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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
It's a 1940s Big Band Bash fund Dinner Dance for the the Newburgh Museum November 16 at the American Legion! The museum's Executive Director Ivy Clark is on hand with all the details! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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
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
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
Hello everyone. This episode of Big Band Bash is a repeat of a show I produced in 2011 where we paid tribute to the men and women who lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Also, I pay tribute to Major Glenn Miller who dissappeared in the plane he was flying in across the English Channel on December 15, 1944. I always like to remember those events as they were very significant in American History. A lot of things changed in the music industry because of these events so I hope you like the music as we pay tribute to those patriotic Americans. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Well, we're down to the last part of this series highlighting songs composed during the 1930's. We are highlighting the years of 1938 and 1939. There were some nice songs composed in these years and unfortunately I had to omit a few as there were more songs than I could fit in the amount of time. I have enjoyed researching and choosing songs for this series. As always, thank you for listening and supporting Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
There are many popular Holiday songs through the years, but the 1930's through the 1950's produced many of them. We will take a look at why this was and enjoy some unique Holiday songs from this period on Part Two of Holiday Songs on the Radio. I want to take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you a Happy holiday season. Be safe and enjoy yourselves this year. Seasons greetings everyone and I hope you enjoy the selections from this week's Big Band Bash. I forgot to give credit in the podcast, but the information I got was from the National Review and vocativ.com websites. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
I would like to celebrate the holidays with a program I call Holiday Favorites and the Radio. Imagine you have been transported back in time to the 1940's and are in your living room or den or bedroom listening to the radio. These are some of the holiday songs you might have heard. In addition to the songs from back then, I would like to give a little history on the importance of radio from that era. Happy Holidays everyone and I hope you enjoy the selections from this week's Big Band Bash. 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 and welcome to another episode of Big Band Bash. This is a rerun of a holiday show that I produced a few years ago for a Fourth of July rememberance. This was one of the first Fourth of July programs that I have done in the many years of hosting and producing Big Band Bash. I hope everyone has a safe holiday and for the listeners from other countries I hope you enjoy the music. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
I hope you'll join me as I present a show about Spring Songs. I haven't produced a show about Spring songs on Big Band Bash so I thought I would try to find songs with either Spring in the title or the months of spring. It was a fun show to produce as there were lots of songs and lots of different artists. The puzzler is back so I hope you enjoy the big bands and their versions of the many songs of Spring. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Everyone agrees that the Saint Paul Police Chief is leaving. It's just that no one knows when he's leaving.
Since I have produced twenty new shows, I am going to take a break for the next two weeks and turn to a rerun of a two part show I did way back in 2012. It was a show I did focusing on the vocalists. I put together many different vocalists into a sampler. I think you'll enjoy this rerun as it has a lot of the popular vocalists from the swing era. I hope to be back after the Thanksgiving break with some new episodes of Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This is part three of my Black History Month Celebration. As in the other parts, I have chosen about eight bands or singers and played two songs from each of them. It has been a labor of love choosing the different bands and then trying to decide which songs to play. I decided to change up the Big Band Bash puzzler this week. Instead of a question on bands I decided to wrap up Black history month with a question about Rosa Parks. I hope you enjoy the music on this last part of our BHM celebration. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This past week in Texas saw some of the worst weather that we ever experienced. I was snowed in until Sunday and ths was unable to produce a new Big Band Bash. I have pulled out a show that I ran about five years ago until I can produce a new show. This is one on Duke Ellington as we continue our Black History Month Celebration. I apologize for the disruption but it could not be helped. I hope you are warm and safe and I hope to have a new show up shorthly. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
There is something catchy about the sound of a big band boogie woogie number. Maybe it's the driving left hand of the pianist, or the 12 bar blues pattern but what ever it is it is sure to get your feet tapping. This week on Big Band Bash we continue our look at some of the great boogie woogie numbers played by the big bands. Starting with Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and ending with a Harry James number there are some catchy riffs to get your fingers snapping. I hope you enjoy this look at big band boogie woogie. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Boogie Woogie has been a big part of the big bands. It seems that every ban d had a boogie number or two. Starting with Pinetop Smith's Boogie Woogie we'll be listening to a variety of numbers and all of them have boogie woogie in common. I have been doing Big Band Bash for 16 years but have never produced one on Boogie Woogie. I hope you enjoy part one of Boogie On Down a look at Boogie Woogie performed by the big bands. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Well we're are down to the last part of this series highlighting songs composed during the 1930's. We are highlighting the years of 1938 and 1939. There were some nice songs composed in these years and unfortunately I had to omit a few as there were more songs than I could fit in the amount of time. I have enjoyed researching and choosing songs for this series. As always, thank you for listening and supporting Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
In all the time I have been producing Big Band Bash, I have never produced one on the band of Ralph Flanagan. Ralph Flanagan led a very popular band in the early to mid 1950's. He led the Glenn Miller revival starting in the early 50's. Ralph started out as a pianist and then became an accomplished arranger with Hal McIntyre, Sammy Kaye, Blue Barron and Charlie Barnet. I hope you enjoy this look at the music of one of the most popular bands of the 1950's, Mr. Ralph Flanagan. As always, thank you so much for listening. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Today's show is part 2 of my 500th Big Band Bash celebration. This is a three part series where I have picked twelve of my favorite bands and divided them up into four bands per show. Then I further subdivided them by choosing four sides per band. It has been an interesting week trying to pick my favorites but I think I have chosen songs that you will enjoy as well. Today's show features the bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Here's to 500 past shows and maybe 500 future shows. Thank you all so much for listening. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Big Band Bash is a show I created to replace another show that had ceased production. The first show went on the air in 2004. I was very rusty back then but I think I have gotten better. Today's show is part one of a three part series where I have chosen some of my favorite songs from twelve different bands. I broke up my favorites into three shows, four bands per show and 4 songs per band. I had so many favorites that I had to draw the line somewhere. So for the next three weeks I hope you enjoy some of my favorite bands and songs. I have some new shows planned for the weeks to come. Thank you for listening to and supporting Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
In 2007 Ken Burns, the noted documentary filmmaker, produced a series on World War 2 called The War. In it he used lots of songs from the big band era. Sony sent the soundtrack of the show to us at the radio station. It came on four cds with lots of music from the show. I have reached back into the Big Band Bash archive to pull out a two part show that I produced featuring the music from the Burn's show. There is a lot of different artists in these two programs and I hope you enjoy the music. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
From Hindsight Records comes another selection for this week's program. Today we'll be presenting The Uncollected Stan Kenton 1941. These are some early Kenton broadcasts from Balboa Beach in California. Many of these selections were never recorded commercially by Stan so it is a treat to hear them. Red Dorris and Chico Alveraz are two of the early Kenton band members to stand out. The Big Band Bash puzzler is back this week so I hope you have your thinking caps on. I hope you enjoy this look at the early Stan Kenton Orchestra. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Hello everyone. Today's program is part two of Chart Toppers of the 1930's and 40's. This was a show that I originally produced back in 2008. I kept all the music and redid some of the introductions. Also, the puzzler is back and it is a little challenging if I do say so. I hope I play some of your favorites on the show today. I hope everyone is well and safe. Remember, if you are practicing social isolation, what better way to pass the time than listening to this week's episode of Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
For this last Saturday of February, I'll be winding up our Black History Month celebration with many assorted bands and bandleaders. I call this type of show a potpourri show in that there is no theme we'll just be listening to a wide variety of African-American bands. The Big Band Bash puzzler is back this week so I hope you have your thinking caps on. Some of the bands we'll be hearing include Andy Kirk, Erskine Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington and Jimmie Lunceford. I hope you enjoy the music as we wind up Black History Month. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Black History Month Part 3 continues with a look at the music and career of the late Nat King Cole. A fantastic pianist, Nat found his biggest fame as a singer of popular songs. I picked Nat for our focus because I haven't presented a show on him in quite some time. In fact a lot of the introductions I copied from a program I did on Nat from 2008. The Big Band Bash puzzler is back this week so I hope you'll get your thinking caps ready. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy this look at the late Nat King Cole. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Black History Month continues this week with a look at the music and career of one of the most influential female vocalists in jazz Billie Holiday. Billie led a short and tragic life but the music she left behind is still being played and remembered. I'll be playing an assortment of her music as well as taking a look at her career. Also, the Big Band Bash puzzler is back so I hope you'll tune in or download the podcast. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
All American Bandleaders was a celebrity / fan magazine about 1940's bands and vocalists. I found one of these magazines from April 1942 that I had packed away in a closet. Each page was a little feature or story on a different bandleader. Since the magazine was 36 pages with hardly any advertisements I thought it would be fun to go through from the beginning to the end and play as many of the bandleaders as I could find. This week features bandleaders from pages 1 - 19 and we will wind up the rest next week. It is a big band potpourri from All American Bandleaders magazine this week on Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week is a continuation of our look at the career of the late Stan Kenton. Stan's birthday is December 15th, 1911 so this seemed like a good time to go back and listen to some of the many exciting recordings he made for Capitol Records in the 1940's. Since this Mosaic Records set has a very informative booklet, I tried to give the dates and arrangers for each song. The Big Band Bash puzzler is back this week. Also, I continued with and wound up the biography of Stan that I stated last week. I hope you enjoy this look at one of the greatest and most controversial of the big bands, Mr. Stan Kenton. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Hal McIntyre was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Glenn Miller heard him play and drafted him as a founding member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, where he played from 1937 to 1941. Miller encouraged McIntyre to start his own group and starting in 1941 he put together his band where they played many major ballrooms throughout the United States, and played overseas for troops during World War II. This was one of the first shows I produced for Big Band Bash. I redid this show with new selections for this episode. I hope you enjoy this look at the great bandleader and saxophonist, Hal McIntyre. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
From the Big Band Bash archives comes this show that I did back in 2012. It is a little rough as I was still learning how to produce BBB. There were many great songs that premiered in 1937 and I picked out some of them on this show as well as some interesting things that was going on in the world at that time. Some of the songs on today's show include Goodnight My Love, Once In A While, It's Delovely, Where or When and Caravan. There is a wide variety of bands today and I hope you enjoy this look at songs and events from 1937. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
For a change of pace on this week's show, I'll be presenting a show I did about ten years ago called Big Band Alphabet. We'll be listening to song titles starting with the letter "A" and going to "Q" as I didn't have time to go all the way to "Z". It is a mixed and varied show and I hope I play a song or two from your favorite leaders from the Big Band era. I put together another show on our radio station that airs Saturday afternoons so sometimes I don't always have time to put together a new show for Big Band Bash. Thankfully I have the BBB vault to fall back on. This show is numbered #184 and currently we are on #449 so it is about ten years old. I hope you enjoy the Big Band Alphabet. Thanks so much for listening. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Last week on Big Band Bash, I started a two part series from a set from Smithsonian Collections called Big Band Jazz: From the Beginnings to the Fifties. This was a six vinyl album set or a 4 CD set produced by jazz critics and historians Martin Williams and Gunther Schuller. It is not available anymore which is why I wanted to play some of the recordings from this set. Today we will continue with music from CDs three and four. This is a varied show so I hope I play something by one of your favorites. Also, the Big Band Bash Puzzler is back. I hope you'll tune in or download the podcast. Thanks so much for listening. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This episode of Big Band Bash comes from the BBB vault. Originally produced and broadcast in 2014, this show was a tribute to the late Trigger Alpert who had passed away in Dec 2013. Trigger was an outstanding bassist who played with the Glenn Miller civilian orchestra as well as the Army Air Force Orchestra. Since Trigger did not record much under his own name, I have brought together many of the songs he was listed on when he was a member of Glenn Miller's band. I hope to have some new shows in a couple of weeks but until then I hope you enjoy this encore presentation of Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
For part two of our Doris Day tribute, I am going to wind up with some of the great Les Brown recordings and then play a few of her own recordings and then wind up with a radio remote from 09-20-1945 on the One Night Stand program. It is a program featuring Les Brown with Doris Day on the vocals. Doris is featured on two or three numbers and Brown band is in top form. I didn't do much announcing on this show since on last week's show I did a lot while talking about Doris' career. The Big Band Bash puzzler is back this week but I think it is an easy one. I hope you'll tune in as we present "We Remember Doris Part 2". Thank you for listening. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This is a show that I produced shortly after the passing of Patty Andrews and Paul Tanner. Paul was the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the time of his death. Patty was of the singing Andrews Sisters. I pulled this show out of the Big Band Bash archives as I did not have time to produce a new show for this week. This show contains a radio remote featuring the Andrews Sisters with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. There is some great music in this show and I hope you enjoy it. I will try to have a new program for the next show. Thank you for listening. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
A few months ago I had a request to do a program on the music of World War II. I did a program on this several years ago so I went into the Big Band Bash vault and pulled out this two part program. Produced in 2011, this program has some great songs from the years of 1940 to 1945. This was before I started the Big Band puzzler so that will be back soon. I hope you enjoy this nostalgic look at some of the songs that inspired us during the war years. I will have a new program in a couple of weeks. Thank you for listening. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Freddy Martin was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. He led a band for many years in the 1930's but his real success came in 1941 with an arrangement from the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bb Minor. Martin recorded the piece instrumentally, but soon lyrics were put in and it was re-cut as "Tonight We Love" with Clyde Rogers' vocal – becoming his biggest hit. Russ Morgan was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of the composers of "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" We will take a look at both of the bands and careers on this week's Big Band Bash. I hope you enjoy this look at two great bandleaders from the swing era. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
For the show today I have brought out a show I produced several years ago. I ran out of time this week but will have a new show for next week. This week's show is a little different from the type of show I usually do. I prefer the swing bands but I realize that lots of people enjoy bands other than the ones I like. So today we'll be hearing some music from the Ol' Professor, Kay Kyser. Kay led a very popular band and was featured on the radio and in the movies. Another band that was quite different was Sammy Kaye's outfit. He led a band that was called a sweet band. He had several hits during the swing era and he made a large number of records for Vocalion Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Bell Records, and the American Decca record label. He was also a hit on radio. I hope you enjoy this encore presentation of Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
For Part 2 of our celebration of Black History Month, I have gone back into the Big Band Bash archives and brought out a show I did on Ella Fitzgerald with Her Famous Orchestra. Ella rose to fame as the vocalist with the Chick Webb Orchestra. Chick suffered from tuberculosis of the spine and died on June 16, 1939 and his band was renamed Ella and Her Famous Orchestra with Fitzgerald taking on the role of bandleader. She recorded nearly 150 songs with Webb's orchestra between 1935 and 1942. Most of those recordings were pop songs and novelties but there were a few good recordings. We'll be listening to some of these recordings and learning about the career of the First Lady of Song, Miss Ella Fitzgerald on Part 2 of Black History month. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Well, February has rolled around again and that means we start our celebration of Black History month. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big fan of early jazz and big bands. So instead of featuring one band, I am going to present a sampler of many different African-American big bands. Some of the music we'll be hearing on the show today comes from Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Erskine Hawkins and others. This is a show that I put together in 2012 so I hope you enjoy it as we celebrate Black History month all month long on Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Every year at this time I like to play some of the recordings from the Benny Goodman 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert. This was an important concert because it was the first time a jazz or swing band appeared there. I have done shows in the past but the concert was a couple of hours long so I always had to leave some songs out. Today's show features some of the songs I left out. Since I prepared this show for our local NPR station I had access to some of their snippets. So the first cut is a five minute snippet from last year and later on I have a longer cut that features the concerts climax Sing, Sing, Sing. There is some exciting listening ahead on this week's Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week on Big Band Bash I'll be taking a look at many of the vocal groups that sang with the big bands and on their own. There were several popular groups back then and we'll be hearing from The Andrews Sisters, The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, The King Sisters, and The Pied Pipers. In addition to recordings, I'll be giving a short history of each group many of which are quite interesting. I hope you enjoy the music on this addition of Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week's show is a special program that I've had in my collection for many years. I played it on Big Band Bash a long time ago and I thought I would play it again this week. I don't have the exact date on when this show was produced or aired but it is called "Sounds of the Swinging Years." It was hosted by Ronald Reagan a long time before he became president. He explains about the swing bands and we'll also hear some live performances from Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Bob Crosby, Woody Herman and Count Basie. So get ready to hear some music from "Sounds of the Swinging Years." Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week's show is a continuation of the theme started two weeks ago. We are going to be listening to some of the Big Band Leaders who played the piano. There were many bandleader-musicians that were pianists and after I listened to this show I realized that I forgot to include Stan Kenton. I will try to include some of his music in a later show. Today's show is one that I put together back in 2011 so it is one of the early editions of Big Band Bash. Some of the bands we'll be hearing from today include Count Basie, Frankie Carle, Claude Thornhill, Duke Ellington and others. I hope you enjoy this look at some of the band leaders from the Golden Age of the Big Bands that were pianists. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
On our show this week, I am going back to the Big Band Bash vault to pull out a series of shows I did way back in 2011. Back then I produced a 5 part series grouping each show by the bandleader's instrument. Today we will be listening to the clarinet playing bandleaders. Then in the weeks to come, we'll be focusing on the trumpeters, the saxophonists, the pianists and finally the trombonists. There is a lot of exciting music in the show today as we listen to Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Jimmy Dorsey and others. The show might sound a little different as I produced these back in 2011 and I have refined the show since then. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these shows from the past on the great clarinet playing bandleaders. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Today's show is from the Big Band Bash archives and is one that I did on the popular vocalists who sang with the big bands. Most big bands had at least one singer and some had two. If you were a really popular band then you might have a vocal quartet. I've tried to present quite a few different vocalists and there were so many good ones that I had enough for two shows. So it's a singer potpourri for the next two weeks on Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Because we celebrated our nation's birthday this week, I went back to the Big Band Bash archives to pull out a show I recorded back in 2011. I think it is an interesting show and doesn't feature any one band. It was a show I did on some of the famous ballrooms that the big bands played at. Some of them were quite famous and a few are still around today. I have quite a few air checks in my collection so I tried to play selections from the ballrooms they were appearing at. We will learn about such places as the Glen Island Casino, Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook, The Pallomar Ballroom and others. I hope you enjoy this trip back to the 30's and 40's as we hear the Big Bands coming to you from their Famous Ballrooms. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
April 29, 1899 was the birthday of the pianist, composer and big band leader Duke Ellington. I've gone back into the Big Band Bash vault and pulled out a program featuring other bands playing Duke's music in honor of his birthday. It is interesting to hear songs that Ellington composed played by other bands. I produced this program about six years ago and haven't listened to it since then. I hope you enjoy this program of Ellington music as we celebrate Duke Ellington's birthday. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
In all the time I have been producing Big Band Bash, I have never done a program on the late Mary Lou Williams. It is always a challenge coming up with ideas for new programs. I try not to repeat myself so it was surprising to me that I had never done a program on Mary Lou. She was an exceptional pianist, arranger and composer. I learned a lot about her career and hope you will enjoy this look at her life and music. So for this week's celebration of Black History Month we will be featuring a look at the First Lady of Jazz Piano, Miss Mary Lou Williams. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week I am going to continue with more music that was featured on Your Hit Parade during the years of 1944 and 1945. I am still a little under the weather so I am going back to the Big Band Bash vaults to pull out the original program in this series. I recorded a little introduction which you'll hear where I explain that this was originally aired in 2009. The theme is a little slower - it was the one I originally used until I found a little faster version. There is some great music in this set and I hope you enjoy this program in the Big Band Bash series from 2009. I hope to resume next week with different songs and a healed up voice. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week I'm going to step into the vault of past shows to pull out an encore presentation of Big Band Bash. This show was one I produced back in 2015 and was a birthday salute to the late Bob Eberly one of the greatest of the big band vocalists. Although he recorded some songs under his own name, all the songs on our show today feature Bob when he was a member of Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra. There are some great songs on the program include Amapola, Green Eyes, and Tangerine. I hope you enjoy this look at the man who voice was a driving factor in Frank Sinatra's decision to go solo. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week wraps up our look at the three album set called "The Big Bands". We are going to be listening to some of the hits for RCA Bluebird. Some of the artists we'll be hearing include Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Freddy Martin, Larry Clinton, Benny Goodman, Vaughn Monroe and many others. The Big Bands is long out of print but I hope you enjoyed listening to and learning about the three major record companies that recorded many of the big band artists. These last three programs were produced in 2013. I have some new programs produced and ready to play. Thank you so much for downloading and listening to Big Band Bash. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This week on Big Band Bash, I am continuing with music from the CD box set "Swing That Music." This is a great set which, unfortunately, is no longer available. I have to acknowledge a mistake that I have made on the previous three parts. A listener pointed out that I have been calling the producers of the set the Smithsonian Institute when, in fact, their correct name is the Smithsonian Institution. I hope you enjoy the music from Duke Ellington, Bob Crosby, Glenn Miller, and many others from "Swing That Music." Thank you for listening and for downloading. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
On this encore presentation of Big Band Bash we will be listening to part two of "1939-1940 Time Life - The Swing Era". Today's program was part two of a series I did on Time Life Record's ambitious project called "The Swing Era". It was a ten volume set with three records included in each volume. Today we turn to the second half of the years of 1939-1940. The songs were rerecorded by the bands of Billy May and Glen Gray. I have this set and I thought that instead of hearing the recreations that it would be interesting to hear the original recordings. So I'm borrowing the playlist and presenting the originals where I can. If I couldn't come up with the original recording then we'll hear the recreation. There are about 30 songs in this set so I'm going to break it up into two parts. I hope you enjoy the music. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
For the next two weeks, I am presenting an encore presentation of Big Band Bash. This two part show originally aired in 2014. Today's program was part of a series I did on Time Life Record's ambitious project called "The Swing Era". It was a ten volume set with three records included in each volume. Today we turn to the years of 1939-1940. The songs were rerecorded by the bands of Billy May and Glen Gray. I have this set and I thought that instead of hearing the recreations that it would be interesting to hear the original recordings. So I'm borrowing the playlist and presenting the originals where I can. If I couldn't come up with the original recording then we'll hear the recreation. There are about 30 songs in this set so I'm going to break it up into two parts. I hope you enjoy the music. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
I apologize this week as I had intended to present Part 2 of Glenn Miller live but I came down with a severe cold that affected my voice. I hope to have the second half of Glenn Miller Live for next time but until I do I searched in my collection of old Big Band Bash programs and found this one. I haven't played it in quite awhile. It's a program of three radio remotes from the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. I hope to return next week with my voice intact and the second part of Glenn Miller Live completed. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Merry Christmas and Happy Hew Years to everyone. Welcome to my annual holiday edition of Big Band Bash. Today we are going to celebrate the season with a lot of songs from the 1940's. Interspersed between the music I will be reading from a set of scripts from the Associated Press called Stocking Stuffers. These were distributed to radio stations several years ago to be used as throw ins. Each Stocking Stuffer is about five to six paragraphs on a holiday tradition. I hope every one has a very happy holiday and that you enjoy the show. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
Hello and welcome to another edition of Big Band Bash. Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings to fans of the Big Bands. The show today is an encore presentation of Big Band Bash that I put together for Christmas 2011. The first half features songs of the season and the second half is about a very special Christmas Eve in America. The are a couple of clips telling about that special day and a 12 minute broadcast of Glenn Miller and his orchestra. I hope you enjoy this program from five years ago as we celebrate this special time of the year. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com
This time we are joined on the show for the second time by Dr. Patrick Hennessey, Director of the Space Coast Jazz Orchestra. Of primary focus is the upcoming second annual Big Band Bash concert with Dr. Hennessey at the helm.
There's no stoppin' Bob Gloppen and he illustrates this point through tales of overcoming lost luggage containing his instrument for that night’s gig, the intricacies of European driving regulations during the Cold War, and what to do when locked out of a radio station in downtown Chicago at 7:00 on a cold winter morning. Who is Bob Gloppen, you ask? He’s a professional musician from Chicago, one of Eric Lee’s longest-standing friends, and if you were at last weekend’s Big Band Bash, you would have seen his guest performance on bass guitar. Unfortunately Bill Trudeau was under the weather. Still, Eric, Bob and Jeremy pressed-on and discussed last weekend’s concerts of the Space Coast Symphony Jazz Orchestra, played a few clips, and even managed to get in a tutorial on good bass amp technique before the research department unveiled it’s discovery of a relic from the 1980s. Also, we announced the newest winner of the First Friday Fizz Quizz and discussed pending concerts, including the upcoming patriotic (and FREE, get your tickets before they are gone) America the Beautiful concerts.
This week's playlist: • I Won't Go Back by Joe White, from Trials Along The Trail (2005), available as downloads from Independent Artists Company.com. For more information, visit JoeWhiteMusic.com and Joe's page at Garageband.com. • Tell Me What To Do by Boo Boo Davis, from Drew Mississippi (2006), available from Black & Tan Records, the iTMS and Amazon.com. • The Daddy by Big George Jackson, from Big Shot (2001), available from Black & Tan Records, iTunes Music Store and Amazon.com. • Doncha Know I Love You by Harpdog Brown, from the CD Once In A Howlin' Moon. For more information or to buy Harpdog's CD, visit HarpdogBrown.com. You can hear some other tracks by visiting Harpdog's Garageband page or his MySpace page. • Let The Chips Fall Where They May by Lucky Peterson, from Triple Play (1990), available from Alligator Records, the iTMS and Amazon.com. • Sleeping With The Devil by Johnny Nicholas, from Thrill On The Hill (1994, then 2005), available from TopCat Records, CD Baby, IcarusDigital.com, the iTMS and Amazon.com. • Honey The Night Is Young by The Mescal Sheiks, from their album The World Is Not My Home (2006), available from CD Baby and the iTMS. For more information, visit their site or their MySpace page. • Drivin' Wheel by EB Davis & The Superband, from Live at Yorckschlossen, Berlin (2000). EB sells his own CDs through his online store. You can also learn more at EB Davis.com and at his MySpace page. Also mentioned during this show: The Hilltop Cafe and The Big Band Bash; and BigContact.com. Excellent online resources for more information about the blues: The Blues Foundation and the Delta Blues Museum; and be sure to download and listen to the DBM's top-notch (and free) podcast, the Uncensored History of the Blues. (Music on Murphy's Saloon #44 courtesy of the artists and the Podsafe Music Network, where I obtained many of these tracks)