Big Band Bash

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My Man Benny, Benny Carter That Is Sep 01, 2018

Show notes

This week we celebrate the birthday of the multi-talented Benny Carter. He was a composer, arranger, saxophonist, and he played the trumpet too. He was also a great bandleader. He was born on August 8, 1907. My title comes from a cd that Benny recorded with fellow saxophonist Phil Woods. It was a double CD set and each musician wrote a song and dedicated it to the other. Benny's song was called My Man Phil and Phil's was called My Man Benny. I thought you might think this was a show about the clarinetist so I attempted to make it a little clearer. There is some great music on the show today and as usual we'll learn about the career of Mr. Benny Carter. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Spotlight on Sonny Dunham Aug 25, 2018

Show notes

Every week on Big Band Bash I try to present a variety of bands and formats. Sometimes the leaders are well known and sometimes they are not but I always try to present good music from the bands of that era. Today's show is on an excellent trumpet player who led a big band but who didn't quite achieve the fame of some of the other leaders. Today we are going to spotlight the band and trumpet of Sonny Dunham. Sonny played for a while with the Casa Loma Orchestra and then he led his own band. In addition to some of the sides that feature the Dunham orchestra, I have a 30 minute radio remote featuring Sonny's band on the One Night Stand show. There is a lot of great music on the show and I hope you enjoy this look at Sonny Dunham and his Orchestra. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Number Two in the Charts Aug 18, 2018

Show notes

During the swing era, many of the record companies and music publishers kept track of a song's weekly standings in the polls. Just as they do today, bandleaders hoped that their recordings would reach the number one spot in the lists. But, sadly, some only made it to the number two position and then no higher. On the show today, we are going to be listening to songs from the years of 1940 and 1941 that only made it to number two. There are some great songs in this set. I got the idea for this show from a fellow big band broadcaster who has since retired. I hope you enjoy this show that I titled, "Number Two in the Charts". Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Lyrics by Johnny Mercer Aug 11, 2018

Show notes

On this week's show, instead of focusing on bandleaders or musicians, I would like to take a look at the career of one of the greatest of the American lyricists Johnny Mercer. John Herndon Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He was also a record label executive, who co-founded Capitol Records. He is best known as a tin pan alley lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. I have pulled out some a variety of songs all with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. I hope you enjoy the selections as we learn about the master lyricist Johnny Mercer. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Echoes of Harlem Jul 28, 2018

Show notes

On this week's show I am going to take a look at the area of New York City known as Harlem. There have been many songs written about that particular area so I thought it would be interesting to learn about it and explore some of the many songs that have Harlem in the title. Some of the bands we'll be hearing from include Duke Ellington, Mildred Bailey, Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Bunny Berigan, and Erskine Hawkins. I hope you enjoy this look at some of the many bands celebrating the spot of New York known as Harlem. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

"Into The 50's" Time Life - The Swing Era Part 2 Jul 21, 2018

Show notes

This week I am going to continue with Part-two of "Into the 50's" from the Time Life series "The Swing Era". Today's show focuses on songs from the the late 1940's and early 1950's. There are only a couple more volumes in this set and the producers of the series stopped using individual years and lumped several years together. So today, we'll be hearing from the bands of Benny Goodman, Ralph Flanagan, Ted Heath, Count Basie and several others. There are some great songs in this set so lets go back to the years right before 1950 and hear some exciting music from the big bands. As always I am following the playlist from the original set and playing the original artists instead of the recreations. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

"Into The 50's" Time Life - The Swing Era Part 1 Jul 14, 2018

Show notes

This week I am going back to another set in the Time Life series "The Swing Era". Today's show focuses on songs from the the late 1940's and early 1950's. There are only a couple more volumes in this set and the producers of the series stopped using individual years and lumped several years together. So today, we'll be hearing from the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller, Harry James, Woody Herman, and Ted Heath and several others. There are some great songs in this set so lets go back to the years right before 1950 and hear some exciting music from the big bands. As always I am following the playlist from the original set and playing the original artists instead of the recreations. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Famous Ballrooms Jul 07, 2018

Show notes

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

Count Basie - 1939 Jun 30, 2018

Show notes

1939 was a great year for the Count Basie orchestra. This was the last year of their three year contract with Decca records where they would record many of their hits. He still had Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Jimmy Rushing and other original members in the band. He also had a great female vocalist in the band named Helen Humes. I have been listening to the Count Basie band since I was a teenage as my father had some Basie lps in his collection. I hope you enjoy this look at one recording year in the history of one of the greatest swing bands in history - the great Count Basie Orchestra. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Ray Anthony - Two Remotes Jun 23, 2018

Show notes

Ray Anthony has led a big band for many years starting in the late 1940's. He played trumpet in the original Glenn Miller orchestra and after the war started his own band. He has had a lot of first class musicians play in his band throughout the years. On the show today I found a remote which was part of the One Night Stand series. It was recorded at the Hollywood Palladium in the early 1950's. Then in the second half we'll be listening to some selections from an early television show that Ray had as a summer replacement also from the early 1950's. He had two special guests singing with his band on this show. Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly. Get ready to get your feet tapping to the great band of Ray Anthony recorded live during the early 1950's. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

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