done in this. This was all GOD given talent. Cab Calloway is the leader of the band and lastly, you talk too much during the whole video. Watch the video and then talk.

[@sissybushnell7959]

They did this in one take. Pure talent

[@darrinlindsey]

You said you know Cab Calloway, then you proceed to call him a band leader. He was a singer who, sometimes, pretended to be a band leader. When it comes down to it, he was an entertainer. And a damn good one.

[@beaujac311]

Cab was the band leader of his band. He picked those players himself. At one time the great Dizzy Gillespie was member of his band. Cab fired him because he thought that Dizzy had thrown a spitball during a show. Dizzy was very adamant about having not thrown the spitball, but Cab did not believe him. Anyway Dizzy ended up stabbing Cab in the leg after Cab said something like he would whoop Dizzy's ass.

[@kellyalves756]

In the movie he was the club owner (“the Gator”). So him jumping in to be the conductor makes sense. But seriously- it’s jazz. If the conductor wants to burst into song, that’s what the he’ll do.

[@kevinthomas4006]

Cab was a bandleader and singer. They weren't necessarily mutually exclusive. A more modern version of a bandleader/singer is Harry Connick Jr..

[@tamiramos5873]

Love this!!!! So talented!!! I visited Cab Calloway's resting place in September. Cool guys!

[@lillydee5978]

YES! Recognize! Cab Calloway is the true origin of Hip Hop, not some obscure 1980's minor one hit wonder! His showmanship was also a major influence on Rock and Roll. Cab started it ALL! BTW, the Nicolas Brothers did all that in 1 take.

[@debjorgo]

The first interracial dance scene in the movies was in 1935's The Little Colonel with Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson. It was a pretty cool scene where they tap danced up and down a staircase. Unfortunately, the scene had to be cut when the movie played in the south.

[@Xcris_crosX]

I’m glad to see young people finally learning about their musical history. Cab Calloway was Hip half a century before HipHop. Jive talk was created by him and his era which ushered in today’s Ebonics. Please do some research on the iconic Zoot Suit and its impact on American history. In the following video Cab is in a b/w clip so it doesn’t show that he’s wearing a canary yellow Zoot Suit. Please react to: Cab Calloway Geechy Joe 1941

[@Xcris_crosX]

Geechy Joe was released in 1941 but it was performed in 1943 for the movie Stormy Weather

[@beaujac311]

Ebonics was totally different than speaking slang.

[@Xcris_crosX]

@@beaujac311 Harlem Jive was speech created by jazz and bluesmen of that time. “In 1938, jazz bandleader and singer Cab Calloway published the first dictionary by an African-American, Cab Calloway's Cat-ologue: A "Hepster's" Dictionary, which became the official jive language reference book of the New York Public Library.” “Cab Calloway was taking ownership of language for a people who, just a few generations before, had their own languages taken away."

[@beaujac311]

@@Xcris_crosX Jive talk was just another way of speaking slang. Ebonics was how many black people talked in their everyday lives. Ebonics is now called African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

[@Xcris_crosX]

@@beaujac311 Yes I know what Ebonics means. Jive was also a language. But whatever, you believe whatever you want. Free country and all

[@wickedmirage]

Black history in America is much deeper, classy and sophisticated that people have been lead to believe.

[@faithnyou1732]

One of the most amazing things about this performance is that they did this song/dance routine for the movie in one take! Amazing! Great reaction and analysis! Thank you!

[@kwanshiyin]

Fayard Nicholas' unusual first name was suggested by a family friend who had traveled to France and encountered the name there. Harold Lloyd Nicholas was named after a famous silent film comedian of the time.

[@jillcnc]

The greatest musical number ever put on film -- or ever will be. I was lucky enough to see Cab Calloway on stage in a production of a very early jukebox musical called "Bubblin' Brown Sugar," featuring songs by Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, Count Basie, Cab Calloway and Fats Waller. Eubie Blake may still have been alive (he lived to 100, I think), but only Cab was in this -- and it was in a road company playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ. This was probably 1979. Cab was an old man by then, but he still brought the house down. A year later he'd be in "The Blues Brothers" movie. The hot gal in the black gown on stage is Lena Horne and the fellow next to her is Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. This movie had a star-studded cast of everyone who was anyone in Black show business. Now you have to check out the Lindy Hop sequence in "Hellzapoppin'. Frankie Manning is like a Lindy Hop god. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3fThmivpbGlgbM

[@nancy12452]

this scene was done in one take!

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

That's Amazing! Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@howardmoore1332]

Each section of the dancing was done in one take, but not the entire routine.

[@yambo59]

Band leader is the famous Cab Calloway, and the dancers are the incomperable Nicolas Brothers, the two best tap dancers that ever lived, not just dancer but bonafide atheletes.

[@comedygirl26]

I heard somewhere that Feyard named Harold he also taught himself to dance then his brother. was fluent in multiple languages. and sang in Portuguese in Down Argentine Way.

[@chrisester2910]

Jazz is one of the grandparents of rock, hip hop, rap, and most other modern music.

[@kimberleyphillips6671]

I fell in luv with Cab Calloway when i saw "The Blue's Brothers." He was the King of Scat and the Nicholas Brothers were the Kings of Aerobic Tap. I've watched this so many times and it never gets old. (I still say ouchy everytime). ❤

[@325diane]

Not only were they brilliant dancers, they had an extremely strong work ethic. Like Fred Astaire, the Nicholas Brothers put in the time and work. They would rehearse over and over, again and again, until they knew it couldn't be any better. The highest standard, and damn, it showed!

[@owl-gd6ce]

Talent pure talent!!! Holy you know what !!!!

[@MisterApol]

The Nicholas Bros. are some *serious* dancers!

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

No Doubt! Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@petermorgan768]

The name of the pianist is Benny Payne. He is one of the 3 pianists that played in Cab Calloway's Cotton Club Orchestra.

[@oreally8605]

Imagine going to dinner and this is your entertainment? From 1920 to 1950. Black people thrived. Spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially. No rampant Black on Black crime, no teenage pregnancy all the time, Church going Bible believing Christians, our own Banks, Businesses, and entertainment. You've witnessed how we had fun. Cherish those times and bring them back people. Bring them back...

[@louisemarvel4245]

They did that in one take...it was perfect. One and done

[@Ira88881]

They did this dance in one take, no cuts or edits, the first time. Of course they rehearsed on the full set, with Cab, the orchestra members and extras…but when the director yelled “action” and it was time to film, they got it right the first time. However, the music and singing was prerecorded…they just danced to it…and the tap dancing sounds had to be later altered/created/overdubbed in final editing. There’s simply no way, even nowadays with more modern technology, to record that tap dancing considering the few hundred square feet they were dancing around.

[@lspthrattan]

Filmed in ONE take. Now, THAT'S skill!

[@mbsheisey]

Cab Calloway was "scat" singing. This is the thing in jazz.

[@Dej24601]

The film was shot in 2 months in 1943; this dance number was done in one take. However, editing was an advanced art (many editors in the early decades of film were women) and pioneered many techniques still used today-they were done by hand instead of by computers. The entire film is filled with song and dance numbers and definitely worth watching. Since great care was taken by the costumers, makeup & hair designers, lighting designers, cinematographers and set designers to make the film look best in black & white (adding lots of high contrast and shadows), the colorization doesn’t add anything and in fact can make many films look more faded and less dramatic since the sharpness is lost.

[@kellyalves756]

Holy hell you dragged poor Fayard! 😂😂😂

[@MIXPRO68]

that was done in one take.that was the skills back then!! the performers back then was astounding!!!!

[@darthcheney7447]

Brother, I'm sixty and I grew up in Detroit and I remember "Bill Kennedy At The Movies" and I do believe it was Bill Kennedy At The Movies, that I saw this movie for the first time when I was sick and home from school sometime in the mid 70's. To this day, "Stormy Weather" is of my favorite movies of all time. Also when I fell in love with Lena Horne. I'm a white dude btw.

[@andyleclerc3600]

Cab Calloway is one of the all time greats. I slso have to mention Louis Jordan...the grandfather of rock and roll. He had some great songs, too.

[@belvagurr403]

Cab played Curtis in BLUES BROTHERS, did a show at the end of the movie.

[@chrisester2910]

Since this is 1943, not long after the Great Depression, most of these performers probably started out as children literally singing (or dancing or playing) for their supper in the 1930s.

[@melenatorr]

On stage behind Calloway are Lena Horne and Bill "Bo Jangles" Robinson. "Stormy Weather" was Horne's signature song; Robinson was one of the greatest tap dancers of his generation.

[@htbald1]

What they would do back then is do a number of rehearsals before they would do the actual filming. FYI, Harold Nicholas was married to Dorothy Dandridge!

[@PaulImprota]

This IS the Cotton Club Orchestra.

[@mapegatkinson92]

They performed at the Cotton Club for years-all of them.

[@pennydreadfull]

You should watch the whole movie. Lena Horne is amazing in it! The whole movie and cast is amazing!❤❤❤❤ I was lucky enough to grow up on movies like this!

[@tomchris60]

1943's "Stormy Weather" as well as "Cabin In The Sky" were groundbreaking because they were big budget musicals with an all black cast. That's why you see the rare spectacle of a black audience at a club.

[@sfbayareagirl]

Fats Waller, legendary pianist (you called it, he was someone). This movie, Stormy Weather, was one of the original films with an all-black cast and crew. Watch the film if you ever get a chance. history. Really enjoyed your reaction and comments.

[@patriciagerresheim2500]

When Cab Calloway starts singing nonsense syllables, that's known as 'scat singing'. From what i understand, it was invented on the fly by Louis Armstrong when his sheet music fell off the music stand during a recording session, and it would have been too expensive to start over with a new wax disc. (Since recordings were made by a sharp needles carving grooves in a wax master disc, performers were said to 'cut a record', much as one would 'burn a disc' today.) The Nicholas Brothers were self-taught, Their jump-splits were iconic, You can see Aladdin and the Genie do them at the end of the live-action 'Friend Like Me'. Harold also recreates them during the Challenge Scene in dance film 'Tap', featuring Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis, Jr., and a host of old-school tap legends.

[@jackiecarson859]

Wait one damn minute. Yes, if you mention Bill Kennedy, you ARE from Detroit. Dude is still legendary. He mainly showed Westerns, WWII and gangster movies. I'm 66, and grew up watching his show, as well as Rita Bell's Prize Movies, which had mainly comedies and musicals, also called 'white telephone movies'...ultra glam films during the Great Depression and WWII. Marcelled hair, slinky dresses, tuxedos, and the shiniest shoes you'd ever see.

[@shellygill5029]

It was a joy watching your reactions to this, and your knowledge from watching the Ken Burns docu. Also, you took the time in the beginning to read some of the tnfo. to give you clarify on what you were watching. Kudos to you.

[@yvonneplant9434]

Black Americans created/invented jazz. It's from us and our talent and God- given greatness. You shouldn't need blipping Ken Burns educating you about jazz. But I am very happy you are seeing this. The Nicholas Bros. were GOATs before there was such a term. This was done in one take.

[@sheltonmackey6449]

This was the era of the BE BOP generation

[@jeromehomiak4138]

I think this may have been filmed at the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club was the premier spot for musicians of color from the 20's to the 4o's. They hosted the best of the best Black, white all welcomed.

[@beaujac311]

This was filmed in California.

[@suzannejensen8218]

This is an all black movie. It's real.

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

it wasn't a matter of band members saying, _"Fuck this. I got my own thing."_ it was about the new guys having to earn their chops and the respect of the other performers. they had to spend time in the proverbial salt mines to prove themselves. then once they showed what they had and what they could do, they'd made a name for themselves and could attract another "generation" of musicians/performers to be the new guys with their band. think of it as a Master-Apprentice relationship.

[@CuzKatieSaysSo]

Yep. One take. Extraordinary.

[@Eniral441]

There were a lot of places where the performers were black and the audience was white... like the Cotton Club. My grandmother used to go to the Cotton Club, and wherever Count Basie was playing to do dancing around the time this movie was made.

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

Your Grandma must've had some GREAT stories about those days! Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@user-zg5rl3xu6f]

They were at a club , thats what clubs looked back then . That were we went after a hard week of work . Class all the way , women dressed up looked beautiful , men wore suits and hats

[@user-yk5ld8tj2h]

Stormy Weather was a film that showcased some of the greats.

[@VangelVe]

It would be best if you did more research about names, my friend. Harold is a Scanadavain name meaning the leader of an army. Feyard may be a Carribean name that came from the Norse or French. They were born just before the Harlem Renaissance began to flourish to parents who were accomplished musicians. The names were not randomly picked and meant something.

[@t.l.robinson2162]

Young people think that rap is new. Cab Calloway was doing it before we were born.

[@JohnWilson-po2uk]

This scene was shot with no cuts. You saw it as it was shot ..

[@mapegatkinson92]

Singer Lena Horne was the star of the movie Stormy Weather. She is on the stage at the end of this video.

[@davidleedutton]

This whole movie is well worth watching. This is the big finish, but before that you get Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Lena Horne, and Fats Waller, among others.

[@joannechatman8536]

There were people if color in the movie because ALL were getting shipped out to go to war. The storyline was to show that it made no difference who was leaving, because all were fighting for the same freedoms .

[@beaujac311]

We know that story line was not true in actuality.

[@BillColeExperience]

Cab Calloway was attached to the Cotton Club in Harlem

[@charlesflager1970]

They did all that in one take bro!

[@GN-jn1ty]

Black clubs in the Harlem renaissance in the 20's was where Cab got his start. Black clubs remained a thing, but in the 40's the "regular" entertainment industry started to buy out the black artists. In the short term, it led to the collapse of the "black clubs", but eventually (60+ years? - is it here yet?) led to blacks being included in the entertainment industry generally.

[@yvonneplant9434]

Little Richard had an effing huge amount of processed hair. So did James Brown. 😂 It was the style then.

[@kirkrelf1402]

I don't have my glasses on so I can't see if someone else already commented. The most famouts part of this movie is Lena Horne singing Stormy Weather. If you haven't already, please look that up on KZbin. Stories and stories and stories about this magnificent talent.

[@mr.knowitall6440]

First off, the vast majority of people couldn't even go up those stairs... and coming down would just be one SPLAT! Done. 😳😱

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

Mos Def! Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@victoriapowell6318]

I think they call what Cab Calloway is doing "scatting".

[@marysue7165]

I'm so glad to see this. I've always loved old movies and was the weird kid who hanted rock and roll but love the sound from those big bands. I was in college who I had a name for it, swing. Now I'm an old lady and still feel the same. I am thrilled that those much younger than me see how wonderful this music is! It gives me hope that this music will always be appreciated and seen.

[@sissybushnell7959]

Black men with multicultural ancestry had straight hair. MY fathers hair was the same way

[@simbahunter8894]

Indeed Cab Calloway was famous for his naturally straight hair and he used to whip it hard as his trademark, as he does at the beginning of the song. The Nicholas Brothers had wavy hair. There are no men in this film with pressed hair.

[@HRConsultant_Jeff]

This was in Black and white and colorized later. I prefer the original B&W because the colorization blurs the quality just a little.

[@cathybrown8334]

I saw Cab Calloway live.

[@melissabrooke1146]

This was a great movie. I watched it recently 😃❤️

[@yvettemoore3442]

Loved "Is this the first rap? Yo, he just spit a verse"! Uh, yeah he did!

[@SteveTablet]

NOBODY in that audience or on that stage were what YOU called them, none. But now we are all forced to have them all around and look at it.

[@technicianbis5250]

3:43 "is this the first rap" rap has been around a long time sonny, even before i was born. 😆😂

[@writebrain-zn2um]

Check out the zoot suits on the guys on stage in the last segment!

[@sharonspencer2796]

It's a black audience. The movie, it's from an all cast black movie, "Stormy Weather." Staring Lena Horne..

[@robsambosky6444]

GREETINGS EARTH GUY: I think band leaders are generally instrumental musicians.

[@oldschoolhip-hopheadriorea9178]

Thanks for the View & Comment!

[@beaujac311]

In general but not in this case. Cab Calloway was the band leader. He was in control of his band.

[@johnpauly5524]

After reading Malcolm X and what he had to go through to get his hair straightened…just wonder if it was any easier for a rich black entrepreneur I think the one Nicholas Brother was messing with that sax player that was ducking out of the way…by swinging his leg over his head

[@yowzephyr]

When the Germans saw the American athleticism of the Nicholas Brothers doing those tremendous leaping splits, the Germans knew then and there that they weren't going to make it.

[@sharonspencer2796]

That was Lena Horne and Mr. Bojangles on the stage.

[@yvonneplant9434]

They grew up in Philly which still has a lot of talented hoofers although unless you care about tap you wouldn't know it. 🎉

[@gagecarty4290]

Cab was the band leader and singer, the dancers are the Nicholas Brothers not twins. Check out the movie it features a number of early famous actors 😮 The movie can be found on KZbin, one take. No I about the life of a black dancer from the south though WW1

[@kt_kroovy1031]

Anyone who says that dancers aren't athletes should attempt this choreography and then come talk to me 🌟🦇🌟

[@beaujac311]

You can have your own opinion on Harold and Fayard's names but I totally disagree with you. They would probably think some of these names today are messed up.

[@carolmoilanen4530]

Not twins but real brothers

[@janetmccausland8953]

You should watch the entire film in the original B&W