Jumpin Jive - Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers

Jan
28
Submitted by webmaster on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 15:12

Jumpin Jive - Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers

Posted by laughland
July 31, 2006

Video Description:
"Here's a clip from the movie "Stormy Weather" (1943) featuring Cab Calloway and his orchestra performing "Jumpin Jive". After awhile they let the Nicholas Brothers jump in and lend their feet to the action."

3 comments

webmaster
Thu, 28 January, 2010 - 19:46
More YouTube viewer comments from
Aussiesound1 (7 months ago) Pure Genius the Nicholas Brothers rule supreme.
Dance fans be inspired!!!

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bugsycline (6 months ago) the most painful 14 seconds of your life 4:00 - 4:13
I doesn't take long to realise whom the real pros are in the industry.
the real kings !

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washingtonkay (6 months ago)  Okay, i've watched this now maybe 15 or so times as I've been telling people about this magnificent dance number. Every time i watch, it never ceases to astonish me how unimaginably and perfectly performed a piece this is.

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LUVTheMotels (6 months ago)  UTTERLY UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
Grace, entertainment, talent, and a refined dignity in the entire performance.
Difficult to grasp what we've lost along the way.
What a magnificent mixing of music, voice, and dance.

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babyEroose (6 months ago)  Well unfortunately we all know why all the stars in "Stormy Weather" never got their just due; Lena Horne the only surviving member of the cast. Hopefully now people are stumbling upon these vids (whether on purpose or not) and seeing their great influences on celebs that came generations after their primes.

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novusmundi (6 months ago)  BabyEroose, I agree and everyone should rent it out. I recorded the movie 9 years ago and love it, It even has Fats Waller singing his own song, " Aint Misbehavin." The musical numbers are amazing. When I show Lena's performance of Stormy Weather, all my friends agree with me. She is one of the if not the most beautiful woman ever. One friend had a crush on her when she was on the Cosby Show then he asked how old she was. He was embarrassed that he had a crush on a woman his grandmother's age

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first40 (6 months ago)  Cab and nicolas brothers are awesome. But if you like this, check out "nicolas brothers down in argentina". they're going totally off.

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fanwuren (6 months ago)  Cab Galloway was so incredibly high energy. Huge talent.
The Nicholas bros were unbelieveable. Why aren't they as well known as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly?

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crazydaysful (4 months ago) The Nicholas Bros are not as well known as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly because whites would learn and copy dancing from the blacks but were not allowed much on TV. Fred and Gene learned their dances from the blacks back then - they created the dances they did.

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reevers2 (4 months ago)  funny thing is that gene and fred gave large credit to them and their work

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babyEroose (6 months ago) God, this dance sequence should go down in history as one of the best sequences on film...of all time....seriously like TOP 5 easily.
HAHAHA I mean seriously which brother thought it up "Hey you know what we should do going down the stairs?" Priceless absolutely priceless.

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freelance47afm (6 months ago)  Amazing! I played Sophisticated Ladies in 1989, and both of them were doing the show. And that was 46 years after this clip with Cab Calloway. They were in their 70's! Harold died a few years ago, and I believe that Fayard just died last year. This video appears to be unedited. Incredible.

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tcampbellla (6 months ago)  Nicholas Brothers Fans, become a fan of theirs on Facebook. They still only have less then 200 fans I write this!

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AmeriKaTown (6 months ago)  Cab, was, is and will always be the man.

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mazdamaniac90 (5 months ago) very agreed! greatest entertainer ever!

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gulfgypsy (5 months ago)  I love all the musicals from the 30's and 40's!! The music was great the dancing and chorography just incredible!! This definately could a smile on anyones face!!!!

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danzinnyman (5 months ago)  i agree the music back then had more meaning an less flash as nowadays and yeah its def an uplifting genre cab is amazing

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fanwuren (5 months ago)  Their level of cardio vascular fitness must have been off the charts. I never grow tired of watching this. Thanks for posting it.

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hatesgames (5 months ago) VERY well done post. I appreciate the informative inserts as well. I hope we never forget this part of AMERICAN culture.

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darkbeeach (5 months ago)  Class. That is amazing to watch. I love the piano player who just watches them dancing like he's an audience member. lol The camera work is great too. The cameras back then were huge, bulky, heavy beasts which were not easy to move around.

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carina621 (4 months ago)  his scating is crazy!
i love it

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birdieberry (4 months ago)  XD omg! when they leaped onto that piano--gave me chills! o.O
Talent like that starts at a very young age...I could just imagine their mother scolding them "Boys, pianos are for playing or dancing TO, not dancing ON! Get off!"

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mrtimely2 (4 months ago)  Cab was one of a kind.

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pacificYO (4 months ago)  i taught breakdance to kids over the summer...they ALL looked up to Chris Brown, like he was the new MJ or something. i think every dancer, regardless of their genre should know who the Nicholas Brothers are. this is one of those dance pieces EVERYBODY should be able to "quote".

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amma777 (4 months ago)  SUPERLATIVE!!! Absolutely breathtaking. Tap is so underrated, not only is it a dance form but also a music form. When I see what passes as talent today I get depressed. The Nicholas Brothers and Cab are so elegent, refined, classy, talented and gorgeous. God I wish men could be more like them, I'd fall all over myself if they were!

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RedTango (4 months ago)  Speaking of Gene Kelly, you can see the Nicolas Bros in Kelly's 1948 "The Pirate". Kelly was notoriously critical, and when the brothers showed up for the part he asked "can you dance?"..they replied with a flawless routine and got the job. The number they do is called "Be A Clown"..it's probably here on YouTube somewhere...

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rexkid (4 months ago)  no thats what i call soul from beginning to end. from the singer to the musicians and especially the dancers

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gimbadeebum (4 months ago)  The smoothest dancers ever. And were smart enough to ware Tails to make their turns have Flair. Their hand jestures and their foot slides were Great. The one brother in an interview said they didn't like doing the split down the stairs ,because of the danger ,BNut had no choice by the Studio. Thank You to whoever Posted this. Enjoy cause you will never see any one dance like this again

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slushpuppy89 (4 months ago)  Why doesn't anyone make stuff like this anymore!

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cl604driver (4 months ago)  slush...Saw an interview with Gregory Hines and he said that there hasn't been anyone since the Nicholas's that were talented enough to do this, including him. Remember this was done without CGI etc. they were really dancing up there amongst the band, on the piano etc. Do a search on Fayard and you can se some of his interviews, pretty cool cat.

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coolcat60s (4 months ago)  I still remember the first time I saw this dance routine. I just sat there in awe.  I keep thinking, this is unbelievable. They are hands down the best dancing duet ever. It's such a shame they didn't get the recognition they deserved.

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Hellhound86 (3 months ago)  Why doesn't this version of
Jumpin' Jive exist on a recording? All the ones I've found are slower.
It's still an awesome video!!

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eblackadder3 (3 months ago)  I agree, I wish Cab would have recorded "Jumpin' Jive in this style.

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1861cj (3 months ago)  He did, a few years later. My parents had a recording of it when I was a kid (1950's) on a Lucky Strike promotional LP, long since lost now.

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pennygreeneyes (3 months ago)  One of my favorite clips of all time!! It's hard to watch this without your jaw dropping!  Amazing performers, all.

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missionrepublic (3 months ago)  This is great. Cab Calloway forever
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lonniemt (3 months ago)  Sheer awesomeness!  And the musicians are amazing, too!

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bubski1100 (3 months ago) Nicholas Brothers - best dance team
ever!!!!!!!!

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flammasherman (3 months ago)  Couldn't agree more,have never seen any dance routine that even touches it - compulsive viewing,over and over again, and don't forget Cab & the orchestra,the abosolute tops !.

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KosaiAvonej (3 months ago) R.I.P Cab, You legendary hep-cat!

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peterpterodactyl (2 months ago)  Fabulous!!!

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dal4018 (2 months ago)  Peter they were considered the greatest dance duo ever they did moves well past their prime that duos in their prime couldn't do at all.

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toopoogang (2 months ago) Listen carefully to the sound of the TAPS. There are four shoes TAPPING but sounds like ONE. It's truly amazing. Almost a MIRACLE and hard to comprehend the utter unison in which this FEAT (FEET) is accomplished. UNBELIEVABLE to me, it should be UNBELIEVABLE to you. Lay back light up a STOGIE and enjoy. That's what i do.

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dal4018 (2 months ago)  @toopoogang I 'am watching this right now and can't believe they are doing this FOUR SHOES tapping as one AMAZING The Hines Bros were right no one will ever come close to reaching their level of spectacualr tap dancing.

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willjammski (2 months ago)  there are no comparisons. these guys were the best. i don't think anyone will ever top their dancing. about 3:30 into this video they split and recover with no hands. and of course when they tap it sounds like a single tapper...not two.

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MissNayNay (1 month ago)  BRAVO, BRAVO!!! STANDING OVATION!!! This video actually bought me to tears. SO AMAZING!

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comeonloser (1 month ago)  if you want to see a really good number of theirs look up "lucky number" that's when they were kids

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scriptum60 (1 month ago)  When I watch what's called "dance" today, the Nicolas Brothers [ and Calloway ] put them all to shame. This is talent! This is discipline!
The majority of music and/or videos are to shock, outlandish clothing, barfy style and overuse of computerization. The stuff of the Nicholas Brothers and other Greats will never be out of style. :D

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dal4018 (1 month ago) @scriptum60 don't forget the Berry Brothers as well.

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scriptum60 (1 month ago)  @ dal4018
Berry Brothers? I'm shocked I never heard of them.  
Any direction to check them out would be appreciated.

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dal4018 (1 month ago) They are on youtube they did moves equal to the Nicholas Brothers

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emptyskull100 (1 month ago)  Cab Calloway was the greatest...and the Nicholas Brothers overlooked...PBS needs to do a special on their lives...truly incredible ,talented individuals!..I miss great entertainers like these guye...today we have a proliferation of JUNK!!

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truthis31 (1 month ago)  fred astaire aint got nuthin on these fellas. pure talent 2 do splits while tap dancin.

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Cheenjoo (3 weeks ago) @truthis31
Fred Astaire told the brothers that their dazzling footwork, leaps and splits in the Jumpin Jive dance in Stormy Weather (1943) produced the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen.

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sirjacque (4 days ago) What a superb display of grace, timing, strength, athleticism and limberness. The Nicholas Brothers make the most difficult and taxing dance moves so effortlessly , it never ceases to amaze me. May they rest in peace.
webmaster
Thu, 28 January, 2010 - 19:43
More YouTube viewer comments from
 
samcampmmgood (10 months ago) there is no one today that can put on a show like this

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hellop10 (10 months ago)  Wow!! this is absolute talent.

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AchillesShield (10 months ago)  Now THIS is feel-good music!

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Claizen (9 months ago)  That thing starting at 4:00 looks painful!

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jody808 (9 months ago) the Nicholas Brothers were amazing!
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squitzy (9 months ago) Cab Calloway was fantastic! Check out the Fleischer Bros. Betty Boop cartoon of Cab doing St. James Infirmary. Brilliant animation for the '30's. The Nicholas Brothers were also utterly amazing!! For another great dance scene from that time, check out the Lindy Hop scene from Hellzapoppin. My kids could not believe it!

As someone mentioned in this string... all done without computer graphics. True talent! And it looked like they were all having the time of their lives! God bless 'em!

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Aulelia (9 months ago) Beautiful choreography from the Nicholas Brothers especially from 3:30--end. Just fantastic and amazing.
Laughland, I like that you added their DOBs and when they passed as a tribute. That was nice.

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olsmokey3067 (9 months ago) cab calloway is the true KING of swing

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sancca2001 (9 months ago) this dance routine was called the best ever put on film by none other than Fred Astaire

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EaiteRandjamee (9 months ago)  An great song, great singing from Mr. Calloway, and to top it all off, a mind boggling dance routine with so many jumping splits it hurts me to watch. I kind of feel sorry for the sax and trombone players they were jumping over and around. That would sure make me nervous.

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jaredlovr99 (9 months ago) GENIUS!
Thank God for film.
Captured forever this amazing talent!!!!

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mforce99 (9 months ago) Sorry Astaire/Rogers, but this is how it's done.
Perfection.

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kbarnett514 (9 months ago) We watched this clip in my drama class on the American Musical, and it had the entire class in awe. One of the best tap performances I've ever seen. These guys have so much talent.

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laughland (9 months ago) Thanks for sharing that - it's nice to hear that your class got to see it - there's something extra special about watching an amazing performance like this with a group.

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chichild (9 months ago)  0:03 Boy! can nick canon play those drums.

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snooglegoose (9 months ago) wow. i am not a huge fan of tap dance (maybe i will have to look into it more...) but these guys are amazing!! so much energy and enthusiasm!!! makes me want to get up and dance!! hehe

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cliffwalkinfool (8 months ago)  > i am not a huge fan of tap dance (maybe i will have to look into it more...)
Good luck! I hear Fred Astaire called this the best tapdance performance ever put onto film.
Like many after him (Frank Zappa and Miles Davis come to mind) Cab Calloway surrounded himself with the cream of the World's crop, His band and show were as good as they got. These special bandleaders served as springboards -- career-starters -- who placed onto the musical map many of music's prime movers and shakers.

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thomasmantellwilliam (8 months ago) What Showmanship! What a show! You can't get much more entertaining than this, I'd say... I heard somewhere that the Nicholas Brothers would skip school and go sneak into the theater to see the hot dancers of the day...they certainly didn't waste their time (OR THEIR TALENT!)

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thref2004 (8 months ago)  Spam this is amazing

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tommyrock69 (8 months ago) WOW!
That stair stepping at the end by the Nicholas Brothers could have been ripped off by Chuck Berry and Prince.
Genius.
erscott13 (8 months ago) Show Hide 0   Marked as spam Reply | Spam Fayad Nicholas said they did it in ONE TAKE!!! ONE TAKE!!! Amazing.

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Joybuzzard (8 months ago) Oldschool filming was expensive, alot of times the performers were told point blank if they didn't get it good enough in the first take it meant they wouldn't be in the film, because re-shooting wasn't in the budget.

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QuickReboot (8 months ago) 4:01 to 4:14 left me in awe

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mrgoodvibrations (8 months ago) CAB rocked too!

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chainsaw76 (8 months ago)  Too bad Youtube doesn't have a rate higher than 'awesome'. I'm speechless, this video made my day!

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chimmister (8 months ago)  i like videos like this, the responses are never negative!

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karinablacktie (8 months ago)  Mikhail Baryshnikov  and Gregory Hines also declared the Nicholas Brothers the best dancers they had ever seen. They were the originators of "flash dancing." Did you also know they taught dance at Harvard?

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dronii1454 (8 months ago) I read that the brothers never received any formal training. are you sure?

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gussewhoiam (8 months ago)  yes...tehy taught themselves to tap dance. One died in 200 adn one in 2006

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Howitzer89 (8 months ago)  Cab Calloway is one of the finest jazz entertainers in American history. In my opinion not the best singer (Nat King Cole will always be the best in that respect) but even King Cole himself can't compare to Mr. Calloway in his ability to entertain.

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hajune (7 months ago) Fred Astaire called the dance sequence the best ever of all time! The dance instructor told them the routine ( he was a great dancer himself.) they asked him if he could do it. He said no but he said you guys can.

Thet never rehearshed the jumping over the stairs part but figured out how to do it. It was too much to expect them not to have a serious potential for a bad something or other. They were dance genious's. Amazing to know what to do in the jumping step scene without ever doing it .

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WordRider (7 months ago) I counted 21 splits by The Nicholas Brothers

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rawcer (7 months ago)  WOW! World class athletes, beyond a doubt.

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fanwuren (7 months ago)  Amazing! Super Talent!

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jazzbojudas (7 months ago)  how many more times will I come back to this gem!!

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Shaekle (7 months ago)  The most A-mazing dance routine in history!
totally random: that beat at 3:00 to 3:04 is used in a Mario Brothers game is it not?

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starsky051 (6 months ago)  lol. so late to this response, but I so recognise those notes from Mario Bros game.

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livinsexy (7 months ago) cab calloway is black....

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DocEddie123498 (7 months ago)  yes

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dgboy762 (7 months ago)  Btw, what's cab calloway's nationality?

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taallman (7 months ago) UH..American!

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nobodyman (7 months ago) Amazing. Even when you take away the dancing (which is amazing) you have an incredible beat.

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TheSciFiCat (7 months ago) Those splits were brutal, some dance company should play homage to the Nicholas Brothers.

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SenTora (7 months ago)  They'd end up breaking themselves just attempting the Stair Split alone!!!!

 

webmaster
Thu, 28 January, 2010 - 19:42
Selected YouTube viewer comments from
 
(1-500 of 1178 as of 5:00 pm 1/28/2010)

johannthedog (1 year ago) This is the best...I Remember Cab doing Miserable Minerva at age 77 in the Blues Brothers Movies...That was an amazing thing...Best part of the movie.

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cavaleer (1 year ago) The summit of elegance and flair. Goodness.

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DarkOmegaMK2 (1 year ago) AWESOME!!! no words to describe what is this video... and the perfect performance of the Nicholas brothers... simply WOW...

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bdienstag (1 year ago) what year was this?

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rogerharrison88008 (1 year ago)  1943

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oscarshapely (1 year ago) Music to make you glad to be alive. And how can ANYONE dance like that???

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williestratton (1 year ago)  aw man.. cab calloway, what a performer. classic.

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dougcash1 (1 year ago)  The Nicholas Brothers are gods !

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jkoff76 (1 year ago)  Amazing!! I have to say that the Nicholas Brothers don't get near the credit they deserve. I think it was because NO ONE ever danced like that before. I mean come on folks!! They were like forty years ahead of their time!!

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tcampbellla (11 months ago) Yes, at least forty years ahead of their time. I haven't seen anyone match or surpass them yet.

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EdZBuNEeZEE (10 months ago) im i completely agree, the closest has to be michael jackson though

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LibertyandJusticeNE (1 year ago)  Feet be still! This is fabulous. I could watch these guys dance and listen to Cab and company sing and play all day.

Thanks for this video

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SingerJudi (1 year ago) UNBELIEVABLE!!! What an awesome performance! These guys are elegant and full of class. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

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Koalkracker (11 months ago) I'm 73 years old and have been watching the Nicholas Brothers for years. Every time they jump in the air and come down in those spits ... I GET SYMPATHETIC PAIN IN MY KNEES.
They lived long lives ... Fayard (1914 - 2006) and Harold (1921 - 2000) ... most of the time dancing and entertaining like only they could.
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sclements75 (11 months ago)  Calloway is ridiculously underrated today. What a genius!

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jedharper (11 months ago)  wow thows guys can sure tap

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tuttt99 (11 months ago)  I would have given anything short of my soul to have seen Cab live on stage.

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Diana0777 (11 months ago)  Folks, his grandson, C. Calloway Brooks currently heads up the Cab Callow Orchestra. I've been to a show. "C.B." is wonderfu too! The spitting image of his granddaddy, and a voice that out does his. Watch for them--they're still on tour!

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tcampbellla (11 months ago)  I can believe that!

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Dazzo60 (11 months ago)  Cab would bring the house down at every gig. My parents told me it was the best show they ever saw!!!!!

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wazzouz (11 months ago)  I have never really given a lot of thought to music and dance during this era, but this clip has sparked a new interest for me. I rented this DVD (Stormy Weather) and enjoyed it immensely. The Nicholas Brothers and Cab's ending to the movie are amazing (that's what this clip is). I have watched it over and over. Everything about it is nothing short of class, elegance and style.

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nsaulssberry (11 months ago)  Absolutely, the most smoothest, most polished display of tap dance and acrobatics that will never, ever be duplicated. EVER!

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jenikatsuya (11 months ago)  So many splits... Wow.

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therealazaro (11 months ago)  Astounding. Still gives chills no matter how many times I watch it. Imagine how strong their legs were!

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Frenk78rpm (10 months ago)  This is classic!!

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crenshawjazz98 (10 months ago) Grab this classic DVD fast before it goes out of print!. I have mine and will buy the Blue Ray the day it is released! Todays studios do NOT make movies like this anymore.

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bermy2 (10 months ago)  Now this is DANCING!!!!

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azabachelives (10 months ago)  no survey of modern dance can be complete without the Nicholas brothers
get the whole film on DVD. there's so much talent in this movie that, if it were an orange and you squeezed it, Tropicana would go out of business.

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ranhill (10 months ago) 2:05 Sax player on the right keeps dodging the dancer. All other musicians are motionless. He must have gotten kicked in the head during rehearsal

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hotey91 (10 months ago)  lol that was a good one

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savate07 (10 months ago)  Omg! This is really amazing!!! Right! This is real DANCING!!!

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skinnerburgers (10 months ago) I'm amazed that they can do that without crashing into people.
I love how Calloway always looks like he's having the time of his life in every performance.

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MelasChupa (10 months ago)  Look at popular music back then and looka t popular music now. What a crisis we've got oursleves in.

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EEJAI (10 months ago)  i'm in complete awe. seriously. good music & dancing like that just don't exist anymore. i wholeheartedly agree with MelasChupa.

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