Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holliday and Count Basie (1951)

Short film featuring performances by Frank "Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday and Count Basie and his sextet. From the Cinema Apart Collection.
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Posted for historical purposes. I do not own the rights.
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[@mgconlan]

The date I've seen before for this film is 1950, not 1951. I'd seen the two songs by Billie Holiday, "God Bless the Child" and "Now, Baby, or Never," before but hadn't seen the rest of it until now (thank you!). The white clarinetist in Basie's sextet (he was leading a small group since he'd been forced temporarily to break up his big band) is Buddy DeFranco. Billie's performance of "God Bless the Child" here was the source of her performance for the electronic "ghost duet" between her and Tony Bennett for the 1997 album "Tony Bennett on Holiday." Billie made just four films - the 1934 short (released in 1935) with Duke Ellington, "Symphony in Black"; her one feature, "New Orleans," with Louis Armstrong and a preposterous plot that cast her as a maid; this one and the 1957 TV show "The Story of Jazz."

[@RememberKatrina2005]

Thanks for this invaluable information MGCONLN.

[@yvonnewitherspoon846]

Gifts, Talents and Skills... thanks for posting . We don't see this anymore, anywhere.

[@charliejohnson9109]

Black is Beautiful......

[@davidreed3357]

All races are beautiful. Racist.

[@Papapeachez]

Sugar Chile cutest, most talented little fellow of his time

[@D.Antony]

Amazing talent. In a league of their own.

[@ElleBrOw]

🗣🎤 Love me some Eleanora Fagan..aka Billie Holiday 💞

[@letakeokuk5446]

Amazing!!! 🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼

[@bealambwouldya]

😭🥺there’s just something about this era the classy the whole era. 🥺☺️

[@JBanks333]

🌬🌬🌬 ❤💣💚 THANK U a👠ways.

[@lisablack8892]

The kid was very cute and very talented.

[@anonimothy5979]

Sugar Chile was a natural at acting, too. Wish he'd done more films, and could've made a guest appearance on The Little Rascals.

[@bardobro]

He was only about 6 when the original Little Rascals was discontinued.

[@anonimothy5979]

@@bardobro Nice. Stymie was 5, Buckwheat was 3 and Spanky wasn't even 1 yet when they each respectively debuted. Wish Sugar Chile had gotten discovered by Hal.

[@Richard-rk7tg]

These films were made long after the Little Rascals stopped filming.

[@armandolazzari1901]

Que nunca se pierdan estos tesoros invaluables ♡☆

[@dezbritton2819]

I just love black and white movies.

[@jennifertalwar6099]

How do you find these gems?! You are amazing. Thank you!!

[@armandolazzari1901]

I think so

[@elaztec.aztecca]

This is incredible and such a great find thanks for sharing!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@bobblues1158]

Marshall Royal could PLAY some clarinet!!! What a Band ! Wardell!!

[@williamlove3087]

This is wonderful. This was when entertainment was entertainment. What they got now is totally garbage that easily pass for something called "entertainment"

[@thebluntandonly]

Thanks for sharing, I absolutely love finding music videos from the early 1900s all the way through the age of Nat Cole and Ellington and all the artist that thrived to create. My love for this era of music was brought on by a DJ artist who took Charles Mingus / Jack Kerouac and created a beatnik track called "The Jazzual Suspects". I found out through the last couple of years about all these lovely artist and the poetry of the beatnik generation. I think my favorite find of all was a video of Harry Carney performing with Ellington called "Sophisticated Lady". That is my all time favorite video. There is so much beauty and emotion during these years.

[@maggielee2236]

Hi, Are you willing to share the link to The Jazzual Suspects and Sophisticated Lady? John Lash who was my teacher and friend for 50 years - was married to Jan Kerousac. coeur de la mer. Maggie Lee

[@thebluntandonly]

@@maggielee2236 sure, here are the two links kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKPUqXiarNiHh9U & kzbin.info/www/bejne/roXPhWSmbsqBqNk

[@judykasper6314]

Awesome. Not only my Billie, but a pistol packing Chili! I had duel pistols myself about 10 years later and became a lover of jazz and blues.

[@philfletcher3434]

Did 'Sugar Chile' re-emerge as 'Smokey Robinson & The Miracles in the 1960s? He had a high pitched voice too.

[@fabioleevieira]

Simply amazing !

[@ricolewis2949]

Suga Chile is THAT NAAAAAGA!

[@NoLuvNdezeInnaNetStreetz]

Yessss 😂😩

[@cleversoneduardodealmeida]

Excelente 👍

[@davyjetson]

Please keep going

[@claravaldes5011]

Que niño tan hermoso!!!

[@luvie2012]

Real talent

[@ibdam1]

Thanks for sharing 👏🏾👏🏾❤️

[@reelblack]

No problem 😊

[@ibdam1]

@@reelblack I just watched the Sam Cook, Otis and Terence video. Wow, great comparisons. Again thanks for what you do.

[@Unique-kv4xx]

Ty ❤

[@teresasikorska4869]

Te Filmy muzyczne są do obejrzenia i obsuchania. Oraz do zastanowienia co sie działo w tamtych latach??

[@nanchanger]

#ladyday

[@user-yu1ry7sb3g]

COUNT BASIE BILLIE HOLIDAY SUGAR CHILE 🇨🇱 ROBINSON

[@paulbariohay3213]

[@ltravail]

It's incredible that as prodigious as he seemed to be he never developed much beyond that simple but cute (for a little boy) boogie woogie riff.

[@jasminelaflor9773]

Yes! Good thing he's still around. I wonder if he'd ever get that spark to start playing again, him being in his 80s and all now!

[@shalamigri]

7:02

[@jermiahlopez8519]

Before Michael Jackson 😂

[@charlesgrommeslaroche190]

By the mid-1940s, Billie Holiday was spending about $500 a week on drugs (with inflation, over $9,000 in today's money). She was a frequent drinker and user of marijuana, opium, cocaine, and especially heroin.

[@KeyLoads39th]

Smh You chose to speak on that instead of her talent! 😑🤫 Enjoy the music.

[@missmyasia]

@@KeyLoads39th THANK YOU!!!

[@nancykelly6211]

What’s your point?

[@anonimothy5979]

I wonder if there was a Joe Jackson in his life. Hope not.

[@jonsguitarbarn4270]

Would someone please tell me which kind of racist I am because after watching this beautiful piece of Americana I'm left with a predicament. If there was no slavery this would not exist because these souls would not have been born, at least not into those circumstances in the US. There would have been no blacks at all in the US or very few at least. Hey wait, we would have missed out on Chuck Berry as well!. That's no good. So I don't know what to think. No slavery, no Blues, no Jazz, no BLM, no so much more! And yet if I say I'm glad we had slavery I'm the bad guy. Who can answer this predicament?

[@arabiamcmahan5778]

Blacks? The term is African American.

[@jonsguitarbarn4270]

@@arabiamcmahan5778 getting past the petty point you make, what about the predicament?

[@arabiamcmahan5778]

No no..I understand what you're saying. You appreciate black music and interested in our culture

[@arabiamcmahan5778]

I see what you mean but it's just worded weirdly

[@thebluntandonly]

It's true, I am an avid guitar hobbyist and have spent much time thinking about this myself. The segregated era created strife between black and whites and to be honest, I think it's just best left as is. People have thrived for thousands of years and everyone has had a turn in being the oppressed and even today we see it in various ways through out the world. However so, not that it was a pretty time, but Jazz music did seem to bridge a gap between black's and white's and a lot of beautiful things came about it. The Chuck Berry reference is one that I am familiar with. I feel the same way. Only those who have sought out these historical pieces of art will understand. Also, I've had 31 guitars and don't enjoy my home studio as much as I used to but I still love me some old black and white videos of jazz ;)

[@user-cw3kn7yi7i]

De otro mundo