George Raft was a perfectly good actor but a great dancer as witness in the above clip from ‘Bolero’ (1934) where he dances with Carole Lombard. Raft began his career in New York in the so-called roaring twenties, first as the driver of prohibition kingpin gangster Owney Madden, then as
Yesterday I posted Marvin doing his hit tune ‘Hitch Hike’ on ‘Hollywood A Go Go’ but sans the dance known by the songs title, which had previously created a sensation on ‘American Bandstand’. Well, here’s that clip of that dance that created that sensation. The ‘Hitch Hike’ dance is pretty
Here’s Marvin on a 1965 episode of ‘Hollywood A Go-Go’ singing ‘Hitch Hike’, with some of the most bodacious go-go dancers ever invented backing him up. The single of’ Hitch Hike’ was successful enough to land Gaye his first top forty pop single in 1963 with the song reaching number
Here’s a terrific clip of the Nicholas Brothers from ‘Orchestra Wives’ (1942) performing ‘I’ve Got A Gal From Kalamazoo’. Unfortunately the first minute and a half of this precious routine is wasted by having the brothers sing (or should I say lip-sync) the entire song. Hiring the Nicholas Brothers to
Given the hugeness of their talent, the above title is ludicrous and reductive to say the least. Lets kick off this early 2024 week with the terrific ‘Jumpin’ Jive’ number from ‘Stormy Weather’. You have to sit through a minute and a half of Cab Calloway (not an easy task)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15BAagfdZ8c In our final Glenn Gould post of the week (see previous three if you dare) we find the young piano whiz taking a walk down 57th street in his trademark garb, carry his funny little folded up piano chair that his father made for him and heading for the
Behold an amazing clip of Glenn Gould playing the first portion of Bach’s Piano Concerto 1 (in D Minor, kids) accompanied by the New York Philharmonic with Leonard Bernstein conducting. The opening five or so minutes consists of a lecture–very well done–by Lenny discussing the lack of indication in Bach’s
No. He never appeared on ‘Hullabaloo’. But at least I got your attention. Above is an extraordinary short film about genius classical pianist Glenn Gould called ‘Glenn Gould–On The Record’. Shot in 1959 at Columbia Records legendary 30th Street Studios, it shows the then 27 year old Gould in the
Let’s kick off this terrifying year with a kickass episode of the great dance show ‘Hullabaloo’. This particular show dates from 1966 and features the young Simon & Garfunkel, a thin Lainie Kazan and the awful George Hamilton (skip his opening vocal number unless for some reason you’re jonesing for
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v32U0mjGz6g It turns out that Lenny B., after dismissing 95 % of rock and roll as ‘trash’, had a genuine affection for–and admiration of–The Beatles. Above is a seven minute clip of him in 1967 dissecting various aspects of the Fab Four’s music, at one point likening the melody of