My parents loved big band music and Cab Calloway was my dad's second favorite band leader after Glen Miller. Minnie the Moocher was his favorite song and he played it constantly on our old 78 rpm record player. Not bad for a bunch of Wisconsin white people.
@Gabbie Rocks They did and they allowed we kids to develop our own taste too. Whoever got to the living room first got to choose the music. Also whoever was the driver chose the radio station.
Anyone else getting emotional watching this young brother's discovery, pride and fascination at great talent in his own musical heritage? I wish I could give this video several likes.
raydeon butt buttt buttttt you just DID give him a like its superb that alll young brothers of any skin type can RE RE discover our superb musicians of yesteryear and allow that rap = crap = hip hop to remain in the ground rite ohn brothers of all skin types:: now play:: we are company:::: pieces
I mean really. In our time back in the late 60s and 70s, everybody was putting out great music if you didn't it didn't last long. and they put music like this alongside Disco
@@jaredf6205 I get it and to each their own. But The Nicholas Brothers were so very talented as dancers. The sheer strength and agility shows their hard work paid off! Too bad they were so underrated for their talent.
Very impressive! That is so cool! I'm not sure, but I don't think very many people can do that. That really takes a lot of skill and team work. Not to mention LOTS and LOTS of practice.
Saw an interview with Fayard (sp?) Nicholas about this routine. He said they had been dancing to this song for a few years (it came out in 1939). So they just had to work out the logistics of the set and the rest came naturally.
@@nope24601 Jazz is a form of music created when the Ragtime music (otherwise known as the black music at that time) mixed with the many immigrants from the New Orleans in the 1910s. Fun fact: Jazz used to be spelled as Jass because they would have Jass written on the drum and when they perform they could stand in front of the J so it seems like the drums say "ASS".
From a time when dancing was what everybody did. My dad said that they danced in the high school lunchroom every day. He fought in World War 2, to date that. Doesn't it make you want to pick up your feet? My folks, ordinary people, could dance with such smooth style.
Such a legend! Cab Calloway is a Jazz musician, but his style of singing is called “Scat”. Cab was certainly the most famous Scat singer and deservedly so. Listen to "Minnie The Moocher”. You’ll love it. (Btw- strong Bugs Bunny vibes :) )
He sang in a lot of styles, 'scat' was the style he preferred and got real popular with. But he sang ballads and blues, too. While he didn't write many he covered several 'I've got you under my skin' 'That old black magic' and 'I'll be home for christmas' were fan favorites for him to sing, he often did so at the middle and end of the performances to let everyone rest a bit from his high energy.
When you consider the unbelievable timing and precision these guys had, the stamina, dancing in perfect unison jumping from one type of surface to another, not to mention the degree of difficulty of the routine itself.....well, this is the most talented performance I have ever seen. My only regret is that these guys lived during a time of extreme prejudice. If they had been doing this today (assuming this style was popular) they'd be superstars.
Except this song was considered vulgar and lower class at the time because it was performed by Black people. Let's not do the bullshit fetishization of past eras because you like the clothes.
@@czest-d7f doesn't change the fact that it was better--it just means we need to recognize and appreciate it for the spirit, energy and talent on display. We just need to learn from the mistakes of the past, instead of defining things by old hatreds.
As a 70 year old white guy these guys and all their cohorts were my heroes in 1969 I heard the Count Basie Orchestra live sent me on a 40 year career playing cabarets across the country never got famous but had a life you can't buy with money
If a studio were to produce a bio of the Nicholas Brothers, the Jumpin' Jive routine would have to be CGI, simply because no one has been able to reproduce it since.
I'm willing to bet an entire paycheck that he's never heard of the Blues Brothers, nor seen the movie. I love reaction videos, but sometimes I wonder how a person has never heard or seen some of this stuff in their entire lives.
I had already seen the Blues Brothers a few times when mom & I watched it together (mom was born in 1931). We were quite a bit into the movie when she suddenly realized "Oh my gosh, that's Cab Calloway!" The realization was before he transformed into his trademark white long-tail tux on stage while stalling for the Blues Brothers to show up. Mom's maiden name was Calloway and she took a lot of crap for it as a child (her being white and racism pretty much out in the open back in the 30s and 40s). LOVE Minnie the Moocher, BTW.
Com'on my brother and sister!!! WE MUST NOT FORGET ABOUT OUR PAST!!! This is JAZZ.... My brother big Band music or SWING music... Mr. Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers were the BEST and most GIFTED human beings in the 20th century. Please, do your homework on these guys and other talented people during their time. The musicians,singers, dancers and actors were all amazing during the harsh, segregation and jim crow era. They are true American Hero's!!! My son is a Jazz lover and plays all wind instrument. He is a second generation medical student and its sad that most of his college friends and medical student don't listen to Jazz music. But, that doesn't stop him from educating them... We have to do a better job as parents to educate our young children about our rich history in America..... GOD BLESS YOU and STAY SAFE!!! ps, Mr. Paul Robeson was another great one in the 20th century... Knowledge is Everything.... Peace
I’m 44 now but I fell in love with big band, early blues jazz back when I was in high school. Alberta Hunter, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey. Excellent music.
My first band director turned me on to jazz. I continue to get lost in the sounds, nearly 50 years later ... Five years after desegregation, he found himself teaching beginning band to 6th graders. He toured in the 50s and 60s from Chicago to New Orleans with whichever band could feed him. He was a brilliant musician, and an incredible man. To say jazz is color-blind diminishes this power the music has to bring us together. It is, in so many ways, the best of what we can be.
This is from “The Big Band” era with bands like Glen Miller, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman etc. They played everything from blues, jazz and ballads. Wonderful music 🎶🎶😎
The Nicholas Brothers are dance legends. They were honored at the Kennedy Center Honors which was attended by the sitting President Bush senior and the First Lady and every major celebrity of the day. There are alot of old movies like this with brothers and sisters doing things THEY have tried to copy. Fred Astaire literally bowed to these men and called them masters after a friendly tap dance challenge which he quickly conceded to them. He stated that he regrets deeply that they won’t get the credit they deserve in his film, due to racism. You young people need to check out this stuff. Unbelievable and part of your history!
Well stated Michael. In addition, these performers did not recognition or money they truly deserved. In addition, they were the precursors to Jackie Wilson, James Brown and Michael Jackson.
There ARE real performers like this (maybe not as good as the Nicholas Bros) today, but they don't get the attention and they don't get matched up with Cab Calloway. If you look for it, there are astonishing dance teams and parkour artists that echo what the Nicholas Brothers did.
It makes me remember discovering this stuff in my grandparents collection. For the name of this music genre, it's either Boogie Woogie or Swing depending on the race of the indended audience. Whitey listed to Swing, the brothers listed to Boogie Woogie. It's all really the transition from Jazz to Big Band, or what happens when poor Jazz musicians get some money behind them.
The Nichols Brothers, who performed together all their lives starting as children, were the greatest American dancers of this genre. Fred Astaire lauded them saying they were the best he'd ever seen. YT has more videos of their work. I love them for the immense joy they always show wile dancing, they make the most complex steps look like easy magic.
It's a shame that all the talented black dancers and artists were just seen as side numbers to the white guys. I love Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, but they hid soooooooo much talent from the world.
@@skarbuskreska You're right. It wasn't just Fred or Gene; the whole of the Hollywood studio system and the deeply ingrained racism of American commerce and society hide these shining lights from all our eyes.
@@thefirm4606 Good thing we have at least the internet now, so their talents cannot be hidden by some studio bosses racist agenda. I've gotten into some French Hip Hop twin brothers the last years. One of them occasionally does the jump into split thing, and people in the comments go crazy over it. And that's my time to ask, do you know the Nicholas Brothers? Funny enough each twins second name is Nicolas.
This is the best dance sequence ever filmed in many people’s opinion. If not for the fact they were black men in white Hollywood the Nicholas Brothers would have been considered the best dancers ever and would have gotten more of the kind of movies they deserved. Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly both acknowledged how great they were. There’s a dance routine that Kelly did with them on film should you care to check that out.
It's a huge part of American history I study Cab Calloway in music school, he influenced as many white musicians as he did Black, he was a true, Titan in the History of our country's music.
cab calloway was one of the best showman and entertainers who ever lived the man could out perform guys less than half his age even when he was in his 80s. the nicholas brothers were perhaps the best dance duo in old hollywood. Fred Astaire called this number the best dance sequence ever filmed. the incredible part is this was filmed with no rehearsals and in one take
@@ellenmarch3095 Everything above is true except the last line, where I think Mr. Weber is slightly misinformed. They obviously had to rehearse the number, and it was not filmed in its entirety in one take. BUT: the famous ‘splits down the stairs’ sequence was NOT rehearsed beforehand, and indeed they did it only once, and it was filmed in ONE take.
@@ronwells2986 Yeah, that's exactly the part I was "nope" on. Not denying they're great; great"est" is subjective and not something I would begrudge someone. But the no rehearsal for all parts thing, (not said but logically implied), nope, nope, nope. Thanks for clarifying which parts were and weren't; I feel better now... 😂❤.
@@ronwells2986 Fayard Nicholas said in an interview that this was not rehearsed and done in one take: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dwYK8DEHl9U.html. He may have been exaggerating, but that is what he claimed.
Watch the interview again. The only part Fayard specifically claims was not rehearsed and was shot in one take is the “stair” sequence. This is still an amazing feat.
I'm a 45 year old white woman....grew up listening to Cab Calloway. I had an older dad (he was born in the early 1930s) and he worked for Public Radio and Television and my mom was a music teacher, so we had old school jazz, swing, and classical in my house.
I'm not sure I would go so far as to say Motown was the grandfather of Hip-hop. The people at Motown were talented. Maybe Disco was the grandfather of Hip-hop.
The genre you're hearing is usually referred to by one of two names: either "swing" or "big band." Along with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway was probably one of the most popular black bandleaders of the 1930s and 1940s.
There were *lots* of great Black bandleaders. Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstein were two others. Incidentally, when Steve Allen starred in the biopic about Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson was played by Sammy Davis *Senior*
You know this routine had to take a lot of practice but even still, there is no one else who could have pulled it off BUT the Nicholas Brothers. Their natural affinity for dance was mind-blowing. If Fred Astaire said THIS was the best dance routine ever filmed... THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO SAY.
Being raise by my Grandparents, I was exposed to a lot of stuff from this era and before, and seeing the awe, wonder, and feel of magic on this man's face brought a little of that back to me.
This was a scene from the 1943 movie "Stormy Weather", starring Lena Horne and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (one of the best tap dancers of all time!) The Nicholas Brothers always said they never choreographed anything they did--it was always ad lib!
Charles Springer Plus, doing things that are choreographed are considerably harder than making it up on the spot. When I played in a band there was stuff I’d come up with on the drums when we jammed that was incredibly difficult for me to replicate again.
This was the music of my parents' generation. They loved Cab Calloway, Tommy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller, and Big Band swing. The people of that generation lived. I mean they lived life to the fullest.
I like big band music. Though it is even before my time. I am 67. My grandmother was a music teacher and she enjoyed playing this type music when I was growing up. All types of music was played by her too.
This is Swing music and Cab is “scatting” when he is singing non-words. This is a very famous bit of cinematography. Check out Cab’s routine in The Blues Brothers sometime. He entertains the audience when they get restless waiting for Jake and Elwood.
Cab was also in Janet Jackson's music video "Alright." But he came in at the end. The whole video seemed to be a tribute to the type of music Cab did. Her music was different but the style was Cab's.
Cab Calloway and his Orchestra replaced Duke Ellington as the house band in New York’s Cotton Club in the 1930s. The Nicholas Brothers dance act headlined the club from when they were pre-teen. You’re seeing here the best kind of live performers from that era. Real pros.
30's and 40's were one of the best times for music. That era had everything - extremely talented singers and dancers, wonderful bands and one thing that modern music severly lacks - a class.
This was the big band era. My parents were young adults and living in Virginia in the late '30s. They loved to dance, this was their music. They saw Cab Calloway twice in concert. What a privilege. Look for his rendition of "Minnie the Moocher". Dad would sing it to me as a lullabye.
The first time I heard this music, my grandmother introduced it to me when I was 15. I have been in love with it ever since. She used to tell me how my grandaddy and her used to win dance competitions in the 20's and 30's.
Yesssss..... Universal reaction to phenomenal talent!!!.. I've seen this so many times but each time I'm in awe! Can you imagine being right there when that went down?!
@@danic9304 he makes a cameo appearance with Janet Jackson in her Alright video at around 6:45 mark near the end.. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t8UidwWPin4.html
It wasn't! They were called flash dancers, they just fed off one another and did it. They performed it once and just did it. They were unbelievable! mymodernmet.com/cab-calloway-jumpin-jive-nicholas-brothers/
@Gian Ferrari He's not kidding. It's one of the most legendary "one take, follow me" performances in history. Those brothers could read and feed off each other to perfection.
@@septictopix4797 If you look closely they're not *exactly* perfect but as brothers they probably knew each other's skills and steps well enough to be close enough to do something like this in one shot.
This is my favorite song and dance routine in movie history. Its brilliant. The Nicholas Brothers were mesmerizing and Cab Calloway, obviously a legend. What's even more amazing, this was filmed in one take.
This is a really old video....1943! That was four years before I was born, so this was during my 96-yr. old mother's youth. Her being a tap dancer made the Nicholas Brothers some of her favorite tap dancers. This genre was called jazz/swing. It was great to see you enjoying that as even I did when I was a young girl and my mother used to watch all these old black and white movies with dancing and big bands.
Some of the female singers did scat, also. Ella Fitzgerald, of course, because she could do anything. The concept was somewhat like rap, a display of verbal ability, but you were also supposed to be imitating the sound of instruments at certain points. Sarah Vaughn, a bunch of others. You will hear scat singers on jazz channels or older music channels.
Those Betty Boop cartoons in which Cab Calloway was involved were by the Fleischer Studios, who also did Popeye cartoons. Popeye was another scat man. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QoiQw-4C9QI.html
This is Jazz/Swing.....Cab Colloway is a legend in Jazz❤ My mom introduced me to early Jazz when I was a kid and now I am in my 30s but 1940s and 50s Jazz is on constant rotation on my playlist. What Rap/Hip Hop is for the black community today Jazz was that back in the day. Jazz is a huge part of black culture and I am always grateful for my mom introducing me to it. I feel so proud of my black heritage when I put on my Jazz records lol❤💯
Jazz should be central to black heritage as it formed the basis of much of what we call modern music. From ragtime through the swing era to modern jazz and rock & roll, black musicians and singers, such as Duke Ellington, Count Basey, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday are still much admired and played today. It also crossed the racial boundary, drawing in white audiences and heavily influencing big band leaders like Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. With dance programmes achieving high ratings on TV, swing dance is showing a resurgence in popularity.
I remember reading an article years ago where Hollywood wanted to make a movie about the Nicholas Brothers, but they couldn't find 2 dancers good enough. I would agree. Susan
Too late now, but there were two Brothers who might have been able do just that. Can't recall their names, but one of them was in a few movies, and the other one either quit, faded out or did some Broadway shows on his own. Can you help me? Can't recall their name. He also did a Tribute to Sammy Davis Jr., who had passed on. AH! its just came to me! They were of Hines, Hines & Dad. Dad dropped out and it was the two Hines Brothers, but ;Gregory became the star, and sadly, has passed on. The Hines Brothers as the Nicholas Brothers? Would have loved to see that movie! Any input?
@@GJoeJ010841 Gregory Hines was the only one I can think of who could've come close to that performance. But I don't think that even he could've matched it--especially not the repeated jumps into splits, which takes an unearthly level of strength and athleticism. The Nicholas brothers must've been made out of spring steel.
@@UncleDansVintageVinyl Yes. I saw Hines once talking about that. He and his brother planned on being the next Nicholas Brothers act, but he said one day they both realized they were never going to match the Nicholas Brothers and decide to move on to other things.
As an old timer I recall this to be generally called Jive, which was derived from the days of big band jazz. Jazz bands, the 'big bands' in live performances at clubs, on the radio were the hot deal for many audiences then.
Love Cab Calloway, although he was more of my mother's era. And the Nicholas Brothers...it's hard to even TALK after witnessing what they did! It literally leaves you speechless! You definitely can't find THIS level of talent today. It's so GREAT, though, that you, as a young man, of a completely different generation, are opening yourself to this older music, and are finding that you like it, as well. GREAT reaction!
You have no idea how much I am enjoying you "youngsters" discovering the wonderful music and performers of the past. I am an old man now and have witnessed a tremendous evolution of music in my lifetime. If you are willing to expand your horizons, you will find a lot of joy. It was really cool to see how you enjoyed this old video! The swing era and the big band era were great times for music. Enjoy!
Do some reading on the Harlem Renaissance. Writers like Langston Hughes and W.E.B DuBois, musicians like Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington led an intellectual and cultural movement that exploded on the scene in Harlem, NY and defined African-American ethnicity.
Read the Autobiography of Malcolm X and hear him describe Harlem after he got out of prison and started his ministry with Nation of Islam in the fifties. This was only a few years earlier. Just like you can descibe the late 1960 and 1970s as a turning point for Black entertainment with the develpment of Blaxpolitation films with Blacks playing all kind of roles and directing. But you can also see the great decay of the inner cities in major cities during that time as well.
Sigh, just went to a Japanese Steak House, and the Cletus sitting across from me was wearing a fucking t shirt with the sleeves cut off, and a ball cap. Don't know how his woman could stand to be seen out to dinner with a yokel like that. It's not the damn McDonald's... I've seen people dressed like they were going to a yard sale at graduations and funerals...
Big Band Jazz is what this is. It's peak was in the 1930s through 1950s. Cartoons often use(d) it because it was the pop music of its time, and the early cartoons were from this period.
Tap dancing is a highly underrated form. When done right (like here), it can leave you with your jaw on the floor. And just think, this kind of thing was _common_ back in the 30's and 40's.
The Nicholas Brothers were anything but common in their skill and art form! 😅 I’d argue that a lot of street dancing today is jaw dropping too; it’s a shame (probably a sin) that the deep, deep roots of African American music and dance that reach back to and through that which is shown here aren’t better known.
They must have had steel lungs! Maybe the scenes were filmed in segments? How can you tap and squat and run up and down without breathing? WOW! Two of a kind!
Yes we are amazing as a people! Harold Nicholas was also married to Dorothy Dandridge. I would love to see your reaction to the Lindy Hop dancers as well. Thanks for this video. 🙏🏽❤️🖤
4:47 During an interview, one of the brothers talked about how this was actually the hardest part of the dance sequence. They worked the hardest on the BOTH of them landing on the tables at the EXACT same time. They worked on making it sound like one person jumping. They were known for that timing..
I needed to see this reaction, because I knew he would love it. I love showing people the Nicholas Brothers, but I can't get back that feeling of the first time I saw them dance. Incredible.
This was my mom and dad's music, they danced like this into their 70's, my mom in her poodle skirt, and my dad in his zoot suit, check out the black swing music recordings from the 1940's
The Nicholas Brothers occupy a unique niche musical film and dance history. Their style was so unusual, and the material so exceptional that no one else could choreograph their routines - that had to do it all themselves.
This performance as amazing as it was also shows the Nicholas Brothers using tap as a musical instrument! No one has come close to this performance! Cab Calloway was the Morris Day of the 40's Mr. Cool!
Exactly.This was the 40s, WWII etc. So I get the association to Bugs Bunny or any other cartoon from that era.One Tom and Jerry episode that comes to mind is the one where Tom makes a Zoot suit out of drapes. Cool
The older generation had such Grand talent. Now a days, all we have are people who are heavily studio enhanced and not such great talent. 💕♥️💓💕❤️💕♥️💕💓💕♥️💕
@@the_oslovian Yes, you are right. I have found many great stars from the past. It is too bad my generation does not have very many true raw talented performers and artists like they did back in the 30, 40, 50, and 60s. The Big Band through the 60s were my fàvorite era. 💕❤️💕 Thanks and have a marvelous day.
@@mochatech121 Actually I meant new talents, just lookba bit outside the top 30 and there are tons! Radiohead, my favorite band, to start you off, and of course so many good ones in the past too. Yes, all the best to you too 😊
People often say that but there is quite a lot of good music out there if you know where to look. May I suggest college or non commercial radio or some of the live music featured on PBS? You might be pleasantly surprised by what you hear.
If you have watched the Five Heartbeats remember the man that trained them with their choreography that's the shorter Nicholas Brothers dancing in this video.
