Earl "Snake Hips" Tucker

[kobe24mvp81]

RA The Rugged Man Facebook page, now I can witness history

[CharlesBloodInit]

this guy made me laugh so hard some poo came out

[mrmonnet]

The original Harlem shake!!

[lilLeolion]

@mrmonnet yes! most people credit that dance to samuel jackson in mo better blues, but this is it!

[MikeTheKingScorp1993]

0:28 what the fuck did he just do?

[FyreFoxHawk]

0:25 Start of a skilled spin :P

0:53 How does he do that? 0_0

1:01 Spin 2

1:28 0_0

1:39 Spin 3

Earl Tucker is pure awesomeness.

[CaptMARNEY]

Amazing! I took a course in Harlem Renaissance, and learned about this legend. Unfortunately he died young of internal injuries. But what an awesome routine he had! It's like he's a liquid!

[1mesosexy1]

Second thought, both James Brown and MJ followed this style.

[1mesosexy1]

Remind me more of James Brown dance style.

[cafegranizadoconmilo]

Revealed! Michael Jackson's original inspiration! :D

[TheExpressWay]

Around what year was this video taken?

[OnlineScooterGuide]

I just came across your video - great job!!!

[6labi4]

ok, how many hips and knees replacement had later in life? geeez that is amazing!

[burntrubber11]

damn early hip hop

[Ibanezheadz]

Chris Brown wishes he could dance like this

[liniusmusic]

precursor to body popping this is

[3investigators]

@soulmziklova We all come from somewhere. We are influenced either consciously or unconsciously by those who come before us and we in turn influence those who come after us. One can call it stealing if one wants to but but I think it's simply a matter of influence. People say Elvis stole from black people and that Nat Cole stole from white people etc. but the truth is there was never ANYONE like Elvis or Nat Cole - black or white.

[UncleBW]

When I was a kid, my dad used to do this around the house and always called it snake hips, but I never knew where he got it from. This is awesome and we all used to laugh when dad did it. Thanks for posting.

[ThePEACHYBOY]

@soulmziklova You are absolutely correct.Sorry if i seemed angry about the Elvis thing,but my father who was a Jazz saxophonist from 1938-1990 always told us about the (ones) that stole music and dancing from those that could really produce it.He always said the Beatles ruined music in America,and rock was born because they did not understand how to feel the music,.So i definitely know what i'm saying because he spent over fifty years playing real music.Thank you for commenting.

[ThePEACHYBOY]

@soulmziklova ELVIS,YOU MUST BE KIDDING.HOW CAN YOU MENTION ELVIS IN THE SAME CONVERSATION WITH JAMES BROWN,JACKIE WILSON AND MY GOD M.J. ELVIS STOLE HIS MUSIC AND HIS MOVES WERE WITHOUT RYTHYM OR SOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sensationsuperthrust]

i once did the exact same during ice skating... ive been to hospital for serval weeks after! -_-''

[wells5150]

This was my grandfather!!!! WOW! So gladto see his art still appreciated.

[Mjalwayzicon19]

Wow!!!! is all can say!!!

[slipknot1643]

With out him we would have no popping. So thank you Earl Tucker!!! any one that likes any type of moon walk or sliding at all has to thank this man and the cotton club for making him famous.

[rhyannone]

Sorry Lady Lemon, I can see how that reads now, I meant Elvis getting his moves FROM Earl. My appologies.

[lejoneehranmsncom]

this guy was ahead of his time

[danceitup1000]

My, My - that's some serious booty shaking. Did you catch him dipping to floor, then sliding back up? Maybe Evan has watched this and that's why he's wearing knee pads in rehearsal!

[rhyannone]

I am seeing a lot of Elvis P's moves in here, I wonder if this is where he got them from?

[LadyLemonBar]

@rhyannone This was back in either the mid 30s or late 20s. Elvis was born in 1935. Snakehips died of a stroke in 1937

[300bluebooks]

@LadyLemonBar This is from the MGM short "Crazy House" from 1930. You can see it on TCM or get it via the Warner Archives Musical Shorts box set.

[newagetomboy]

He has to be double jointed IN A BUNCH OF PLACES...LOL

[NoraBayes]

I think this was from the 1935 short film "Symphony in Black" which featured te music of Duke Ellington.

[JCJasion]

What year was this from?

[LadyLemonBar]

@JCJasion 1935, I'm guessing.

[UberHit]

Seems Earls knees are double jointed. nevertheless it still requires talent n skill.

[ginsushark]

i think snakehips was gay - the kind that carry a straight razor and are not to be fkd with

[dreadybamboo]

looks like congolese dance

[kodthegreat]

james brown imitated him

[JESSESALES]

yo this dude is nasty that waz crazy

[footworkforte]

i see pieces of him that michael jackson used in billie jean...interesting shit..

[VKElovers]

I've gotta say, the man has some great isolation going for him!

[dalilab2010]

Super

[dalilab2010]

Super

[CasanovaLars]

Earl Tucker ("Snake Hips") was a performer at the Cotton Club during the days of Duke Ellington. His style of dance is defintly related that of waving that you see young Hip Hop dancers still doing today. and he also had similar floats and back slides that he used in his act as well.

[directorofmusc]

Man, this cat don't need no strings. He's floatin in mid-air.

[bigbrownfrank]

true hip-hop.

[VanniGio]

1:36..that cat is on a string!!!!!! so smooth

[26djkeykey]

:-)

[chessdrummer]

double-jointed

[meganjerai]

i can't help but to think that Bob Fosse gained influence from this guy

[breannamarie]

Fosse danced the way he did because he was physically handicapped and used his lack of movement to create a new way of using the body :)

[meganjerai]

@breannamarie that may be true but i still see a lot of this guys movements in Bob Fosse's choreo...not knocking Bob or tryna discredit him, just an oberservation

[meganjerai]

daddy long stroke

[tukkerchamp]

hes shuffling :D

[jump23jordan99]

killin the beat

[wrstlr185]

this is how popping got its start

[jelboysvw]

I will try that movement next time im on the missus

[Moionfire]

LOL !!

[MusixMan81]

stroke stroke stroke on! lol

[jasadin]

Every time I see this vid I think Earl's stroke must've left many women messed up.lol

[luvureally]

I read that his early demise (age 32) was the result of a dance hating husband finding Snake Hips giving private "stroking" lessons to his wife. Don't know if that is true or not. Not much is really known about his life.

[jasadin]

I've tried to find out more about him but only ended up with a few sentences.I read he was a badass who was quite skillful with a blade that he always carried and he was always surrounded by women(of course) who use to mother him.

[AzzedineAliaFan]

@jasadin LOL i bet he put some moves on women he slept with, i find him fascinating. I"m trying to find out more about him. He died relatively young (1905 - 1937).

[ajstill03]

@jasadin lol

[lilLeolion]

@jasadin HAHHAHAHA best youtube comment i've ever read! hahahahahahah

[ladylittles]

It's very interesting how dance moves get recycled.

[JayBee2k7]

come hither kiddies

[DiaShanti]

no i know where michale jackson and elvis stole their moves from. *don't hate!, keep sense of humor, now!*

[knivesxgunfights]

back in dubbaya dubbya two they used to call me snake hips

[HAGHAPHE31416]

The man chewing gum!  amazing!

[Blackjesus3]

HE WAS A SICKKKKKKK DANCER

[dal4018]

Your right Black Jesus this guy was sick but he couldn't touch the Nicholas Bros or the Berry Bros they brought excitement to tap dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Blackjesus3]

yee ur right he cudnt but they were dous n hes a solo dancer

[dal4018]

@Blackjesus3 Point taken he's a solo artist

[ddenniscoleman3]

Whao! This was filmed in the 1930s? When did they start filming in color?

[Tropcaliente]

Michael Jackson's inspiration ¦D

[modrn]

origin of hip hop, breakdancing/b-boying....right here...

[VIBEZ171]

SONNNN HE IS SOO NICEEE

[Showoff34711]

smh at 1:27 NAHHHH

[ijockbeast]

deng this dude was swaggin it out haha, the good ol days

[chinafbleezy]

son smh werd team werd to me every1 wus smooth in these times

[michiep21]

Fantatsic!! It's amazing how someone can move like that.

[MorenitaDeSamba]

Now we know Michael Jackson's secret. He got many of his moves from early dancers like this. lol

[EmmaEgypt]

DAMN he could dance like nobody else!

[sparrow8000]

Cab Calloway was clearly inspired by this man..

[lovie2000]

I be MJ watched him to, with all his foot gliding dance moves

[tomejohn38]

the originally  stanky leg

[lildude2001soc]

lol

[minniethemoocher1932]

this kind of dancing could get pregant depending on who the dude is

[PHARRAOH]

m.j. grand daddy! thriller!

[bluchicdotnet]

lol That looks like tha dance i do when I have to use tha bathroom really really really bad! 0:35 - 0:48

[pknickerz]

hahaha

[bluchicdotnet]

WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I've got to go research Mr. Earl Tucker. Dang

[crossharpchronicles]

And we thought Elvis had it going on.

[Mannock]

Sadly, Snake Hips dies less than six years after this film was made. Biographies of this extraordinary man are very scarce.

[LouisLeeKH]

He died in 1937, only 2 years after this film.

So sad!!!!!!

[the60sKid]

Actually it was 7 years after. This was from the MGM short subject film Crazy House made in 1930. Very amazing watching him move. This was also just before censorship of films by the Motion Picture Production Code "Hays Code". This could have been considered erotic then but by the 1950's Elvis had to be filmed from the waist up. and now today anything goes. Oh how times have changed over the decades.

[LouisLeeKH]

The bagkground is a picture of outer space so it's a real Moonwalk!!!

[SAllen]

True... most of the moves we have in styles today were take from other movements from before we can remember. This is just a good example.

But Boogaloo Sam innovated "Electric Boogaloo".... OG's were doin Boogaloo in Cali even before Sam and the Electric Boogaloos got big.

[ficklefiend]

He certainly has a magnificent bottom.

[plainwain]

This kind of dance just be the answer to my "pot belly". CyaL8'aa folks gotta git busy wif my snake hips routine.

[ruukaoz]

slimey!

[DanseuseduMonde]

This guy is awesome, but there is an evident influence of Belly Dance here. His snakey hips are clearly influenced by Belly Dance. Take a look at any of the Golden Era Age of Belly Dance Bellydancers like Samia Gamal, Naima Akef, etc , there are so many right here on youtube, see it and make the connection.

[bounce510]

Possibly so, but this kind of movement traces itself back to a variety of West African dances which further developed in the Southern states especially Louisiana. Congo Square was famous for movement in this vein.

There is little information where Tucker gained his particular style what influences he drew from.

[ThatsABiggon]

I swear when he first started I thought he was going to start pop'locking. even seemed like a beat was gonna drop. lol

[secondsunn4]

pop'locking is not an actual dance style...popping is one and locking is another...real poppers or lockers hate that term...jus an FYI..no flame here

[ThatsABiggon]

Oh, okay. I know it's popping & locking hence the apostrophe when I typed it. In the black community I've only heard the terms together growing up & usually minus the and. My typing was just reflecting the colorful vernacular of my people. Thanks for correcting me though: I love information.

[jeffrey64]

moonwalk originator

[mrkatamura]

this was what started what we know as breakdance. He was the father..

[MOESEWICHt1]

i love this kind of music.

[sickosandsuch]

A) He invented popping, or had a hand in it.

B) Dirty thoughts . . . dirty thoughts . . .

[YdOuUmRb]

are his knees double jointed?

[roshielala]

I was wondering the same thing

[Remistro]

knee grah!

[bugsbunny8989]

oh no he di'int!!

[dakotajim11378]

This is such an amazing video. just proves that dance steps today have been copied from dance legends of yesteryear and I'm talking back from the 20s and 30s. Great to see this stuff is still around for us to see and admire.

[eriberry97]

crazy good!

[3investigators]

This was not from a 1950's tv show. It was from an early 1930's film short that was shown in theaters. What a truly amazing performer - and yes, what an incredible time for music and culture. Do check out Al "rubber legs" norman who also did similar kind of "snaky" dancing at the time.

[gagurl3]

I jus learned something new today....Earl "snake hip" tucker was like the originator of the "wave" as we call it today. Thts really cool to learn about these kind of things...great video....and jus look at how much the dance has evolved from this. Great Video

[crazycutz]

if you are talking about the arm wave - he might just not be the originator - i think the first wave was french

anyway i see alot of mr. wiggles moves right here..

[saxophoney]

Wow. Great stuff! And in color too!

[krazypat91]

wow thats just amazing why couldnt i live this time

[Modacolorist]

You dont get to enjoy choreography like this now. The taping technique is too choppy or you just get a bunch of mindless butt shaking.

[sullivansean]

shake shake. shakin like a rattle snake. boom boom

[marshall9doom]

wow, my resource said this waz one of the earliest HipHop dance. Cool:DD!!

[PatrickKarijo]

Wow.. Damon Frost said this is wayyyyyy back.. Earl was doing this in the 40's or something??

[PatrickKarijo]

I mean 30's ^^ Just saw the other vid.. WOW... Amazing...

[KingMe5000]

I thought hip movements like that weren't allowed on TV back then?? I mean Elvis came Way Later then this and he wasn't showed on tv.

(well not his bottom half lol) So how come this guy is on TCM lol!

[PatrickKarijo]

LOL!!

that was funny man! you're right!

But I think it's because it's his specialty.. These are Hipmovements but not in a way that people think of certain things ^_^ This guy really moves like a "snake" so smooth.. In that time this would have been quite entertaining to see (even in 2008/2009!! lol)

Hip movements that The King did drove young girls crazy hahaha That could be a reason?? No idea lol!

But I feel you! Happy Holidays! ^.^

[KingMe5000]

LOL true

[garethac81]

I nearly spat out my cereal at the end...great finish! :)

[robhiphop]

What priod was this?

[robhiphop]

A boogaloo roll uses hip rolls but I don't remeber hearing that he created hip rolls. A boogaloo roll as I am sure you know looks different than what we see in this clip.

[PoppinGoldenBoy]

dude thats a dope move... i might take a quick bit but not a whole lot. thanks for sharing!

[strydRz]

lol

[jacklav1]

and his chocolate trousers.

[minniethemoocher1932]

does anybody know the name of the song?

[luvureally]

from the short "Symphony in Black" featuring music of Duke Ellington, this song is called "Harlem Rhythm".

[minniethemoocher1932]

thank you for telling me the name of the song but this is actually from the short "crazy house"

[ADL718]

Even though it's frm so so long ago, absolute quality. Look at dat guy move

[rawdog001]

This clip is from a 1930 MGM Technicolor short called Crazy House, love that 2 stripe Technicolor early process.

[aristotletheskull]

Ya'll boys

don't know nothing bout that snake hips Tucker

(smile)!!! If you ever seen the tv show

Sandford & Son you'll occasionally see Fred

imitate Snake Hips when he does he lil dance

like he's on a converter belt(lol)

[aluvsupreme]

Sensational... this is from a film called "Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life".

[tntmcdugle]

well, i guess we know where james brown got it from...

[larstangmark]

Snakehips etcetera!

[Rocky1DJ]

Eso se llama: Mover el esqueleto.

Michael Jackson vió este video cuando era niño.

[luckybluesboy]

Does anyone know which movie this clip comes from?

[englishknight55]

who says body poppin' was invented in the 80's!

[soulbrotherlegendary]

Whoooo this cat is too cold, not was but "Is" too cold...name a non-OG Street Dancer that can top that before the year 3000...

[nuttynoodles]

was this the original sound to the clip? if not anyone know what he was groovin to?

[amsterz14]

That's unnatural. so cool.

[ginsushark]

Maybe Boogaloo Sam brought hip rolls to west coast funk dancing. whatever. no dance is new.

[crunk617]

that is crazy. I've never seen this footage. thanks for posting

[Numinon5]

This may have been a vignette from a ridiculous, unfunny short where a gentleman chances upon Mr. Hips doing his thing in one of the ancillary rooms of a business office.This jerk just opens doors and behind one of them is this craziness. Funny to compare the pelvic machinations of this gentleman to say, Elvis. No contest of course, but man, what a maturity spectrum, from teenybop to Late Nite.

[ciscocastille]

Dude was, and is, the man, LOL!

[amirgiles]

"Snake Hips' would perform a five-part number during which he successively rolled his hips, torso and pelvis to constitute a sort of belly-dance known as the 'Belly Roll' and which ended with 'The Tremble'...eye witnesses said it drove women crazy; others remember that the dancer's character left much to be desired, and that he always carried a razor" - Claude Carriere, on sleeve of Duke Ellington Anniversary collection

[leejinhoon1]

awesome! amazing!!!

[KAThomas]

This is pretty watered down/sanitized from the footage I've seen... dude was THE man.

[bounce510]

It was a mainstream theatrical release. What he did in his Harlem shows still wouldn't be considered PG.

[Mooncricket]

That was amazing. A little bit of boogaloo was in his moves. I hope to find more of Earls dance clips.

[aklamo]

Wow. I've never seen any Earl 'Snake Hips' footage before. This is amazing.

[sjh012055]

yeah, he was really well known for performing in harlem bars during the time of prohibition. he performed at places like the cotton club with duke ellington and his band. he was really awesome!