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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 “Boogie Woogie Dream“ with Lena Horne, a 1944 musical that was directed by Hanus Burger. It stars Horne, pianists Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson, and Teddy Wilson and his orchestra. At (13:20), “Blues in the Night“ with Cab Calloway and his Orchestra, one of the many Minoco soundies. At (16:31), Louis Armstrong and his band performs “Shine“ from 1942. At (19:16), the Charioteers perform in another Minoco release “The Darktown Strutter's Ball“. At (21:42) Fats Waller is seen performing two of his most famous compositions “Ain't Misbehavin“ and at (25:00), “Honeysuckle Rose“. The reel continues with a Hawaiian soundie “Ana Lani“ (30:00) performed by Ray Kinney and his orchestra, featuring the Aloha Maids. At (32:44) the Mills Brothers perform “Paper Doll“ with Dorothy Dandridge. Dandridge is also seen at (35:28) performing “Cow Cow Boogie“. Thomas Wright “Fats“ Waller (1904 – 1943) was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. Cabell Calloway III (1907 – 1994) was a singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years. Actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge (1922 – 1965) was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in Carmen Jones (1954). Dandridge performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. 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
