TAP! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900-1955 [Paperback]

Rusty Frank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1995

From the vaudeville era, through the Astaire-Rogers movies, to the intricate artistry of bebop, tap has dominated American dance with its rhythm, originality, and humor. This book collects the voices and memories of thirty of America's best-loved tap-dance stars and two hundred rare theater, film, and publicity photographs. Here Shirley Temple recalls her magical duo with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson; Fayard Nicholas describes his days at Harlem's Cotton Club performing with Cab Calloway; Fred Kelly visits his and his brother Gene's Pittsburgh dance studio; Hermes Pan reminisces about his work with George Gershwin, Ginger Rogers, and Fred Astaire; and, in a chapter new to this edition, Toy and Wing tell about their days as the world's leading Asian tap duo. Appended with the most comprehensive listing of tap acts, recordings, and films ever compiled—newly updated for this paperback edition—Tap! brings to life the legends of one of America's most cherished and enduring art forms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This account of great tap dance stars begins in 1900 and ends in 1955, covering the heyday of tap dance and including the memories of thirty fine dancers from Shirley Temple to Fayard Nicholas. The lively, fun stories detail individual artists' achievements as well as the evolution of the tap dance industry as a whole. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Rusty E. Frank is a tap dancer, producer, historian, and tap dance preservationist. She studied with many of the great tap masters; she produced, directed, and appeared in the all-star tap revues Jazz Tap!; and she owns and operates On Tap!, which promotes tap productions and markets tap supplies. She lives in Los Angeles, where she is producing the documentary TAP! The Tempo of America.

Product Details

• Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; REV edition (March 22, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306806355
• ISBN-13: 978-0306806353
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars get this, think about the rest later, September 24, 2001

By 

Sebastian Weber (Cologne Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TAP! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900-1955 (Paperback)

when this book used to be out of print, legions of ambitous tap dancers - including myself - were searching used-book stores across the country to find a copy. i know some who ended up copying every single page in the lincoln center library. the reason is very simple: there is no other book on the subject that even comes close to gathering this much information on the history of tap dancing. even though historians may argue about some details, the book is usually considered the standard by all the tap pros i know and whoever reads it will have a good understanding of where the art form comes from, what the important issues are, what stages of development tap dancing went through, who the important dancers of different times and styles were, and what the characteristics of different styles and approaches in tap dance are. if you want to know about the history of tap: get this book. otherwise you will find yourself digging through the shelves of rare book stores when it is out of print again.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for tap dancers!, January 4, 2000

By 

Elle "Elle" - See all my reviews

This review is from: TAP! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900-1955 (Paperback)

This book is wonderfully written with first-hand accounts about show business during the first half of the 1900's. It is not just for tap dancers, but for anyone interested in getting a feel for the way of life during that period. The amount of information I learned about vaudeville, movie musicals, and even black history in America is much more than I expected when I picked up this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TAP! BY RUSTY E. FRANK, August 19, 2006

By 

Harriet Zaragoza - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TAP! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900-1955 (Paperback)

I total am ejoying this book. Being a dancer my self it is wonderful reading about all the dancers during my time. Thank you so much Mr. Frank.