I've got a Gal in Kalamazoo: Orchestra Wives

I've got a Gal in Kalamazoo is a song that I think sometimes come out a little bit flat when I hear it on a recording, but that is not the case here in this scene from the 1942 movie Orchestra Wives.

You actually get two different but equally great versions (in their own way). First out is one with Glenn Miller's band in the background. In the film the name is somewhat modified to Gene Morrison's band, probably good for the budget so you don't have to change all the GM initials on the drums and the other things.

The real focus is however on the singers Tex Beneke and Marion Hutton and the vocal group The Modernaires.

The second version features the fabulous tap dancing Nicholas Brothers. I think their tap dancing influences their singing because I really like how they phrase the words. I think that kind of phrasing is of the same kind as the rhythms they create when they dance.

And, wow, who wouldn't like to be athletic like them? Those splits... :)

I've featured the Nicholas Brothers before on my blog.

What do you think of the two versions of I've got a Gal in Kalamazoo? Tell me.

The Nicholas Brothers perform “Lucky Numbers”

Enjoy this video clip with The Nicholas Brothers tap dancing to "Lucky Number".

The video clip is from The Black Network, a 1936 short with a fifteen-year-old Harold and twenty-two-year-old Fayard Nicholas performing “Lucky Numbers” by Cliff Hess.

About 45 seconds from the end you can hear a riff borrowed from the song Nagasaki (from 1928 written by Harry Warren, who also wrote Chattanoga Choo Choo).

If you like this clip you'll also like Jumpin' Jive with Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers and Glenn Miller Orchestra with Chattanooga Choo Choo featuring Dorothy Dandridge together with Fayard and Harold.

What do you think of the video clip with The Nicholas Brothers performing “Lucky Numbers”? Tell me.

Jumpin' Jive with Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers

Some jazz bands "just" played their music while other bands made an extra effort to really entertain the audience/dancers. A jazz orchestra that did the latter was the big band led by Cab Calloway. He had a very outgoing personality and put that extra energy into the performance that really made it entertaining.

In this video clip from the movie Stormy Weather Cab Calloway performs the song Jumpin' Jive followed by an amazing tap routine by the Nicholas Brothers.



This was the first clip I ever saw of the Nicholas Brothers and every time I'm surprised that they don't kick any musicians when they jump around in the bandstand. (A'int that a kick in the head?).

One of the things that I would like to point out in this video clip from Stormy Weather is the use of "call and response" (which Cab Calloway used a lot). The first occurrence is when he sings one bar of music and the band answers in the other bar in that phrase.

You also see call and response between the piano player and the Nicholas Brothers tapping on the piano and then of course between the Nicholas Brothers themselves.

What do you think of this video clip with Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers? Tell me.

Glenn Miller Orchestra with Chattanooga Choo Choo featuring Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers

The Glenn Miller Orchestra played both swing and sweet music. I can't say that I'm particularly interested in his sweet music (ballads). But his swing music is good, here is a video clip with a really swinging version of Chattanooga Choo Choo with song and dance by the Nicholas Brothers & Dorothy Dandridge.

I'd love to be able to tap dance like them. So much energy!



What do you think of the video clip with Glenn Miller and Nicholas Brothers & Dorothy Dandridge? Tell me.