The Nicholas Brothers

One of the places where the rebirth of interest in 1920s and 1930s popular culture is taking place is YouTube. Recommendations of YouTube clips will certainly be part of future blog postings. The problem is where to start. There are so many great clips available, I could spend hours posting recommendations - and it would be more than anyone would likely have time to watch.

I can't think of a better place to start than the Nicholas Brothers, a tap dancing act in the 1930s and 1940s that I have become a huge fan of. You can read more about them at: http://www.nicholasbrothers.com/index.htm

"Lucky Number"

Here they are in 1936 appearing in a short feature film The Black Network

"Jumpin' Jive"

Here they are in 1942 from the film Stormy Weather. The clip starts out with a vocal performance by Cab Calloway backed by his band. The Nicholas Brothers appear about 1 minute 35 seconds into the clip - and their performance here is simply amazing.