Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing

Subject: Little Richard age 8 - amazing
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 07:12 PM

Fluff movie circa 1950 but look at this:
http://www.wimp.com/oldschool/

Subject: RE: Little Richard age 8 - amazing
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 10:40 PM

I had no idea he started so young and was SO good that young!! Thanks, Marigold!

Subject: RE: Little Richard age 8 - amazing
From: Ebbie
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 10:52 PM

Wow.

Subject: RE: Little Richard age 8 - amazing
From: Neil D
Date: 13 Mar 12 - 11:08 PM

Except it's not Little Richard, it's Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson.

Subject: RE: Little Richard age 8 - amazing
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 12:30 AM

No Leave, No Love

I've seen so many of those old movies, but I don't remember this one.

SRS

Subject: RE: Little Richard age 8 - amazing
From: GUEST,Larry Saidman
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 01:03 AM

As Neil D says, this was not Little Richard.
It's from the 1946 movie "No Leave No Love"

And according to the comments on the video, he was born in 1940, (ion Detroit) which makes him only six years old.   Pretty amazing! Really soulful.

--Thread named changed to reflect corrected performer's name. It's still impressive, whoever it is! ---mudelf

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: meself
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 01:27 AM

Believe he was born in 1938.

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 09:47 AM

Quoted from a Wikipedia article:

Frank Isaac Robinson (born 28 December 1938), known in his early career as a musician as Sugar Chile Robinson, is an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist, singer, and later psychologist, whose career began as a child prodigy.

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: SINSULL
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 09:53 AM

LOL I should have checked. The link came from a friend whose sources are rarely correct.
Still brilliant.
Thank you to the clone for correcting title.
SINS

Subject: RE: Frank
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 10:10 AM

There's some more on him at Piano Addict, including links to more videos, including one of him with Count Basie.

Here he is in 2007, at the Royal Oak in Michigan.

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 10:18 AM

I sent the link to a friend who is walking encyclopedia when it comes to music and actors, as he made a living at the first and is making a modest living as the latter. Anyway, he's a "buff" and sent me this:

Little Richard was born in 1932 so he would have been 8 in 1940 so it just didn't fit. I recognized Van Johnson and Keenan Wynn so I did some research, and this is who the kid really is.
Frank 'Sugar Chile' Robinson More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth
28 December 1938, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Height
4' 5" (1.35 m)

Mini Biography

Born Frankie Robinson in Detroit, the youngest of seven children born to Clarence and Elizabeth Robinson. He was nicknamed "Sugar Chile" by his mother. Although neither parent was a musician, Frankie began playing piano by ear at the age of two. At the age of three, he won a talent show at the Paradise Theatre in Detroit. By six, he was playing guest shots with Lionel Hampton's band and the Frankie Carle Orchestra. In 1946, he made a cameo in the Van Johnson film "No Leave, No Love" performing "Caldonia". In March 1946, Robinson performed at a gala in Washington DC for President Truman. He played four numbers including "Caldonia" during which he shouted out, "How'm I Doin', Mr President?" This became a popular catch-phrase. In 1947, he was the subject of a seven-minute film entitled "Frankie 'Sugar Chile' Robinson." In 1949, Robinson made his first recordings for the Capitol label. His first two releases were "Numbers Boogie", which made it to number four on the Billboard R&B charts, and "Caldonia" which reached number 14. Robinson toured and recorded until 1952, when he requested that he be allowed to return to school. He graduated from Northern High School at age 15. He went on to attend Olivet College in Michigan, and graduated with a degree in psychology in 1960.

Still amazing as you say! Thanks, again!

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 12:18 PM

He'a an amazing little kid, but I am sure that music is dubbed. I play piano, and I don't believe hands that small and soft could produce those deep, rich tones. That is an adult playing. (They probably had an adult play the piano while he sang along.)

Little kids have soft hands because the connective tissue is soft and immature. It is unfair and bad for them to push them to do what teenagers and adults can do.

Yes, he's finding the notes, yes his little hands seem very confident, but I bet if you had heard him live, the sound would have been softer and smoother. I'm glad they dubbed it, because it was better for him.

I am not saying this just to be a rain-in-the-face, but to keep people from thinking that THEIR eight-year-old could do that too, if only pushed enough.

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: meself
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 12:30 PM

So, Kat - 1932 or 1938? 4'5" at what age?

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 12:31 PM

Speaking as someone who's read more than this thread and watched more than the one video, I doubt anybody had to push him.

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 12:37 PM

Little Richard was born in 1932
Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson was born Dec 28, 1938

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: meself
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 12:44 PM

Whoops! Sorry, Kat! (Thanks, Jeri).

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: meself
Date: 14 Mar 12 - 04:39 PM

Leeneia - I'm not so sure: he's using a lot of unconventional technique - fists, knuckles, rolling to the side of his hand, possibly striking keys with two fingers at times, splayed stiff fingers (not to mention the elbow strike!) - and at a couple of points you can see the stress in his hands as he pounds the keys. Notice how big those hands are, too. Also, notice that he is playing mainly the black keys, which probably allows him to apply more force than he could manage with the white keys.

Subject: RE: Frank "Sugarchile" Robinson age 8 - amazing
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 15 Mar 12 - 01:47 PM

Jeri, great link! Just wanted to point out a minor (understandable) error, though... as a former Detroit-area resident, I can tell you that he is playing in Royal Oak (a suburb of Detroit) as opposed to some pub called "The Royal Oak"; can't tell the venue from the clip, but I suspect it's some (possibly small) hall or theatre.

Cheers!