IN THIS ISSUE:

-k An interview with HARRY JAMES

Reviews of BOOKS AND BIG RECORDS to consider BAND ★ A BANDLEADER PICTURE QUIZ JUMP ★ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR NEWSLETTER about RAY EBERLE, JO STAFFORD, THE FAMILY, PATTI PAGE and others

BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER FIRST-CLASS MAIL Box 52252 U.S. POSTAGE Atlanta, GA 30355 PAID Atlanta, GA Permit No. 2022 JIMP NEWSLETTER

VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

HARRY JAMES INTERVIEW li

The Scene

Much of this interview took place at the direct-to-disc Sheffield Labs recording session at the First Presbyte­ rian Church in Hollywood, a location selected for its superb acoustics. In those LP days before the introduc­ tion of CDs, the direct-to-disc technique (without recording on tape first) required the Harry James Band to play selections for the entire side at one time, without stopping. In was in this atmosphere the interview took place.

The Background

Our first Harry James interview appeared in the Janu- ary-February issue of this newsletter over five years ago. Since that time, this 1976 conversation revealing additional information has been made available to us, as elicited by superb radio host Fred Hall, excerpted from his book, “More Dialogues In Swing”.

James in 1958 movie Everyone who has interviewed Harry James has said the same thing in one way or another, that he’s a and bad. If I like it it’s good and if I don’t like it, it’s bad. difficult man to get to know. Don Kennedy recalls If I like it, I play it and if I don’t like it, I don’t. And I interviewing him in the early ’50s, and while coming think that’s an opinion shared by most people. You away with a satisfactory taped conversation (long know, you’ll have somebody say, “Oh, this rock is since lost) he felt as if he’d only received surface terrible.” Well, that’s not a statement to make because answers, never reaching deeper into James’ thoughts there are a lot of good things, a lot of good tunes and a or attitudes. Before this interview Fred Hall experi­ lot of good tunes in country western. There are a lot of enced the same feeling. He said, “Although I came to good tunes all over. Back when I first started the band know his band and his music well, I never thought I they talked about all the good songs but I never did play truly knew the man.” We suspect the following reveals “The Three Little Bitty Fitty in a Itty Bitty Pool” or any more about Harry James than might have previously of that stuff either, you know. Because there was bad been available, thanks to Hall’s knowledge and intui­ music then just as much as there is today. It was always tive questions. real commercial things that I didn’t like playing.

The Interview BBJ: How do you compare your band today (1976) with the band of ten or twenty years ago? BBJ: What makes music good? HJ: Well, I never compare bands; I always com­ HJ: To me, there’s only two kinds of music, good pare nights and if the band is playing good VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

tonight then I am very happy. If it isn’t playing good and, for no reason at all, I said “Hey, Buddy, it comes I’m very unhappy, but certainly right now that band’s from my soul, let’s go into a Latin thing.” We went into been playing real well. a Latin thing. If you ever hear this thing, you wouldn’t believe it. We didn’t know where we were or anything, BBJ: Your opener always seems to be DON’T BE we were just playing and playing. All of a sudden we THAT WAY right after the theme. went “zonk” and we were out together and right back into the thing. We could never duplicate it, we could HJ: Yeah, I do it every place I go because when I never play it again because there’s no way you could was with the great Benny Goodman Band and count the bars or anything else. I think it was released we did the first Carnegie Hall Concert, the first jazz on DOT. concert ever held in Carnegie Hall (193 8), the first tune we ever played there was DON’T BE THAT WAY. BBJ: You also had some great singers. I’ve sort of had a little feeling of good luck about it and we play it for the first tune every place we go. HJ: We were very fortunate in that, when I first heard Sinatra, he was singing out at the Rustic BBJ: You didn’t always play trumpet. Didyoustart Cabin in Jersey and he joined the band. This was right on drums in the circus? after I’d organized it and he stayed with us for about seven months, I guess. Nancy was pregnant and we HJ: I played drums in my father’s band before I weren’t making enough money to even pay him the started playing the trumpet. $75.00 he was supposed to get, so he went with and I said, “Well, if we don’t do any better in the BBJ: The drum has been important to you. next six months or so, try to get me on, too.” We were really having a time. But I was very fortunate in all my HJ: It’sjust like a good quarterback. Wewerevery career by having great singers like Sinatra, then Dick fortunate to have Buddy Rich with us for Haymes took his place. Helen Forrest was there and almost eleven years. We’ve always had such a ball Connie Haines, Kitty Kallen, and Marion Morgan. We working together because we could sort of feel each were very lucky in having great singers with us all of the other, you know. We did a record of time.

BBJ: You had some bad luck, once in a while, with record producers. You were a little sore at Mitch Miller at Columbia Records.

HJ: Not just a little.... a whole damn bunch. He wanted me to do some real corny things and I refused to do it, so I left the company. It was that simple.

BBJ: You were one of Columbia’s biggest artists for a long time, and you replaced Glenn Miller on the Chesterfield radio show when he went into the service.

HJ: Well, the way that happened, we were working out at the Meadowbrook and Miller was doing his last broadcast. He called me about three or four days before and said, “I’ve recommended you to take over the show.” He did such a fantastic job with Chesterfield and, naturally, they would take the first person that he would recommend. So I went on the show with him as 2 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002 their, sort of, a guest, just to say “Hello, Glenn” and BBJ: You have a mixture of old-timers and young­ “We are going to take your show over next week.” He sters in the band. said, “Why don’t you do ?” I said, “That’s a good idea.” So I played that HJ: Right. I don’t care how old a guy is, so long as in the thing where they do the “Listen to the music of he can play. We have a bench of about fifty Harry James” and so forth. So I played that with them people waiting to come into the band. These are people and it was the following week that we took over the who have been working around for a long time and show and we had the show for, I think, around three working around town. years or something like that. BBJ: Do you ever find yourself taking anybody right BBJ: It’s thirty-five years later, and you’re still out of school? packing them in. HJ: Nope, I don’t have the time or the patience. HJ: Well, we’ve been very fortunate. Itseemslike people want to hear us, so just about every BBJ: In other words, they’ve got to sit in and cut the place we play we have a nice crowd. It’s sort of book right away? difficult to say which way a trend is going. I think the only thing wrong with the band business is that we HJ: Well, they don’t sit in with this band. We only don’t have any of the younger kids come up with new have one rehearsal a year. If someone is bands and they should because with the schools that recommended, then I take the recommendation, be­ they have now, with the music programs they have in cause we don’t make many changes, but when we do.... all the universities with their stage bands and all, you’d like for instance, our new first trumpet player, Clyde think that someone would have the fortitude and the Reasinger. He recommended the kid that’s next to him strength to go out and try to fight it, like “Blood, Sweat who is a young graduate from North Texas and he came and Tears” was such a big boss, you know, at the time, in and he plays his part. If he didn’t, he would be let go because the kids from “Blood, Sweat and Tears” were after the first date. all Juilliard graduates, which is great, I mean they are great players. But you set guys down and you get four BBJ: Let’s talk about some of your records. guys in a section; four trumpet players and three trombones and five saxes and four rhythms, and they HJ: Well, I think perhaps the most difficult thing I have to listen to each other just like a ball club. If you ever did was TRUMPET RHAPSODY which don’t have a good double play combination on the ball I wrote. In those days you couldn’t re-do it, I mean you club, you have no ball club. couldn’t splice it. We were doing it on the master and with a two-sided record. If you made one mistake BBJ: Are you saying there’s an opportunity for towards the end of it or anywhere during it, you had to young musicians working with Big Bands in do the entire thing over. the future, if they’re willing to seek it out? BBJ: You did a number of records with Lionel Hampton. H J: Oh, I think they have the greatest opportunity ever, just like with young athletes. Kids who H J: I wrote quite a few things for him. We did eight are only eighteen, nineteen years old now are already sides with Lionel at the time that I was with playing major league ball, and the same thing is pos­ Goodman. I remember the one that I wrote for him was sible for the kids that come out of these stage bands in SHOE SHINER’S DRAG. I’m amazed at myself, the different schools and universities, but you can’t remembering these because my memory only goes to just sit back and wait for it. You’ve got to go out and music. We did SHOE SHINER’S DRAG and some work. You have to make it happen. You don’t join a other Dixieland tune, I can’t remember the name of it. ball club and sit on the bench and say, “Someday I’ll be Ziggy Elman made the other tune charts. We did four great.” You go out and hustle and try to get your job. of them for him.

3 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

BBJ: You did two Columbia albums taken from loved gambling, he had a racing stable, he and dance band remotes. Betty Grable. Gambling was a big part of his life. Women were a big part of his life. Music! H J: We did a thing called “One Night Stand” at the That afforded him his living so he could have his Aragon Ballroom in Chicago which was the women and his gambling, and so forth.. " first time that any band had.... we did a live broadcast. Harry James' last performance was at the Cen­ In fact, we recorded three days, three nights of tapes and tury Plaza on June 26th, 1983. He flew back to then we edited those all in together and that was the first Las Vegas that night and went directly to the time that was ever done. Then we did one from the hospital where he died on July 5th., the date of Palladium which was alive from the stage. My two his and Betty Grable’s wedding anniversary. favorite tracks in that are FLASH and SUGAR FOOT Strangely, Harry died ten years to the day after STOMP with Buddy Rich. We had a ball doing FLASH, Betty Grable’s funeral. Buddy and I. Our deepest thanks to the Hall family for their BBJ: Among the ballads you currently play is permission to use excerpts of Fred's interview.

LARA’S THEME. It came from his book "More Dialogues In Swing ” available at www.swing-thing.com or by phon­ HJ: A very dear friend of mine that I worked with ing (800) 693-9030. when I was in Texas and Ijoined ’s Band did that. I got him on the Band. Ijoined Benny Goodman’s Band and I got him on Benny Goodman’s LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Band. Then he joined me and he’s one of the greatest Letters to BIG BAND JUMP or the BBJ NEWS­ arrangers that ever lived. His name is Dave Matthews, LETTER may be sent to the address below, or e- one of the great tenor saxophone players of all time. mailed to: [email protected]. When you e- When we went to Reno, I guess it was eleven or twelve mail, please give your name and address. All years ago, I said, “Hey, Dave, there’s a cowboy tune letters are answered, but the volume of mail that I want to have an arrangement of.” He said, “What sometimes delays a timely response. is it.? I said, “I don’t know, it’s something like da-da- da-da.” Dave says, “I don’t know what that is.” Then BBJ NEWSLETTER he says, “You must be an idiot. What cowboy tune? Box 52252 That’s the theme from DR. ZHIVAGO.” I said, “O.K., Atlanta, GA 30355 write it.” So he did this thing on it and he did a real good little two-beat chart on it. The published letters have been edited for space BBJ: Do you have plans to retire? considerations, but the meaning has been preserved.

HJ: To retire to what? If I were retired I’d do Last issue, there were some unanswered ques­ exactly what I’m doing. I have my horses and tions about Alvino Rey and the King Sisters. I go see baseball games and I play music that I like. Since then we talked to the youngest King Sister, Marilyn King, who filled us in on their status. BBJ: And that’s all you need? Luise (Alvino Rey’s wife with the strange spell­ ing) and Alice are gone; Maxine is 90, Donna is H J: There ’ s no time for anything else. 84 and Vonnie is 82. Alvino was 94 on the 1st o f July this year. Sal Monte, the brother o f Harry James ’ personal manager Pee Wee Monte, added some insight into Roy Duncan In June of 1942, Glenn Miller fired the James personality, summed up in Sal's comment: Canton, MI Ray Eberle. I never heard why he was "Hey, he liked his music, he liked his women, he fired. Are you aware of the reason?

4 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

According to the George Simon account, the parting was because Ray Eberle was late for a radio show in Chicago. The story goes he stopped on the way for some refreshment, and by the time he got to one of the bridges that cross the Chi­ cago River, traffic was snarled. When he arrived late, Glenn Miller fired him on the spot. After the fact, there were some in-the-press heated ex­ changes when Eberle claimed he wasn’t being paid regularly. Miller responded by saying Eberle was sometimes in no condition to sing and he 'd had enough of his undisciplined attitude. We ’ll prob­ ably get the Ray Eberle side of the story when a book about him is scheduled to be published later this year, written by his daughter Jan. T. Dorsey, Jo Stafford, Sinatra and the Pied Pipers three men, made up the Pied Pipers heard on so many Sinatra/Dorsey recordings. It was recorded on February 7th, 1941. It was, o f course, the beginning of a long solo career for Jo Stafford.

Charles E. McCleary I would like to know whatever Waynesboro, PA happened to the Glenn Miller family after his death over the English Channel in 1944. In 1946 Glenn’s wife Helen Miller, through Glenn’s manager Don Haynes, hired to lead the official Miller Orchestra when Beneke was released from the Navy. That Miller Band prospered for a while, but Beneke wanted to record and feature fresh arrangements o f new tunes, while the record execu­ tives and management insisted on re-working the standard Miller musical inventory, so Beneke quit and organized a Miller-like band under his own name. In 1956, the Miller attorney and Mrs. Miller hired drummer Ray McKinley to lead the Miller Handsome Ray Eberle Estate Orchestra, a leadership that lastedfor nearly a decade. Leaders of the official since that time have been clarinetist Buddy Victor Checketts The other day I heard a song DeFranco, trombonist Buddy Morrow (now leader Salt Lake City, UT on the radio by Tommy o f the official Tommy Dorsey Orchestra), trombon­ Dorsey titled THE LITTLE ist Jimmy Henderson and, since the spring o f 1981, MAN WITH THE CANDY CIGAR. It was a really trombonist Larry O ’Brien. great recording with a great vocal. Do you know who sang the song and when it was recorded? Glenn Miller’s two adopted children, live in South­ ern California, the current band is handled by David That was Jo Stafford's first solo recording with McKay, Jr., the son o f the attorney who was earlier Tommy Dorsey; she was the girl singer who, with involved in its management.

5 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

Dick Babylon How about putting together you have a website! I heard the song with the refrain Smithsburg, MD a program of all-negro art­ “Open the door, Richard” but I didn’t catch the name of ists? One half could be vo­ the song (maybe that’s it) or the artist. Would you please cal, the other half instrumental. I listen to BIG BAND fill me in? It might interest you to know that I’m 38 and JUMP every Sunday evening. It’s great! found your show fascinating! (Her punctuation.)

We ’ll not do a program based on race, for our It is indeed the name of the song, vocally performed programs are, hopefully, devoid o f consideration primarily by Harry “Sweets” Edison with Count of racial origins. We don ’t think of instrumental­ Basie in the early ’50s. Harry Edison was a long­ ists and singers as black or white, basing our time trumpet player with Basie. I t ’s a trifle out o f the programming solely on their abilities and the sound normal Basie style, but he recorded it as a favor to his o f the music. We would not, for example, do an all- old vaudeville partner, Dusty Fletcher. white program, or an all-Asian program or an all- hispanic program. I t ’s the music that counts. George Darfus I used to listen to BBJ on Melbourne, FL WMMB but they have changed Paul Cummings A friend of mine argues that format for the worse. Is there Las Vegas, NV the King Sisters recorded a a chance for BBJ on another Melbourne station? I cer­ song called WITH MY EYES tainly miss your programs. WIDE OPEN I’M DREAMING and I say it was Patti Page with multiple voices. WMMB was the victim of consolidation by one of the giant radio companies which, despite owning Patti Page was one o f the first to introduce the multi­ several stations in a market, opt to program the track vocal to the public with a “Patti Page Quartet ” same thing everyone else does. WINT-FMat 95.9, on a Mercury 78 in 1949. It was a similar technique however, is programming the DON KENNEDY used instrumentally byLes Paul with his many guitars, SHOW, a five hour weekly program heard from 11 and later with his wife Mary Ford singing with herself AM to 4 PM each Saturday, and may be heard in It was a brand new engineering miracle then, when both Melbourne and Ft. Pierce. The DK SHOW tape was new, but soon became a standard practice. presents more vocals, features and novelties and is more informal than BBJ, but maintains devo­ The following two letters are published as an indica­ tion to great American music. tion that more and more younger generations are listening to Great American Music, a fact that’s be­ MARINE BALLROOM, come evident to us in the BBJ office through phone calls, letters and e-mails. We wanted to let YOU know. STEEL PIER - ATLANTIC CITY

Robert Grieser I listen to your program ev- Every so often we briefly profile the ballrooms that Hoboken, NJ ery Sunday at 3 PM on were located in nearly every city and good-sized WVNJ in New Jersey. Ilook town across the United States. These ballrooms forward to it every week! My only wish is that more became an important part of the success of the Big people my age (35) would like this music enough to Bands, not only bringing those bands to people o f the listen and that in the future, we don’t see this sort of community, but the better known locations providing show disappear off the airwaves; that would be a a “radio wire ” making possible nationally broad­ tragedy, for there is no better music! (His exclamation cast dance band remotes. marks.) Atlantic City, New Jersey was founded in 1854 as a sleepy little seaside community largely unknown to Linda Warren I happened upon your show outsiders until 1880 when a rail line from Philadelphia Northampton,MA when driving through was opened to make it easily reached by city visitors Albany, NY tonight. I’m glad who went there for the salt air, entertainment and

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BBJ NEWSLETTER Box 12,000 Atlanta, GA 30355

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(Tape or Staple Here) THE CENTER PAGE OFFER A RARE GEM - LYNN ROBERTS & THE REUNION BAND This is one of those “inside” CDs that not many people have access to, for it’s taken from an annual get-together of a band made up of top players from the Air Force AIRMEN OF NOTE and the Navy COMMODORES, both bands ranked near the top of bands across the nation. The band is called REUNION, and is directed by Dave Steinmeyer, who has worked with such stars as Sarah Vaughan, Doc Severinsen, Toni Tennille, Henry Mancini, Julie Andrews and Bob Hope.

Add to this the annual visit of the last of the great Big Band vocalists, Lynn Roberts, and you have a unique Lynn Roberts Album Cover combination of vocal excellence, relaxed presentation and instrumental highlights.

Lynn Roberts is a veteran of the Tommy Dorsey and Harry James Orchestras, and is heard singing S’WONDERFUL, I’M GLAD THERE IS YOU, DON’T GET AROUND MUCH ANYMORE, SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET, ONCE IN A WHILE, I CAN’T BEGIN TO TELL YOU, THE LADY IS A TRAMP and I AM A SINGER.

The REUNION BAND plays CALL ME IRRESPONSIBLE, HOW HIGH THE MOON, HARLEM NOCTURNE, , EAGER BEAVER, LITTLE BROWN JUG, SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE, TAKE THE A TRAIN, WHEN YOU’RE SMILING and TEACH ME TONIGHT.

A total of an hour and seven minutes with the excitement of “live” performance and the excellence of top instrumentalists, one of the finest Big Band singers working today and melodies that will stay with you long after the CD is over. A total of 18 selections, eight (8) of them songs by Lynn Roberts.

Offered FIRST to BBJ NEWSLETTER readers, a month before it’s included in the general catalog or presented on the www.bigbandjump.com website.

To order, please phone 1-800-377-0022. Specify (C-1) for $16.00 with FREE shipping and handling. If you prefer, use either Visa or MasterCard as below:

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In-person interviews with outstanding Big Band music personalities.

Reviews of books and records to consider for serious collectors of Big Band music and information.

Anecdotes and background stories about the key personalities of the Big Band scene.

News about the men and women keeping the Big Band sound alive in the United States and throughout the world.

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(Tape or Staple Here) VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

the ’30s and ’40s, for Big Band broadcasts were made too expensive by new union rules demanding charges for dance band radio remotes, eliminating the major means of advertising for the bands and the ballroom. Despite those prohibitive union rules, the Marine Ball­ room continued to play host to such early ’50s popular bands as Ralph Flanagan, Woody Herman, Elliot Lawrence, Ralph Marterie, Stan Kenton and Les Elgart on an intermittent basis.

It all ended two days after Christmas in 1969 when the Marine Ballroom was completely destroyed by Marine Ballroom features Elliot Lawrence, with fire. Precisely thirteen years later, in December of Woody Herman & Four Lads coming attractions. 1982, the entire pier was consumed by fire, leaving only memories for those who danced there, who dancing. With a ready supply of potential customers, listened to the broadcasts from there, who took part it was logical that nightclubs, restaurants, hotels and in depression years marathon dances there or who dance halls would be built; the largest of the ballrooms met future spouses there. was the Marine Ballroom of the Steel Pier which opened in 1898, built for a total of two hundred thousand dollars. SIDELIGHTS

All the well-known bands of the era played there, as Humorous stories about musicians, some new, some was true of nearly all ballrooms great and small, but the old, often from a musician's standpoint. scope of the Marine Ballroom operation is illustrated by Labor Day weekend in 1936 when not one or two, A current story going around has to do with a hotel guest but four bands supplied non-stop music for dancing the asking the desk clerk if there’s any musical entertain­ entire weekend starting at Noon on Sunday. The ment in the hotel. The hotel guy says they have a jazz orchestras of Mai Hallett, Frank Dailey and Ozzie group in the lounge with Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Nelson were brought in,joining the Alex Bartha house Brown’s bass and a drummer named Louis Bellson. band, resulting in 78,000 paid admissions. “Wow!” the guest says. “THE Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Louis Bellson?” Two years later, in 1938, records indicate that such top names as Benny Goodman, Eddie Duchin and Guy “Well, no,” says the hotel man. “They’re all local men Lombardo were being paid $8,500.00 a week to appear who happen to have those names, but they’re fine at the Marine Ballroom; Tommy Dorsey commanded musicians.” The hotel guy continues, “And they have a horn guy named Kenny G.” $7,500.00 weekly. Dance marathons were popular in the earlier days of the ’30s, with Atlantic City visitors “Wow!” exclaims the guest. “THE Kenny G?” considering them a spectator event, nearly as fascinat­ ing as watching sports. The Marine Ballroom record The hotel person replies, “I’m afraid so.” was set by six couples who danced for 130 days. One of the entrants for the dance contests was a young man A musician who’s spent his entire life trying to get a who later became famous as Frankie Laine. (Anita record deal is feeling extremely depressed. He’s been O’Day also earned money taking part in dance mara­ turned down by every record company he’s contacted; thons before she became famous.) no one seems to recognize his unique genius, so he decides on a plan to get back at the record companies By 1952 the Big Bands at the Steel Pier were attracting who’ve rejected him. He books time at a recording only one-third the number of dancers they did during studio and tells the sound engineer to record everything

7 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002 he says and every sound he hears, and then make up the number of listeners to that record, a bookkeeping 1,000 CDs, and send one to every recording executive nightmare without the added cost of running a website. who has turned him down.... all on a list he gives the The immediate result is that thousands of internet engineer. stations are dropping their service, for most operate on a thin margin, if they operate for profit at all. Many of The guy walks into the vocal booth, the red light is on the internet stations were not conceived as a business, and he begins, “This is a message for all you sycophan­ but by pioneers who have a passion to supply a certain tic, talentless, stupid record company executives who kind of programming to the public, programming that have ignored me for all these years. I’ve dedicated my expands the public’s access to a broader selection of life to writing beautiful, emotive, soul-searching mu­ music, generally not available elsewhere. sic, and all you jerks do is discard my tapes, never return my phone calls and sign those horrible, no-talent, The record companies apparently don’t know that this ridiculous, dumb bands and those filthy, dirty-mouthed expanded listening audience encourages expanded rappers! Well, you bunch of morons, you parasites.... public taste and in turn expanded record buying. The I’ve taken all I can of your puerile, shallow industry, record companies need to improve and diversify their and it’s you who have driven me to this! Goodbye, you product, not attempt to additionally limit the audience. murderers of art!” It seems to us that the record companies should be paying the internet stations if money is to change hands With that, he pulls out a gun, puts it to his head and at all, rather than the other way around. That’s not blows his brains out. possible, of course, for then radio stations and cable The sound engineer casually glances up and says, music television networks would also logically ask to “Okay. That’s fine. Wanna go for a take?” be paid to promote record company’s products. Not only are the record companies shooting themselves in CURMUDGEON COMMENTARY both feet, but the public is also being injured, for their music choice is being limited. This is about the royalty payment the record companies The record company executives have been enjoying are assessing those who use their records on internet untold millions of dollars worth of free internet adver­ programming. To understand what we’re about to say, tising, advertising that’s being eliminated. The record it’s necessary to go back to the late 1920s and early companies will receive little or no money from internet 1930s when radio was relatively new. Record compa­ programs, because they’ve been forced out of busi­ nies back then would not sell their recordings to radio ness; they’ll also lose the advertising advantage the stations, and in fact noted on the label that recordings thousands of internet stations gave their product, and were “not licensed for radio broadcast” or “for use only the audience won’t be able to hear the specific music on phonographs in homes”, the assumption being that they want to hear. Everyone loses. The record compa­ if folks could hear the music on the radio, they wouldn ’ t nies just don’t get it. buy it on record. We know now, these years later, that just the opposite was true. So true, in fact, that in the Don Kennedy ’50s there was a scandal about record companies PAY­ ING to have their records played on the radio in order BOOKS AND RECORDS TO CONSIDER to increase sales of those recordings. SPOTLIGHT BANDS - Two CD set Now, nearly a half century later, the executives who run Soundcraft SC-5017-5018 the record companies are afraid the use of their record­ ings on the internet where people can hear them free of The Soundcraft people specialize in archiving and charge will cut into sales of those recordings. They’ve restoring “live” Big Band performances and in this negotiated with their power and their legions of attor­ album they’ve directed their attention to a specific neys to have webcasters pay according to a complicated broadcast series, the Coca-Cola Parade of Spotlight formula involving so much per record multiplied by Bands, a 1940s program featuring a series of

8 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

different bands appearing THE EBERLE NAMED RAY at military install ations and Jan Eberle Nelson defense plants. This two Ray Eberle was, as you CD set (a pre-release re­ know, the longest-tenured view copy of which we’ve male vocalist with the civil­ been sent) allows us to “tune ian Glenn Miller Orchestra. in” on broadcasts of The story goes that he was Tommy Dorsey, Charlie hired when Glenn Miller Barnet, Artie Shaw, Les asked his brother Bob Brown, Louis Prima, Harry Eberly, who preceded Ray James, Jimmie Lunceford and two rare bonus tracks of in the spotlight as singer Benny Goodman. The technical restoration is excellent; with , ifthere the sound probably has more clarity and crispness than the were any other singing originals, but none of the immediacy is lost. Eberles. The dichotomy in spelling was because Bob The two CD set presents over two and a third hours of thought the original family spelling of the name might confuse the public into the original Spotlight Band programming, with solid connecting its pronunciation with the name “Berle” as performances by Tommy Dorsey at the time when in Milton. By the time Ray was hired by Glenn Miller, drummer Buddy Rich was driving the band and superb the public was accustomed to Bob’s name, and knew vocalist Skip Nelson was singing. Singer Fran Warren Ray was his brother; hence the use of the actual family was with Charlie Barnet on the 1945 broadcast which spelling for Ray. also presents his then current SKYLINER among others. Doris Day was still with Les Brown in the 1944 This is not a review, for the book isn’t scheduled to be broadcast captured on this album, as well as Randy released until the first of September, but it’s described Brook’s trumpet talents and the tenor sax work of Ted as an intimate portrayal of one man’s very important Nash. Artie Shaw was featuring trumpeter Roy Eldridge role in music history and how his personal life wove in his LITTLE JAZZ performance, Louis Prima sings through it. It is testimony to the power of the Big Band ANGELINA and his extremely popular female vocal­ Era and to quote the author: “My father’s ability to ist, Lily Ann Carol is heard in a romantic song of the overcome many adversities he faced during his life, mid-forties, DON’TEVER CHANGE. The 1944bandof both professionally and personally.” Harry James is heard with Kitty Kallen as well as Buddy Ray Eberle’s life ended on a very high note, but not DeVito andamostpleasing James sextetnumber with alto before triumphing over his battle with alcoholism, saxist Willie Smith. losing his wife (the author’s mother) to cancer and surviving the departure of The Big Band Era. The book Add to all this Jimmie Lunceford’s 1945 orchestra and contains no sensationalism, no “whispered” gossip and their all-time favorite arrangement of BLUES IN THE no scandal. It is, rather, a very human story about a very NIGHT and a no-holds-barred presentation of THE well loved man. HONEY DRIPPER, plus Benny Goodman ’ s 1941 group Available directly from the publisher, Cadence Jazz playing LIMEHOUSE BLUES and MEETTHE EARL, Books - [email protected] or from broadcast on the carefree Friday before the Pearl Har­ the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society bor attack plunged the nation into war, and you have a [email protected] satisfying emotional and musical entertainment with historical overtones. RAISED ON RADIO Gerald Nachman Expected to be released in mid-September, 2002 Available from BBJ Sales This is not a book about the Big Bands, but it IS a book about the earlier and then the key years of radio’s H.W. dominance as an entertainment medium, a medium 9 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

BIG BAND PICTURE QUIZ

We’ve all heard of the major bandleaders, and some­ times we’ve seen them in motion pictures, magazines or in person. We certainly know the faces of the most famous, but can you match the photos of lesser-known bandleaders below with the names to the right? There are a few fairly easy ones in here, but to help, we’ll also give you a smidgen of biographical information above each photo.

1) Rich 2) piano player A) Ray Noble kid

B) Charlie Spivak

3) Arranger/ 4) Singing composer bandleader C) Neal Hefti

The durable Bob Hope from the book

vital to the economic health of the band business. If you D) Bob Chester were growing up during the ’30s and ’40s, the book will bring back to mind some names you may have long forgotten and translate those into sounds still available 5) Sweet 6) Played sax E) Clyde McCoy to your mind’s ear. If you came in later, the book will trumpet with Shaw acquaint you with the reason radio was so important, impossible for adults raised on television to understand. There is a chapter on the musical variety shows that F) Eddy Howard conforms more comfortably with a review in this newsletter. The author explains how the NBC Sym­ phony was developed, as well as giving us the back­ ground of the growth of the Grand Ole Opry. Kate 7) Britisher with 8) Sugar Blues G) Tony Pastor Smith, Rudy Vallee, Frank Munn, Fred Waring, the Kraft Music Hall, Your Hit Parade, The Chesterfield Supper Club, radio remotes and dozens of other per­ formers and programs, all bringing to life visions of the H) Carmen console in the living room. We re-live hearing Bob Cavallaro Hope with the Skinnay Ennis, the Kenton or the Les Brown Band, the Ray Noble Orchestra with Bergen and McCarthy or John Scott Trotter with Bing Crosby. As always, answers will be somewhere else so you won’t be The soap opera, the comedians, the situation comedies tempted to (at least easily) go back and forth to see if your (little changed from radio to TV) are all covered in great selections are correct before you finish the entire quiz. Is this too easy? We suggest a score of 6 to 8 correct would be par, 4 or 5 detail in this nostalgic treatise, even including children’s might be OK, but if you guess three or fewer, you’ll be destined to programming, westerns, cops and robbers, sports and join the lady we overheard on a Big Band cruise one time. As she some of the early hard news programs. One of the most watched the Tommy Dorsey ghost band led by Buddy Morrow, she (continued on page 12) loudly asked her husband, “Which one is Tommy Dorsey?”

10 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002

UPCOMING BBJ PROGRAM TITLES years to review the sounds and the important artists of that time. 1940 yielded such abiding recordings as September 7-8, 2002 (Repeat for new subscribers) Glenn Miller’s IN THE MOOD, Artie Shaw’s 1939 SWING We tend to think of the ’40s FRENESI, and some of the Tommy Dorsey/Frank as the time of the Big Bands, Sinatra lasting favorites. Other artists to be heard in this but their development and many of the top tunes we session include Coleman Hawkins, the Will Bradley recall came from the later’30s. The word Orchestra with Big Band boogie, even “classics” is over-used, but it’s true that so some soundtrack memories from Judy many classic American band recordings Garland and veteran vaudeville performer came from the year 1939. Artie Shaw’s Cliff Edwards. Along the way, Wee CARIOCA, Jimmie Lunceford’s AIN’T Bonnie Baker will again be heard, along SHE SWEET, Larry Clinton’s DIPSY with brief mentions of events of that last DOODLE (recorded then by Tommy full peacetime year before the nation’s Dorsey), some of the Goodman trio and entrance into World War Two. quartet numbers... .they ’ 11 all be part of the remembrance of the music of 1939. October 5-6, 2002 What a mas­ CLASS OF 1947 sive change September 14-15, 2002 T h e in the SPOTLIGHT BANDS Coca- BBJ host Don Kennedy public’s musical taste in the few short Cola Company spon­ years between the mid-forties and 1947. sored a radio program called “Spotlight Bands” in the The interest in the Big Bands was rapidly declining ’40s, each featuring a different band, broadcast from a even though a few bands were still successful. Pure war plant or military installation. The audiences for instrumentals were not unknown in 1947, but certainly these programs were enthusiastic, and the announcers did not constitute the majority of the recordings reach­ matched that enthusiasm in high energy introductions ing hit status. There was HEARTACHES by Ted to the numbers on this tightly-produced show. The Weems, a fluke from the ’30s made possible by the advantage here, of course, is that some of the perfor­ musician’srecordban, but most other record hits either mances were transcribed, and we’ve been able to reach prominently featured a singer or were the product of a into the archives to restore some of those valued singing bandleader. As with others in our “Class O f’ moments in music. This BBJ will present Louis Prima, series, the music will be interspersed with some histori­ Harry James and Jimmie Lunceford. cal notes of the time. October 12-13,2002 Over the past several weeks at September 21-22, 2002 A continuation of the THE‘L’ FILE BBJ’s studio we’ve been in­ SPOTLIGHT BANDS Spotlight Band volved in the massive job of broadcast airchecks, re-organizing the filing of our CDs, LPs, 45 s, cassettes concentrating on Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Artie and even some 78s (everything except cylinders) and Shaw, Les Brown and a portion of a Benny Goodman that’s given rise to a new opportunity to attack pro­ Spotlight broadcast from 1941, saved for posterity. gramming from an alphabetical standpoint once in a Highlights will include Dorsey’s PARAMOUNT ON while. In this session we listen to many of the vocal an- PARADE and Skip Nelson singing IN THE BLUE OF d instrumental artists whose names begin with ‘L’ EVENING; Barnet’s SKYLINER and an appearance including Jimmie Lunceford, Johnny Long, Pat Longo, by a young Fran Warren, the post-war Artie ShawBand Enoch Light, Syd Lawrence, the Luboff Choir, Peggy with trumpeter Roy Eldridge, Les Brown from 1944 Lee, Elliot Lawrence, Art Lund, Don Lusher and some with Doris Day, and some small group gems from others. Listeners seem to like the added variety this Benny Goodman. alphabetical approach gives to the overall program.

September 28-29, 2002 Every once in a while October 19-20, 2002 Certain Big Band and CLASS OF 1940 we re-visit specific ARCHIVAL MELODIES associated recordings

11 VOLUME LXXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2002 are just no longer available in record shops. While it’s that time. Certainly we should recall the innovative not easy to find even the “classic” oft-repeated Big Artie Shaw Grammercy Five and the purity of the Gene Band Era recordings in today’s retail record stores, Krupa Jazz Trio, but we also should listen to later there are certain recordings nearly impossible to find. groups such as the Three Suns, Ralph Sharon’s Trio This BBJ is made up of such frequently requested but and the Eddie Heywood group. There will be others, now nearly extinct recordings; not extinct in fans' too, along the way as we sample Woody Herman’s devotion, but not readily available. Examples of Count Chips, the Goodman Sextet and the Bobcats, among Basie gems, Jimmy Dorsey instrumentals, Glen Gray others. Swingin’ for the most part, but gentle swing. standards, Dick Jurgens, Kay Kyser, Alvino Rey, Charlie Sports, news events or local programming will Spivak, Claude Thornhill, Chick Webb, Lawrence Welk, sometimes alter BBJ program times and/or sub­ Les Brown and others not impossible to find, but often jects, so please check with your local Adult Stan­ mentioned by Big Band fans. dard station for exact day, time and subject of BIG BAND JUMP in your area. October 26-27, 2002 Good gracious! We noticed REQUESTS that the request bin is getting (RADIO, continued from page 10) uncomfortably full of letters, cards and e-mails, each asking us to play either a single interesting chapters deals with the sound effects men, selection or in some cases an entire list of selections. In a breed nearly extinct. fairness to all, we’ll present one or two recordings from It might be that those of us who have spent their lives each request communication we ’ ve received. The nice working in radio are more interested in this kind of thing about these request programs is, of course, the book than radio listeners might be, but let’s hope that’s added variety they tend to impart; some requests are for not true, for in spite of a few unfortunate minor factual oft-repeated tunes, but others reach beyond the ex­ errors (repeated reference to KOMX instead of KM OX in St. Louis, for example) this book does an historical pected to lend a fresher excitement to the music. The service in preserving not only the mood and feeling of other quality of a request session is the surprise factor. radio, but documenting the people and the stories. It One truth is consistently demonstrated by these re­ was a three decade span when radio was the most quests; our listeners display outstanding musical taste. important entertainment and information medium in the United States. November 2-3, 2002 THE There’s one other factor, too. This book enables the SMALL reader to bring back a bit of the “theater of the mind” GROUPS that characterized radio listening. It was a more deliberate, less frantic entertainment medium than Not long television, but listeners also were able to “see” the ago we con­ people, places and things on the radio, forming them in centrated a their own personal mental photograph. As one person so couple of aptly said, “I like radio better than television because the picture is better.” This book brings thatpicture into focus. BBJs on the singing 535 pages including useful index groups, but Available in book stores, or ask them to order it. on this pro­ H.W. gram we cel­ ebrate the Answers to Big Band Picture Quiz small instru- 1 -D 2 -H 3 -C 4 -F 5 -B 6-G 7-A 8-E mental groups, You’ll find a weekly Big Band Trivia Quiz on the some from internet at www.bigbandjump.com complete with a weekly prize for the correct answer pulled from a Artie & massive microphone the era and some beyond box of correct answers.

12 BIG BAND JUMP IS NOW ON THE INTERNET - Hear BIG BAND JUMP and its companion program THE DON KENNEDY SHOW repeated each week after the regular broadcasts at www.bigbandjump.com - We're also available on E-Mail - send your questions and comments to: [email protected].

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