It's that feeling you get when you realize your grandparents and great grandparents were cooler than you are!

Anyone else getting emotional watching this young brother's discovery, pride and fascination at great talent in his own musical heritage? I wish I could give this video several likes.

When you consider the unbelievable timing and precision these guys had, the stamina, dancing in perfect unison jumping from one type of surface to another, not to mention the degree of difficulty of the routine itself.....well, this is the most talented performance I have ever seen. My only regret is that these guys lived during a time of extreme prejudice. If they had been doing this today (assuming this style was popular) they'd be superstars.

This Nicholas Brothers performance is considered one of the greatest dance performance in history of big or small screen...

This is Jive music, a part of Big Band, and Swing.

6:47 The moment you realise that your grandparents were way cooler than you are.

I was lucky to be Cab's backstage security at a concert in Ohio about 30 years ago. It was an honor.

This is from “The Big Band” era with bands like Glen Miller, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman etc. They played everything from blues, jazz and ballads. Wonderful music 🎶🎶😎

Fred Astaire said this was the greatest tap dance number ever recorded!

This, my friend, is big band Jazz. A packet of emotion and energy.

If a studio were to produce a bio of the Nicholas Brothers, the Jumpin' Jive routine would have to be CGI, simply because no one has been able to reproduce it since.

The greatest dance sequence ever filmed! Hands down!! Now that is what I call a jaw dropping reaction!

The great Fred Astaire called this the greatest dance routine ever put on film

The Nicholas Brothers did this in ONE TAKE with no rehearsal. They were truly amazing.

I truly hope people understand just how much skill and pure talent this takes! On par with the greatest of dancers, and I'm both jealous and proud!✊🏿

The Nicholas Brothers are the G.O.A.T.

As a 70 year old white guy these guys and all their cohorts were my heroes in 1969 I heard the Count Basie Orchestra live sent me on a 40 year career playing cabarets across the country never got famous but had a life you can't buy with money

Cab Calloway was in The Blues Brothers and performed his classic “Minnie the Moocher.”

So glad to see the younger generations waking up to all the great music, movies , comedy ....... It's a great big world out there

This was the music of my parents' generation. They loved Cab Calloway, Tommy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller, and Big Band swing. The people of that generation lived. I mean they lived life to the fullest.

This is when entertainment had style, class and elegance.

Such a legend! Cab Calloway is a Jazz musician, but his style of singing is called “Scat”. Cab was certainly the most famous Scat singer and deservedly so. Listen to "Minnie The Moocher”. You’ll love it. (Btw- strong Bugs Bunny vibes :) )

You know this routine had to take a lot of practice but even still, there is no one else who could have pulled it off BUT the Nicholas Brothers. Their natural affinity for dance was mind-blowing. If Fred Astaire said THIS was the best dance routine ever filmed... THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO SAY.

I'm a 45 year old white woman....grew up listening to Cab Calloway. I had an older dad (he was born in the early 1930s) and he worked for Public Radio and Television and my mom was a music teacher, so we had old school jazz, swing, and classical in my house.

Com'on my brother and sister!!! WE MUST NOT FORGET ABOUT OUR PAST!!! This is JAZZ.... My brother big Band music or SWING music... Mr. Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers were the BEST and most GIFTED human beings in the 20th century. Please, do your homework on these guys and other talented people during their time. The musicians,singers, dancers and actors were all amazing during the harsh, segregation and jim crow era. They are true American Hero's!!! My son is a Jazz lover and plays all wind instrument. He is a second generation medical student and its sad that most of his college friends and medical student don't listen to Jazz music. But, that doesn't stop him from educating them... We have to do a better job as parents to educate our young children about our rich history in America..... GOD BLESS YOU and STAY SAFE!!! ps, Mr. Paul Robeson was another great one in the 20th century... Knowledge is Everything.... Peace

Cab calloway was one of the greats. Try Minnie the moocher. And done forget he was one of the stars on the blues brothers!!

Yesssss..... Universal reaction to phenomenal talent!!!.. I've seen this so many times but each time I'm in awe! Can you imagine being right there when that went down?!

Cab Calloway the king of scat! Loved him the blues brothers. Minnie the moocher😁

Him: "Look at them go" Me: "Yeh just wait until the stairs part"

Swing jazz is the genre! Cab Calloway was the coolest.

In my opinion this is one of the best dance performances ever. utterly fantastic.

This was the big band era. My parents were young adults and living in Virginia in the late '30s. They loved to dance, this was their music. They saw Cab Calloway twice in concert. What a privilege. Look for his rendition of "Minnie the Moocher". Dad would sing it to me as a lullabye.

“Maybe this is their only good song and I shouldn’t waste my time...” Bruh. You couldn’t be more wrong. This was the epitome of cool.

Probably the greatest tapping dancing scene ever.

Love seeing a youngster discover the GOAT Nicholas Brothers. :)

“Minnie the Moocher.” Cab Calloway check it out

It's sad that he is so shocked to see real performers. Shows what is missing today and that it is largely forgotten.

I'm surprised you haven't heard of this genre at all before, it's one of the most significant parts of black american music history!

This is my favorite song and dance routine in movie history. Its brilliant. The Nicholas Brothers were mesmerizing and Cab Calloway, obviously a legend. What's even more amazing, this was filmed in one take.

4:47 During an interview, one of the brothers talked about how this was actually the hardest part of the dance sequence. They worked the hardest on the BOTH of them landing on the tables at the EXACT same time. They worked on making it sound like one person jumping. They were known for that timing..

The Nichols Brothers, who performed together all their lives starting as children, were the greatest American dancers of this genre. Fred Astaire lauded them saying they were the best he'd ever seen. YT has more videos of their work. I love them for the immense joy they always show wile dancing, they make the most complex steps look like easy magic.

From an old white guy, I enjoy watching you discover the great old music. Enjoy your journey.

Great reaction. Calloway was a “skat” singer (a few others also used skat in their singing, but he is well known for it). Michael Jackson used to study a lot of the old dancers of this era, especially the Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly. It was a magical time in Hollywood, way before my t8me, but my mother introduced me to all the old black and white movies. This is from Stormy Weather. You should check out Sister Rosetta Thorpe-not skat, more early rock and roll and blues.

Cab is a Black Icon, pioneering black entertainment on stage, music, and cinema. RIP Cab

Wanna have your mind blown? This is almost 80 years old.

The Nicholas Brothers are dance legends. They were honored at the Kennedy Center Honors which was attended by the sitting President Bush senior and the First Lady and every major celebrity of the day. There are alot of old movies like this with brothers and sisters doing things THEY have tried to copy. Fred Astaire literally bowed to these men and called them masters after a friendly tap dance challenge which he quickly conceded to them. He stated that he regrets deeply that they won’t get the credit they deserve in his film, due to racism. You young people need to check out this stuff. Unbelievable and part of your history!

Love this. Cab Calloway was such an entertainer. This is big band/swing music. Its awesome. It gets you moving. You should react to couples swing dancing...bet no one nowadays could do it. Fred Astaire was once quoted as saying this was the best dance routine ever recorded on film. He felt his talent could never even hold a candle to theirs, and he was the most famous dancer in history. The Nicholas Brothers deserve a lot more recognition than they get. And most of all....no slutty stage performance to hide the fact that some entertainers have no talent.

You have no idea how much I am enjoying you "youngsters" discovering the wonderful music and performers of the past. I am an old man now and have witnessed a tremendous evolution of music in my lifetime. If you are willing to expand your horizons, you will find a lot of joy. It was really cool to see how you enjoyed this old video! The swing era and the big band era were great times for music. Enjoy!

Cab Calloway was still singing 'till his mid 80s - and his voice & style hadn't change a lil' bit! A phenomenal artist!

"Swing" is another term used to describe this genre of music. Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller are from that era.

Big Band Jazz is what this is. It's peak was in the 1930s through 1950s. Cartoons often use(d) it because it was the pop music of its time, and the early cartoons were from this period.

I absolutely ;love this sequence, I don't have an idea of how many times I've seen it, never get tired of it. And one thing I especially love about your video is that you are in the corner and the scene we're watching is large and we can see it so easily see it!

It's called "Scat." It's kinda the granddy of rap.

This is the artist who started his own genre called Jive. It came out of the big band and swing genres.

The oldest and the ultimate! Anything involving the Nicholas Brothers is worth watching!

The Nicholas Brothers occupy a unique niche musical film and dance history. Their style was so unusual, and the material so exceptional that no one else could choreograph their routines - that had to do it all themselves.

It's called "scat back jive,or jazz" the father of motown,and grandfather of hip hop/rap.

The genre you're hearing is usually referred to by one of two names: either "swing" or "big band." Along with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway was probably one of the most popular black bandleaders of the 1930s and 1940s.

I'm a 63 year old white woman and I love this type of music and dance. I love the old musicals from the 30's - present.

The genre is Jazz/Swing. Recorded in 1939

Great to see this young man open himself up to a prior generations entertainers and being in awe of how great they were.

cab calloway was one of the best showman and entertainers who ever lived the man could out perform guys less than half his age even when he was in his 80s. the nicholas brothers were perhaps the best dance duo in old hollywood. Fred Astaire called this number the best dance sequence ever filmed. the incredible part is this was filmed with no rehearsals and in one take

The brothers did this dance routine impromptu. They were the best dancers.

The Nicholas Brothers were amazing and Cab Calloway was cool long before cool was a thing. So glad you did this. You just witnessed an amazing performance.

It's "Big Band Jazz", or "Swing Jazz" with "Scat" vocals.

Being raise by my Grandparents, I was exposed to a lot of stuff from this era and before, and seeing the awe, wonder, and feel of magic on this man's face brought a little of that back to me.

This was my father's generation. He'd be 105 if he was alive today. The genre was jazz, blues, swing, & big band

I'm so glad you enjoyed this.

This was a scene from the 1943 movie "Stormy Weather", starring Lena Horne and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (one of the best tap dancers of all time!) The Nicholas Brothers always said they never choreographed anything they did--it was always ad lib!

The scene is from the film “Stormy Weather”. The dance sequence by the Nicholas Brothers is considered the greatest dance sequence captured on film.

I’m an old white guy, 67 years old. This music was called jitterbug jive and I spend most evenings immersed in this music Cab Calloway and the Beatles. It’s all you need 👍

These were the days when a ‘performer’ had to be able to sing, dance and act. As for dance that had to be all varieties.

This is Swing music and Cab is “scatting” when he is singing non-words. This is a very famous bit of cinematography. Check out Cab’s routine in The Blues Brothers sometime. He entertains the audience when they get restless waiting for Jake and Elwood.

Cab Calloway and his Orchestra replaced Duke Ellington as the house band in New York’s Cotton Club in the 1930s. The Nicholas Brothers dance act headlined the club from when they were pre-teen. You’re seeing here the best kind of live performers from that era. Real pros.

It was fun watching you watch the Cab Calloway and Nichols Brothers video. They had so much natural talent back in those days. Did not have any special effects and special microphones to help them out. Just pure talent...I love it!

Glad you checked this out. Cab Callaway was a great entertainer, singer and bandleader back in the Swing Era. The Nicholas Brothers were one of the greatest dancing acts in the business, especially dancing tap. There are many great musicals and, singers, dancers, bandleader, composers, lyricists, etc, from the period from 1900 to 1960. Without going into a long list, go to Wikipedia, and get a list of artists in each category. The amount of talent is astounding. You won't be disappointed.

Look for him on "The Blues Brothers," with his classic, "Minnie the Moocher."

Back when talent was talent and music was music. And the artists knew how to dress!

I very much appreciate you exposing this type of talent, even though it may have been from 80+ years or so ago. This was pure talent. And I see so little of it now. Now it is all about making money in the industry. That was not the case back in the day.

This is scat music. C. Callaway was a pioneer of the rap of the 1940s. This was filmed while World War 2 was being waged.

The first time I heard this music, my grandmother introduced it to me when I was 15. I have been in love with it ever since. She used to tell me how my grandaddy and her used to win dance competitions in the 20's and 30's.

I remember the first time I saw the Nicholas Brothers as a child. I couldn't keep my jaw closed. Amazing stuff.

Yes, jive, big band, swing. Keep watching the Nicolas brothers, they will teach you all the dance moves you never knew existed.

Good music, creative music, talented music transcends all races, cultures and times! Love Cab and the spectacular Nicholas Brothers!! :-D

It's worth noting that the Nicholas Brothers' performance was unrehearsed and filmed in a single take.

Doing the splits and getting up repeatedly with no hands!? Impossible-except they did it! Genius physicality.

It's wonderful to see a young man discover three of the greatest entertainment artists of the 20th century--Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers.

You don’t know what you’re about to see!!!! Jazz/Big Band music is our birthright!❤️

30's and 40's were one of the best times for music. That era had everything - extremely talented singers and dancers, wonderful bands and one thing that modern music severly lacks - a class.

He also did a great song called "Minnie the Moocher." Not to mention the movie with Eddie Murphy "The Cotton Club."

Cab Calloway would be beautiful in the very day and age. THEY saw magic happen then, make no mistake about that my friend. Great reaction brother!

This was what is referred to as the Swing Era! Fun, isn't it!? BTW, {FUN FACT}: I am the vid actress in the "Maneater" video by Daryl Hall & John Oates! They were known as "Blue Eyed Soul" & before them was The Righteous Brothers whom were Bobby Hatfield & Bill Medley. One of they're biggest 'hits' is "Unchained Melody"-Bobby Hatfield sings this on his own. Please give them a listen (esp. that song), if you haven't yet! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

I remember reading an article years ago where Hollywood wanted to make a movie about the Nicholas Brothers, but they couldn't find 2 dancers good enough. I would agree. Susan

This is a really old video....1943! That was four years before I was born, so this was during my 96-yr. old mother's youth. Her being a tap dancer made the Nicholas Brothers some of her favorite tap dancers. This genre was called jazz/swing. It was great to see you enjoying that as even I did when I was a young girl and my mother used to watch all these old black and white movies with dancing and big bands.

This was the era of big band music and when dancing was an art form. Now dancing is shake your butt, flap your arms and lets call it dancing. These two fellows were two of the best dancers ever and they could sing very well too.

One take ladies and gentlemen. The best dancers of their period. Love them.

Can you imagine how cool it would be to see that live in that club setting wow

Unbelievable talent....loved your expression all the way through 😲

I'm just sitting here smiling...that is awesome! Nicholas Brothers are amazing!

I absolutely love Cab Calloway. And I love watching tap dancers. I wish it would come back. Tap dancing is an ignored enormous talent.