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|
Stage Name |
Birth Name |
| Four
Step Brothers |
See
Below |
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In 1925 Maceo Anderson, Al Williams and Red Walker formed a trio
and created the original "Step Brothers" which would
become a young Tap dance Quartet... headed by Al Williams, they
would be called the Three Step brothers, later becoming known
as the Four Step Brothers in 1927 when Sherman Robertson joined
the group. They would be dubbed "The Eight Feet of Rhythm"
and traveled with Duke Ellington.
Maceo started with the Four step Brothers while working as a Newsboy
while frequenting the Hoofer Club to hone his craft practicing
to the simple 8 bar tune called "the Buck Dancers Lament."
Prince
Spencer who joined the act later could do Raymond Winfield's (of
Tip, Tap and Toe) slides as good as he and even took the slides
to a higher degree than Winfield.Freddie
James joined in 1939 and became the star of the act for four years
untill he became ill in 1943 with Flash McDonald taking his place
and Prince Spencer replacing Sylvester Johnson in 1941.
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--King Rastus Brown helped the original
Step Brothers with their steps. They sang, danced, worked on new
innovations in Tap and Acrobatics and added comedy
into their routines as well. They incorporated Snake Hips, Camel
Walks, 5 tap Wings, Slides, Afro-Cuban Movement, Rhythm Tap, The
Strut, staright Acrobatics and more. They would try not to change
their routines too much except for making them better and even
employed new dancers and their specialties as part of their routines.
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They
became known for their "Challenge Dance routines" which
used no music and each one would solo and would try to out do
the other while the other dancers would stand back and clap their
hands to make a beat. They incorporated Jazz, Tap and Acrobatics
into their routine.The
Four Step Brothers would become one of the longest lasting acrobatic
tap trio's in history, spanning for more than 40 years in the
business and wqere still going strong in the late 1960s.
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The Dance Masters Of America awarded them the Life Achievement
award in 1960 and later in 1985 they received the life Achievement
award for helping break the color barrier and recieved their own
star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame" on 7/14/1988 (Star
#1873). |
