Liberace plays a nice, high-speed version of the "Tiger Rag" in this soundie.
Soundies were meant to be played on a device known as the Mills Panoram, a music jukebox that was popular in the early 1940s. They, and their competitors were installed in bars, diners, and similar venues. You put in a dime, and you got a three-minute performance, not just of the music, but of the performer syncing to recording. There were more than 2500 soundies released, and they were often the starting point for a career in the movies or, as here, television.
Liberace began his Hollywood career in 1943, when besides making this, he played the piano in MGM;s BEST FOOT FORWARD. Here, he is seated at a white grand piano, dressed in a white dinner jacket. While two lovely but inert young ladies stand on either side of him, he plays the song with many a flourish of his hands. It's a staging technique he would later use in his television appearances.
Soundies were meant to be played on a device known as the Mills Panoram, a music jukebox that was popular in the early 1940s. They, and their competitors were installed in bars, diners, and similar venues. You put in a dime, and you got a three-minute performance, not just of the music, but of the performer syncing to recording. There were more than 2500 soundies released, and they were often the starting point for a career in the movies or, as here, television.
Liberace began his Hollywood career in 1943, when besides making this, he played the piano in MGM;s BEST FOOT FORWARD. Here, he is seated at a white grand piano, dressed in a white dinner jacket. While two lovely but inert young ladies stand on either side of him, he plays the song with many a flourish of his hands. It's a staging technique he would later use in his television appearances.