“Chattanooga Choo Choo”

From Sun Valley Serenade (1941), an intro by the Glenn Miller Orchestra segues into …

“Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, with the delicious Dorothy Dandridge and Harold and Fayard, the amazing Nicholas Brothers.

One reason the Nicholas Brothers never made it past the level of a novelty act in the movies was that there weren’t any black women performers in Hollywood who could even pretend to keep up with them as dancers. Dandridge comes closest, and who cares if she couldn’t tap very well if she could strut like that?

You may remember that Halle Berry performed a snippet of this number in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Dandridge and Harold Nicholas married a year after this movie; they divorced in 1951.

Technorati tags: Sun Valley Serenade, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Dorothy Dandridge, Harold Nicholas, Fayard Nicholas, Harry Warren, Mack Gordon