Brothers

This chapter tells the story of the early years of the Nicholas family; the Nicholas Collegians, the highly skilled and musically versatile ten-piece orchestra directed by Viola Nicholas, playing piano, and Ulysses Nicholas, on drums; young Fayard’s musical orientation; and the decision by Ulysses and Viola that their sons would perform as the Nicholas Kids. The success of the Nicholas brothers was a family affair. Love and respect, perfection and professionalism had been instilled by parents who not only guided and managed their sons’ career but modeled a supreme form of partnership at home that the brothers would celebrate together on stage. It was at the Standard Theater, where the Nicholas Collegians were installed, that young Fayard watched tap dance in live performance, memorized the steps, and taught them to his young brother Harold.