This collection of music shorts and soundies — 1940s musical shorts / music videos — features prominent African American artists. It begins with the Mills Brothers performing “Rockin Chair” and “Till Then” (3:10). Maxine Sullivan, one of the finest singers to emerge during the Swing Era, performs “Some of These Days” at (6:00), this dates to 1942. Maurice Rocco performs “Beat Me, Daddy” (1943) at (8:52), and the Nat King Cole Trio and Ida James perform “Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” (1944) at (11:40). At (14:34) “The Band Parade” features Count Basie and his Band performing “Someone’s Rockin’ My Boat” followed by the “Delta Rhythm Boys” (16:20) and “Count Basie Boogie”. At (23:14) Cootie Williams and His Orchestra short featuring Eddie Vinson, Laurel Watson, Lindy Hoppers, and the Douglas Brothers. At (32:55) “Breakfast in Rhythm” introducing “Be Careful” by the Three Chefs, a Black dance trio popular along the West Coast for more than a decade beginning in the mid 1930s. This soundie dates to 1943.

The Mills Brothers were a major African-American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century producing more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and garnered at least three dozen gold records. The Mills Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.

Maurice Rocco (1915 – 1976) was an American pianist, singer, actor, and composer known for playing boogie-woogie piano and his disdain for using a piano bench. He was a top nightclub and theater draw in the 1940s, and made several film appearances. He toured the United States, Canada, and Europe before becoming a fixture in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was murdered.

Charles Melvin “Cootie” Williams (1911 – 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.

The Delta Rhythm Boys was an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987. The Three Chefs was a black dance trio popular along the West Coast for more than a decade beginning in the mid 1930s.

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