Bli-Blip

Marie Bryant and Paul White sing and dance to the Duke Ellington song played by his orchestra in this soundie.

It's one of more than two thousand "soundies" produced between 1939 and 1947, meant to be played on a device called a Mills Panoram. For seven years they could be found in bars, night clubs, and other places where people would gather. Think of them as music videos, available for viewing at a dime a song.

The two performers show a lot of energy, appropriate to the piece. Like many of the soundies, the set dressing is minimal. These were produced on the "we don't need it good, we need it today" basis. Yet given the talent available for the low fees the soundies could pay, you often got good stuff, like here.