Hal Kemp – Actor – Singer

June 14, 2021June 14, 2021

Hal Kemp Launched by Royal Drummer – Phantom Dancer 15 June 2021

Hal Kemp, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. You’ll hear his dance orchestra in broadcasts from 1934 to 1939. He was the tripling trumpets king, developing a unique sound for a ‘sweet band’ that made his orchestra one of the most popular of the Swing Era. And having the Prince of Wales, the future Eddie 8, sit in on drums with the band during an Atlantic crossing, kicked off his career.

The Phantom Dancer is your non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV hosted presented by me, Greg Poppleton.

You can hear past Phantom Dancer mixes online now at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/.

Meanwhile, this Phantom Dancer mix will be online after 2pm AEST, Tuesday 15 June, at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

HAL

First up, the Hal Kemp Orchestra in action from the short, “Here’s Hal!”. Bandleader Hal Kemp leads his band in his own arrangement of “In an 18th Century Drawing Room”…

James Hal Kemp was a US reeds player, bandleader, composer and arranger.

He formed his first band in high school. At 19 he led the University of North Carolina band – the Carolina Club Orchestra. They went to England, where they made their first recordings in London, and on their return journey made the acquaintance of the Prince of Wales, who performed with them.

As a result, the band was mentioned in US press reports, so on their return they received several offers of contracts. In 1927, Kemp formed his own orchestra, which at various times featured Skinnay Ennis, Bunny Berigan, and John Scott Trotter. The band became a popular jazz orchestra in the late 1920s.

KEMP

In the 1930s, Kemp’s band turned to “sweet” dance music. From 1932 to 1934, they performed at the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago, and appeared regularly on radio broadcasts. They became well-known nationally, and secured a contract with Brunswick Records. Most of the vocals on their recordings were by Skinnay Ennis, whose vocal style and the arrangements by Trotter, which featured staccato triplets by the trumpeters and clarinets played through megaphones, gave Kemp’s records a distinctive sound.

Saxie Dowell in the Kemp Orchestra wrote what is still a children’s favourite, “Three Little Fishies” which he sings in this 1936 short…

In 1936, John Scott Trotter left the orchestra to join Bing Crosby and was succeeded as arranger by Hal Mooney and Lou Busch. Ennis left in 1938, and Bob Allen became the band’s featured singer.

From 1937, Kemp recorded for Victor Records. His other recordings included “Got A Date With An Angel”, “Heart Of Stone”, “Lamplight”, “The Music Goes ‘Round And Around”, “You’re The Top”, “Bolero”, “Gloomy Sunday” and “Lullaby Of Broadway”.

Hal Kemp died in Madera, California in 1940, aged 36, following a road accident while driving from Los Angeles to a performance in San Francisco in foggy conditions. His car was hit by an oncoming truck. He died in hospital from pneumonia two days later. The orchestra remained operational for some time after Kemp’s death, led by singer Art Jarrett. It disbanded in the early 1940s.

One more band clip. First released in 1941, this short was filmed the day before Kemp was killed in a fatal automobile accident in 1940. It was re-released in 1953. The music includes “The Joke’s On You,” sung by band vocalist Maxine Grey, and “Trade Winds,” sung by band vocalist Robert Allen). The band also plays “I’ll Be Missing You”, and concludes with “Begin the Beguine.” This is not the same short as the 1938 Paramount short of the same name…

15 JUNE PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney LISTEN ONLINE Community Radio Network Show CRN #495
107.3 2SER Tuesday 15 JUNE 2021 12:04 – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT) and Saturdays 5 – 5:55pm National Program 5GTR Mt Gambier Monday 2:30 – 3:30am 3MBR Murrayville Monday 3 – 4am 4NAG Keppel FM Monday 3 – 4am 2SEA Eden Monday 3 – 4am 2MIA Griffith Monday 3 – 4am 2BAR Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4am 2BRW Braidwood Monday 3 – 4am 3VKV Alpine Radio Monday 6 – 7pm 7MID Oatlands Monday 6 -7pm 6GME Radio Goolarri Broome Tuesday 12am – 1am 2MCE Bathurst Wednesday 9 – 10am 1ART ArtsoundFM Canberra Friday 10 – 11am 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm 5LCM Lofty FM Adelaide Friday 1 – 2pm 7LTN Launceston Sunday 5 – 6am 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am 3BBR West Gippsland Sunday 5 – 6pm
Set 1	1940s One Night Stand Radio
Minnie the Moocher (theme) + Foo a Little Ballyhoo	Cab Calloway Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ New Zanzibar Club New York City AFRS Re-broadcast Jul 1945
You’re My Thrill	Charlie Barnet Orchestra (voc) Betty Perry	‘One Night Stand’ Casino Gardens Ocean Park Ca AFRS Re-broadcast 3 Jan 1947
Northwest Passage + Blue Flame (theme)	Woody Herman Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania NYC AFRS Re-broadcast 23 Aug 1945
Set 2	Friendly Five Footnotes
I’ve Got Five Dollars (theme) + It’s the Girl	Freddie Rich Orchestra (voc) Freddie Rich	‘Friendly Five Footnotes’ Radio Transcription New York City 1932
I’m With You	Freddie Rich Orchestra (voc) Freddie Rich	‘Friendly Five Footnotes’ Radio Transcription New York City 1932
Roll on Mississippi + I’ve Got Five Dollars (theme)	Freddie Rich Orchestra	‘Friendly Five Footnotes’ Radio Transcription New York City 1932
Set 3	Francophone Radio
Honeysuckle Rose	Django Reinhardt with the ATC Band	‘Beaucoup de Music’ AFN Paris 1 Dec 1945
Song of Paris + close	Maurice Duvier Orchestra (voc) Lucille Dumont	‘Rhythms de Paris’ CBC Montreal 2 Nov 1951
Improvisation No. 6	Django Reinhardt	‘Beaucoup de Music’ AFN Paris 1 Dec 1945
Set 4	Hal Kemp
When Summer is Gone (theme) + You’ve Got Me Crying Again	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Skinnay Ennis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York 1934
A Heart of Stone	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Shinnay Ennis	‘Lady Esther Serenade’ WABC CBS NYC 26 Aug 1936
Lamplight	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Shinnay Ennis	‘Chesterfield Show’ WABC CBS NY 1937
Got a Daye with an Angel + Close	Hal Kemp Orchestra	‘R. H Macy Morning Show’ WOR Mutual NYC Oct 1935
Set 5	Stan Kenton 1953
Theme + Casual Jazz	Stan Kenton Orchestra	‘Concert in Miniature’ Hampton Casino Hampton Beach NH WBZ NBC Boston 21 Jul 1953
Yesterdays	Stan Kenton Orchestra	‘Concert Encores’ Blue Room WMAQ NBC Chicago 2 Apr 1953
Artistry in Rhythm	Stan Kenton Orchestra	‘Concert in Miniature’ Ross Auditorium KFSD NBC San Diego 10 Feb 1953

Set 6	Glenn Miller in German
In The Mood (theme) + Stardust	Glenn Miller Orchestra	‘Wehrmacht Hour’ American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE) London Nov 1944
Anvil Chorus	Glenn Miller Orchestra	‘Wehrmacht Hour’ American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE) London Nov 1944
String of Pearls	Glenn Miller Orchestra	‘Wehrmacht Hour’ American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE) London Nov 1944
Little Brown Jug + Close	Glenn Miller Orchestra	‘Wehrmacht Hour’ American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE) London Nov 1944
Set 7	1920s-30s Women Singers
Dancing on the Ceiling	Jessie Matthews	Comm Rec London 4 May 1934
Look For The Silver Lining	Marilyn Miller and Lawrence Gray	Soundtrack Hollywood Jun 1929
Everything’s in Rhythm with my Heart	Jessie Matthews	Comm Rec London 18 Sep 1935
Bill	Helen Morgan	Comm Rec New York City 14 Feb 1928
Set 8	Medleys
Someone to Watch Over Me + Somebody Loves Me + Fascinating Rhythm + Dawn of a New Day	Roy Bargy and Walter Gross (pianos) Lynn Murray Chorus	‘Everybody’s Music’ WABC CBS NY 10 Jun 1938
Medley of Ellington Hits	Duke Ellington Orchestra	Carnegie Hall New York City 13 Nov 1948
They Can’t Take That Away From Me + Nice Work If You Can Get It + Love Walked In	Paul Whiteman Orchestra (voc) Maxine Sullivan	‘Everybody’s Music’ WABC CBS NY 10 Jun 1938

September 19, 2020

Ray Noble – Phantom Dancer 22 September 2020

Ray Noble, English band leader and composer who found a career as a band leader and actor in the US, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist.

Greg Poppleton brings you The Phantom Dancer, your non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV every week. On-air since 1985.

Catch The Phantom Dancer online from 12:04pm AEST Tuesday 22 September at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/ where you can also hear two years of archived shows.

The finyl hour is vinyl.

RAY NOBLE

Raymond Stanley Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger, radio comedian, and actor.

Noble wrote lyrics and music for many popular songs during the British dance band era, notably for his longtime friend and associate Al Bowlly. These include “Love Is the Sweetest Thing”, “Cherokee”, “The Touch of Your Lips”, “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You”, and his signature tune, “The Very Thought of You”.

Noble also played a radio comedian opposite American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen’s stage act of Mortimer Snerd and Charlie McCarthy, and American comedy duo Burns and Allen, later transferring these roles from radio to TV and popular films.

ENGLISH ORCHESTRA

Noble studied at the Royal Academy of Music and in 1927 won a competition for the best British dance band orchestrator that was advertised in Melody Maker. In 1929, he became leader of the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, an HMV Records studio band that featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day.

The most popular vocalist with Noble’s studio band was Al Bowlly, who joined in 1930. During this time Noble co-wrote “Turkish Delight”, “By the Fireside” and “Goodnight, Sweetheart”. The latter song was a number one hit for Guy Lombardo in the United States charts. It was also used (with vocals by Al Bowlly) on the original television series Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever.

U.S ORCHESTRA

Noble moved to New York City in 1934. The Bowlly/Noble recordings with the British New Mayfair Dance Orchestra on HMV had achieved popularity in the United States and Noble had several number one hits on the US pop singles charts:

“Love is the Sweetest Thing”, 1933, #1 for five weeks;
“Old Spinning Wheel”, 1934, #1 for three weeks;
“The Very Thought of You”, 1934, #1 for five weeks;
“Isle of Capri”, 1935, #1 for seven weeks;

and with the American band:

“Paris in the Spring”, 1935, #1 for 1 week.

Noble took Al Bowlly and his drummer Bill Harty to the US. The myth is he asked Glenn Miller to recruit American musicians to complete the band. The truth is, Noble has already booked his orchestra members from London before he left for the U.S. Miller played the trombone in the Ray Noble orchestra which included many other future US band leaders including Claude Thornhill, Bud Freeman and Will Bradley.

Noble and his orchestra appeared in the 1937 film A Damsel in Distress with Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns and Gracie Allen. Noble played a somewhat “dense” character who was in love with Gracie Allen. Al Bowlly returned to England in 1938 but Noble continued to lead bands in America, moving into an acting career portraying a stereotypical upper-class English idiot.

Ray Noble provided music for many radio shows such as The Chase and Sanborn Hour, The Charlie McCarthy Show, Burns and Allen and On Stage with Cathy and Elliott Lewis and also guest-appeared in some of their films. He worked with Bergen for nearly fifteen years, playing the foil to McCarthy and the slow-witted Mortimer Snerd, and his orchestra appeared with Edgar Bergen in the 1942 film Here We Go Again. He also provided the orchestration for the 1942 Lou Gehrig biopic The Pride of the Yankees starring Gary Cooper. Noble’s last major successes as a bandleader came with Buddy Clark in the late 1940s.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Linda, sung by Buddy Calrk with Ray Noble’s Orchestra. Linda was written about 6-year old Linda Eastman who famously married Paul McCartney

Make sure you come back to this blog, Greg Poppleton’s Radio Lounge, every Tuesday, for the newest Phantom Dancer play list and Video of the Week!

29 SEPTEMBER PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #432
107.3 2SER Tuesday 29 September 2020 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT) and Saturdays 5 – 5:55pm National Program: 1ART ArtsoundFM Canberra Sunday 10 – 11pm 5GTR Mt Gambier Monday 2:30 – 3:30am 3MBR Murrayville Monday 3 – 4am 4NAG Keppel FM Monday 3 – 4am 2SEA Eden Monday 3 – 4am 2MIA Griffith Monday 3 – 4pm 2BAR Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4pm 3VKV Alpine Radio Monday 6 – 7pm 7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 – 9pm 2MCE Bathurst / Orange / Central West NSW Wednesday 9 – 10am 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm 7LTN Launceston Sunday 5 – 6am 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am 6GME Radio Goolarri Broome Sunday 5 – 6am
Set 1	Swinging Big Bands on 1940s One Night Stand Radio
The Good Earth	Woody Herman Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania AFRS Re-broadcast 23 Aug 1945
I Was Here Where you Left Me	Louis Prima Orchestra (voc) Lily Ann Carroll	‘Spotlight Bands’ Camp Shanks Blue Network NY 1945
Angelina + Brooklyn Boogie	Louis Prima Orchestra (voc) Louis Prima and Band	‘Spotlight Bands’ Camp Shanks Blue Network NY 1945
Set 2	Jazz on 1960s Radio
Open + The Lamp Is Low	Oscar Peterson Trio	Montreal Jazz Festival CBC Canada 1968
Just Lucky	Harry James Orchestra	El Patio Ballroom KCBS CBS San Francisco 20 May 1961
Set 3	Early 1930s Music Radio
Cool Water	RCA Victor Concert Orchestra	‘His Master’s Voice of the Air’ Radio Transcription Nov 1932
Shake Hands With A Million	Harry Richman	‘Dodge Show’ Radio Transcription 1934
Dinah	Jimmie Grier Orchestra (voc) The Three Cheers	Cocoanut Grove Ambassador Hotel NBC Orange Los Angeles 1932
Set 4	Women Jazz Singers on the Air
Rockin’ Chair	Mildred Bailey	‘Guest Star’ Radio Transcription NY 1951
Thank Your Stars	Ella Fitzgerald with her Orchestra	Savoy Ballroom WEAF NBC Red NY 25 Jan 1940
Open + Just A Moment More	Sarah Vaughan	‘Stars in Jazz’ Birdland WNBC NBC NY 21 Apr 1953
Set 5	Ray Noble on American Radio
The Very Thought Of You (theme) + And The Angels Sing	Ray Noble Orchestra (voc) Liz Tilton	Beverley-Wiltshire Hotel KFI NBC LA 22 Oct 1939
I Never Had A Chance	Ray Noble Orchestra (voc) Al Bowlly	‘Coty Hour’ WEAF NBC Red NY 13 Mar 1935
A Fountain in Havana	Ray Noble Orchestra (piano) Claude Thornhill	‘Coty Hour’ WEAF NBC Red NY 17 Apr 1935
Comanche War Dance + Theme (Goodnight Sweetheart)	Ray Noble Orchestra	Beverley-Wiltshire Hotel KFI NBC LA 6 April 1940
Set 6	Swing Bands on 1944 Radio
Sleep	Benny Carter Orchestra	Aircheck Trianon Ballroom Southgate Ca 1944
No Love, No Nothin’	Lionel Hampton Orchestra (voc) Dinah Washington	Trianon Ballroom Southgate Ca KFI NBC LA 16 Jun 1944
Three Little Words	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	Casino Gardens Ocean Park Ca KECA Blue LA Oct 1944
Frantic in the Atlantic	Cab Calloway Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Club Zanzibar New York City AFRS Re-broadcast 22 Sep 1944
Set 7	Hal Kemp’s Tripling Trumpets on 1934 Radio
When Summer Is Gone (theme) + It’s Winter Again	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Skinnay Ennis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Boulevarde of Broken Dreams	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Deane Janis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Last Year’s Girl	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Skinnay Ennis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea + When summer is Gone (theme)	Hal Kemp Orchestra	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Set 8	Jazz on 1940s-50s TV
Soft Winds + Perdido	Roy Eldridge All-Stars	‘The Today Show’ WNBC TV NBC NY 18 Jan 1957
My Funny Valentine	Helen Ward (voc)	‘Eddie Condon’s Floor Show’ WNBC TV NBC NY 26 Mar 1949
Ridin’ High	Benny Goodman Orchestra (voc) Ella Fitzgerald	‘Texaco Show’ WNBC TV NBC NY 9 Apr 1958
Intro + Drum Boogie	Ronald Reagan MC, Gene Krupa Orchestra (voc) Anita O’Day	‘Ford Star Time’ NBC TV LA 9 Feb 1960

July 17, 2020July 17, 2020

Hal Kemp – Phantom Dancer 21 July 2020

Hal Kemp is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist in 1930s radio broadcasts and his last musical short film.

The Phantom Dancer is presented and produced by 1920s-30s singer and actor Greg Poppleton. It’s been on-air every week over 107.3 2SER Sydney since 1985.

Listen to The Phantom Dancer online from 12:04pm AEST Tuesday 21 July at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

The finyl hour is vinyl.

1920s

James Hal Kemp was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.

He formed his first band in high school. At age 19 he led the University of North Carolina band called the Carolina Club Orchestra. They sailed to England, where they made their first recordings.

On their return journey they made the acquaintance of the Prince of Wales who sat in with them on drums. This got the band mentioned in US press reports so that on their return they received several offers of contracts.

In 1927, Kemp formed his own jazz orchestra, which at various times featured singer Skinnay Ennis, trumpeter Bunny Berigan, and pianist John Scott Trotter.

1930s

In the 1930s, with the economic and social challenges of the Great Depression, Kemp’s band became better known for more soothing “sweet” dance music. From 1932 to 1934, they performed at the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago and were heard regularly on radio broadcasts. They became well-known nationally and secured a contract with Brunswick Records. Most of the vocals on their recordings were by Skinnay Ellis, whose vocal style and the arrangements by Trotter, which featured staccato triplets by the trumpeters and clarinets played through megaphones, gave Kemp’s records a distinctive sound.

Kemp and his orchestra had a number of hit records, including “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” (1933), “In the Middle of a Kiss” (1935), “There’s a Small Hotel” (1936), “When I’m With You” (1936), “This Year’s Kisses” (1937), and “Where or When” (1937).[4] From 1937, Kemp recorded for Victor Records.[4] His other recordings included “Got A Date With An Angel”, “Heart Of Stone”, “Lamplight”, “The Music Goes ‘Round And Around”, “You’re The Top”, “Bolero”, “Gloomy Sunday”, “Lullaby Of Broadway”, and many others.

In 1936, John Scott Trotter left, being succeeded as arranger by Hal Mooney and Lou Busch. Ennis left in 1938, and Bob Allen became the band’s featured singer. With the rising popularity of swing bands such as those of Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, the popularity of Kemp’s orchestra declined and there were many changes in band membership, though they continued to make film appearances…

VIDEO

Your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week this week is Hal Kemp playing clarinet, alto sax and conducting his tripling trumpets band in a Warner Brothers’ short filmed one day before he was killed by a car accident, December 1940.

21 JULY PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #446
107.3 2SER Tuesday 21 July 2020 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT) and Saturdays 5 – 5:55pm National Program: 1ART ArtsoundFM Canberra Sunday 10 – 11pm 5GTR Mt Gambier Monday 2:30 – 3:30am 3MBR Murrayville Monday 3 – 4am 4NAG Keppel FM Monday 3 – 4am 2SEA Eden Monday 3 – 4am 2MIA Griffith Monday 3 – 4pm 2BAR Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4pm 3VKV Alpine Radio Monday 6 – 7pm 7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 – 9pm 2MCE Bathurst / Orange / Central West NSW Wednesday 9 – 10am 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm 7LTN Launceston Sunday 5 – 6am 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am 6GME Radio Goolarri Broome Sunday 5 – 6am
Set 1	Swinging Big Bands on 1940s One Night Stand Radio
Open (Memories of You) + Blue Moon	Sonny Donham Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Palladium Ballroom Hollywood AFRS Re-broadcast 1 Aug 1944
The Good Earth	Woody Herman Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania AFRS Re-broadcast 23 Aug 1945
The Man I Love + Out Of Nowhere	Gene Krupa Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Meadowbrook Gardens Culver City Ca AFRS Re-broadcast 31 Mar 1946
Set 2	Jazz on 1960s Radio
Open + The Lamp Is Low	Oscar Peterson Trio	Montreal Jazz Festival CBC Canada 1968
Just Lucky	Harry James Orchestra	El Patio Ballroom KCBS CBS San Francisco 20 May 1961
Set 3	Early 1930s Music Radio
Cool Water	RCA Victor Concert Orchestra	‘His Master’s Voice of the Air’ Radio Transcription Nov 1932
Shake Hands With A Million	Harry Richman	‘Dodge Show’ Radio Transcription 1934
Dinah	Jimmie Grier Orchestra (voc) The Three Cheers	Cocoanut Grove Ambassador Hotel NBC Orange Los Angeles 1932
Set 4	Women Jazz Singers on the Air
Rockin’ Chair	Mildred Bailey	‘Guest Star’ Radio Transcription NY 1951
Thank Your Stars	Ella Fitzgerald with her Orchestra	Savoy Ballroom WEAF NBC Red NY 25 Jan 1940
Open + Just A Moment More	Sarah Vaughan	‘Stars in Jazz’ Birdland WNBC NBC NY 21 Apr 1953
Set 5	Ray Noble on American Radio
The Very Thought Of You (theme) + And The Angels Sing	Ray Noble Orchestra (voc) Liz Tilton	Beverley-Wiltshire Hotel KFI NBC LA 22 Oct 1939
I Never Had A Chance	Ray Noble Orchestra (voc) Al Bowlly	‘Coty Hour’ WEAF NBC Red NY 13 Mar 1935
A Fountain in Havana	Ray Noble Orchestra (piano) Claude Thornhill	‘Coty Hour’ WEAF NBC Red NY 17 Apr 1935
Comanche War Dance + Theme (Goodnight Sweetheart)	Ray Noble Orchestra	Beverley-Wiltshire Hotel KFI NBC LA 6 April 1940
Set 6	Swing Bands on 1944 Radio
Sleep	Benny Carter Orchestra	Aircheck Trianon Ballroom Southgate Ca 1944
No Love, No Nothin’	Lionel Hampton Orchestra (voc) Dinah Washington	Trianon Ballroom Southgate Ca KFI NBC LA 16 Jun 1944
Three Little Words	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	Casino Gardens Ocean Park Ca KECA Blue LA Oct 1944
Frantic in the Atlantic	Cab Calloway Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Club Zanzibar New York City AFRS Re-broadcast 22 Sep 1944
Set 7	Hal Kemp’s Tripling Trumpets on 1934 Radio
When Summer Is Gone (theme) + It’s Winter Again	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Skinnay Ennis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Boulevarde of Broken Dreams	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Deane Janis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Last Year’s Girl	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Skinnay Ennis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea + When summer is Gone (theme)	Hal Kemp Orchestra	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Set 8	Jazz on 1940s-50s TV
Soft Winds + Perdido	Roy Eldridge All-Stars	‘The Today Show’ WNBC TV NBC NY 18 Jan 1957
My Funny Valentine	Helen Ward (voc)	‘Eddie Condon’s Floor Show’ WNBC TV NBC NY 26 Mar 1949
Ridin’ High	Benny Goodman Orchestra (voc) Ella Fitzgerald	‘Texaco Show’ WNBC TV NBC NY 9 Apr 1958
Intro + Drum Boogie	Ronald Reagan MC, Gene Krupa Orchestra (voc) Anita O’Day	‘Ford Star Time’ NBC TV LA 9 Feb 1960

January 26, 2020January 26, 2020

Django Reinhardt on 1945 Radio – Phantom Dancer 28 Jan 2020

The Tuesday 28 January Phantom Dancer on radio and online has 1942-45 Django Reinhardt as your feature artist.

The Phantom Dancer with actor and 1920s-30s singer Greg Poppleton is your two hour non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio.

You can hear The Phantom Dancer online now at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

The last hour is all vinyl.

DJANGO WWII

Belgian-born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer, Django Reinhardt returned to Paris from London as soon as war broke out in Septemeber 1939.

Though he continued recording, Nazi-occupied France was a dangerous place for Reinhardt, as both a Romani and a jazz musician.

During the Holocaust an estimated 600,000 to 1.5 million Romani throughout Europe were eventually killed.

Additionally, the Nazi attitude towards jazz was antagonistic, labeling it ‘degenerate music’.

Official policy towards Jazz was much less strict in occupied France, with jazz music frequently played on both Radio France, the official station of Vichy France, and Radio Paris, controlled by the Germans.

Reinhardt was the most famous jazz musician in Europe at the time, working steadily during the early war years and earning a great deal of money, yet always under threat.

AMPS

Reinhardt expanded his musical horizons during the war. By amplifying his guitar he was able to work in in large ensembles with horn sections. He also experimented with classical composition, writing a Mass for the Gypsies and a symphony. Since he did not read music, Reinhardt worked with an assistant to notate what he was improvising. His modernist piece Rhythm Futur was also intended to be acceptable to the Nazis.

One of his songs, Nuages, became an unofficial anthem in Paris to signify hope for liberation. The single sold over 100,000 copies.

Reinhardt’s first attempt at escape from Occupied France led to capture. Fortunately for him, a jazz-loving German, Luftwaffe Officer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, allowed him to return to Paris. Reinhardt made a second attempt a few days later, but was stopped in the middle of the night by Swiss border guards, who forced him to return to Paris again.

In 1943, Reinhardt married Sophie “Naguine” Ziegler in Salbris. They had a son, Babik Reinhardt, who later became a respected guitarist in his own right.

Django survived the war to be later killed by tobacco companies. Their poison killed him by brain haemorrage in 1953

Here is The Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, Django Reinhardt playing Komm Zuerruck with Stephane Grapelli and the Hot Club of France in an American short from early 1939.

Make sure you come back to this blog, Greg Poppleton’s Radio Lounge, every Tuesday, for the newest Phantom Dancer play list and Video of the Week!

28 JANUARY PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #421
107.3 2SER Tuesday 28 January 2020 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+11 hours GMT) National Program: ArtsoundFM Canberra Sunday 10 – 11pm Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4pm 7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 – 9pm 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am and early morning on 23 other stations.
Set 1	Swing and Jazz on 1949 Radio
Oye Negra	Adrian Rollini Trio	‘Guest Star’ Radio Transcription New York City 1949
Flying Home (theme) + Empty Glass	Lionel Hampton Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Aquarium Restaurant New York City AFRS Re-broadcast 1949
One For My Baby + Lovely To Look At (Close)	Eddie Duchin Orchestra (voc) Bea Wain	‘Eddie Duchin Show’ Radio Transcription 1949
Set 2	Dance Bands
Isn’t It Romantic (open) + We Belong Together	Matt Dennis Trio	‘All-Star Parade of Bands’ Chi-Chi Club WRCA NBC NY 13 Jun 1955
Cirribirribin	Whitey Berquist and the NBC Symphony Orchestra Chicago	‘Monitor’ WRCA NBC NY 19 Jun 1955
Medley: Easter Parade / You’ll Never Know / Stars Fell on Alabama / The Best Things In Life Are Free / Close	Chuck Cabot Orchestra (voc) Lynn Avalon	Empire Room Rice Hotel CBS Houston Apr 1953
Set 3	Gypsy Jazz on 1945 Radio
Improvisation No. 6	Django Reinhardt	‘Beaucoup de Music’ AFN Paris 1 Dec 1945
Bei Dir War Es Immer So Schoen	Django Reinhardt with the Fud Candrix Orchestra	Comm Rec Brussels 16 Apr 1942
Honeysuckle Rose	Django Reinhardt Quintet	‘Beaucoup de Music’ AFN Paris 1 Dec 1945
Set 4	Jazz and Schmaltz on 1947-48 Radio
Theme + The Great Lie	Dodo Marmarosa	‘Jubilee’ AFRS Hollywood 1947
Poor Butterfly	Bobby Troup Trio (voc) Bobby Troup and Trio	‘Jubilee’ AFRS Hollywood 1 Mar 1948
Medley: The Egg and I / I Can’t Believe It Was All Make-Believe + Hawaiian War Chant (Close)	Jack Barrow Orchestrad	‘One Night Stand’ Aragon Ballroom Ocean Park Ca AFRS Re-broadcast 1947
Set 5	1937 Radio Bands
I’d Do Anything For You	Seger Ellis and his Choirs of Brass	Radio Transcription New York City 1937
Swing, Benny, Swing	Benny Goodman Orchestra (voc) Bloch and Sully, Martha Tilton, Alexander Chorus	‘Camel Caravan’ KNX CNS Los Angeles 10 Aug 1937
Never In A Million Years	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Bob Allen	‘Chesterfield Show’ WABC CBS NY 1937
Blue Skies	George Hall Orchestra	Radio Transcription New York City 1937
Set 6	Eddie Condon’s Blue Network Jazz Concerts 1944-45
Pee Wee’s Town Hall Stomp	Eddie Condon Group (cl) Pee Wee Russell	‘Eddie Condon’s Town Hall Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 1944
Blues ‘Round My Head	Eddie Condon Group (cl and voc) Woody Herman	Eddie Condon’s Town Hall Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 27 Jan 1945
Wherever There’s Love	Eddie Condon Group (voc) Lee Wiley	Eddie Condon’s Town Hall Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 23 Sep 1944
I Got Rhythm	Eddie Condon Group	Eddie Condon’s Town Hall Jazz Concert’ AFRS Rebroadcast 14 oct 1944
Set 7	Bop Vocals on 1948-50 Radio
Embraceable You	Charlie Parker Quintet (voc) Chubby Newsome	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Birdland WMCA NY 30 Jun 1950
Salt Peanuts	Charlie Parker Quintet (voc) Band	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA NY 22 Jan 1949
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles	Jackie Cain and Roy Kral	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA NY 1949
Body and Soul + Close	Stan Kenton Orchestra	‘All Star Parade of Bands’ Bordland WNBC NBC NY 20 Jun 1953
Set 8	Great Women Jazz Singers on The Air 1944-45
What More Can A Woman Do?	Sarah Vaughan	Comm Rec New York City 25 May 1945
Summertime	Mildred Bailey	‘Music Till Midnight’ WABC CBS NY 12 Jan 1945
No Love No Nothin’	Dinah Washington	‘One Night Stand’ Trianon Ballroom Southgate Ca AFRS Re-broadcast 16 Jun 1944
Deed I Do	Lena Horne	‘Jubilee’ AFRS Hollywood 1944

December 30, 2019December 21, 2020

Happy New Decade – Did Wynn Foresee Australia Burning? – Phantom Dancer 31 Dec 2019

We started this year with this New Year show, choc-a-bloc full of New Years swing and jazz from live 1936 – 1966 radio. And because I’m on holidays unable to move with a fractured femur, we’ll end the decade with it, too!

The Phantom Dancer, presented by myself, Greg Poppleton, since 1985 on 107.3 2SER Sydney, is now re-broadcast on over 24 stations of the Community Radio Network across Australia. Hear the show online from midday 31 December 2019 (AEST).

And see the play list below.

OOGIE BOOGIE

This week’s featured ‘artist’ is Wynn the Astrologer…

SEER

This famous 1930s astrologer gives his prognostications for 1937 on this week’s Phantom Dancer. In fact, get ready for disappointment at the end of Set 1, where I play Wynn’s ‘wise words’ (and some musical excerpts) from the 1936 New Year’s Eve Rudy Vallee show.

You’ll hear most of what Wynn had to say about the year ahead. I cut it short for time. Think of the audience for the 1936 radio broadcast, they never got that time Wynn wasted back.

Wynn, born Sidney Kimball Bennett, wrote the stars for the New York Daily News. It seems he didn’t do it for a laugh. He was pompously serious about himself, as you’ll hear.

SPOOKY

His claim to fame was a prediction he made in the NY Daily News in 1932. He ‘foresaw’ financial turmoil for early March of 1933. That’s when President Roosevelt closed the banks for a week as the US struggled with the Great Depression.

UNCANNY

Wynn’s predictions for 1937 are typically vague, and, well, predictable. More interesting is just a short list of what actually happened in 1937 out of the trillions of things Wynn’s charts failed to predict…

Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in Great Britain
Bradman scores 270 Aust v England at the MCG, incl 110 singles
2nd of Stalin‘s purge trials; Pyatakov & 16 others sentenced to death
DuPont Corp patents nylon, developed by employee Wallace H Carothers
Initial flight of the first successful flying car, Waldo Waterman’s Arrowbile
Bradman scores 169 in 5th Test Cricket v England in 223 minutes
Mexico nationalizes oil
Pope Pius XI publishes anti-nazi-encyclical Mit brennender Sorge
Astronomer Fritz Zwicky publishes his research on stellar explosion in which he coins the term “supernova” and hypothesizes that they were the origin of cosmic rays
Spinach growers of Crystal City, Texas, erect statue of Popeye
Debut of cartoon characters Daffy Duck, Elmer J Fudd & Petunia Pig
German Luftwaffe destroys Basque town of Guernica in Spain
1st commercial flight across Pacific operated by Pan Am
The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% voted yes
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge opens
Spam, the luncheon meat, is first introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation
Japanese & Chinese troops clash at the Marco Polo Bridge, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War
Buchenwald Concentration Camp opens
Isolation of pituitary hormone announced (Yale University)
1st FM radio construction permit issued (W1X0J (WGTR) in Boston MA)
Date celebrated as the first International Hobbit Day and the birthdays of Bibo and Frodo Baggins
1st Santa Claus Training School opens (Albion NY)
Balinese Tiger declared extinct
Dmitri Shostakovitch’s 5th Symphony premieres
Clifford Odets’ “Golden Boy” premieres in NYC
Japanese troops conquer and plunder Nanjing (Nanjing Massacre)
Bill O’Reilly takes 9-41 for NSW against South Australia
Constitution of Ireland (Irish: Bunreacht na hÉireann) is enacted and Irish free state is named Eire
Pan Am starts service between San Francisco and Auckland, New Zealand

Here’s some footage of the first successful flying car, Waldo Waterman’s Arrowbile. How did Wynn miss this one? Probably the same way he missed foretelling his own 1926 car accident…(gosh, on today’s Phantom Dancer he warns Rudy Vallee to be ‘careful of cars’, spooky!)

31 DECEMBER PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #417
107.3 2SER Tuesday 31 December 2019 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+11 hours GMT) National Program: ArtsoundFM Canberra Sunday 10 – 11pm Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4pm 7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 – 9pm 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am and early morning on 23 other stations.
Set 1
New Years Eve Aboard An Ocean Liner	Raymond Scott Quintette	Comm Rec New York 21 Jul 1939
In The Mood	Glenn Miller Orchestra	‘Chesterfield Show’ WABC CBS NY 27 Dec 1939
Never Should Have Told You + Predictions for 1937 + Chim Bomba + Close	Rudy Vallee and Wynn the Astrologer	‘Royal Gelatin Show’ WEAF NBC Red NY 31 Dec 1936
Set 2
Open + Happy Holidays	Bing Crosby (voc) John Scott Trotter Orchestra	‘Kraft Music Hall’ KFI NBC LA 30 Dec 1943
Rhapsody In Blue (theme) + Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah	Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Chorus	‘The Paul Whiteman Show’ WJZ ABC NY 1 Jan 1947
Poinciana + Close	Bing Crosby (voc) John Scott Trotter Orchestra	‘Kraft Music Hall’ KFI NBC LA 30 Dec 1943
Set 3
Deep Forest (theme) + Dippermouth Blues + When The Saints Go Marching In + Tiger Rag	Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines	Club Hangover KCBS CBS San Francisco 1 Jan 1957
Set 4
Auld Lang Syne + Newport Up + Together + Macarena + You Better Know It	Duke Ellington Orchestra (voc) Jimmy Grissom and Ozzie Bailey	‘All-Star Parade of Bands’ Blue Note WMAQ NBC Chicago 1 Jan 1958
Set 5
Sad Sack	Harry James Orchestra (Hollywood)	‘New Year’s Dancing Party’ AFRS Hollywood 31 Dec 1945
One O’Clock Jump	Count Basie Orchestra (New York)	‘New Year’s Dancing Party’ AFRS Hollywood 31 Dec 1945
Warsaw Concerto	Freddy Martin Orchestra (Cocoanut Grove, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles)	‘New Year’s Dancing Party’ AFRS Hollywood 31 Dec 1945
Woodchopper’s Ball	Woody Herman Orchestra (Meadowbrook Ballroom, Cedar Grove NJ)	‘New Year’s Dancing Party’ AFRS Hollywood 31 Dec 1945
Set 6
Open + Stompin’ At The Savoy + Tea For Two	Teddy Wilson Trio	‘All-Star Parade of Bands’ The Embers WRCA NBC NY 31 Dec 1957
Stompin’ Down Broadway + Opus 1 (close)	Dorsey Brothers Orchestra	Meadowbrook Ballroom Cedar Grove NJ WCBS CBS NY 1 Jan 1956
Set 7
Afterthoughts + Canadian Sunset + Soft Summer Breeze + The Man I Love + Begin The Beguine	Eddie Haywood Trio	‘All-Star Parade of Bands’ The Embers WRCA NBC NY 31 Dec 1957
Set 8
Robin Hood	Louis Prima Orchestra (voc) LP	‘New Year’s Dancing Party’ AFRS Hollywood 31 Dec 1945
Gotta Be This Or That	Benny Goodman Orchestra (with Slam Stewart b, Red Norvo vibes, Boston)	‘New Year’s Dancing Party’ AFRS Hollywood 31 Dec 1945
Let The Zoomers Drool	Duke Ellington Orchestra (Evansville, Indiana)	‘New Year’s Dancing Party’ AFRS Hollywood 31 Dec 1945

July 25, 2019

Paper Magnetic Tape for Tape Recorders – Phantom Dancer 30 July 2019

STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE

This week’s Greg Poppleton Phantom Dancer feature has been sent to The Phantom Dancer by Matt who lives in the USA. It’s a WBBM CBS Chicago aircheck of the Woody Herman Orchestra broadcasting from the Palladium Ballroom in Hollywood. Matt has transferred it from the original brittle paper reel-to-reel tape.

The aircheck includes a bop inspired swinger I’ve never heard before called ‘Non-Alcoholic’.

I had thought audio tape had always been ‘plastic’. So this paper tape Matt sent is a revelation to me. I found some information about paper audio tape on Wiki which I’ve edited into a few tantalising paragraphs below…

Thank you, Matt!

ONLINE

This week’s Phantom Dancer will be online right after the 30 July 107.3 2SER Sydney live mix at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney

PAPER RECORDING TAPE

Wax

The earliest known audio tape recorder was a non-magnetic, non-electric version invented by Alexander Graham Bell’s Volta Laboratory and patented in 1886. It employed a 3⁄16-inch-wide (4.8 mm) strip of wax-covered paper that was coated by dipping it in a solution of beeswax and paraffin and then had one side scraped clean, with the other side allowed to harden. It never went into commercial production largely due to the poor sound quality of the tape.

Photoelectric

In 1932, after six years of developmental work, Detroit radio engineer, Merle Dunstan, created a tape recorder that used chemically treated paper tape. During the recording process, the tape moved through a pair of electrodes which immediately imprinted the modulated sound signals as visible black stripes into the paper tape’s surface. The sound track could be immediately replayed from the same recorder unit, which also contained photoelectric sensors, somewhat similar to the various sound-on-film technologies of the era.

Iron Oxide

Magnetic tape recording as we know it today was developed in Germany during the 1930s at BASF and AEG in cooperation with the state radio RRG. This was based on Fritz Pfleumer’s 1928 invention of paper tape with oxide powder lacquered to it. The first practical tape recorder from AEG was the Magnetophon K1, demonstrated in Germany in 1935. Eduard Schüller of AEG built the recorders and developed a ring-shaped recording and playback head. It replaced the needle-shaped head which tended to shred the tape. Friedrich Matthias of IG Farben/BASF developed the recording tape, including the oxide, the binder, and the backing material. Walter Weber, working for Hans Joachim von Braunmühl at the RRG, discovered the AC biasing technique, which radically improved sound quality.

End of Paper Tape

In 1938, S.J. Begun left Germany and joined the Brush Development Company in the United States, where work on magnetic tape recorders continued. This work attracted little attention until the late 1940s when the company released the very first consumer tape recorder in 1946: the Soundmirror BK 401.

Tapes were initially made of paper coated with magnetite powder. In 1947/48 Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company (3M) replaced the paper backing with plastic or polyester and coated it first with black oxide, and later, to improve overall sound quality, red iron oxide.

VIDEO

This week’s Phantom Dancer video of the week is from the late 1940s, an unidentified woman reading to paper tape. Enjoy her story!

30 JULY PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #397
107.3 2SER Tuesday 30 July 2019 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT) National Program: Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4pm 7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 – 9pm 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am ArtSoundFM Canberra Sunday 7 – 8pm and early morning on 23 other stations.
Set 1	One Night Stand Bands on 1945 Radio
Take The A-Train (theme) + Midriff	Duke Ellington Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Cafe Zanzibar NYC AFRS Re-broadcast 7 Oct 1945
Music for Moderns (theme) + Lullaby of Broadway	Jan Savitt Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Palladium Ballroom Hollywood AFRS Re-broadcast 20 Sep 1945
Candy Kid’s Note to a Classy Chassie + Twilight Time (close)	Vaughan Monroe Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Palladium Ballroom Hollywood AFRS Re-broadcast 8 Feb 1945
Set 2	Swinging 60s Radio
Walkin’	Harry James Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Palladium ballroom Hollywood AFRS Re-broadcast 22 Nov 1959
Alright OK You Win	Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Joe Williams	‘All-Star Parade of Bands’ Zardi’s KFI NBC LA 14 May 1956
Black Magic + Close	Buddy DeFranco Group	‘The Navy Swings’ Radio Transcription 1959
Set 3	1935-41 Paris Radio
Radio Cite ID + Open + C’est Gentil	Ray Ventura et ses Collegiens	Poste Parisien 1935
Swing Festival ’41	Django Reinhardt, Aime Barelli, Alix Combelle and more	Radio Paris 26 Dec 1940
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes + All I Do The Whole Day Through Is Dream of You + Close	Guy Berry + Charlotte Duvier & Charles Trenet	‘Le Enfante Terrible’ Poste Parisien 1935
Set 4	Woody Herman on Paper Tape
Swing Low Sweet Clarinet	Woody Herman Orchestra (voc) Mary-Ann McCall	Palladium Ballroom Hollywood WBBM CBS Chicago 15 Feb 1947
Apple Honey	Woody Herman Orchestra	Palladium Ballroom Hollywood WBBM CBS Chicago 15 Feb 1947
Non-Alcoholic + Close	Woody Herman Orchestra	Palladium Ballroom Hollywood WBBM CBS Chicago 15 Feb 1947
Set 5	Teddy Wilson 1944-45
Tiger Rag	Teddy Wilson Sextet	‘Mildred Bailey Show’ WABC CBS NY 19 Jan 1945
Body and Soul	Teddy Wilson Sextet	‘Mildred Bailey Show’ WABC CBS NY 1944
Smiles	Teddy Wilson Sextet	‘Mildred Bailey Show’ WABC CBS NY 12 Jan 1945
Sweet Georgia Brown	Teddy Wilson Sextet	‘Mildred Bailey Show’ WABC CBS NY 8 Dec 1944
Set 6	Red Norvo Vibes
Rockin’ Chair	Esquire All-Stars with Red Norvo (vibes) Mildred Bailey (voc)	‘Spotlight Bands’ Metropolitan Opera House WJZ Blue NY 18 Jan 1944
Clarinet Marmalade	Red Norvo Octet	‘Paul Whiteman Musical Varieties’ WJZ NBC Blue NY 8 Mar 1936
Somebody Loves Me	Benny Goodman Sextet with Red Norvo	‘Alistair Cooke Concert’ BBC Transcription New York City 8 Dec 1945
I Never Knew	Red Norvo Octet	‘Paul Whiteman Musical Varieties’ WJZ NBC Blue NY 8 Mar 1936
Set 7	Hal Kemp
When Summer is Gone (theme) + Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Skinnay Ennis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Everything I Have is Yours	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Deane Janis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Thanks	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Deane Janis	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea + When Summer is Gone (theme)	Hal Kemp Orchestra	‘Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Set 8	Jubilee Swing 1943 and 1945
Blue ‘n’ Boogie (theme) + Opus X	Billy Eckstine Orchestra	‘Jubilee’ AFRS Hollywood Feb 1945
Love Me or Leave Me	Billy Eckstine Orchestra	‘Jubilee’ AFRS Hollywood Feb 1945
Vine Street Boogie	Jay McShann Orchestra	‘Jubilee’ AFRS NYC 1943
Jump the Blues + One O’Clock Jump (theme)	Jay McShann Orchestra	‘Jubilee’ AFRS NYC 1943

April 24, 2019April 24, 2019

7 May Phantom Dancer – What is Trad Jazz, Dad?

IT’S TRAD, DAD!

This week’s feature artist on The Phantom Dancer, your non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio by Greg Poppleton, is actually a feature style. The style is designated by a term a lot of its fans use without being too precise about its actual meaning. It’s Trad jazz, Dad.

See the full Phantom Dancer play list below.

PHANTOM DANCER

This week’s Phantom Dancer will be online right after this 7 May 2SER live mix at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney. See other stations and times in the play list below.

FRONTLINE

Trad Jazz is short for traditional jazz. It’s the Dixieland and ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century which typically used a front line of trumpet, clarinet, and trombone.

REVIVAL

A Dixieland revival began in the United States on the West Coast in the late 1930s as a backlash to the Chicago style, which was close to swing. Lu Watters and the Yerba Buena Jazz Band, and trombonist Turk Murphy, adopted the repertoire of Joe “King” Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and W. C. Handy: bands included banjo and tuba in the rhythm sections. A New Orleans-based traditional revival began with the later recordings of Jelly-Roll Morton and the rediscovery of Bunk Johnson in 1942, leading to the founding of Preservation Hall in the French Quarter during the 1960s.

Early King Oliver pieces exemplify this style of hot jazz; however, as individual performers began stepping to the front as soloists, a new form of music emerged. One of the ensemble players in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong, was by far the most influential of the soloists, creating, in his wake, a demand for this “new” style of jazz, in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Other influential stylists who are still revered in traditional jazz circles today include Sidney Bechet, Bix Beiderbecke, Wingy Manone and Muggsy Spanier. Many artists of the big band era, including Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman, had their beginnings in trad jazz.

On this week’s Phantom Dancer, you’ll hear Trad and Chicago style is Set 4 by the Bob Crosby Bobcats, Eddie Condon and Red Nichols direct from 1929 radio

The last hour is all vinyl.

Your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week this week is: Westend Blues featuring Bob Barnard on trumpet and Lawrie Thompson, drums. I mention these two particular musicians out of the band in this 1980s telecast because I have had the huge pleasure of them both playing in my own Greg Poppleton band.

Enjoy!

Make sure you come back to this blog, Greg Poppleton’s Radio Lounge, every Tuesday, for the newest Phantom Dancer play list and Video of the Week!

Thank you.

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #384
107.3 2SER 12:04pm Tuesday 7 May 2019 5pm Saturday 11 May 2019 (+10 hours GMT) National Program: Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4pm 7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 – 9pm 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am ArtSoundFM Canberra Sunday 7 – 8pm and early morning on 23 other stations.
Set 1	Big Bands on 1940s Radio
Theme + The Moon Is Low	Ray McKinley Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Century Room Hotel Commodore AFRS Re-broadcast 1946
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah	Jack Barrow Orchestra (voc) Dolores Crane	‘One Night Stand’ Aragon Ballroom Ocean Park Ca AFRS Re-broadcast Jul 1945
I Can’t Get Started + Theme	Jack Jenney (tb) Frank DeVol Orchestra	’Music Depreciation Revue’ KHJ Mutual – Don Lees Los Angeles 4 Feb 1945
Set 2	Smooth On 1950s Radio
Open + It’s A Good Day	Perry Como and the Ray Charles Singer (voc) Mitchell Ayres Orchestra	’Let’s Go To Town’ Radio Transcription Hollywood 1954
Champagne Music (theme) + Red Petticoats	Lawrence Welk Orchestra	Aragon Ballroom Ocean Park Ca KECA ABC LA 1958
Medley: How Deep Is The Ocean? + I’m In The Mood For Love + Avalon + Close	Sammy Kaye Orchestra	’One Night Stand’ Hotel Astor Roof NY AFRS Re-broadcast 27 Aug 1945
Set 3	Dixie on 1920s-50s Radio
Muskrat Ramble	Bob Crosby Bobcats	’Bob Crosby Show’ Radio Transcription Los Angeles 1955
I Want To Be Happy	Eddie Condon	’Dr Jazz’ Eddie Condon’s WMGM NY 10 Dec 1951
Jazz Me Blues	Little Buster and the Corn Poppers (Red Nichols)	’Dickenson Program’ Radio Transcription New York City Nov 1929
Set 4	1930 Radio Jazz
Tin Ear	Bob Effros and The Philco Orchestra	’Philco Program’ WABC CBS NY 1930
Singing River	Boswell Sisters	Continental Broadcasting Corporation Radio Transcription Hollywood 1930
I Don’t Need Atmosphere To Fall In Love With You + Close	Little Jack Little	’Little Jack Little Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1930
Set 5	Doris Day on 1939-45 Radio
I’m Happy About The Whole Thing	Doris Day (voc) Barney Rapp and his New Englanders	NBC Cincinatti 17 Jun 1939
Blue Music	Doris Day (voc) Les Brown Orchestra	Peacock Room Baker Hotel CBS Dallas 9 Aug 1945
Long Ago and Far Away	Doris Day (voc) Les Brown Orchestra	Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania WABC CBS NY 7 Jul 1944
I Wish I Knew	Doris Day (voc) Les Brown Orchestra	Palladium Ballroom KNX CBS Hollywood 16 Aug 1945
Set 6	Fats Waller 23 Sep 1943 in Story and Song
Reefer Song	Fats Waller	Comm Rec New York City 23 Sep 1943
Ain’t Misbehavin’ + There’s a Girl in my Life + Honeysuckle Rose	Fats Waller	’Personally, It’s Off The Record’ WABC CBS NY 23 Sep 1943
Set 7	1934 Radio Jazz and Dance
Maniacs’ Ball	Glen Gary and the Casa Loma Orchestra	Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Intro + It Don’t Mean A Thing	Dorsey Brothers Orchestra	’Chrysler Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Song of the Vipers	Louis Armstrong	Comm Rec Paris Oct 1934
Swingy Little Thingy	Hal Kemp Orchestra	’Lavena Program’ Radio Transcription New York City 1934
Set 8	Bop on 1940s-50s Radio
A Night In Tunisia	Charlie Parker	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA NY 12 Mar 1949
Now’s The Time	Howard McGee	Birdland WJZ ABC NY Oct 1951
I’m Glad There’s You	Charlie Ventura (voc) Jackie Kain and Roy Kral	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA NY 1949

March 17, 2019March 17, 2019

Victory Belles All-Women 1940s Radio Show – Phantom Dancer 19 March 2019

VICTORY BELLES

This week I’m thrilled to find for you on The Phantom Dancer with Greg Poppleton, a 1942 all-woman jazz show I played on the Phantom Dancer over ten years ago. The tape has re-surfaced. This week, enjoy the Victory Belles as your Phantom Dancer featured artists with the Bea Turpin Orchestra and singer Martha Mears (who sang White Christmas with Bing Crosby in the movie, Holiday Inn). See the full play list below.

PHANTOM DANCER

This week’s Phantom Dancer will be online immediately after the 12 March 2SER live mix at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney

BACKGROUND

Billboard, 13 Feb 1943 page 7 wrote,

“KNX-CBS is the only net here having an all-girl show. ‘Victory Belles’ uses an all girl ork and comedienne, with Mabel Todd filling the latter spot. Show is produced by Ona Munson. Billy Gould, sound effects, the only man on the program is forced to don Mother Hubbard wig – and cigar – to hold his job on this show.”

STORY

Jeannie Gayle Pool in her book, ‘Peggy Gilbert and Her All-Girl Band’ quotes Peggy Gilbert talking about the Victory Belle broadcasts,

“Ona Munson, who was a movie star, she was in Gone With The Wind, you remember? And she had quite a little reputation at that time as a star and she had her own show on CBS. She wanted an all-girl jazz orchestra on it and so we got together…There was actually no leader. A bunch of us just got together and said, “Here we are and this is it.” I was one of them and we were on that for a year. We had a weekly program. 1942, I think, right after the war started. We were at CBS in Hollywood. And what terrific audiences…they would bring fellows in from all over the place around here, in uniform, And it was just a terrific show. I loved it. The girls were such fine musicians. they would cut the stuff. They’d put the arrangements in front of us just before we went on. We’d be lucky if we had time to go through it before the show started. we’d talk through it, usually, and maybe go through a couple of parts of it. And then, away we’d go. Accompanying acts and doing our own thing.”

Side note: Munson introduced the song ‘You’re the Cream in My Coffee’ in the 1927 Broadway musical ‘Hold Everything’.

Martha Mears singing 'White Christmas' with Bing Crosby in the movie 'Holiday Inn'. — Martha Mears singing ‘White Christmas’ with Bing Crosby in the movie ‘Holiday Inn’.

EIGHT JILLS OF JIVE

“We had some fine musicians. we had Jane Sager on trumpet; and we had Pee Wee [Naomi Preble] on trombone;…Katherine Cruise on first alto: I was on first tenor, clarinet and vibes; Dody Jeshke on drums and Bea Turpin on piano.”

There would have been a double bass player and singer.

VIDEO

This week’s Phantom Dancer video of the week is not the Victory Belles, but a breathtaking climb up the radio 2UW tower in Sydney, 1944. Happy clambering!

19 MARCH PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #377
107.3 2SER Tuesday 19 March 2019 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+11 hours GMT) National Program: ArtSoundFM Canberra Sunday 7 – 8pm 2ARM Armidale Friday 12:04 – 1pm and early morning on 24 other stations.
Set 1	Mod 1950s Radio
Lover Come Back To Me	Bud Powell	Birdland WJZ ABC NY 7 Feb 1953
Cool Blues	Charlie Parker	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Hi Hat Club WCOP Boston
Indiana	Lester Young	‘Bandstand USA’ Cafe Bohemia WOR Mutual NY 22 Dec 1956
Set 2	Duke Ellington 1942-47 Radio
Feeling A Little Tomorrow Like I Feel Today	Duke Ellington Orchestra	‘Spotlight Bands’ Ciro’s Hollywood AFRS Re-broadcast 25 Jul 1947
I Wonder Why?	Duke Ellington Orchestra (voc) Bette Roche	‘Spotlight Bands’ Buffalo NY Blue Network 27 Nov 1943
Poco + Take The A Train (theme)	Duke Ellington Orchestra	El Patio Ballroom Lakeside KLZ CBS Denver CO 15 Jul 1942
Set 3	Singin’ Sam
Open + Ol’ King Cole	Singing Sam	Radio Transcription New York City 1940
What’s It Gonna Get Ya? + Hortence	Singing Sam	Radio Transcription New York City 1940
A Brownbird Singing + Close (Coca Cola Waltz)	Singing Sam	Radio Transcription New York City 1940
Set 4	Women’s Radio ‘Victory Belles’
Open + Ten Little Soldiers	Bea Turpin Eight Jills of Jive (voc) The Music Maids	‘Victory Belles’ KNX CBS LA 12 Dec 1942
When You And I Were Young, Maggie	Bea Turpin Orchestra	‘Victory Belles’ KNX CBS LA 12 Dec 1942
When You And I Were Young, Maggie (voc) Mabel Todd	Bea Turpin Orchestra	‘Victory Belles’ KNX CBS LA 12 Dec 1942
I Came Here To Talk For Joe	Bea Turpin Orchestra (voc) Martha Mears	‘Victory Belles’ KNX CBS LA 12 Dec 1942
Set 5	Bunny Berrigan 1934-36 Radio
I Can’t Get Started (theme) + My Melancholy Baby	Bunny Berrigan Orchestra	Broadcast mid-1939
Moonshine over Kentucky and Heigh Ho	Bunny Berrigan Orchestra	Paradise Restaurant WOR Mutual NY 3 May 1938
Familiar Moe	Bunny Berrigan Orchestra	Trianon Ballroom WCLE Cleveland OH 9 Apr 1939
Deed I Do	Bunny Berrigan Orchestra (voc) Bunny Berrigan	Mutual Network Boston 20 Sep 1939
Set 6	Billie HolidayRadio
You Better Go Now	Billie Holiday (voc) Percy Faith Orchestra	‘Woolworth Hour’ KNX CBS LA 1954
I Cover The Waterfront	Billie Holiday	Storyville Copley Square Hotel WHDH Boston 29 Oct 1951
I’ll Get By	Billie Holiday	‘Spotlight Bands’ Metropolitan Opera House WJZ Blue NY 18 Jan 1944
You’re Driving Me Crazy	Billie Holiday	Storyville Copley Square Hotel WHDH Boston Oct 1953
Set 7	1930s Radio Transcriptions
I’ve Got You Under My Skin	Red Nichols Orchestra (voc) The Songcopators	Radio Transcription NYC 30 Nov 1936
Panama	Hal Kemp Orchestra	Radio Transcription NYC 14 Dec 1934
Never Should Have Told You	Red Nichols Orchestra (voc) The Songcopators	Radio Transcription NYC 30 Nov 1936
Blue Moon	Hal Kemp Orchestra (voc) Bob Allen	Radio Transcription NYC 14 Dec 1934
Set 8	Dorsey Brothers 1956 Radio
You Are My First Love	Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (voc) Tommy Mercer	Cafe Rouge Hotel Statler WCBS CBS NY 1956
I Could Have Danced All Night	Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (voc) Dolly Houston	Cafe Rouge Hotel Statler WCBS CBS NY 1956
Too Close For Comfort	Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (voc) Tommy Mercer	Cafe Rouge Hotel Statler WCBS CBS NY 1956
Too Young To Go Steady	Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (voc) Dolly Houston	Cafe Rouge Hotel Stadtler WCBS CBS NY 1956