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Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:16:14 -0500

Dick Jurgens, a composer and big-band leader, died on Thursday, 7 October 1995, at age 85. During World War II, he had three tunes simultaneously on the "Lucky Strike Hit Parade." He was a co-writer of "Elmer's Tune," "One Dozen Roses" and "Careless." Jurgens became an accomplished trumpeter by age 14. Dick and his brother Will formed their first band to play in the summer camps at Lake Tahoe. They worked as garbage collectors during the times when the band was inactive, but within 3 years, the band had it's first residency in one of the local hotels, remaining until booked by San Francisco's prestigious St. Francis Hotel in 1934. MORE. Jurgens served in the Marines during World War II, organizing and leading a band that performed in the Pacific islands.

WEB - Willowbrook Chicago - SHOP Dick Jurgens

LISTEN to Dick Jurgens radio remote from Willowbrook:

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:01:00 -0500

Shaw first gained critical acclaim with his "Interlude in B-flat" at a swing concert at the Imperial Theater in New York in 1935. During the Swing Era, Shaw's big band was popular with hits like "Begin the Beguine" (1938), "Stardust" (with a legendary trumpet solo by Billy Butterfield), "Back Bay Shuffle", "Moonglow", "Rosalie" and "Frenesi." He was an innovator in the big band idiom, using unusual instrumentation; "Interlude in B-flat", where he was backed with only a rhythm section and a string quartet, was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed third stream. Shaw did many big band remotes, and he was often heard from the Blue Room of New York's Hotel Lincoln. It was the location of his only regular radio series as headliner. Sponsored by Old Gold cigarettes, Shaw broadcast on CBS from November 20, 1938 until November 14, 1939.
ON THE WEB | IMAGES | SHOP Artie Shaw

ArtieShawattheHotelLincoln1.mp3 -

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:52:54 -0500

Jeff Regan, Investigator (1948-1950) followed Pat Novak: For Hire and by this time, Jack Webb had almost a cult following, and Regan was the transition show before DRAGNET.
Jeff Regan debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful....

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Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:13:03 -0500

Frederick Alfred (Freddy) Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised largely in an orphanage and with various relatives, Martin started out playing drums, then switched to C-melody saxophone and later tenor saxophone, the latter the one he would be identified with. Early on, he had intended to become a journalist. He had hoped that he would earn enough money from his musical work to enter Ohio State. But instead, he wound up becoming an accomplished musician. Martin led his own band while he was in high school, then played in various local bands. After working on a ships band, Martin joined the Mason-Dixon band, then joined Arnold Johnson and Jack Albin. It was with Albin's "Hotel Pennsylvania Music" that he made his first recordings, for Columbia's Velvet Tone label in 1930...MORE Wiki Bio

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Watch 1950's TV Show with Merv Griffin

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:11:36 -0500

Singin’ Sam aka Harry Frankel (January 27, 1888, Springfield, Ohio - June 12, 1948, Richmond, Indiana) was a minstrel performer, vaudevillian and popular personality during the early days of radio. He was best known as "Singin’ Sam, the Barbasol Man" for his long association with that company...
MORE Wiki Bio - WEB LINKS

Play episode from 1939:

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:39:10 -0500

Harry James was one of the most outstanding instrumentalists of the swing era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work instantly identifiable. He was also one of the most popular bandleaders of the first half of the 1940s, and he continued to lead his band until just before his death, 40 years later...

MORE wiki Bio - WEB - IMAGES - SHOP Harry James

Harry James w/ Helen Forrest You Made Me Love You:

Harry James Band plays...
Who's Sorry Now (1945) HCO1630 - COLUMBIA 36973 COLHCO1630
I've Heard That Song Before (1943) - CAPITOL
Heartaches (1947) - Columbia, 37305
;-)
Trumpet Rhapsody (1941) - V-disc, 213A2

Sun, 3 Aug 2008 15:14:38 -0500

Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April 3, 1971), to write detective fiction. In a successful series of novels that covered forty-two years, Ellery Queen served as both author's name and that of the detective-hero. Movies, radio shows, and television shows have been based on their works. The two, particularly Dannay, were also responsible for co-founding and directing Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, generally considered as one of the most influential English crime fiction magazines of the last sixty-five years. The Adventures of Ellery Queen radio show ran from 1939 to 1948, it was heard on ABC, CBS & NBC radio networks. Radio Series Link. A complete episode guide and history of the radio program can be found in the book "The Sound of Detection: Ellery Queen's Adventures in Radio" from OTR Publishing, 2002.

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Sun, 3 Aug 2008 10:05:58 -0500

Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, radio & television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943. "Mr. C", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records for RCA and also pioneered weekly musical variety radio/television shows. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time. Below is an audio and also video recording of a 1954 simulcast CBS-TV/Radio show with guest Peggy Lee. Selections include Sway, Someone to Watch Over Me, I Feel a Song Comming On, Papa Loves Mambo.

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Sat, 2 Aug 2008 12:21:56 -0500

Harry James [March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983] was one of the most outstanding instrumentalists of the swing era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work instantly identifiable. He was also one of the most popular bandleaders of the first half of the 1940s, and he continued to lead his band until just before his death, 40 years later. HARRY JAMES broadcasts included vocalists Frank Sinatra, Helen Forrest, Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen, and Helen Ward and others from radio remotes, the CBS Chesterfield shows, Coca-Cola shows and The Danny Kaye Show.

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Listen link below, a 1940 Mutual network sustaining band remote from The Chatterbox, Mountainside, New Jersey. Features Dick Haymes vocalist, 13 1/2 minutes.

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:01:57 -0500

30 July 1949, from otrcat.com, a vintage broadcast (edit) of a Chicago Summer Theater of the Air. This program Music In The Air features the music of Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and others. Performers are Virginia Parker, Bruce Foote and Barnard Isso. This unique radio show was created during the rising popularity of operas and dramas in the 1940s with an attempt to add high culture to American entertainment. The operas were sensitively translated into English and were supplemented by strong story dramas. The combination was quite successful and the show covered a variety of operas such as Madame Butterfly, The Vagabond King, The Merry Widow and many others. The show was 60 minutes long as the creators prided themselves in utilizing the complete music and intended plot for each opera...OTRCAT.COM