the first music videos

we may think of music videos and motion capture as recent technologies, but they were all pioneered in fleischer studios‘ seminal betty boop cartoons of the 1930s where popular musicians were incorporated into surreal and suggestive musical cartoons. Max Fleischer invented the rotoscope, a technique whereby live-action footage was traced to make hand-drawn animations. the result was life-like cartoons drawn after dancing and singing stars of the day. cab calloway and his orchestra were the centerpiece for three of these: Snow White, Minnie the Moocher and The Old Man of the Mountain (below). While the entire band participates, only cab is traced to capture his signature dance routines. One cartoon also exists featuring louis armstrong and his orchestra, in which the band members also contribute their voices and gestures to the characters (bottom).

The Fleischers’ Snow White (1933) is without question superior to the disney version, and on top of that it’s part of the public domain: DVD quality download here (332MB) and other formats here.

“Minnie the Moocher” (1933) is a trippy lesson in why running away from home is never a good idea. It features Cab Calloway as a dancing ghost, his backup singers as ghouls and his band as animals and creatures in a mysterious cavern. You can download a DVD quality copy(342MB), as well as other formats at the minnie the moocher page at the internet archive.

1933’s The Old Man of the Mountain is perhaps the most impressive animation of the collection. You can find the DVD quality download here(320MB) and more formats here.

1931’s “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You” is the only example I found starring Louis Armstrong and his orchestra, and it is by far the most culturally insensitive by today’s standards. Louis and his band members play grass-skirted dark-skinned cannibals perpetually clutching forks and knives while chasing betty and her co-stars bimbo and koko through the jungle. you can download a DVD quality version(333MB) of the clip as well as other formats at the internet archive page.