Ethel Smith - Tico Tico

[@ylvesamorosino1616]

The fantastic and fabulous Ethel Smith playing a typical music of my country Brazil, in a film with another Diva....Esther Willians.

[@GTX1123]

This was one of my favorites my little 5 foot tall grandmother used to play. She could actually play it close to that tempo. Her little hands would fly across those keys and her feet would be flying over those bass pedals. A lot of great memories of her playing this on warm summer nights. She was a great musician. She and her mother played the theater organ in the silent movie era. Five of her nine children were musicians. Me and my brother carry on that legacy.

[@mandolinic]

I suppose having 5 feet helped a lot with playing the bass pedals. ;-)

[@davidcolintunstall6048]

@@mandolinic 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

[@charlesdavis7087]

Who was your grand - mother? Ethel Smith. Very few people can actually play this mighty work... on the Hammond B-3 and Ethel played in high-heels. Wonder of wonders. History... was us. Don't tell anybody I said so.

[@GTX1123]

@@charlesdavis7087 My grandmother was barely 5 feet tall. She had tiny feet but I can still remember her little feet moving all over those bass pedals when she played this song on the organ. 4 of her sons were accomplished musicians - all keyboard players. The oldest of the 4 did a live album with legendary Rockabilly guitarist Danny Gatton around 1967.

[@heathjamessr.771]

Please post videos of you guys playing these days

[@ntraha]

a masterpiece. Unforgettable.She made history .

[@jennic.548]

LOVE, love love this.. Her outfit.. and shoes... beautiful..that color is fabulous..

[@LukePalmer]

Yeah and she is kind of ok at organ I guess

[@hoopiedoo]

I dig the victory roll in her hair and percussion. Love it, too.

[@mescko]

If only ladies could look like ladies again. You can call me misogynist if you want, I don't give a f**k. I don't want someone who looks and dresses like me.

[@cliffwheeler7357]

If KZbin had been around when my dear old dad was alive, he would have been playing this non stop. He loved Ethel Smith’s playing.

[@mbmb-i8v]

Ethel Smith could really play! She deserved much more adulation and and wide-spread fame than she received. I played this piece in her arrangement as a teenager, and it was a delight to find the real thing here. Thank you! mb

[@mikaelabowen5781]

Absolutely epic! Anyone who can play like this in blue strappy heels is a true star.

[@mescko]

My Mum, who loved Ethel (we had the original RCA 45 of Tico Tico in our Zenith Cabinet 'Hi-Fi' in our living room when I was a kid), always said that the organist that played at my parents' wedding could play jazz organ like this.

[@arturrodrigues1345]

Deu a preula! As Gringas tiraram onda! Awesome, the ladies made a great song!

[@gigimenu]

Verdade. Elas tocaram muito, difícil ver gringo tocando assim! Arrasaram . Se foram elas mesmo né.

[@cesar_8336]

Isso é português de Portugual?

[@jeffneis553]

Ethel Smith, the finest player on the Hammond Organ that ever lived !!

[@danwat1234]

Check out Cherry Wainer too!

[@marshallartz395]

And in the jazz world, the great Jimmy Smith! 😎🎹

[@keithpennington8259]

How enchanting!!! Love the music and the hair styles of the 40's

[@davidrobertnewman]

Interesting 360-degree panning shot from about 1:05 to 1:47. This is one of the earliest examples, and couldn’t have been easy to film.

[@dojmike]

It looks like Ethel is playing the Hammond model BC from the late 1930s and 1940s. I had one that was just like it but mine was heavily damaged by being left in the back room of a church with a leaky roof. I restored my 1937 wood cabinet, tossed out the dual tone generators and all the other original electronics, and then transplanted all the electronics and keyboards from a 1954 model C-2. Then I added Trek II percussion and reverb and recapped the C-2 tone generator. This resulted in essentially a Hammond B-3 that sounds as good as it did from the 1960s. I then used this organ in my Classic Rock band for about 10 years and enjoyed it tremendously. There is nothing better than the sound of a classic tone wheel Hammond organ!

[@j.dragon651]

and next to nothing more difficult for the band to move.

[@kpyng]

Jon Lord and Keith Emerson, eat your hearts out...

[@spanishjo4282]

World number one charismatic Tico Tico pianist Queen!

[@drgeoffangel5422]

There's more talent in Ethel Smith' s fingers than you will find today! without looking far and wide! Extremely talented! real talent!

[@skaneverdies]

The fastest version of Tico Tico I've ever heard by several magnitudes. A superhuman.

[@whalesong999]

Fits well with the original title of the song, "Sparrow in the Cornmeal".

[@denniserrolhawley2762]

I am a diehard Ethel Smith fan!!!! I consider her as the greatest performer to ever play a Hammond organ!!!! I have always favored equipment like organs that use vacuum tubes!!!! I never liked anything that does not use vacuum tubes!!!! THANKS FOR POSTING THIS!!!!

[@Lvatopesado]

Same here, except when I have to move it, then I use the much lighter solid state board.

[@davegibson1432]

They just had this movie on TCM, from 1944, Bathing Beauty with Red Skelton and Esther Williams. Some movies back then were something of a variety show: comedy, swimming talents & musical numbers. Also included in the movie are some musical numbers by the great Harry James Orchestra. This would have been excellent entertainment for our WWII troops overseas….lots of pretty girls featured. This movie is loaded with all kinds of talent, in living color (unusual for the time)! My mom had a Hammond organ…..such a distinctive sound through the years from pop, jazz to rock.

[@robt5818]

Two people named Smith helped popularize the Hammond organ: in the 1940s it was Ethel Smith, and in the 1950s Jimmy Smith.

[@GooglFascists]

The inimitable Hammond organ! Its still prominent in rock, blues and pop music concerts, with the old Hammond "B" being tenderly fetched out onto the stage before the performance. They made a few newer models without the old vacuum tubes, but nothing beats the sound of the original Hammond "tone generator".

[@Gods2ndFavoriteBassPlyr]

I wondered if I was the only one who would notice that. You just can't beat the sound of an old Hammond!

[@Geonorth1]

Or the tactile feel.

[@simonbeck7446]

The tone generator itself is entirely electromechanical and has nothing to do with vacuum tubes. It is only the amplification which is tube-based - the entire tone-production system (including vibrato and chorus) uses nothing but motors, gear wheels, and metal "tonewheels" rotating next to magnetic pickups. The tubes are a very minor part of the sound.

[@tjgere]

Further on the "sound" of the B3, I don't think she used a Leslie speaker on this... just judging by the sound. The Leslie is what really thrust the Hammond organs unto the modern day (1960s and on) music scene.

[@tjgere]

​​@@simonbeck7446... I agree that the tubes on a B3 did not contribute much to the amplified sound, except "leakage" introduced during the pre-amp signal processing of the tonewheel generation system to audio line levels prior to slamming it through a couple of Leslie 122's ;--)

[@michaelclendenen4005]

It was great just listening to it .I wish some of that music could return just to dance to

[@CaiophoneBA]

She was awesome! Some speed on those hands!!! Great talent!

[@profgyland2]

She was a genius on the Hammond and the Hammond B was a genius in itself. Here are two genii.

[@TheTmny876able]

This without doubt the greatest organist song i have ever heard, superb.

[@irmavergara8046]

Mi melodia favorita es la que llena mi vida con ganas de seguir ese ritmo maravilloso gracias

[@expoguy2]

Ethel married actor Ralph Bellamy the following year (1945) but they had a very short-lived marriage which lasted only two years. Ethel didn’t approve of his drinking and Ralph claimed in his divorce testimony that she locked him out of their Manhattan apartment numerous times when he didn’t arrive home 15-minutes after the last curtain-call. Ralph was Ethel’s second (and last) husband and Ethel was Ralph’s third wife….he married his fourth wife in 1949.

[@MouseFloof]

I'd kill for hand-eye coordination and dexterity like hers

[@PODMTHC]

You'd kill? Why dont you practice instead of taking somebody's life

[@caesarsneezer6992]

@@PODMTHC good line, thanks, humor will out

[@BetamaxFlippy]

@@PODMTHC furries and anger management aren't a famous mix...

[@ronaldpatten5644]

Ditto!

[@caseyfaubion9785]

Word

[@Per-Olovkindgren]

OMG! I laughed so hard! This is amazing and weird in so many ways! Look at the ladies' faces! I can't define if it is real happiness or Hollywood acting. Well, I laughed and it made me happy... so... Thank you!

[@manifestgtr]

It’s acting…I’m sure this was their 15th take and half of them are probably hopped up on studio goofenal but hay. That’s 20th century Hollywood for ya 🤷‍♂️

[@profgyland2]

Don't forget this is an original and nearly 100 years old. There are very few such as Ethel Smith and the Hammond B. By the way, I owned the company in the 1980th.

[@frankyst3537]

Tico-tico no fubá is a Choro: Brazilian musical genre that emerged in the 19th century, it is probably the most famous Choro in the world.

[@TheTmny876able]

The greatest organist of all time, the is no other i am in love with Ethel !

[@robertcoffey1938]

I AGREE WITH YOU 100 % , THANKS FOR POSTING THIS UP,

[@miwelgonza1606]

ERA EXTRAORDINARIA ETHEL. ❤❤

[@TheTmny876able]

wow she is THE greatest organist of all time, astonishing !

[@tjcolatrella943]

Bob Margolin of The Muddy Waters Band shared this with me, as a major influence on the Great Garth Hudson of THE BAND who we were both fortunate and honored to have played and recorded with..

[@lucianoantoniomoraeszanell2374]

No Brasil: "Escola de Sereias", com Esther Williams (Rio, 9/12/20).

[@SuperJujar]

...TICO-TICO NO FARELO - 1917 O centenário choro Tico-Tico no Fubá foi composto no Interior do estado de São Paulo, por Zequinha de Abreu e se tornou uma das canções brasileiras mais conhecidas do mundo. Suas notas se revelaram expressão da música enquanto linguagem universal, fazendo com que sua melodia evocasse usos e costumes de todo o planeta. Em qualquer cultura que tenha sido executada, por músicos locais, encantou, emocionou e fez todos dançarem no embalo do chorinho brasileiro. (...) José Gomes de Abreu, mais conhecido como Zequinha de Abreu (Santa Rita do Passa Quatro-SP, 19 de setembro de 1880 / Capital-SP, 22 de janeiro de 1935), músico, compositor e instrumentista, tocava flauta, clarinete e requinta. Zequinha Abreu foi organizador e regente de orquestras e bandas no interior paulista. Com seis anos de idade já mostrava que tinha vocação para a música, tirando melodias da flauta. Ainda durante o curso primário organizou uma banda na escola, da qual ele mesmo era o regente. Com 10 anos, já tocava requinta, flauta e clarineta na banda e ensaiava suas primeiras composições. Zequinha de Abreu se casou aos 18 anos com Durvalina Brasil, de 14 anos. O casal morou por alguns meses no Distrito de Santa Cruz da Estrela, atual Jacerandi, próximo a Santa Rita. Cuidavam de uma farmácia e de uma classe de ensino primário. De volta a Santa Rita, Zequinha coordenou o trabalho da orquestra com os cargos de secretário da Câmara Municipal e de escrevente da Coletoria Estadual. (...) Foi apresentada pela primeira vez em um baile da cidade de Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, em 1917, com o título "Tico-Tico no Farelo". A canção recebeu o nome atual em 1931, já que existia outra de mesmo título, composta por Canhoto. No mesmo ano foi incluída pela primeira vez em disco, gravado pela Orquestra Colbaz. Foi gravada pela organista Ethel Smith em 1941, que fez grande sucesso internacional, e também por Ray Conniff. Em 1942, regravada pela Rainha do Chorinho Ademilde Fonseca. Carmen Miranda gravou em 1945, pela Decca Records, uma versão criada por Aloísio de Oliveira. Atingiu o ápice de sua popularidade nos anos 1940, quando fez parte de nada menos do que seis filmes em Hollywood, inclusive filmes estrelados por Esther Williams. A canção aparace com duas letras, uma feita no Brasil, e outra versão escrita nos Estados Unidos por Aloísio de Oliveira para Carmen Miranda que a gravou pela Decca Records em 1945, e a apresentou no filme Copacabana de 1947, no qual contracena com o Groucho Marx. Parte da história sobre a canção foi contada no filme Tico-tico no Fubá de 1952, dirigido por Adolfo Celi. Tico-tico no Fubá possui centenas de regravações, sendo a de Carmem Miranda a mais popular e executada por dezenas de orquestras e filarmônicas internacionais, além de ser trilha de 7 filmes. (Pesquisa/colaboração de Juares de Marcos Jardim - Santo André / São Paulo-SP)

[@marko4408]

Muito Obrigado señjor☝👍🎶🎼🍹!

[@TheTmny876able]

No one can play this better than Ethel, amazing !

[@stephenfurniss8130]

She always wore such lovely shoes.. and played in high heels!

[@stevegoodrum2168]

love the long circular take. Boy she can play.

[@39thala]

Ethel was the first musician to really put the Hammond on the map!

[@shawnmcculley2995]

You are ABSOLUTELY correct!!

[@MYGREYGARDENS]

She WAS ! After this film, the home organ craze began and lasted well into the 80s ! Heartbreaking to have to give up my Hammond when my parents gave up their home 4 years ago

[@kegginstructure]

@@MYGREYGARDENS - correct regarding popularity of home organs. At one time you had nearly a dozen brands available in the USA: Allen, Baldwin, Hammond, Lowrey, Story & Clark, Wersi, Wurlizter, Thomas, Technics, Yamaha, and a couple of more I can't ever remember. I had a Lowrey in my home until I was about 30, then bought a Technics F3. Now I have a Technics F5. Ethel Smith had a lot of record albums out and paved the way for a new generation of organists. After her, the electronic organ was far more appreciated.

[@j.dragon651]

It is difficult to even give organs of this size away anymore. Every time I see an add for one for sale I think good luck. Unless it is a Hammond you are probably going to have to give it away.

[@dajonjackson6893]

Im in love with her....lol. Mane she working the Hammond out!!!! Now she the queen hands down

[@Jammoko]

You get behind me in the queue Dajon! :)

[@rosekween1]

flying fingers - & her feet kept up with them !! wasn't she absolutely amazing ?

[@sergioeduardo1430]

Que época maravilhosa.. .que mulheres lindas...música magnífica.....viva o Brasil

[@rcruz4510]

She also did the "Blame It On The Samba" segment for Disney's omnibus animated musical "Melody Time" (1948). Donald Duck and Joe Carioca (the parrot) dance around her, then heat things up by sticking a match in Ethel's toes and lighting it!

[@pwk22]

The 360 degree drone shot around the piano was amazing.

[@theresachiorazzi4571]

Ethyl made that organ talk. She was darn good.

[@yannyrocha5289]

Tico Tico no Fuba, is the happiest song ever!

[@dale19532]

anyone else remember this while roller skating in the 50's 60's?

[@effyleven]

Yeah, at the Forest Gate Roller Rink.

[@filiprysavy2886]

Nope.

[@Jammoko]

Is this toon... Tico Tico?

[@kellyjay7448]

Is it true she was Liberace's mother?

[@jmontarsi]

I still have my original 1940s plaster shellac disc record of this recording somewhere in my garage. When I was a kid I loved it! It was a prize possession. 😍🤣

[@valeriecampbell9581]

Well played Ethel, I can play this but not nearly as fast except in my dreams

[@B3burner]

She is every bit as badass as Jon Lord & Keith Emerson.

[@patternbased]

epic banger from back in the day.

[@DandyDon1]

That's a Hammond BC from the late 1930s. You can see the chorus generator Drawbar on the far right side.

[@SoggySandwich80]

It’s crazy that organ was only 10 years at the time

[@DandyDon1]

@@SoggySandwich80 I went back and looked again, to make sure I was right, and as the camera pans around Ethel and the console, you can see the chorus Drawbar for a second or two, and it is pulled out (on). For reference the Hammond BC was manufactured Dec 1936 to Nov 1942 (about 13000 made).

[@tikifrog]

Those shoes......yes please, oh and the music's triffic too.

[@austing1066]

AMAZING! SYSK brought me here.

[@billbickley2277]

Super Great Playing Thanks Follow That...................................................................Bill Bickley UK

[@1940limited]

Such an adorable girls band even though it wasn't intended as such. Great video.

[@Foxybiker72]

To the youngsters Not a computer interface in sight. This is how organs were really played just really hard work

[@cacti-goon2995]

Yesterday and today I purchased some of the exchanged wartime letters from a couple (Dennis and Gertrude Heaves for those of you wondering) and in her letter written to Dennis she mentions this song.. it's so odd to listen to as I read her thoughts

[@TheTmny876able]

This lady is absoloutley incredible, Klaus himself would be proud

[@richardmcleod5967]

Ethel Smith probably blew a lot of vacuum tubes when she played a Hammond Organ. They were so popular RCA Victor made vacuum tubes just for Hammond Organs. Others such as Conn were not forgotten either!

[@theresachiorazzi4571]

She played tico tico like none other man she was good.

[@ScotsPipe]

🎵A Techno BPM this is to be Sure of its Driving Rhythm ! & Glorious catchy Melody 🎵 " imagine a Mint & kind Remix of this Olde Time Vintage Classic Organist & Bongo Banging Dames ,It could be A Classic House 🏠 Choon 🎵👍❤️😛🤘

[@kiapotintia93]

BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL CLASSIC MUSIC TICO BRAZIIAN LUXURY CLASSIC MUSIC BRAVO BABY 👏👏👏👏👏🙏💋

[@fcowagner3151]

LATS GOO BRAZIL...💪🏾🇧🇷👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@paulht3251]

Amazing. If this where today the organ would be playing all the backup , drums and all .

[@lucianohortencio]

TICO-TICO NO FUBÁ Composer: ZEQUINHA DE ABREU!

[@IVONETE2911]

MARAVILHOSAS!!!!!!!

[@eddiebeato5546]

AMAZING!!!!

[@TheTmny876able]

to date no one has beaten this performance

[@paxguns]

Thank you posting. She has two hidden hands.

[@ВалерийРоманов-в1х]

Фрагмент фильма ,, Купающаяся красавица,,/1944 год/в котором американская органистка Этель Смит исполнила музыкальное произведение ,, Tico-Tico no fuba,,/1917 год создания произведения/автор бразильский композитор Зекинья де Абреу! Брависсимо!!! Светлая память! С уважением, Валерий Романов.

[@yergeoff]

this is incredible

[@xylfox]

Ah! On the Hammond with this great piece of Zequinha de Abreu

[@dale19532]

My parents' favorite flea hop song while skating!

[@marcosrj3160]

Inacreditável e Maravilhosa!!!!!

[@gentsw13]

INDEED!

[@Jammoko]

That's one sharp lady... and it does'nt matter what year; a good looking gal is a good looking gal! She sure rips on the Hammond!

[@theresachiorazzi4571]

She was the best ❤❤

[@uilmaramachadodemelo2416]

SENSATIONAL !!! WHAT AMAZING WOMEN! I LOVED!!! These are moments that I thank for the achievement of equal rights between men and women! (BRAZIL) /// SENSACIONAL!!! QUE MULHERES INCRÍVEIS! AMEI!!! São, nestes momentos, que agradeço a conquista de igualdade de direitos entre homens e mulheres! (BRASIL)

[@andrepaupiere7918]

J 'adore la musique et le film le bal des sirène et Ethel Smith joue dedans 🎉❤❤

[@dale19532]

My parents did a mean flea hop on roller skates to this song! I was quite envious, as the best I could do was a free skate! Tried taking lessons in later years, but lacked the talent, as any of my former choreographers could tell you!

[@jpstenino]

It must of been a great pleasure shooting this segment.

[@absoluteaudio0028]

brilliant and surreal

[@JC-yu4ju]

só existe dois tipos de musicas, as boas e as ruim, esta é excelente e muito bem tocada,

[@J3unG]

Wow! the woman has serious badass chops. good lord.

[@TheTmny876able]

For men this is heaven Ethel and a room full of beautiful girls !

[@milye7163]

except they´re all dead now; (

[@LFOVCF]

Bloody hell, she could play! Also this was memory, not reading music. WOW!

[@ppsvandijk]

Incredible how creative and far Americans were ahead of their time than. And great play of course!

[@j.dragon651]

and how stupid and behind the times we are now.

[@nashkii227]

Her hands equal to 4 human's hand

[@jorgearmandosaavedracastro1745]

Excelente organista

[@CINEMATOGRAPHERGR]

what to say ? only i love it ...perfect version

[@clarice8610]

lindo demaissssssssss!!!!!!!!!

[@gmedeiros5748]

That’s gorgeous

[@leandrobresolin8427]

Neste momento em que o Brasil chega a mais de 320 mil mortos por COVID 19 e o governo federal e muito menos o congresso nacional fazem qualquer coisa para ajudar o povo, ouvir a nossa música sendo executada com grande maestria é um alento para os nossos corações . Muito obrigado.

[@junidf]

Imbecil...a mortalidade no Brasil não é a maior do mundo...e Bolsonaro já distribuiu 50 milhões de vacinas... 1 milhão de vacinas por dia...

[@ji7iij]

Fabulous !

[@echodelta9]

Can't stand to watch stretched videos, but always good to hear. I work on Hammond organs.

[@МарусяЧарская]

Лапочка!!! Как же тебя жалко птичка певчая! Забрала тебя эта проклятая болезнь!

[@beverlydietrich8684]

She was Fantastic'

[@TheTmny876able]

the greatest organist of all time, an i have heard them all.

[@santyrusso1402]

Bellissima musica.😊

[@CaptainSisko1972]

Love the accelerator! Full throttle!