Playlists > MusicThatDoesn'tSuck

MusicThatDoesn'tSuck
Description:

List is Modified Often.

This list features honest, authentic, genuine, real folk music of every kind, such as Metal, Punk, Big Band Swing, Blues, Funk, Reggae, Rockabilly, Psychobilly, Bluegrass, Bebop, Hardbop, drum & bugle corps, international, indigenous & the classical masters, of course.

Of course, it’s frustrating some need links, so it’s nice if you add them.






If you're reading this & are currently feeling like a lost kitten since things have changed, send me a pm & I'll help.

Sometimes (but not always) the only accepted link providers for this domain are Archive.org. Vimeo, Dailymotion & the accursed corporate yootoob. If perchance that’s the way it is, then use your search options & good luck to you in finding treasure from the playlists.

This list isn’t a portal to yootoob. If you dig that site, go there. Use their search to find what you want & stay. This list is for actual downloadable movies & tv shows. Videos that cannot be found easily. This list doesn’t exist to generate traffic for invalid sites like that. Care is given that anything listed is connected to a DOWNLOADABLE post.


Toob site link hijacking should be banned since linking to a toob site will guarantee that valid posts from a valid DOWNLOAD host will NEVER appear on the front page- preventing fans from knowing when brand new posts are made. It's not rocket science. Go to the forum & ask that link hijacking to toob sites be banned.

This website is currently accepting link requests, so now’s the time to go the forum & do that. If links aren’t found here, then DuckDuckGo is your friend. Or try Mojeek. It’s new. It has it’s own bots, so unlike DDG or Brave, it’s not a front-end. It’s a TRUE search engine.

Archive.org is also a good place to dig around for stuff. Playlists like this will have some links, but are also useful as a reference, not unlike IMDB or TVmaze.







Due to the rarity of availability of actual real music, all other non-corporate sincere world musics that never got equal time in the press, radio, tv, etc are added when found, including films about musicians & music or where music figures into the film in a significant way or is made by a musician. ♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫

There’s not a lot of good stuff to be found. The best is mostly just not available. Yet for what can be found, it’ll be listed.


This list is fun to sort by Date to group musical eras, and by Title too.

It’s important to say what is NOT here just as much as what is: Ergo, if you’re looking for the heartless, soulless, corporate cookie-cutter assembly line formulaic copycat filth assembled on a computer in a board room with “focus group” data for trashy tv shows that can be found all over Westernized media- or the abomination known as 80’s Hair Pop, or False Metal, where they wear their instruments rather than play them- that’s not here.


Authentic Metal of the 80’s was Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Sabbath, Venom, Bathory, Kreator, Coroner, Vader, Sodom, Deicide, Slayer, Nuclear Assault, Sacred Reich, Dark Angel, Death Angel, Voivod, Death, C.O.C., Napalm Death, Pentagram, D.R.I. Metallica before Cliff died, etc. And NOTHING that was on radio or mtv- NOT that cheap manufactured Hollywood boyband hairspray crap. Not here.


The only jazz recognized here is SWING- not that bland awful out of tune elevator muzak junk that calls itself jazz by stealing the name- You can call it jazz all you want, that doesn’t make it jazz.


IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN’T GOT THAT SWING! Artists sought after here are the likes of Louis Prima, Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Ziggy Elman, Harry James, Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, Martha Tilton, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Edyth Wright, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, Snakes Powell, Buddy Rich, Louis Belson, Jo Stafford, Kay Star, Chick Webb, Peggy Lee, Connie Haines, Vic Schoen, The Andrews Sisters, The Boswell Sisters, Dick Stabiel, Paul Whiteman, Jack Teagarden, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Count Basie, Billy Eckstein, Johnny Hodges, Charlie Barnette, Stan Kenton, Charlie Spivak, Les Brown, Johnny Mercer, Xavier Cugat, Glen Grey, Casa Loma… only the true swing masters who invented & perfected authentic jazz… none of their failed pupils who took all the fun out of jazz & bruised it & stole the name. Fact is, all music is about freeing yourself, and all music is identifiable by a rigid discipline that one can freely fly within. The moment it doesn’t sound like that anymore, it isn’t that anymore.


-The music here was born in the garages & sidewalks of the world, not in a Madison Avenue office.


This list is about MUSIC & MUSICIANS who work collaboratively, not self-deluded solo act singers who have no talent, can’t play an instrument or write their own material, but yet look good ONLY due to the labor of uncredited musicians & market saturation. That’s not music. That’s noise.




Aren't you tired of the bland homogenized cultural treason defecating all over media? Have a GOOD TIME! Choose GOOD MUSIC!



Louis Armstrong said there’s two kinds of music: Good, & then that other stuff.

Music is defined as that which is pleasing to the ear. Noise is that which is not.

This list is for people who like music rather than noise. You're welcome.





A note: Some films have no photo or maybe no synopsis but do indeed have links.

● Contributors cannot magickally have links for everything just because a page for it exists since contributors don’t make the pages. Software does that, not people, since it is mirroring IMDB & TVmaze. Software makes the pages, posts the pics, it does all the work. It’s automated.


ALL PAGES ARE PLACE HOLDERS when created.


● Only later are links placed WHEN POSSIBLE. Some things are very rare & hard to find. If you are unwilling to contribute the link yourself, then you’re out of luck.

✔ Requests are currently accepted in the website forum. Sometimes that isn’t the case which is too bad, but that’s the way it is at times, so it’s best to suck it up & move on.

https://www.primewire.tf/approved_hosts

https://www.primewire.tf/start


Creator: random000
Posted: 3 years ago
 
Favorite

41 favorites

6961 views

info
Movie: Tickled Pinky ( 1940 )
In this plotless two-reel musical, the musical Pickard Family holds an informal hootenanny at the general store. Village postmaster Pinky Tomlin enters and joins in the entertainment. Specialties by singer-songwriter Tomlin, singer Martha Tilton, comedian Britt Wood, dancer Lorraine Krueger, and the Pickards.
info
Movie: Riot in Rhythm ( 1957 )
This Musical Featurette has six musical selections; two by Harry James and His Music Makers, a voice-and-guitar number by Johnny O'Neill; two songs by 'The DeCastro Sisters', and a dance number by Ralph & Lorraine.
info
info
Movie: Hollywood's Magical Island: Catalina ( 2003 )
Beginning with William Wrigley's acquisition of the Santa Catalina Island Company in 1919, the history of the island is explored with archival footage, stills, interviews of residents, historians and celebrities.
info
info
Movie: Sweet and Hot ( 1940 )
A short featuring several all-girl bands.
info
Movie: Don Quixote ( 2009 )
info
Movie: Buskers: Sounds of the City ( 2016 )
Who are the people that play on the city streets and trains and what calls them to it?
info
Movie: Was Ist Das? March Fourth Marching Band in Germany ( 2011 )
March Fourth Marching Band in Germany is an up close and personal ride along with Portland Oregon's most colorful musical export. Described as an eclectic mix of world music, imagine Duke ...
info
Movie: Belly Dance Party ( 2004 )
Hot belly dance combinations for club and party dancing.The combinations can be learned separately or as a club-ready belly dance routine that is also a graceful aerobic workout.
info
Movie: Sentimental Over You ( 1964 )
info
info
Movie: British Rock ( 1980 )
Documentary about the pedigrees of punk featuring The Boomtown Rats, Sex Pistols, Pretenders, The Clash, The Jam, Madness, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, The Specials, Secret Affair, and many ...
info
Movie: Third Mind Blues ( 2017 )
Doors keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, and Delta Blues guitarist, Roy Rogers, come together to create 'twenty-first century blues.'
info
Movie: It's Gonna Blow!!!: San Diego's Music Underground 1986-1996 ( 2014 )
'It's Gonna Blow!!! - San Diego's Music Underground 1986-1996' chronicles a period when San Diego was touted as 'the next Seattle'. A motley community of musicians with a do it yourself ethos and an aversion to mainstream culture developed their idiosyncratic sounds in the isolation of San Diego but soon found themselves at the center of bidding wars and expense account lunches. What happened when the outcasts from the sticks became the next big thing?
info
info
Movie: The Violinist ( 2009 )
Michael, a down on his luck, love-less bag boy, learns that world-famous, concert violinist, Nicholas Rentz is going to be performing for a few nights in his home town. Bearing a resemblance to the musician (a well-known bachelor with female fans around the globe), Michael hatches an elaborate plan to impersonate him with the hope that he can trick a woman or two into thinking he's the genuine article, and get lucky. But when he meets a classy young woman at a ritzy nightclub and is poised to seal the deal, things take an unexpected turn.
info
Movie: Midnight Melodies ( 1944 )
info
info
info
Movie: Fantasy Bellydance ( 2009 )
Fantasy Belly Dance, with its dreamy, exotic, highly artistic, non-traditional dances has evolved through the aesthetic explorations of many 20th century and post-millennial artists, finding its distinct genre definition and a powerful impetus through lavish and whimsical Fantasy Belly Dance concerts hosted in New York City by the Venus Uprising creative salon. This compilation of fantasy belly dance performances is based on creations seen at the "Cult of Myth" show held by Venus Uprising within its Fantasy series.
info
Movie: Close Farm-ony ( 1932 )
The Boswell sisters are trying to improve agricultural production on a farm by singing.
info
info
Movie: Record Party (Short 1947) ( 1947 )
The "setting" of this musical featurette (production number 2311) is the NYC apartment of singer Connie Haines. Her guests include the Page Cavanaugh Trio, the Pied Pipers and night-club comedian and mimic Jackie Green. The number include "The Egg and I" - "When You Wore a Tulip" - "Miss Cinderella" and "The Three Bears."
info
Movie: Balkan Rhapsodies: 78 Measures of War ( 2008 )
Balkan Rhapsodies is an episodic documentary poem that interweaves a mosaic of encounters, observations, and reflections from Silva's travels throughout war-torn Serbia and Kosovo between 1999-2005. An American filmmaker and ethnographer, Jeff Daniel Silva, was the first US civilian allowed entry into a devastated Serbia in 1999 just days after the NATO bombings. By immersing himself intimately into the lives of people he meets, the film grapples with the inexplicable contradictions he encounters while digging deeper in search for comprehension. Using the 78 days of NATO bombings (March 24 - June 10, 1999) as a structural reference point, this documentary infuses the fragmentation, cultural incongruities and ultimate dissolution of the Former Yugoslavia into the fabric of its editing through a poetic assemblage of 78 episodic movements (measures). Inspired by the rhapsodic musical form as well as a penchant for Serbia's potent national drink (ljivovica), the film weaves Silva's footage gleaned over eight years incorporating it with cultural imagery, archival material, and informal conversations with American luminaries Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. Balkan Rhapsodies deftly balances a serious and humorous landscape that captures the essence of life in the Balkan's of a generation ensnared in war during the Milosevic years.
info
Movie: Point and Drive ( 2015 )
"Point and Drive®" is a documentary that gives the world an upclose look at how music and marching in the band lays the foundation for drive and ambition in life from successful alumni members of the most famous marching band, the Florida A&M Marching 100 Band.
info
Movie: Soundies: A Musical History Hosted by Michael Feinstein ( 2007 )
Before MTV and the age of television, there were Soundies. First appearing in 1941, these three minute black-and-white films featured artists of the Big Band, Jazz and Swing era, like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa, The Mills Brothers, Les Paul, Cab Calloway, and Fats Waller. The Soundies helped launch the careers of Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Liberace, and Dorothy Dandridge, among others. Viewed for a dime through a special machine called a Panoram, a movie jukebox, these forerunners to the music video could be seen in nightclubs, roadhouses, restaurants and other public venues across the U.S. These classic films remain as glorious time capsules of music, social history, popular culture, and tell the story of a crossroads in our country, when the uncertainties of war, race relations, and emerging technologies combined to write one of the most influential chapters in our nation¹s history.
info
Movie: Blues by the Beach ( 2004 )
Fate brings filmmakers together in Israel in April of 2003. They begin a documentary about a live music blues bar by the beach in Tel Aviv called Mike's Place. The aim is to show there is more to the Middle East than seemingly endless war and terrorism. Filming people having a good time stops abruptly when harsh reality hits Mike's Place and changes the course of their film
info
info
Movie: Dance with the Devil: The Cozy Powell Story ( 2016 )
A documentary charting the extraordinary life of British drummer Cozy Powell from his humble beginnings as a musician playing in small clubs to touring the world with some of the greatest ever rock groups.
info
Movie: The Tao of Bluegrass: A Portrait of Peter Rowan ( 2013 )
There are only a few Bluegrass Boys still around that played with the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. Peter Rowan was a bluegrass boy in the 1960's for only a short time, but Bill's influence and musical knowledge still resonates with Peter. Even as he branched out into his own music after leaving Bill's band, his bluegrass roots were never far away. This portrait of Peter expands beyond his music to his artistic and spiritual endeavors spanning four decades giving the viewer an in-depth look at a true legend within our Americana musical history. His lyrical quality and melodies are memorable; influencing the next generation of musicians, sharing what Bill taught him and what he has learned being a troubadour traveling the world.
info
info
Movie: Ten Years After ( 1969 )
Former residents of the Marquee Club, London, Ten Years After entertained a full house to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the club. The 'Live From London' series shows the original ...
info
info
Movie: An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast ( 1991 )
The Chieftains and guests present an evening of traditional Celtic music and dance, along with some contemporary songs. The soundtrack of this performance won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Traditional Album in 1991.
info
Movie: Sing the Blues ( 2014 )
Sing The Blues is the story of Travis Preston, an aging artist and troubadour who as a teenager in the eighties was considered by many in the music industry to be the 'Next Big Thing.' Now 25 years later he continues to write and play music in spite of an industry that has left him behind and in spite of his struggle to even survive. After receiving a call that his former bass player Adam has died, he borrows a car from his father and sets out for Nashville to play for the celebration of life gathering. At the gathering, he reconnects with his other band-mates and is forced to confront the reason for Adam's death and his own uncomfortable past.
info
info
Movie: Those Good Old Days ( 1941 )
Young Gloria's father and mother go out for the evening to see a television broadcast (yes, there was television in 1941!). Gloria's grandfather entertains her with stories about his days in vaudeville, and viewers see some of the musical numbers he performed with Gloria's grandmother those many years ago.
info
Movie: The Blues Conundrum ( 2013 )
After years of sitting-in at blues jams with local Dallas music legends, first-time filmmaker and musician Jake Glenn preserves the heritage of Texas blues in his documentary The Blues Conundrum. He has assembled a select group of blues men to record an album/soundtrack of their original tunes and spotlight the culture of Dallas Blues.
info
Movie: #Dupe# ( 1977 )
Fast-paced, almost plot less rock and roll adult film musical set during a crazy night in the lives of a dozen or more teenagers, and other people during a night out on the town.
info
Movie: The Art of Recording a Big Band ( 2015 )
The Art of Recording a Big Band was filmed at the famed Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California USA over two days during a recording session by Al Schmitt featuring Chris Walden's Grammy-nominated 18-piece jazz big band. The film focuses on the legendary Al Schmitt, the most celebrated music engineer, producer and mixer of all time winning 22 GRAMMY Awards. The educational and inspirational documentary includes interviews with Al's longtime partner Steve Genewick as well as Chris Walden, Dave Pensado, Ryan Hewitt, Kenny Wild, Paula Salvatore and a cameo appearance by engineer and mixer Andrew Scheps. Longtime friend and collaborator, Quincy jones provides a poignant open statement about the importance of "the person who captures the sound".
info
Movie: The Ladies Sing the Blues ( 2001 )
See the "Ladies" who created an art form and sang their way into legend... Once in a lifetime, complete performances by the great American blues and jazz divas. Sixteen selections include Bessie Smith in her only film appearence, Lena Horne, Billy Holiday with an all-star band, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and more.
info
Movie: Connee Boswell and Ada Leonard ( 1952 )
Ada Leonard and Her All-Girl Orchestra furnish the music for the vocals by Connee Boswell, Bob Hopkins, and the Freddie Slack Trio. Anita Aros breaks out her violin and plays 'Brahm's Fifth." Other numbers include "El Cubanshero" - "Pig-Foot Pete' and "Basin Street Blues."
info
Movie: Thrills of Music: Ina Ray Hutton and Orchestra ( 1950 )
This Columbia "Thrills of Music" series short is not the same as the Paramount 1943 short carrying the same title. Ina Ray is again leading her all-male orchestra, with the beginning number a Hutton standard, "Angry", that was also featured in the Paramount short. That is followed by "Three Little Bears" and a rhumba number.
info
Movie: Concert Magic ( 1948 )
This concert features virtuoso violinist Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) at the Charlie Chaplin Studios in 1947. Together with various artists he performed classical and romantic works of famous composers such as Beethoven, Wieniawski, Bach, Paganini and others. Yehudi Menuhin in Concert Magic is the very first concert film produced by and for Hollywood. This concert was premiered at the Stage Door Cinema in San Francisco for movie audiences. Yehudi Menuhin was at the age of 32 and was at the pinnacle of his fame.
info
Movie: Vitaphone Varieties ( 1935 )
info
info
info
Movie: Navajo Dream 3 ( 2003 )
A dreamlike journey through ancient tribal lands, accompanied by authentic Navajo vocalizations led by Douglas Spotted Eagle.
info
Movie: Grandfather's Follies ( 1944 )
info
info
Movie: Lohues Gets the Blues ( 2003 )
A funny, moving adventure of a Dutch musician to get blues musicians from to USA to come to the Netherlands to the famous International North Sea Jazz Festival to perform songs in his Dutch dialect. From the start it all goes wrong, and Dutch singer/songwriter Daniel Lohues really gets the blues. With remarkable meetings with Tony Joe White (who wrote hits for Elvis, Tina Turner and Joe Cocker) and blues legend T Model Ford, and a visit to Elvis' first home.
info
Movie: Birth of a Band ( 1954 )
A Universal featurette with a slight story line of Dan Terry and his band auditioning for a playdate at a swanky club. Connie Haines sings "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby" and "I've Got the World on a String", which proves she wasn't afraid of songs with long titles, and the band plays "Totem Pole" and "Southern Fried" and also for Don Gordon while he plays "Mr. Flamingo."
info
info
Movie: Strictly in the Groove ( 1942 )
info
Movie: Gothic Bellydance ( 2006 )
Stark...sublime...intense. The phenomenon of Gothic Bellydance or 'Raks Gothique' is a multitude of poetic visions born out of the Goth, or Gothic, subculture, music, imagery and fashion, and expressed in the language of Bellydance.
info
info
info
Movie: Living the Tradition: an enchanting journey into old Irish airs ( 2014 )
Behind every Irish tune is an ancient tale of love and loss, of history and heroes. Living the Tradition is the journey of cello player and composer Ilse de Ziah around Ireland in a search for undiscovered secrets of ten Irish Airs. Along the way she meets with renowned Irish musicians, scholars and local characters who share with her the history and stories behind the music. Ilse performs each of these intensely beautiful pieces in the places they originally come from. Filmmaker Maarten Roos captures the landscapes, the charm of the Irish people and the powerful resonance of the cello, creating a fresh account of Irish music and culture.
info
Movie: King for a Day ( 1934 )
Mr. Brown refuses to allow tap dancer Bill Green to audition for his vaudeville show, "Brown's Black Orchids." Green knows that Brown has a weakness for crap games and challenges him. Green and Brown keep rolling the dice until the only thing Brown has left to offer is his show. After one last roll of the dice, the show is renamed "Green's Black Orchids", with Green as a featured performer. Other black singers and dancers also perform.
info
Movie: Teen a Go Go: A Little Film About Rock and Roll History ( 2012 )
On the evening of February 9, 1964, Ed Sullivan introduced The Beatles to America. The next morning 10 million teens had something new to do. With their jaws still on the floor and inspiration stirring within, thousands of youngsters knew their destiny lay in rock and roll. The influence these teens had on rock and roll was unprecedented and their musicianship was impressive. Banging away in their parents garages, teen bands created timeless music. Many 'one take' recordings of garage rock made from 1964 through 1968 have become highly collectible and continue to influence contemporary bands and receive radio play to this day. Teen A Go Go is a rock and roll stomp from beginning to end, providing an entertaining, nostalgic ride into the vibrant teen scenes of the mid 1960's. Featuring original recordings, never before sen super 8 movies, rare archival footage, photographs and interviews with musicians, fans and industry experts. Teen A Go Go captures this historic burst of creativity that swept the nation and changed rock and roll forever.
info
Movie: My Music: Classical Rewind ( 2013 )
The most popular classical music by such composers as Bach, Handel, Beethoven,Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Straus, seen with vibrant images of history and nature.
info
Movie: Got the Blues? ( 2017 )
Got The Blues? is a film featuring a live performance by Los Villanos Blues Band at Cafe Breton downtown Guadalajara. Watch and listen to the story of four young musicians and their friends introduce the blues to a whole new generation.
info
info
Movie: A-Go-Go '67 ( 1967 )
A GoGo 67 is an alluring snapshot of the Beatles-influenced "Pop Yeh Yeh" movement that was exploding throughout Malaysia back in the 60s. Fauziah works days as a shop girl while Joe labors at a stable. When night time comes, the two
info
info
Movie: Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Band ( 1947 )
Tex Beneke, taking over the Glenn Miller orchestra at the request of Miller's widow, leads them in playing most of the Miller-standards, including "Moonlight Serenade" - "in the Mood" -"Don't Be That Way" - "Serenade in Blue" -"American Patrol" - "Some Other Time", and the newer "Five Minutes More." Vocalists heard are Beneke, Lillian Lane, Bobby Nichols, Artie Malvin, and The Crew Chiefs.
info
info
Movie: Ina Ray Hutton and Her Orchestra (Short 1943) ( 1943 )
The only major Big Band led by a woman performs four swing numbers with a few comedy touches added. Ina Ray is vocalist on two.
info
Movie: Music Box Biographical Collection: Frank Sinatra ( 2004 )
This documentary illustrates the career of musical legend Frank Sinatra, following his childhood, his incredible music career and his equally impressive film career. Learn how Sinatra became one of the greatest singers in music history.
info
info
Movie: Idaho ( 1942 )
Connie Haines sings "Idaho," accompanied by Spike Jones and his City Slickers. This music short was made as an RCM Soundie, for coin-operated Pan-O-Ram viewing machines.
info
info
info
Movie: Marilyn and I (Short 2019) ( 2019 )
In 1952, Jazz Legend Ray Anthony threw a party for Marilyn Monroe. Over 50 press publications were invited resulting in some of the most famous photographs ever taken of Marilyn. 60 years later many of these amazing color photographs surfaced for the first time. Along with remastered 16mm color footage of the party, Marilyn and I captures a piece of Americana with Ray Anthony as its hero encompassing some 80 years of his life. At 18, Ray Anthony was playing trumpet in the Glenn Miller Band. In his 90's he is best friends with Hugh Hefner and regularly plays tennis with Berry Gordy (who gives a rare interview in this film). His is the story of America with some of its most legendary icons front and center. With a soundtrack that incorporates Ray's incredible Big Band career, Marilyn and I is a celebration of 20th century American culture and an ode to an artist that deserves his rightful place among the greats of his time.
info
info
info
Movie: The Magic Flute ( 1906 )
info
Movie: Let's Make Rhythm ( 1947 )
A sailor on leave (Jay Norris) falls in love with the voice of a juke-box ("soundies"-type box) girl but his friend, not wanting him to get involved, ruins the machine. The Girl (Gail Davis) gets Stan Kenton and his orchestra to present five musical selections, with June Christy and The Pastels on the vocals. True love wins out.
info
Movie: Tampico ( 1945 )
info
info
Movie: Julie ( 1972 )
info
info
Movie: Sinatra: His Way ( 2021 )
The life of legendary singer and actor Frank Sinatra, from his difficult birth and near death in Hoboken in 1915, through his rise to become one of the world's biggest entertainers.