Panoram Sighting!

So my wife and I were watching METV Toons last night and they just happened to air an episode of Buggy Bunny called "Hillbilly Hare" from 1950.  It's an absolute classic, and the square dance scene is simply hilarious.  One thing I hadn't noticed over the years it that the music for that square dance is provided by a Panoram.  (Until Bugs Bunny unplugs it and starts to add his own lyrics.)

The Panoram in the cartoon is much more colorful than real machines were.  Plus, the price to watch Soundies on these jukeboxes were usually a dime, not a nickel.

It was a proud night in the Ronnaldo household when my wife pointed to the TV screen and said, "Hey, isn't that the machine they played those Soundies on?"

After all these years, I think I'm finally rubbing off on her. The fact that she pointed out a Panoram almost brought a tear to my eye. 😀

I've included a brief clip of the cartoon and a couple of pictures of the "cartoon Panoram" and the "original Panoram".  Sorry, because of copyright issues I can't post the complete cartoon.  Also, it's not lost on me that this post is hard proof that I am indeed a complete nerd when it comes to this stuff. 😜 - Enjoy!

Clip of "Hillbilly Hare" starring Bugs Bunny from 1950.

Picture of "Cartoon" Panoram

Picture of an Original Panoram

Read More

Playlist Additions: July 2024

Over the last month or so, I've added over a hundred "new" songs to The Swing City Radio rotation.  Here are some of the highlights to listen for:

Charlie Barnet

These recordings were from two separate performances on One Night Stand.  (Episodes 298 and 543)  The raw audio of these recordings were pretty bad.  I was able to clean them up and they sound much better than they did but still not the best.  Kay Starr handles the vocals on many of these and Barnet and the Boys were on the top of their game.  Great stuff.

Cab Calloway

These tracks were also sourced from a One Night Stand episode.  The performance took place in Jan of 1945, and the beautiful Dotty Saulters takes care of the female lead on some of the tracks.

Jan Savitt

A great performance from Sep of 1945.  Savitt always had a tight, disciplined band with a really good sound - but on this night, they took it up yet another notch.

Listen to: "Caprice XXIV" by Jan Savitt and His Orchestra from Sep of 1945.

Other Artists Added

This playlist addition also contained a wide range of artists including vintage tracks by: The Andrews Sisters, Billy Bishop, The Boswell Sisters, Dick Haymes, Harry Cool, Jesse Stone, Joe Reichman, Louis Prima and Tommy Dorsey.

Enjoy!

Read More