After Seben 1929 -- Chick Webb & "Shorty" George Snowden

[jbb22310]

WOW!!! This is the day SWING was born!!!

[hihats]

take that , dancing with the stars

[2LOUD2LOUD]

My favorites are Shorty Stump and Liza Underdunk!!

[lbjoshbal]

YEA

[DYNODRUM]

I,take couple number three.............and the solo dude, could cut it w/most today and was pretty ahead of us in here ,JAMES BROWN, M. jACKSON

[ginsushark]

check the dance kizomba - its like angolan bachata - totally reminds me of this style of charleston, or balboa.

[ginsushark]

@ginsushark w/o the swingouts of course

[u64cxuk]

Better get back Michal Jackson. Incredible footage

[MrNSBianchi]

Yes but they sure had fun while it lasted. Great dancing! Chick Web swings forever.

[torontoguy1097]

stunning... what we owe to these folks and how we forget so easily what these incredible talents gave to us as North Americans

[BRazor78]

2:25, I swear I'm seeing James Brown's steps. Great band by the way, wish I couldve seen chick webb too

[gcrav]

Yep. And if you ever see the Buster Keaton movie Go West, you'll see the dance moves that Elvis adopted some 30 years later. Just briefly, though.

[ginsushark]

@BRazor78 check snake hips tucker

[BRazor78]

@ginsushark Dude, that video was nice... My knees would break trying to do that. 

[PatsBooks]

No it is nothing strange about looking a vintage of dead people.  In a few years, you will be dead too and your family will look at pictures of you.

I am so glad this was captured in film. Wonderful.

[soulquarian69]

is he in "blackface"???

[1951drdave]

Yes. Because he is White, he was not otherwise allowed to appear with Blacks. That is how things were then.

[LosAngeleno1959]

Imagine. All these people are residing in some cemetary now. kinda strange huh?

[SAHBfan]

Great shame we didn't get to see a bit of the band - there was the great Chick Webb, just out of camera shot, and we didn't get to see him...

Not sure f much footage of him exists anywhere :-(

[buzzdav4]

that emcee looks like a white guy in blackface--am I right-? Hope not. Sort of insulting to the real black performers.

[ShotsloppyD]

Yeah! Maybe we should go back in time and kick his ass!

Look, man, while it's a sad chapter in history- It happened.. Can't change or ammend it! There's no apologizing for what OTHERS did so long ago! It perpetuates the situation we weren't even involved with! We shouldn't feel guilty for being white any more than anyone should for being black, green, or purple. Start today- and move on, for Christ's sake! And Chick Webb rules.

[DjDedan]

umm no one said you should feel guilty lol and if you do, it's on you... anyway, blackface is offensive, it was back then and it is now... no argument there right? however this footage is vintage and i'm sure the poster doesn't mean to offend anyone but rather show some amazing dancing...

[user192021]

Yep - it's James Barton in blackface. It's not "sort of" insulting - it's out and out racism. But this clip is like 90 years old...so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[hoot6theyre]

the last guy is out of his mind...he is on every note perfectly

[primeralives]

Does anyone know if any of these folks are alive ?

[BigJoeMamma]

Nope. They're long gone. Only a few dancers from the next generation are still around, and they're almost centennials.

[butchfoot]

man that was great and those last dancers, WOW, thanks

[zoeesl]

SICK WITH IT!

[nedsparks]

This is great! Thanks.

[pataphysician66]

Cool! Early Jitterbug! Chick Webb is awesome!

[shalynnlopez]

This music is very different. I am listening because its part of an assignment. I have to admit I enjoy all this old music.

[1nessism]

wonderful! would love to see more of chick webb & orchestra!