1940s MUSIC SHORTS BLUES AND BOOGIE MILLS BROS. NAT KING COLE & IDA JAMES COUNT BASIE XD81795

Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website This collection of music shorts and soundies -- 1940s musical shorts / music videos -- features prominent African American artists. It begins with the Mills Brothers performing “Rockin Chair“ and “Till Then“ (3:10). Maxine Sullivan, one of the finest singers to emerge during the Swing Era, performs “Some of These Days“ at (6:00), this dates to 1942. Maurice Rocco performs “Beat Me, Daddy“ (1943) at (8:52), and the Nat King Cole Trio and Ida James perform “Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?“ (1944) at (11:40). At (14:34) “The Band Parade“ features Count Basie and his Band performing “Someone’s Rockin’ My Boat“ followed by the “Delta Rhythm Boys“ (16:20) and “Count Basie Boogie“. At (23:14) Cootie Williams and His Orchestra short featuring Eddie Vinson, Laurel Watson, Lindy Hoppers, and the Douglas Brothers. At (32:55) “Breakfast in Rhythm“ introducing “Be Careful“ by the Three Chefs, a Black dance trio popular along the West Coast for more than a decade beginning in the mid 1930s. This soundie dates to 1943. The Mills Brothers were a major African-American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century producing more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and garnered at least three dozen gold records. The Mills Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. Maurice Rocco (1915 – 1976) was an American pianist, singer, actor, and composer known for playing boogie-woogie piano and his disdain for using a piano bench. He was a top nightclub and theater draw in the 1940s, and made several film appearances. He toured the United States, Canada, and Europe before becoming a fixture in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was murdered. Charles Melvin “Cootie“ Williams (1911 – 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. The Delta Rhythm Boys was an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987. The Three Chefs was a black dance trio popular along the West Coast for more than a decade beginning in the mid 1930s. Want to learn more about Soundies? Visit Mark Cantor’s wonderful website: We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
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