TAP! The Greatest Tap Stars and Their Stories by Rusty E. Frank TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

• Foreword Gregory Hines
• Author's Note and Acknowledgments

PART I: 1900 - 1929

1-- FROM PICKANINNY TO THE PALACE

WILLIE COVAN

We were stoppin' shows wherever we went. Couldn't tear us off the stage! They had never seen nuthin' like us. We got to be so big, we were just about the biggest thing around!

2-- FIRST TAP DANCING STAR OF THE SILVER SCREEN

RUBY KEELER

I'd say I was a hoofer. A real Buck and Wing dancer.

3-- THE HOOFERS CLUB

LEONARD REED

They used to say there wasn't such a thing as not having a tap dancer in your show!

4-- KING OF THE ONE-LEGGED DANCERS

PEG LEG BATES

I was very ambitious when I was dancing
I wanted to be so good,
I wanted to surpas the two-leg dancers!
And in a lot of cases I did.

5-- 1920s REHEARSAL HALLS

GEORGE MURPHY

Got into show business by accident
and enjoyed the trip.

6-- THE COTTON CLUB:
THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS

FAYARD NICHOLAS

Everyone was raving over us at the Cotton Club.
They saw these new little guys
and they were amazed.

7-- FRED ASTAIRE'S CHOREOGRAPHER

HERMES PAN

Boy, we thought the same way
His rhythms were almost identical with mine.

8-- BILL ROBINSON'S "DARLIN' "

SHIRLEY TEMPLE

It was hard work and concentration,
and it was no time to be a baby

9-- JUST A HOOFER

RALPH BROWN

You keep trying
You keep trying
You keep trying.
And finally it comes to you--
the trick of tap dancing!

10--"THE CHINESE FRED ASTAIRE AND
GINGER ROGERS": TOY AND WING

PAUL WING

DOROTHY TOY

We just lived tap dancing.
Didn't know what time of day it was.

11--DANCING INTO SOCIETY

BUNNY BRIGGS

Some people ask me about my sound
I've been blessed in so many ways
because I danced in the streets
I danced in hallways,
I danced in hot-dog stands
and I danced for society.

12--"THE SEPIA CINDERELLA GIRL"

JENI LEGON

I did their step . . and
they just stood back and said, "Man,
look at that little ol' skinny girl dancel"

13--LAST OF THE STREET TAP DANCERS

LAVAUGHN ROBINSON

To be on Broad and South,
you had to have your shoes on tight
'Cause that was the comer!

14--SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
ON THE DANCE FLOOR:
BUDDY AND VILMA EBSEN

VILMA EBSEN

We would dance, and it was called
"the hottest cool dancing in town."

15--FROM VAUDEVILLE TO PICTURES

DONALD O'CONNOR

I knew that the harder I worked,
the more laughs and more applause I got
No one had to teach me that. I could hear it.

16--THE TAP DANCER'S DILEMMA:
THE BERRY BROTHERS

WARREN BERRY

I was so tired of hearing that music . . .
I would stand in the wings before going onstage,
and just grit my teeth every time.

17--HOLLYWOOD'S TAPPIN'-EST CHILD STAR

JANE WITHERS

We were making my pictures
in twenty-one to twenty-four daysl
That's it That's why I was known as
"One-Take Withers."

18--EXTRA-SPECIAL ADDED ATTRACTION:
GENE AND FRED KELLY

FRED KELLY

Well, Cab Calloway played the thing,
and Gene and I danced the thing,
and as soon as it was over,
they all stood up and clapped and cheered
That was really something. The guys we were nuts about were applauding us!

19--DANCING WITH THE GREAT
BILL"BOJANGLES" ROBINSON

EDDIE BROWN

Bill was a very fine man. He wanted everybody
to recognize him as a big star. Which he was
You don't call him Bill Robinson. You call him
Mr. Bill Robinson.

20--THIS IS THE ARMY

GENE NELSON

The Gl audiences were the greatest
They were so glad to be there watching
something that brought them closer to home
Our show was a jewel in the night

21--THE JIVIN' JACKS AND JILLS

PEGGY RYAN

You only have two feet and four taps
to make magic.

22--EIGHT FEET OF RHYTHM
THE FOUR STEP BROTHER

MACEO ANDERSON

You may be nervous when you go
on the stage, you anxious to get out there
But when you get out there, man,
like you in heaven.

23--DANCING AT THE APOLLO

FLASH McDONALD

Whenever we finished our dance,
that applause in your ear,
you wouldn't believe it
Oh, that s what would win you over
That's the sweetest thing in the world.

24--THE "STORY" OF TAP

PRINCE SPENCER

They called me "On-Too-Long,"
because I would go on the stage
and never know when to leave!
I was stagestruck.

25--TAPPING INTO THE CLASSICS

PAUL DRAPER

I was a very serious type of dancer
I didn't sell the steps to the audience.
Iwas anxious to do the dance, not to sell it
Iwanted to be a part of the art.

26--DANCE DIRECTORS WHO DO NOT DANCE

ANN MILLER

When [performers] came under contract at MGM
they were asked if they sang and danced
And if they didn't, they didn't get hired!

27-- NIGHTCLUB CHORUS GIRL

FRANCES NEALY

I always could tap dance.
I loved tap dancing
And they always had tap dancers in the show.

28-- DANCING WITH THE BIG BANDS

JIMMY SLYDE

And what I can say is, it's been a wonderful
way of life.

29-- THE "CLASS ACT":
COLES AND ATKINS

CHOLLY ATKINS

There were just so many Class Acts,
I can't remember most of them.
Because back in the late twenties
and early thirties . . it was class all the way.

30--ON THE ROAD TO BEBOP

BRENDA BUFALINO

When you read the Charlie Parker charts,
they're very complicated rhythmically,
but, in fact, nowhere near what we do stlll.
It's pretty sophisticated, what a tap dancer
can do.

• Glossary
• Appendix A
  • Tap Dancers and Tap Acts, 1900-1955
• Appendix B
  • Filmography--Tap Dancers on Film, 1900-1955
• Appendix C
  • Discography--Tap Dancers on Record, 1900-1955
• References Books, Films/Videos
• Photo Acknowledgments
• Index