RCM Productions

Original Schnickelfritz Band perform "Turkey in the Straw."

Yvonne De Carlo sings herself to sleep, in her dreams she dances with a Latin dancer. She awakes to sing again.

Tex Williams and Spade Cooley's Western Dance Gang sing "Take Me Back to Tulsa".

Spike Jones and His City Slickers perform "Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy".

An early "soundie" in which Dorothy Dandridge & Paul White sing "A Zoot Suit with a Reet Pleat" while getting dressed up for a big date.

In this Soundie, the Mills Brothers sing the title song to a cut-out image of Dorothy Dandridge, which then comes to life and dances for them.

Jazz Soundie with Stan Kenton and his players.

Dorothy Dandridge and band perform "Cow-Cow Boogie".

Musical short starring Spade Cooley.

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers at their best along with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra performing for this "Hot Chocolate" musical short.

1942 Soundies musical short

Louis Armstrong performs with Nicodemus on this Soundie from 1942.

Johnny Taylor sings "Good Nite All" at a house party.

Kay Starr singing "Stop That Dancing Up There".

The Bronco Busters perform "Old Chisholm Trail."

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra perform "Bli-Blip" with Marie Bryant and Paul White

Dona Drake sings "Sticks and Stones".

"Let's Scuffle" is a short subject -- a single song-and-dance number -- that appears to have been cut from a feature-length movie: to be precise, a 'race film'. (This was the term used by American cinema exhibitors in the 1940s and earlier for any movie with an all-black cast, intended primarily for distribution in black neighbourhoods at a time when many American cinemas were segregated.) The song-and-dance performer here is none other than the great Bill Robinson.

Ozzie Nelson takes us along for a typical day for a bandleader.

R.C.M. Soundie