This performance by the Nicholas Brothers is considered the best tap dancing routine ever caught on film. And the Brothers are regarded as the finest tap dancers ever.
As artists we have to know where we've been to know where we are going. The Nicholas Bros. were incredible artists at a time when they would spend the day at studio and film this incredible performance and not be allowed through the front door of a hotel that later that night. Thankfully they continued to perform well into their later years and left a legacy of work. Fortunately through CZcams etc. new generations can admire their artistry and be inspired!
Cab Calloway was the last Master of Scat singing. There have been others, but none like him and his predecessors. There are no Leaders in that dead genre anymore. Dan Ackroyed and Jim Belushi helped him along with the other legends when they were seeing their careers fading into obscurity. They designed their Blues Brothers movie around the old R&B, Jive, Scat, Soul, Gospel, Blues singers and gave their careers the boost they desperately needed. Then you have the Nicholas Brothers and their amazing dancing and acting skills. All of them Legends.
Don't forget "Scatman" Crothers! I believe he became famous after Cab Calloway. He was very accomplished in scatting also. czcams.com/video/_W8seC6t7dI/video.html
Haley Reinhart seems able to do it pretty well. She does it in some of the Postmodern Jukebox covers. She is an amazing singer either way and Postmodern Jukebox is all about making covers from modern songs in a 20-60's style. They employ a lot of very talented musicians and singers there, some tap dancers occasionally as well. The variety of performers keeps it fresh.
I am an old White lady. You need to watch all the wonderful movies that were made for and by Black people. It is a blessing that we have the internet to find them and watch them.
Cab and the band were the house band at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Wonderful musicians. The scat singing is one of Cab's trademarks. The film included Lena Horne singing the film's title song "Stormy Weather", which became her trademark. I was born a decade after this film (born in in 1953), and I heard her sing the song many times on TV growing up. She was my dad's favorite singer (and she was very beautiful!). Dorothy Dandridge was also in this film; she was married to one of the brothers.
I have seen this a few times & it always amazes me. These brothers were extremely talented. It always gets me when they do the split jumps. You would think they would hurt themselves. Glad this film clip has been preserved for the younger generation to see.
If you really want to see just how incredibly multitalented The Nicholas Brothers were, you need to check out their performance in the film “Down Argentine Way” They were amazing and skilled entertainers.
Oh, boy. The showmanship of Cab Calloway is stylin' like Michael did in the video, True Criminal, smooth, smooth, smooth, different music styles tho. I grew up on the Nicholas Brothers and to see the most amazing dancing ever on video. That band has it's $hit wired tight, as they say in Texas, a true compliment. James Brown learned from the best in what his act should be!!!!! The stairs will blow your mind.
The Nicholas Brothers and Cab Callaway were aaaaaaaalllllll that!!!!!!! They need more acknowledgement for their incredible skills and craftwork!!!! Watch the Nicholas Brothers in Sunvalley Serenade. They're prob the best dancers in the world!! Cab Calloway was a pioneer in the Black music we listened to throughout the ages!!
The Nicholas Brothers taught dance classes in later years to a select few students... including Michael Jackson! Not only were they amazing athletes and superb dancers, but excellent teachers. It's apparent they also passed on a few tips on style.
:Hell, yeah, Singer! the Nicholas Brothers .. Harold and Fayard... were the inspiration to many that followed.. including Gregory Hines, and even Fred Astaire.. they started very young, and not only danced but also sang... another great performance is "Down Argentine Way"... check it out when you have time & inclination... (not only dancing, but singing in Spanish.. making moves like MJ and "break dancing" - these guys had it all)
Plus, the filming or cinematography of the performance was so fire. The shadows, the angles, the depth, grayscale, movement, and edits. really mind-blowing perfect.
Cindy's Dad here. I'm a 70 year old white man and while I admit that Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were great dancers and Michael Flatley is the Lord of the Dance, the Nicholas Brothers are gods of dance. If you can find it, watch the video of them performing "Down Argentine Way!" Just another example of their mastery of their craft, and they were singers too. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have and continue to do.
One of my favourite clips of Cab Calloway he was in the blues brothers that's how long he was doing this. The Nichol brothers were one of the best and around that time there was a lot of competition.
And the Nicholas Brother's dance routine was done all in one take! Seen this 100 times and still can't figure out how they did it and didn't hurt themselves or each other. If you watch the original "The Blues Brothers" movie from 1980, you'll see Aretha doing a hot rendition of "Think" as well as Cab Calloway singing "Minnie The Moucher" near the finale, as well as getting to watch Ray Charles, Chaka Khan, John Lee Hooker and James Brown perform.
The Nicholas Brothers were self taught and thank goodness Cab Calloway never became a lawyer like his father. I have always loved watching them perform. Great great talents.
Man somebody got some good taste for this pick right here. One of my favorite moments of Cab Calloway was when Dorothy Donegan had a piano soloist and had that piano smoking.
Cab Calloway was one of the greatest singer / performers of all time..... this clip is about the brothers and not him. Watch a clip of Cab doing Minnie the Moocher ...... pure brilliance.
Cab is the Man singing! You've seen him before if you've ever watched the Blues Brothers Movie where he does a song with the Blues Brothers Band! But the Nicholas Brothers were the Bomb! If you've overseen the movie "Cotton Club". the dancing brothers in that movie are loosely modeled on the Nicholas Brothers also Cab Calloway was the House Band at the Cotton Club after Duke Ellington Left to go on tour! czcams.com/video/250MMq0fTrU/video.html Also Maurice and Gregory Hines as "the Williams Brothers from the movie. czcams.com/video/kvZu-cHEEXM/video.html
Cab Callaway the king of the late40 s and 40s. The Nicholas bros the best in the world dancers… The dance they do on two sets of stairs is the coolest ever. They were better than anyone. I wasn’t born then nuts, as a young girl loved that era and who didn’t adore the amazing Nicholas brothers? I adolized all of them at 10 in a movies on Boston movie time in the 50s!!! Beyond belief dancing and sounds I have adored the for the last 66 years. How come teens today know nothing about The Amazing Nicholas Brothers? That is true coooooool !!! 7:30
I first saw this when i watched the movie Stormy Weather, dont even remember why i watched it, not my usual kind of movie but i was floored when i saw this. Just about the most amazing thing i had ever seen. The other dances and musical numbers in the movie are awesome but this number just left me speechless!
nothing but mad respect to everyone in this clip. The band is tight, Cab is an amazing front man and the brothers are top notch, surpassed by none, dancers.
Cab was a band leader, singer, and actor. This is from the movie, Stormy Weather 1943, with Lena Horne too. This was produced under the studio system in Hollywood.
Who needs coffee in the morning just play this as your alarm! This been on my playlist for a couple years...thx AJ for kickin me into Jazz head first. People were just built differently back then from our modern weak proceesed food eating bodies.
When Fayard and Harold leapt from the band section at 5:00, I realized they way the Nicholas Brothers landed was the "superhero landing" from recent movies -- a three-point landing with one leg out, the other leg bent and land on one knee, and land with one hand on the floor. I can't help but wonder if this is a bit of lore that survived for decades and was revived for the first "Iron Man" film or whichever superhero movie or comic book reintroduced this to the world.
Note that the Nicholas brothers are shown full figure through out. Their heads hand and feet are always visible. Modern dance movies have many cuts to coverup takes and weaknesses
That’s what you call “In Shape”! Bring on the ice packs please. 😮🎵💜 Dawn(Mike too) PS Just an idea, maybe you can line up the video you share with your computer 💻 in your background. 😉
Tap dance still exists, sort of, but nobody -- then or now -- did it better than the Nicholas Brothers. They were on their own level, and nobody else came close.
If you look closely when they are coming down the stairs. Their fist hits first while coming down in between the legs. Not directly but i believe that is their shock absorber and gow rhey prevented serious pain in the groin area. Their timing though is impeccable.
Harold Nicolas (the shorter brother) was in the Five Heartbeats. He was their choreographer. The one that basically told Dresser his moves was wack lol.
I know Cab Calloway from The Blue Brothers movie. He was on stage stalling for the Blues Brothers and he did Minnie the Moocher at the end. I think he was known for "scatting" - isn't that what it's called?
Congratulations on finally discovering the greatest dancers of all time. Of all time! And remember something: Back in the day, blacks couldn’t aspire to become leading men and solo dancers like Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, etc. They didn’t write screen scripts for them. And Michael Jackson, who got his dance inspiration from both white and black famous dancers from days of old… Still couldn’t do splits like this!!!
![Eminem - Houdini [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/22tVWwmTie8/mqdefault.jpg)
This performance by the Nicholas Brothers is considered the best tap dancing routine ever caught on film. And the Brothers are regarded as the finest tap dancers ever.
Nicholas brothers were the most talented dancers ever!!!!
As artists we have to know where we've been to know where we are going. The Nicholas Bros. were incredible artists at a time when they would spend the day at studio and film this incredible performance and not be allowed through the front door of a hotel that later that night. Thankfully they continued to perform well into their later years and left a legacy of work. Fortunately through CZcams etc. new generations can admire their artistry and be inspired!
The Nicholas Brothers and Cab Callaway were aaaaaaaalllllll that!!!!!!! They need more acknowledgement for their incredible skills and craftwork!!!!
Yeahh, 😢😢 in in in 2:05
😮😢😮
Cab Calloway was the last Master of Scat singing. There have been others, but none like him and his predecessors. There are no Leaders in that dead genre anymore.
Dan Ackroyed and Jim Belushi helped him along with the other legends when they were seeing their careers fading into obscurity. They designed their Blues Brothers movie around the old R&B, Jive, Scat, Soul, Gospel, Blues singers and gave their careers the boost they desperately needed.
Then you have the Nicholas Brothers and their amazing dancing and acting skills.
All of them Legends.
The only one alive I can think who comes close today would be Van Morrison - not his more popular songs; Van and his Band era.
Don't forget "Scatman" Crothers! I believe he became famous after Cab Calloway. He was very accomplished in scatting also. czcams.com/video/_W8seC6t7dI/video.html
Haley Reinhart seems able to do it pretty well. She does it in some of the Postmodern Jukebox covers. She is an amazing singer either way and Postmodern Jukebox is all about making covers from modern songs in a 20-60's style. They employ a lot of very talented musicians and singers there, some tap dancers occasionally as well. The variety of performers keeps it fresh.
Unbelievable talents. Cab Calloway is in The Blues Brothers doing Minnie The Moocher, a great track you should also see.
czcams.com/video/zZ5gCGJorKk/video.html
I am an old White lady. You need to watch all the wonderful movies that were made for and by Black people. It is a blessing that we have the internet to find them and watch them.
Greatest Dance routine in history.
The band, Cab's vocals (and style! ), the dance and athleticism of the Nicholas brothers...just one of the greatest performances ever ❣
The Nicholas Brothers performed with Gene Kelley in The Pirate. They made him look oafish and clumsy by comparison.
Cab and the band were the house band at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Wonderful musicians. The scat singing is one of Cab's trademarks. The film included Lena Horne singing the film's title song "Stormy Weather", which became her trademark. I was born a decade after this film (born in in 1953), and I heard her sing the song many times on TV growing up. She was my dad's favorite singer (and she was very beautiful!). Dorothy Dandridge was also in this film; she was married to one of the brothers.
This should be shown in art class and music . They were amazing
I agree it should be shown more
The STRENGTH it takes to control and dance like that is INCREDIBLE!!!!
I'm white, born in 1945, and as a kid loved to listen to Cab Calloway. Great to see a young man enjoy the old time music I so loved.
So much respect for Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers. The 40s are a blast. We do big band from the 40s with dinner all the time.
One of the best performances ever recorded! SO AMAZING!!!
The era of class and talent.
Cab Calloway was the real deal. 😎And the Nicholas brothers...WOW!! 😃
I have seen this a few times & it always amazes me. These brothers were extremely talented. It always gets me when they do the split jumps. You would think they would hurt themselves. Glad this film clip has been preserved for the younger generation to see.
One of, if not the, most impressive dance scenes in movie history!
Now that's true talent and dance. Not the garbage today. Thanks for discovering an amazing performance way before your time.
If you really want to see just how incredibly multitalented The Nicholas Brothers were, you need to check out their performance in the film “Down Argentine Way”
They were amazing and skilled entertainers.
This number is done in one take, and considered by many the best dance sequence in the movies.
This era had the best dancers!
T"his is quite arguably one of the best videos ever made. The dancing, the costuming, a cameo by the late great Cab Calloway
Janet Jackson ft Cab Calloway - Alright
Oh, boy. The showmanship of Cab Calloway is stylin' like Michael did in the video, True Criminal, smooth, smooth, smooth, different music styles tho. I grew up on the Nicholas Brothers and to see the most amazing dancing ever on video. That band has it's $hit wired tight, as they say in Texas, a true compliment. James Brown learned from the best in what his act should be!!!!! The stairs will blow your mind.
The Nicholas Brothers and Cab Callaway were aaaaaaaalllllll that!!!!!!! They need more acknowledgement for their incredible skills and craftwork!!!! Watch the Nicholas Brothers in Sunvalley Serenade. They're prob the best dancers in the world!! Cab Calloway was a pioneer in the Black music we listened to throughout the ages!!
Singer and bandleader, he was a headliner of the Cotton Club, he was at the top of the black entertainment industry in Harlem!
The Nicholas Brothers taught dance classes in later years to a select few students... including Michael Jackson! Not only were they amazing athletes and superb dancers, but excellent teachers. It's apparent they also passed on a few tips on style.
:Hell, yeah, Singer! the Nicholas Brothers .. Harold and Fayard... were the inspiration to many that followed.. including Gregory Hines, and even Fred Astaire.. they started very young, and not only danced but also sang... another great performance is "Down Argentine Way"... check it out when you have time & inclination... (not only dancing, but singing in Spanish.. making moves like MJ and "break dancing" - these guys had it all)
I love reactions to Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers. Such great talent and usually a huge surprise to reactor.
Plus, the filming or cinematography of the performance was so fire. The shadows, the angles, the depth, grayscale, movement, and edits. really mind-blowing perfect.
Oh Nick! So pleased you reacted to this and discovered one of the most amazing sequences in film history!!
I would not be surprised if The Nicholas brothers are still considered the best tap dancers in the world, I have not seen anyone better, ever.
Cindy's Dad here. I'm a 70 year old white man and while I admit that Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were great dancers and Michael Flatley is the Lord of the Dance, the Nicholas Brothers are gods of dance. If you can find it, watch the video of them performing "Down Argentine Way!" Just another example of their mastery of their craft, and they were singers too. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have and continue to do.
NB are without a doubt the GOATS of tap. 80 years later no one comes close.
One of my favourite clips of Cab Calloway he was in the blues brothers that's how long he was doing this. The Nichol brothers were one of the best and around that time there was a lot of competition.
And the Nicholas Brother's dance routine was done all in one take! Seen this 100 times and still can't figure out how they did it and didn't hurt themselves or each other. If you watch the original "The Blues Brothers" movie from 1980, you'll see Aretha doing a hot rendition of "Think" as well as Cab Calloway singing "Minnie The Moucher" near the finale, as well as getting to watch Ray Charles, Chaka Khan, John Lee Hooker and James Brown perform.
Loved that film clip since the first time I saw it. Incredible talent!
My dad adored Cab Calloway and loved the Nicholas Brothers. This was probably his favourite movie sequence in the world.
The Nicholas Brothers were self taught and thank goodness Cab Calloway never became a lawyer like his father. I have always loved watching them perform. Great great talents.
That's beyond impressive. This is genius. We will never see the likes of this again.
I never get tired of watching this routine.
I think I’ve watched it five times this week alone. Every time it’s suggested, I just hit it.
Man somebody got some good taste for this pick right here. One of my favorite moments of Cab Calloway was when Dorothy Donegan had a piano soloist and had that piano smoking.
Cab Calloway was one of the greatest singer / performers of all time..... this clip is about the brothers and not him.
Watch a clip of Cab doing Minnie the Moocher ...... pure brilliance.
Thanks for playing _ I’ll see you on your live again - I put this up because you said you were a good dancer.
The great Fred Astaire called this the greatest dance sequence ever put on film
The music back then was so much fun.
Cab is the Man singing! You've seen him before if you've ever watched the Blues Brothers Movie where he does a song with the Blues Brothers Band! But the Nicholas Brothers were the Bomb! If you've overseen the movie "Cotton Club". the dancing brothers in that movie are loosely modeled on the Nicholas Brothers also Cab Calloway was the House Band at the Cotton Club after Duke Ellington Left to go on tour!
czcams.com/video/250MMq0fTrU/video.html
Also Maurice and Gregory Hines as "the Williams Brothers from the movie. czcams.com/video/kvZu-cHEEXM/video.html
Cab Callaway the king of the late40 s and 40s. The Nicholas bros the best in the world dancers… The dance they do on two sets of stairs is the coolest ever. They were better than anyone. I wasn’t born then nuts, as a young girl loved that era and who didn’t adore the amazing Nicholas brothers? I adolized all of them at 10 in a movies on Boston movie time in the 50s!!! Beyond belief dancing and sounds I have adored the for the last 66 years. How come teens today know nothing about The Amazing Nicholas Brothers? That is true coooooool !!! 7:30
I first saw this when i watched the movie Stormy Weather, dont even remember why i watched it, not my usual kind of movie but i was floored when i saw this. Just about the most amazing thing i had ever seen. The other dances and musical numbers in the movie are awesome but this number just left me speechless!
Personally, I think Cab was the best jazz scat singer ever.
Oh this is a treat. These guys are fabulous!
nothing but mad respect to everyone in this clip. The band is tight, Cab is an amazing front man and the brothers are top notch, surpassed by none, dancers.
Cab was a band leader, singer, and actor. This is from the movie, Stormy Weather 1943, with Lena Horne too. This was produced under the studio system in Hollywood.
Ty for reviewing this. In the 60s i loved this song. So much fun to listen to.
They did this in one take - the one you’re seeing. Amazing.
I'm a 69 year old white woman who loves these movies.
I watched this movie recently and it was wonderful ❤️ Stormy Weather 😀
Who needs coffee in the morning just play this as your alarm! This been on my playlist for a couple years...thx AJ for kickin me into Jazz head first.
People were just built differently back then from our modern weak proceesed food eating bodies.
The Best there ever was❤❤
Famously, the Nicholas Brothers did this in ONE TAKE.
When Fayard and Harold leapt from the band section at 5:00, I realized they way the Nicholas Brothers landed was the "superhero landing" from recent movies -- a three-point landing with one leg out, the other leg bent and land on one knee, and land with one hand on the floor. I can't help but wonder if this is a bit of lore that survived for decades and was revived for the first "Iron Man" film or whichever superhero movie or comic book reintroduced this to the world.
These guys had to have legs of pure muscle! And the endurance. Wow! Maybe an Olympian comes close? Nahh
That was my mother's time, and I had the same reaction that you did the first time I saw that performance: WOW!
Love your reaction...
Note that the Nicholas brothers are shown full figure through out. Their heads hand and feet are always visible. Modern dance movies have many cuts to coverup takes and weaknesses
This dance routine was a one take for the movie, that's how good they were.
That’s what you call “In Shape”! Bring on the ice packs please. 😮🎵💜 Dawn(Mike too)
PS Just an idea, maybe you can line up the video you share with your computer 💻 in your background. 😉
No invisible ropes, baby. And, you see who Michael loved besides James Brown, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Nicholas Brothers, and Jackie Wilson.
I'd break my neck just trying to tap dance
Making men cringe since 1943! 😂
Tap dance still exists, sort of, but nobody -- then or now -- did it better than the Nicholas Brothers. They were on their own level, and nobody else came close.
Funny how no one here has mentioned Savion Glover who is probably the greatest hoofer alive right now.
The brothers grew up in Philly. There is still an active community of hoofers in Philadelphia.
Cab Calloway appeared in the Blues Brothers movie in the 1980s.
I remember seeing them in person years ago
And they did it all in one take
Cab Calloway's career lasted all the way to the Blues Brother's movie.
If you look closely when they are coming down the stairs. Their fist hits first while coming down in between the legs. Not directly but i believe that is their shock absorber and gow rhey prevented serious pain in the groin area. Their timing though is impeccable.
Harold Nicolas (the shorter brother) was in the Five Heartbeats. He was their choreographer. The one that basically told Dresser his moves was wack lol.
I know Cab Calloway from The Blue Brothers movie. He was on stage stalling for the Blues Brothers and he did Minnie the Moocher at the end. I think he was known for "scatting" - isn't that what it's called?
Disappointed that the video was was poorly visible.
This was filmed in one take!
Fred Astaire called this the best tap number ever!
That was back when they had REAL talent
Cab Calloway was more a singer than anything else.
This generation was call the BE BOP
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
There's a colorized version....and no need to fade it. Play it as is!!🎵🎼🎶🥁🎧🎸🎤🎹🔥🔥🔥🔥
You might like "lucky number" from when the Nicholas Brothers were very young
😎👍❤❤❤
Done in 1 take 🔥🔥🔥
I don't know how true it is but I heard the dance sequence was done in one take using multiple cameras.
Reportly this was shot in ONE TAKE.
It was always so hard to hear the music on silent films LOL
Just kidding great reaction
If no Cab Calloway, no Little Richard, no Chuck Berry, no Michael Jackson, no Prince and believe it or not, no Hip Hop
@ThatSingerReactions The Nicholas Brothers filmed this in one shot! No retake/restart nothing.
Ive seen the movie. Fred Astaire said it was the greatest dance routine he'd ever seen. That's saying something. Legendary.
They think they are dancers today but, the real dancers were way back then!!!
Fred Astaire said the Nicholas Brothers were the best dancers. And to believe this was one take
Congratulations on finally discovering the greatest dancers of all time.
Of all time!
And remember something:
Back in the day, blacks couldn’t aspire to become leading men and solo dancers like Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, etc. They didn’t write screen scripts for them.
And Michael Jackson, who got his dance inspiration from both white and black famous dancers from days of old…
Still couldn’t do splits like this!!!
Exactly, HOW??
Keep your mouth open cuz they did this in one take‼️ in. One. Take😮😮😮
I'd like to say they were classier times, but then there was Lucille Bogan...
Ella Fitzgerald was the master of scat.