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Hot Chocolates
''Hot Chocolates'' is a musical revue with music by Fats Waller and Harry Brooks and book by Andy Razaf. It was originally titled ''Tan Town Topics'' in hopes it would be picked up by Broadway. Performed at the Hudson Theater in New York City, it was directed by Leonard Harper and ran for 219 performances from June 20, 1929, to December 14, 1929. It is also referred to as ''Connie's Hot Chocolates''. It was staged, directed and produced by Leonard Harper. While the revue featured music and singing, including the subsequent hit " Aint Misbehavin'," it was praised for the cast's dancing, including its male and female chorus lines. Louis Armstrong made his Broadway debut as part of the show's pit band. Cab Calloway later joined the cast as a replacement at Armstrong's recommendation. Calloway later adopted the song "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue," originally sung by Edith Wilson, for his performances decades later. Cast * Louis Armstrong ''Ensemble'' * Jimmie Baskette ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American 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. His best-known compositions, " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999. Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, many of them co-written with his closest collaborator, Andy Razaf. Razaf described his partner as "the soul of melody... a man who made the piano sing... both big in body and in mind... known for his generosity... a bubbling bundle of joy". It is likely that he composed many more popular songs than he has been credited with: when in financial difficulties he had a habit of selling songs to other writers and performers who claimed them as their own. Waller started playing the piano at the age of six, and became a professional organist at 15. By the age of 18, he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Brooks (composer)
Harry Brooks (September 20, 1895 – June 22, 1970) was an American writer of popular songs, jazz pianist and composer in the 1920s to the early 1950s. Brooks was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania. After graduating from his hometown high school in 1914, he worked as a pianist with Pittsburgh bands (dance orchestras) and then as a staff composer for a publishing company. He is recalled mostly in the 21st century for his work with his friends Thomas "Fats" Waller and the lyricist Andy Razaf. Brooks was the composer of several hit songs including his composition " Ain't Misbehavin'", written with Waller and Razaf.Larkin, Colin (ed.) (2006) "Razaf, Andy" ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' MUZE, Oxford University Press, New York, Also with Razaf and Waller, Brooks scored the Broadway shows ''Snapshots of 1921'' and ''Connie's Hot Chocolates''. He died, aged 74, in Teaneck, New Jersey. Published songs and music All co-composed with Razaf and Waller unless otherwise marked * " A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Razaf
Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". Biography Razaf was born in Washington, D.C., United States. His birth name was Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo. He was the son of Henri Razafinkarefo, nephew of Queen Ranavalona III of the Imerina kingdom in Madagascar, and Jennie Razafinkarefo (née Waller), the daughter of John L. Waller, the first African American consul to Imerina. The French invasion of Madagascar (1894-95) left his father dead, and forced his pregnant 15-year-old mother to escape to the United States, where he was born in 1895. He was raised in Harlem, Manhattan, and at the age of 16 he quit school and took a job as an elevator operator at a Tin Pan Alley office building. A year later he penned his first song text, embarking on his career as a lyricist. During this time he would spend man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hudson Theater
The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the Hudson was built from 1902 to 1903. The exterior was designed by J. B. McElfatrick & Son, while Israels & Harder oversaw the completion of the interior. The theater has 970 seats across three levels. Both the exterior and interior of the theater are New York City designated landmarks, and the theater is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hudson Theatre's massing consists of two primary rectangular sections, both of which are clad in tan brick with Flemish bond. The main entrance is through a four-story wing on 44th Street, while the auditorium is housed in the rear along 45th Street. The first story of the 44th Street wing contains an entrance vestibule, ticket lobby, and main lobby, while the other stories contained offices. The auditori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Harper (producer)
Leonard Harper (April 9, 1899, Birmingham, Alabama – February 4, 1943, Harlem, New York) was a producer, stager, and choreographer in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s. Harper's works spanned the worlds of vaudeville, cabaret, burlesque and Broadway musical comedy. As a dancer, choreographer and studio owner, he coached many of the country's leading performers, including Ruby Keeler, Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire, and the Marx Brothers. He produced floor shows and theatrical revues both uptown in Harlem and downtown on Broadway's Great White Way. He co-directed and staged the ensemble segments of ''The Exile'' and the short film '' Darktown Revue'' with Oscar Micheaux. Harper staged for Broadway '' Hot Chocolates'' at the Hudson Theatre and was the premiere producer who opened up the Cotton Club. He also produced Lindy Hop revues and an act called Harper's Lindy Hoppers at the Savoy Ballroom, as detailed in his biography '' Rhythm For Sale''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ain't Misbehavin' (song)
"Ain't Misbehavin" is a 1929 stride jazz/ early swing song. Andy Razaf wrote the lyrics to a score by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks for the Broadway musical comedy play '' Connie's Hot Chocolates''. First performances The song was first performed at the premiere of ''Connie's Hot Chocolates'' in Harlem at Connie's Inn as an opening song by Paul Bass and Margaret Simms, and repeated later in the musical by Russell Wooding's ''Hallelujah Singers''. ''Connie's Hot Chocolates'' was transferred to the Hudson Theatre on Broadway during June 1929, where it was renamed to ''Hot Chocolates'' and where Louis Armstrong became the orchestra director. The script also required Armstrong to play "Ain't Misbehavin" in a trumpet solo, and although this was initially slated only to be a reprise of the opening song, Armstrong's performance was so well received that the trumpeter was asked to climb out of the orchestra pit and play the piece on stage. As noted by Thomas Brothers in his book ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. Around 1922, he followed his mentor, King Oliver, Joe "King" Oliver, to Chicago to play in the . In Chicago, he spent time with other popular jazz musicians, reconnecting with his friend Bix Beiderbecke and spending time with Hoagy Carmichael and Lil Hardin Armstrong, Lil Hardin. He earned a reputation at "cutting contests", and his fame reached band leader Fletcher Henderson. Henderson persuaded Armstrong to come to New York City, where he became a featur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American 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. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the most popular dance bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. His band included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Jonah Jones, and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, guitarist Danny Barker, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Cozy Cole. Calloway had several hit records in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming known as the "Hi-de-ho" man of jazz for his most famous song, " Minnie the Moocher", originally recorded in 1931. He reached the '' Billboard'' charts in five consecutive decades (1930s–1970s). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
(What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue
"(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" is a 1929 jazz standard composed by Fats Waller with lyrics by Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf. It was introduced in the Broadway musical '' Hot Chocolates'' (1929) by Edith Wilson. In the show, Wilson originally sang the song from a bed with white sheets, but the bed was removed after the first show due to the judgement that it was too suggestive. The show also included Waller's hit compositions " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". Louis Armstrong later performed and recorded the song several times omitting the opening verse. Blues singer Ethel Waters's 1930 version of the song became a hit, and the song has been recorded by many artists since then. Frankie Laine's 1946 version was featured in the 2011 video game '' L.A. Noire'', as part of the in-game radio station, K.T.I. Radio. The song is also featured in the prologue of Ralph Ellison's novel ''Invisible Man'' (1952) as its protagonist, while hiding underground in a basement ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edith Wilson (singer)
Edith Wilson ( Goodall; September 2, 1896 – March 31, 1981) was a blues singer, vaudeville performer, and actress from Louisville, Kentucky, US. An African-American who performed and recorded in the classic female blues style in the 1920s, Wilson worked in vaudeville and stage productions, first in Louisville and later throughout the US and abroad. From the 1930s onward, she acted in radio plays and television, and from 1948 to 1966 represented the Aunt Jemima brand for Quaker Oats in personal appearances and on television. She remained an active performer until 1980. Biography She was born Edith Goodall on September 2, 1896, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Susan Jones and Hundley Goodall. (Her birthdate is often stated as ten years later, but this was due to vanity.) Her first professional experience came in 1919 in Louisville's Park Theater. The singer Lena Wilson and her brother, Danny, performed in Louisville; she joined their act. Edith was married to Danny Wilson fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Baskett
James Franklin Baskett (February 16, 1904 – July 9, 1948) was an American actor who portrayed Uncle Remus, singing the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the 1946 Disney feature film ''Song of the South''. In recognition of his portrayal of Remus, he was given an Honorary Academy Award in 1948, making him the first black male performer to receive an Oscar. Career Baskett studied pharmacology as a young man but gave it up to pursue an acting career. He first moved to New York City, New York, where he joined up with Bill 'Mr. Bojangles' Robinson. Using the name Jimmie Baskette, he appeared with Louis Armstrong on Broadway in the 1929 black musical revue '' Hot Chocolates'' and in several all-black New York films, including ''Harlem is Heaven'' (1932). He later moved to Los Angeles, California, and had a supporting role in the film ''Straight to Heaven'' (1939), starring Nina Mae McKinney. In 1941 he voiced Fats Crow in the animated Disney film ''Dumbo'', and he also had bit parts in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Higgins (vaudeville)
William Weldon Higgins (June 9, 1888 – April 19, 1937) was an American vaudeville entertainer, comedian, singer and songwriter — critically acclaimed, and is historically chronicled, as one of the most popular stage comedians of the 1920s. Langston Hughes named him as one of the "Golden Dozen" black comedians. On various recordings of the 1920s, Higgins used the pseudonym Jazz Caspar ''(aka'' Casper). Biography Early years Higgins was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He was African American and often worked in blackface. He began his career in 1912 as a singer of ballads at private clubs in is hometown of Columbia. Before that, he had been a machinist. Sometime around 1913, he joined Billy King, a widely popular comedian and producer of touring theatrical revues. Higgins co-starred with King in the show ''Two Bills from Alaska''. Higgins performed with King until 1917, when he entered the U.S. Army during World War I. Service in the United States Army During ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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