We can easily pull out a smartphone, make a video of ourselves eating or something even more mundane and share it on the Internet in case someone is remotely interested. That's something we take for granted these days.
But back in the day, most people couldn't hope to see themselves on video — even if they spent a lot of time onstage and shared the camera with big stars such as Frank Sinatra. That is why, when 102-year-old Alice Barker saw herself for the first time dancing on video, she was overwhelmed with happiness.
Barker, who now lives as a permanent resident in a nursing home in Brooklyn, New York, was once a chorus line dancer. In the 1930s and 1940s, she was a regular performer at nightclubs such as The Apollo, Cotton Club and Zanzibar Club and starred in "soundies" – what would be known as music videos today – with celebrity royalty such as Gene Kelly, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and, yes, Frank Sinatra himself.
Don't forget to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
