FRED ESTAIRE The way you look tonight REACTION - I didnt know he could sing! First time hearing

[@jolenewitzel7919]

Fred always sang his songs in his movies. ❤

[@justinplayfair9827]

All of the Golden Age Broadway composers wanted Fred to be the first one to sing their songs, if they could get him. He sang Jerome Kern, George & Ira Gershwin, Deitz & Schwartz and Cole Porter in shows on Broadway in the 1920s. A slight voice, but an incredible sense of rhythm. He was also a pretty good drummer!

[@marybaillie8907]

Dancer, actor, singer, choreographer and presenter. Fred is one of the greatest popular music Dancer of all time. His career spanned 76 years, making 31 musical films, 4 TV specials and numerous recordings. Fred was so talented, with a lovely voice. So appealing. Great reaction Harri, Thanks. 👏👏 Cheers from Canada 🇨🇦

[@WillCamx]

He could also play the piano.

[@flutesong5527]

Yes, he was a lovely vocalist and was much sought after because of his ability to emote in a charming way

[@arturocostantino623]

He was Irving Berlin and Cole Porter’s favorite singer. And he did a very good jazz album with Oscar Peterson.

[@phylliswurm9473]

He was multi talented to say the least. Good choice. 👌

[@karowak1]

They were all multitalented entertainers

[@larrydewein]

Correct!!

[@susanp.7954]

Ahhhh... Fred & Ginger.... classic!.... Love it!❤❤.. Thank You!

[@marie_d8044]

He’s also really playing that piano. He was Irving Berlins favorite interpreter of his songs. Try “Puttin’ on the Ritz”

[@gatrbaitr]

Heaven, I'm in Heaven....remember the movie and song in the movie, The Green Mile? Yup, that was him too!

[@HarriBestReactions]

Oh i know that great song..

[@johnnytheb26]

A brilliant song by Irving Berlin. It's title is " Cheek to Cheek ".

[@janetmccausland8953]

Couple things. Ginger's shampoo is actually whippeed cream, as it was the only thing that didn't run down her face. This was Astaire's favorite of his own films. He was also proficient on drums and piano, and wrote music!

[@michaelaudreson7761]

He was known as the most popular singer among songwriters because his phrasing served the meaning of the song rather than his voice.

[@malcolmbrown7683]

When singers could sing and songwriters wrote wonderful songs.

[@karowak1]

I'm still in love with Ginger Rogers

[@vespoint]

He is my absolute favorite of all time.

[@johnnytheb26]

Always loved these old Hollywood musicals,..full of magical songs that bring back memories of a more innocent time. Jeff Lynne did a solo album , " Long Wave " where he covered loads of these old classics.

[@Fool3SufferingFools]

Paul McCartney has said one of his favorite songs is “Cheek to Cheek” by Fred Astaire. He wrote and sang the Wings song “You Gave Me the Answer” (1975) as a tribute to Astaire.

[@marymichael1211]

Thank you for this important information. The great Fred Astaire has had so much influence on so many and on culture. ✨

[@marktizzard47]

Wow a blast from the past .... Thanks

[@elainemarsh5170]

Fred was as respected as a singer as he was as a dancer. Which is saying something!

[@kentesdall308]

His voice is unforced and natural, you can understand every word, one of my favorite singers.

[@hmm3484]

Class…what’s usually missing from today’s movies and music. Love your reactions Harri.

[@rubyswaim1441]

He was an accomplished drummer too

[@dagmar.6954]

Fred Astaire is mostly known for his terrific dancing, choreography & acting. But he sang in a lot of the musicals (over 30) he was in. This song is from "Swing Town" from 1936. His most famous dance partner was Ginger Rogers.

[@JDP11768]

Swing Time

[@marymichael1211]

"Swing Time" is my favorite film of his. He also acted in some motion picture dramas, including "The Towering Inferno" and "On The Beach".

[@robertzimmerman2513]

Yes Harry that’s really Fred singing.

[@susanpeterson9947]

He was my Mom’s favorite singer and favorite dancer too. That was absolutely him singing!

[@markthomas2577]

Those old 1930s and 40s musicals were fantastic !

[@larrydewein]

You got that right! It's the music I grew up with and ALL I listen to even now!!

[@jimbennett1519]

Oh the golden years when entertainers were really entertainers

[@barryanderson3910]

I'm really appreciative of the range of material (artists, music, time periods) you cover in your reactions. It's great, also, that you're introducing your subscribers (old and young) to music they may have never heard before.

[@anotheryou218]

One of the greatest entertainers of all time. He and Judy Garland comprised a class and a caliber unto themselves in the movie business. Fred wasn't fancy in his appproach to singing. His aim was to sell, not himself but the song. In that regard, there was none better, and the composers of the day knew it well. He always made it look easy. That was his art in dance too.

[@ravenmccall5486]

Harri, treat yourself to a few more Fred Astaire movies, he sang in most of them. Sure do miss him! Thank you Harri!

[@Pauba1946]

Fred Astaire had a great voice and sang in a ton of movies and on Variety shows.

[@ThistleAndSea]

Harri, all of the old school Hollywood stars were trained to be triple threats, singing, dancing, and acting. Some of them just excelled at different parts of it. 🙂

[@florencegrant-mc7bb]

Isn’t this lovely? Beautiful song done by multitalented Fred Astaire. Doesn’t get much better than this! The actress was Ginger Rogers, Fred’s longtime dance partner, very talented in her own right. It was said that Fred was great, but what about Ginger? She danced beautifully in high heels and backwards! Thank you, Harri.

[@BAD46660]

His last nane is Astaire isnt it?

[@kenrobins6262]

It's said that after Astaire's first screen test someone made the note: "Can't act; slightly bald; can dance a little." He was also a good drummer! In "A Damsel in Distress" (1937) he tap dances and drums at the same time. There are also films of him sitting and playing.

[@gwenmorantz7767]

I loved these old movies, corny as they were, always puts a smile on my face.❤❤❤

[@MrCnurse]

One of my favorites that he sung was "A Fine Romance" (with Ginger Rogers) also from this same musical "Swing Time." 1936 by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.. "The Way You Look Tonight" won the Academy Award for best song..

[@jaccilowe3842]

Reminds me of listening to my Dad's 78rpm records when I was little. My first love, Freddy Stare (as I called him!)

[@fionatsang9353]

Songwriters loved Fred. Because he was a musician and songwriter himself - he had a few songs that he wrote make the Top 40 Hit Parade - he would take the sheet music and sing the melody as it was written, wouldn't try to embellish it over over-sing it

[@dennisloveland498]

It's Astaire. Astaire. With an "A".

[@HarriBestReactions]

I always thought the A was silent for some strange reason

[@joaoduqueduque4353]

Fred Astaire um artista completo ator, cantor e sapateador

[@Me.......]

Night and day, nice work if you can get it. Top hat, white tails and tails, cheek to cheek, the way you look tonight, putting on the ritz, they can't take that away from me. Begin the begine. All fred astaire hits

[@Anjuli50]

Astaire was also a pianist and drummer. George Gershwin said Astaire was his favorite interpreter of his songs. In fact, nobody knows why, but George Gershwin's last words when he died at 37 were Fred Astaire.

[@EgbertWilliams]

Of course there's the famous story about one of his earliest auditions. The person who saw him wrote down, "Can't sing, can't act, can dance a little."

[@ursulabklyn_mia6148]

I used to watch all the black and white movies when I was kid in the 70s. Fred Astaire sang in most of his movies. His singing and speaking voice are the same. I am shocked Ginger Rogers didn't sing too.

[@marymichael1211]

She did occasionally, not as well as she danced.

[@jvsmith7888]

In addition to being a great dancer and actor, Fred Astaire was also an accomplished singer, songwriter and musician (piano, clarinet, accordion). He released several albums and recordings over his long career and received at least 2 Grammy Awards for his recordings. There are several movies where Astaire is seen playing an instrument. In many of these, he actually is playing the instrument.

[@iraidaacevedo3723]

Hi Harri! Thank you for sharing❤️beautiful reaction☺️ Lovely song 🎶 👏🏻 Fred Estaire was so talented💫🎼👏🏻❤️

[@DSanto-bk6oq]

Certainly, Astaire’s singing was overshadowed by his dancing, but he was a damn fine singer. I picked up his album called “Steppin’ Out” in the 90’s that was a really great showcase of his vocal jazz chops.

[@paulcash8160]

Crosby's voice was of course deeper but the comparison is apt because Astaire and Crosby were warm and conversational singers at a time when the prevailing style was mock-operatic in a way that sounds ridiculous to modern ears. By the time Astaire started making movies, he had already had 2 decades of stage experience, singing live. Astaire was no Caruso, but he introduced more standards than any other singer, even Sinatra, because he put himself in service to the composer's intent, whereas Sinatra felt free to treat songs in any way he pleased

[@billyo54]

Wow! You didn't know Astaire sang? What planet have you been living on. Fred has recorded many albums during the 40s. There are even tribute albums to Fred Astaire. One album I would recommend is simply called Astaire by Peter Skellern.

[@Cynthia...]

That is him singing. Notice women washed their hair in the sink or under the tap in the tub. No showers.

[@ASaaaxxx]

Ahhh yes I remember those days back in the 50s 60s and 70s … one of my earliest memories is my dad holding me under the taps in the sink while my mum washed my hair and I’m screaming my head off lol

[@suem6004]

Astaire had a very vocal narrow range. Thank the arrangers to put within his range. The composers like Kern, Gershwin, Berlin all visited the sets and some times had to on the spot change, add whatever. But Fred was perfect dancer unlike Bing or Sinatra.

[@firetopman]

Fun fact: Go to 1:03 into this song and dance routine, and you will see the leg kick thingy Michael does. He sampled Fred. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXKrmJt3hLl7mqs

[@biggmaqq]

People loved to write songs for Fred Astaire, because they thought he sang them just as they wrote them.

[@ks4willbball201]

React to They Can’t Tale that away from me by Fred Astaire

[@Canucklehead557]

Back in the day you actually had to have talent.

[@geraldbryden6720]

He was Justin Timberlake before there was a Justin Timberlake. LOL

[@suem6004]

Remember all these entertainers were entertaining on vaudeville stages sometimes 8 shows a day. That is a lot of practice and perfecting talents. They learned from other performers in the show. Then Hollywood scooped up these very seasoned performers. Added best music arrangers, choreographers, costumers, acting, and directors. It was a well oiled machine. Composer Jerome Kern had arrangers change the tune to fit Fred’s limited vocal range. I really like this song with Fred. Sure better singers have sung it but Fred was like the ordinary guy singing to his lovely.

[@gailseatonhumbert]

Back during the "studio system" every actor was expected to sing, dance, ride a horse etc. Fred Astaire was not considered a good singer at the time (not enough power was the main complaint) not with the baritones like Bing Crosby dominating.

[@thomastimlin1724]

When I saw the "headlines" that you didn't know Fred Astaire could sing, I had to laugh. You didn't do your research. Fred was major movie star after being in vaudeville with his sister. ...he was best at dancing but could sing and act. In his older years having to give up dancing he focused on acting on TV and films. Just the Way You Look Tonight was written by the great Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields...look them up...learn about the American songbook. You show a lot of class reacting to this, these songs are becoming lost by a profit machine media making money off of youth with their lousy computerized techno junk and turning them into musical ignoramuses...when I was a music teacher I had to fight this all the time while underfunded for attaining modern teaching materials, and developing my own lessons and not getting paid for extra hours put in. My job was to educate, not entertain with only student musical preference developed by the brainwashing media.

[@deanaf]

Fred Astaire*

[@ASaaaxxx]

On his first Hollywood audition the person wrote .. Can’t act … can’t sing …. Can dance a little …..lol bet that guy kicked himself… and yes that’s his voice …he’s my fav dancer with Gene Kelly 2nd