Big Band Bash

January 16th 1938 is the date of the Benny Goodman concert at Carnegie Hall. This was the first concert given in the respectable concert venue by a swing band. We are very fortunate that the concert was recorded. Since the recording date was during the infancy of recording, the sound quality is not as good as today's recordings. The concert was originally issued in a two-LP gatefold album in 1950, the nearly forgotten documentation of this historic event quickly became Columbia's best-selling jazz release, a distinction it was to hold for decades to come. Although rumored among collectors for decades, the public had no way of knowing that two big band numbers had been excised from the commercial release and all subsequent reissues. The original concert was over two hours so I have picked some selected cuts from that night. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. I have to correct myself. There were four parts to this series. So, this week we are going to conclude the series from the Reader's Digest Set, Memories of the Swing Era. Back in the 1960's and 70's Reader's Digest used to put out vinyl album sets on different topics. My parents had a couple in their record collection and we have some at the radio staion where I work. I was lucky to come across this set as it has a wide variety of bands in it. I tried to put together a varied show full of your favorite bands. So join me as we bring back Memories of the Swing Era with this great multi-album set from Reader's Digest Records. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. This is part two of a program I did on the great bandleader, Les Brown. Les passed away January 4, 2001. Since we just passed the anniversary of his death I would like to play a program that I produced two years ago and feature those great les Brown recordings. I have included in the show snippets of an interview that Les gave in 1990 to Chris Neilsen. Chris is no longer with us but when he was alive he hosted a program called One Night Stand. These are some of Les' early recordings and some of his most popular. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

As we return from the holidays, I want to feature the big band of Les Brown. Les passed away January 4, 2001. Since we just passed the anniversary of his death I would like to play a program that I produced two years ago and feature those great les Brown recordings. I have included in the show snippets of an interview that Les gave in 1990 to Chris Neilsen. Chris is no longer with us but when he was alive he hosted a program called One Night Stand. These are some of Les' early recordings and some of his most popular. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

As we return from the holidays, I want to feature the big band of Les Brown. Les passed away January 4, 2001. Since we just passed the anniversary of his death I would like to play a program that I produced two years ago and feature those great les Brown recordings. I have included in the show snippets of an interview that Les gave in 1990 to Chris Neilsen. Chris is no longer with us but when he was alive he hosted a program called One Night Stand. These are some of Les' early recordings and some of his most popular. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. This is part two of a series I call the Jerry Atkins Collection. Jerry had a show on Saturdays on the radio station I work at called The Enjoyment of Jazz. He played recordings from his massive record collection and entertained us with stories of his meetings and befriending many of the jazz masters. Sadly, Jerry passed away in 2010. His son, who is also a great jazz musician, donated many of the albums and cds in his father's collection to our station. Jerry collected albums by lots of jazz musicians but he liked the more modern big bands. This week I have pulled out several of the Woody Herman albums in the collection. I have digitized them and cleaned up the ticks and pops and background noise as best I could. So as I pay a small tribute to my friend I hope you enjoy this set of recordings from the Jerry Atkins Collection. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Jerry Atkins was a well known musician, jazz historian, and record collector who lived in Texarkana, Texas until his passing in 2010. His record collection was huge and was donated to the the radio station where I work and produce Big Band Bash. Since most of these albums have not been purchased by the station, I have been digitizing some of them. It is amazing how well the software cleans up ticks and pops and eliminates surface noise from the records. I have decided to present four shows from the many albums that Jerry had. Part one features several albums by Les Brown, Part two will be Woody Herman, Parts three and four will be assorted bands. I hope you enjoy the music from the many record albums in the Jerry Atkins Collection. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. On this week's show I am going to wrap up Songs of the 1920's. We'll conclude the alphabet and then I'll present some odds and ends. This was a fun series to research and present. The 1920's was a time for great music from some of the best composers in America. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week we pay a birthday salute to Martha Tilton who was born on November 14th, 1915. After singing with the quartet Three Hits and a Miss, she joined the Myer Alexander Chorus on Benny Goodman's radio show, Camel Caravan. Goodman hired Tilton as a vocalist with his band in August 1937. She was with Goodman in January 1938, when the band performed at Carnegie Hall. She continued to appear as Goodman's star vocalist until the end of 1939. The program today has many of her recordings with the Goodman band and some released under her own name. I hope you enjoy this birthday salute to the late Martha Tilton. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. This week we are going to conclude the series from the Reader's Digest Set, Memories of the Swing Era. Back in the 1960's and 70's Reader's Digest used to put out vinyl album sets on different topics. My parents had a couple in their record collection and we have some at the radio staion where I work. I was lucky to come across this set as it has a wide variety of bands in it. I tried to put together a varied show full of your favorite bands. So join me as we bring back Memories of the Swing Era with this great multi-album set from Reader's Digest Records. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello. This week we are going to continue with more selections from the Reader's Digest Set, Memories of the Swing Era. I tried to put together a varied show full of your favorite bands. So join me as we bring back Memories of the Swing Era with this great multi-album set from Reader's Digest Records. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

I recently came across a set of records in a Box Set from Reader's Digest Records called Memories of the Swing Era. There were several compilation sets from Reader's Digest that were released and I am fortunate to have this one. So for the next few weeks, I have gone through and selected many of the recordings from this set to make three different shows. I tried to pick a wide enough variety of selections so that maybe you will hear your favorite bands. I hope you remember some of your favorite Memories of the Swing Era in this set from Reader's Digest Records. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I am returning to a program I produced a few years ago. It was a program to honor a listener's request. It had been awhile since I featured the singing of Anita O'Day so I put together this program of some of her early big band recordings. She achieved her first fame with the Gene Krupa orchestra and then went on to sing with Stan Kenton. Most of the recordings on the show today are those great sides she recorded with the Krupa band. I hope you enjoy this look at one of the greatest big band vocalists, the late Anita O'Day. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Born on November 2, 1908, this trumpeter, despite the brevity of his career and his all-too-short life, remains one of the most compelling trumpet players in the history of music. Do you know who it is? If I said his initials were BB and his first name was not Bix then you would say I was speaking of the great Bunny Berigan. Today we pay a birthday salute to one of the most exciting trumpet players in Big Band history. We'll start with a couple numbers by Benny Goodman and then a couple by Tommy Dorsey. All of these have great solos by Bunny. Then we'll play some of the sides he recorded with his own band. I hope you enjoy this look at the music and career of the late Bunny Berigan. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Greetings everyone. This week we conclude this series with part four of a potpourri show as I go through my collection by first names. I have quite a collection of bands so I hope you enjoy this assortment of bands and songs on the final part of 64 Assorted Songs. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Well hello everyone. This week we continue with part three of a potpourri show as I go through my collection by first names. I have quite a collection of bands so I hope you enjoy this assortment of bands and songs on part three of 64 Assorted Songs. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Well hello everyone. This week we continue with part two of a potpourri show as I go through my collection by first names. I hve quite a collection of bands so I hope you enjoy this assortment of bands and songs on part two of 64 Assorted Songs. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. While going through my collection of big bands on my computer I have them stored in folders starting with their first name then last name. I have done shows where I play artists in alphabetical order starting with their last names but not their first. I went through the collection and had enough songs by the bandleaders to make four complete shows. So this will be a potpourri of bands starting alphabetically by their first names. I hope you enjoy the selections. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I am going to conlude the Jerry Atkins Collection series with a couple of albums each by Buddy Bregman, Stan Kenton and Gene Krupa. Jerry was the man responsible for starting my career on public radio in Texarkana, Texas. It was while I was working at KTXK that our station manager asked me if I thought I could produce a big band show to air at 10:00pm Saturday eveings. I have been producing shows since 2006. Jerry passed away in 2010 and we are fortunate to have his extensive record collection at the station. I will continue to go through the many albums as time is available and play some more of these great albums from my friend, Jerry Atkins and his wonderful record collection. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week continues our look at the songs composed in the 1920s. We start with the letter N and go down to the Letter T. The puzzler is back this week so I hope you have your thinking caps on. Next week we'll conclude our series with the last part of the alphabet along with some odds and ends. I hope you enjoy the music from the big bands as they play the Songs of the 1920s. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Welcome back to this four part series on songs of the 1920s. Today we cover songs from that decade that begin with the letter "E" and go all the way down to "M". I broke my rule for this series by playing two songs on the show recorded by Artie Shaw. I had already recorded the introductions when I discovered I did this but I am sure you won't mind because it is one of his best sides. I hope you enjoy this look back at some of the many hit songs from the 1920s. As usual the puzzle is back so get your thinking caps on. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This was a repeat of a show from a few years ago. The 1920s were a decade filled with original songs by some of the leading composers of the era. I found a list of many of the popular songs composed in the 1920s and thought it would be fun to listen to those songs as recorded by the big bands of the thirties and forties. Each show for the next four weeks is filled with all of those great songs composed in the 1920s. I did have one rule for myself. In order to make it interesting I only chose one big band per episode. That way one band would not monopolize the show. So get ready to back to the 1920's during the month of August on Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I feature the two Kays, Sammy Kaye and Kay Kyser. Kay Kyser led a very successful swing orchestra although he didn't play an instrument. Sammy Kaye on the other hand, was a clarinetist and saxophonist but didn't play with his band. Both had unusual attractions: Kyser had "The College of Musical Knowledge" and Sammy had, "So You Want To Lead A Band?". Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Harry James had a very popular band during the war years. The set of recordings I will be playng from this week are live recordings from the years of 1943 through 1953. Helen Forrest is featured on several of the selections but mostly it is the Music Makers who stand out. I hope you enjoy this set of live recordings by Harry James and His Orchestra. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week we are going to continue listening to the many theme songs used by the big bands. Theme songs were usually the first song played by a band when they were appearing or broadcasting live. It let the audience know whose band they were listening to. I tried to find all the original recordings of the bands. I hope you enjoy this look at the Big Band's theme songs. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I am going to start a three part look at the theme songs of the big bands. Each band had a song or a theme with which they would open and close their performances. I tried to find all the original recordings of the bands. I hope you enjoy this look at the Big Band's theme songs. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week we pay a tribute to the late arranger and tenor saxophonist Bill Holman. Bill got his start as a saxophonist in the Stan Kenton orchestra and then proved to be a great arranger as well. He went on to write arrangements for many bands and artists. He passed away at the age of 94. So I hope you enjoy this tribute to the late Bill Holman. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello as we celebrate the Fourth of July this week.I tried to find as many Patriotic songs from the Big Band Era as I could. I hope you will help me celebrate this special holiday as we listen to some patriotic music. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

As I am back from vacation, I am going to try and catch up with the podcasts. We continue this week with a program I did a few years ago on the Summer season of the year. I am looking at songs that have the words summer, june, July or Hot or anything that deals with summer. I hope you enjoy this Big Band salute to summer. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Summer is a special time of year. It means many different things to people all over the world. Today's program is a look at the many different songs of Summer recorded by the Big Bands. I have included the word Summer in the title and also the months of June, July and August and a few with the word hot. I hope you enjoy this program of assorted songs about the Summer season. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. We lost a very special vocalist this past March. Steve Lawrence passed away at the age of 88. He had been ill with Alzheimer's Disease for the last few years. I usually play big bands and vocalists associated with the Big Bands but Steve came up during the last years of the Big band era so I wanted to do a tribute to this great vocalist. Most of the songs on the show today are from the Great American Songbook. We will also learn about his career as I pay a tribute to the late, great vocalist Steve Lawrence. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello and welcome to another program of Big Band Remotes as we remember the many men and women who took part in the invasion of France called D-Day. Today we feature Les Brown, Bob Chester, Jan Savitt and Gene Krupa. These bands all appeared on a show called the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands. This show was sponsored by Coca Cola. I hope you enjoy this repeat orf a show I produced a few years ago. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

In memory of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I have pulled out a show I produced about ten years ago that has three remotes from World War Two. Two are from the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands program. Big Bands always seemed to perform better in front of an audience. The solos are more exciting and the tempos are a little quicker. I hope you hear some of exciting sounds from these live performances. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

May 13th is the birthday of Woody Herman and if he were alive today that would have been his 111th birthday. We continue our celebration of his birthday with some of his hits from the 1940's. These are some of my favorite recordings from the Herman Herd, songs like Caldonia, Early Autumn, Four Brothers, Northwest Passage and more. Plus, in this episode I have a few segments from an interview that Woody gave in 1978. I hope you enjoy this salute to one of America's greatest big band leaders. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

May 13th is the birthday of Woody Herman and if he were alive today that would have been his 111th birthday. To celebrate this milestone we will be playing some of his early recordings made between the years of 1939 and 1946 on the show today which is part one of two. I was fortunate enough to see the Herman band in person not once but twice. They were a very exciting band and I have been a fan every since I was in high school. I hope you enjoy this salute to one of America's greatest big band leaders. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I am continuing with part two of Big Band Remotes from World War 2 with two remotes from the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands series. At the same time, however, I am having a birthday salute to a favorite bandleader of mine, the late Artie Shaw. Artie was born on May 23, 1910 and he also appeared on the Spotlight band program for five consecutive weeks in 1945. So to honor Artie I would like to play the first two programs in that series. The sound quality is very good and there are some exciting solos from trumpeter Roy Eldridge. I hope you enjoy this look back at some on location performances from the great Artie Shaw as we remember his birthday. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

On this week's show I would like to honor a request. A listener asked for some big band remotes that took place during World War 2. Most of the remotes I have during that era are from the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands program. I found four 15 minute shows so on the program today we will be listening to the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Bob Chester, Benny Goodman, and Les Brown. Three of the shows are from 1943 and one is from 1944. I hope you enjoy this look back at some on location performances from four of America's top bands. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Lionel Hampton was born on April 20, 1908 in Louisville, Kentucky. I first discovered the great playing of Lionel when he was a member of the Benny Goodman Quartet. Join me as we celebrate the birthday of this true jazz master. I have lots of different recordings that Lionel is featured on as well as a look at his career. So get ready to tap your feet as we listen to and celebrate the amazing vibraphonist, Lionel Hampton. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 so to remember his birthday and to listen to some of his amazing music, I am repeating this show from 2013. There is lots of Ellington originals in this show as well as some information on his amazing life. I hope you will join me in celebrating the birthday of one of music's greatest composers, Duke Ellington. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have produced their third series about World War Two called Masters of the Air. It is a nine part series about the pilots who flew the B-17 Bombers into Germany during WW2. There are several big band songs played throughout the series so I researched what songs were played and put together this show. There were only a couple of songs that I did not have so I don't think you'll mind my substitutions. I hope you enjoy the songs from the nine part series called Masters of the Air. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Copilot is the name of an artificial intelligence engine that is now included in Microsoft's Edge web browser. I posed this question to Copilot: could it pick out 16 songs from the 1930's and 1940's that were representative of the big bands of that era. After a couple minutes had gone by, Copilot displayed this list. It is a very interesting list and I had most of the songs in my collection and if I didn't have the version Copilot suggested I substituted one that I did have. Also, the little blurbs about the songs that I read were generated by Copilot. I think this is going to be a very useful tool for content creators going into the future. The puzzler is back this week so I hope you enjoy these selections from an artificial intelligence engine name Copilot. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Well, hello everyone and welcome to part four of our Glenn Miller Birthday salute. On today's show, as on the other three parts, we will be looking at the Band of the Allied Training Command. I have two radio remotes from the I Sustain the Wings series. That was a show of most patriotic music by the Army Air Force Orchestra. So I hope you will sit back and relax and listen to Glenn announce the numbers as we honor one of the most popular bandleaders of all time. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello and welcome to this week's Big Band Bash. We are continuing our Glenn Miller Birthday Salute with a look at the Army Air Force Orchestra. Today's show features a live broadcast by that orchestra with Glenn doing the announcing. It is a great broadcast and is sure to stir up some patriotic feelings. Glenn was born on March 01, 1904 and it is his bands and orchestra we think of when we had so many of our soldiers fighting in World War Two. I hope you enjoy this broadcast of the Allied Expeditionary Forces Orchestra directed by Major Glenn Miller. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. I am a little late with this week's program. This week I am going to continue with our birthday salute to the late Glenn Miller. This is part two of a four part series I produced back in 2022. To celebrate Glenn's birthday that year I decided to put together a look at his Army Air Force Orchestra. The recordings come from a four disc set that I have in my collection. We will be learning about that great organization and their importance towards the war effort and listening to those great Miller recordings. Happy Birthday Glenn! Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Greetings everyone. March first is the birthday of the late Glenn Miller. To celebrate his birthday, I am running a repeat of a four part series looking at Glenn's Army Air Force Orchestra. This comes from a four record set that i have in my collection. There is a lot of great songs in this set and I hope you enjoy the music. I apologize for being late. The radio statio where I work and produce Big Band Bash is under going some maintenance. I should be back on schedule next week. Happy Birthday Glenn! Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This past week we observed a leap day, February 29th. Born on February 29, 1904 was Jimmy Dorsey. To observe his birthday and pay tribute, I went through my cds and came across two that were recorded in the years of 1939 and 1940. There are some nice recordings in this set. I wanted to do something different rather than play all his hits which I have done on other programs. So we will learn about the career of the late Jimmy Dorsey and listen to music that he recorded in 1939 and 1940. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

We wind up our celebration of Black History Month with a look at some of the many vocalists recording during the big band era. Some of the singers on the show today include Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstein, Helen Humes and many more. I hope you enjoy this selection of the many talented African-American vocalists as we conclude Black History Month. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Duke Ellington's band and music holds an important place among my musical heroes. I have been collecting records and cds by Ellington for many years. So I have decided to include him in our list of bands as we continue our celebration of Black History Month. I have narrowed our focus on Duke to the years of 1940 through 1941. This was a very productive period for Ellington and I am sure to play some of your favorites by the Duke. I hope you enjoy this focus on the late Duke Ellington as we continue Black History Month. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

We continue our celebration of Black History Month this week with a look at the big band of Jimmie Lunceford. Jimmie Lunceford's band differed from other great bands of the time because it was better known for its ensemble than for its solo work. Additionally, he was known for using a two-beat rhythm, called the Lunceford two-beat, as opposed to the standard four-beat rhythm. We'll be playing many of the Lunceford band's many hits. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

We start our celebration of Black History Month with a look at the big band of Earl Fatha Hines. Earl was a very influential pianist in whose big band he had players such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Count Basie called him the greatest pianist in the world. He made a lot of recordings with small groups but we are going to focus in on his big band. I hope you enjoy this look at the career and big band of the great Earl Hines. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Well, this is week four and the last in the series The Complete RCA Victor Recordings of Artie Shaw. These recordings were made in the years of 1944 and 1945 when Artie was living in California after his discharge from the US Navy. After these recordings were made, Artie signed with the MusicCraft label and never recorder for RCA again. There are some great recordings here as Artie liked to make recordings out of the Great American Songbook. I hope you enjoyed this series and will tune in again for more music of the fabulous big bands. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com