Special Podcast: Celebrating Count Basie

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Celebrating: Count Basie


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Hey there People of Swing! In this special episode of The Big Band and Swing Podcast we celebrate the music of Count Basie. We play some classic tracks and dive deeper into the jumping music of The Count. Join us in this celebration of Count Basie.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Podcast: Episode 22 - A Real Swingdinger!

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 22: A Real Swingdinger!

Greetings, fine People of Swing! In this episode host Ronnaldo plays some classic Big Band icons including Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Charlie Barnet, Fletcher Henderson and more. We listen to an old Dristan radio commercial. All in all, this episode is a real Swingdinger!


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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

The Wizard of the Keyboard

Frankie Carle picture

Frankie Carle, nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard" enjoyed great success as a bandleader and pianist in the 1940's and 1950's.  He was best known for his song "Sunrise Serenade" which reached Number 1 in the United States in 1938 and sold more than one million copies.  The song was covered by many bands.

Before having his own band Frankie Carle played with Mal Hallett and His Orchestra in the mid 1930's and joined Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights in 1939.  The popularity he attained while with Heidt’s band allowed him to leave the band in 1944 and form his own band, The Frankie Carle Orchestra.  His band disbanded after 1955 and he performed mainly as a soloist until the 1980s maintaining a close following of loyal fans.

Listen to Sunrise Serenade by Frankie Carle and His Orchestra

You can hear the music of Frankie Carle right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Special Podcast: How I Became a Fan of Big Band Music

Ronnaldo Picture

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Special: How I Became a Fan of Big Band Music


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Hi there everyone! This episode of The Big Band and Swing Podcast is a bit different than other episodes. Listen to Ronnaldo tell the story of how he became a fan of Big Band and Swing music.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Record Finds From This Past Weekend - Part 1

Some records


After months of spending the majority of my time in my house and home studio I decided to venture out and do some record shopping.  Armed with hand sanitizer and a face masked I visited some local used record stores and had some great finds.  I'm sure some of this great music will be finding it's way onto Swing City Radio in the next few weeks as I go through the process of converting some of the good tracks over to the mp3 format.  I find quite a bit of material so I will probably be presenting my notes in two posts...

Dance to the Bands!:

Album Cover

I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Big Band recordings that were made after 1950.  My personal opinion is that the music is usually over produced especially in the 1950's through to the 80's where producers had a love affair for the echo-reverb sound.  Don't get me wrong, the music is fantastic.  I just prefer the more simple methods of the 1930's and 40's.  To me, it helped capture the "feeling" of the music better.

So all that being said, I was impressed with this album.  Yes, it has that echo chamber qualities that I'm not a fan of, but the music is very good.  The album contains selections from Les Brown, Stan Kenton, Billy May, Harry James, Ray Anthony and Woody Herman.  The liner notes on the back cover are fun to read as well.  They discuss the trend that was happening at the time of turning your penthouse apartment, suburban living room or college dorm into mini dance halls.  Take a look at a picture from the back cover.

Back Cover
(click on image to enlarge)

A Variety of British Dance Band Collections:


Album Cover  Album Cover

As I was browsing through some dusty stacks of vinyl I came across a small collection of records featuring British Dance Bands. As I looked through some of the tracks I noticed that there were more than a few names that I haven't been playing on Swing City Radio.  Over the next month or so, I'm sure you'll be hearing more Ray Noble, Jack Hylton, Ambrose, Jack Jackson and Lew Stone of the station.

There are some fun songs on these records.  A Great Buy!  Plus, some of them contained some nice booklets filled with information.

Album Cover

The Film Tracks of Tommy Dorsey:

Album Cover

This record is horrible.  Not because of the content, but because of the recording quality.  This was taken from old Radio Remote source copies.  I know that these can sometimes be hit or miss, but I dropped the needle on this one and was VERY disappointed.  Such great material, but the source copies on these were horrible.  And a quick note, I sort through poor quality, old classic radio transcriptions all of the time looking for material for The Big Band and Swing Podcast.  But this was sadly unlistenable.  If you ever stumble upon this one, just move on.

Dixieland Big Band All Stars:

Album Cover

Now this record is the complete opposite of the Tommy Dorsey record I just describe.  This record also features old radio transcriptions from 1949 through 1957.  It focuses on a variety of dixieland style radio performances and the music is outstanding.  The sound quality is a little dull from time to time but that's to be expected.  The original source copies these were taken from were good, so it makes it very enjoyable to listen to.  To quickly summarize, this is Dixieland jam session including some of the bigger names of the era.  Names like Red Nichols, Jack Teagarden, Jimmy Dorsey, Ziggy Elman, Ben Pollack and more.

This album is a lot of fun.  If you enjoy your Big Band and Swing with a side of Dixie, then you'd enjoy this one.

In my next post I'll write about a few other finds I had this past weekend.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Podcast: Episode 21 - Hop, Skip and Jump for a Little Fond Affection

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 21: Hop, Skip and Jump for a Little Fond Affection - 

Hello Everybody! This episode features some fine music by Gene Krupa, Harry James, Charlie Spivak, Les Brown and The Andrews Sisters. Sorry this recording is not available on a 45 rpm.


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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Record Finds From This Past Weekend - Part 2

Records

Here is Part 2 of my record hunting travels over the past weekend.  One note that I forgot to mention in the first post was my experience of record shopping with the mask.  I'm not a big fan of wearing masks.  I find them almost claustrophobic, but that being said, I also understand they are a necessity at the moment until we figure this whole Covid-19 thing out.  Wearing a mask in this instance had a benefit I didn't anticipate.  When I'm out record shopping, I'm that silly guy that will get on the floor to look under racks, dig through crates and the dust I usually kick up gets annoying.  It was almost a pleasure to wear the mask as I did my digging.  Okay, enough of my rambling...

Big Bands - Big Stars:

Album Cover

This is a simple 3 record set that is just a good ol' fashioned collection of Big Band songs by various artists.  Nothing special about it, but it's a solid collection.  It contains the original recordings by the artists which is what I look for.  Whenever you are out at flea markets or buying old Big Band recordings online, be sure to confirm that they are the original recordings.  If not, you may get stuck with an album filled with some no-name orchestras performing the hits you love.  If you don't mind that, then that's great, but I prefer the originals in most cases.

Giants of Jazz - Jack Teagarden:

Album Cover

The Giants of Jazz series is such a great collection of music.  If you ever see one of these collections while out and about, buy it!  These were put out in the late 1970's and early 1980's and they contain great quality original recordings.  The booklets that come with these collections are also first rate.  I'll be listening to this collection for years to come.  Not bad for a dollar.

Harry James - For Listening and Dancing:

Album Cover

This one I had mixed feelings about.  It was put out by Reader's Digest in the early 1980's.  Reader's Digest has surprisingly put together some amazing collections in the past.  The Glenn Miller collections come to mind as some of their best work.  I have to admit I was disappointed to find out that this collection contained recordings from the late 1960's and early 1970's.  As I said before, I prefer the originals and not re-recorded material. But, this collection won me over.

First, even though they are re-recordings, Harry James is still Harry James.  His playing on these tracks is excellent.  Another cool twist is that Helen Forrest reunited with James for this collection and handles most of the vocals. It was the first time they had recorded together since 1942.  So many of the hits that originally featured Kitty Kallen on vocals, we re-recorded with Helen on vocals.  That was fun to listen to and provided a different feel to many of his old standards.

The collection also came with an informative booklet as well.  So, I consider this a very good purchase.

In Closing:
To sum everything up, I like writing about these little record hunting adventures to give you all a "behind the scenes" look at the station.  I just want you all to know that the playlists and content on Swing City Radio aren't put together by some "suit" from some corporate office.  The music you listen to and love on Swing City Radio is put together by someone just like you, someone that is going to the dustiest part of the second-hand stores to find those Big Band gems only found in the discount bins.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

The Glen Island Casino

Glen Island Casino

The Glen Island Casino was one of the centers of the Big Band Universe in the 1930's and 40's.  Many of the era's most influential bands made their names there including Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet and The Dorsey Brothers.  It was located in New Rochelle, New York and overlooked the Long Island Sound, which made it an attractive location for dining and entertainment.

The term "casino" had a different meaning back then.  At that time a casino was defined as a social place for public entertainment and not associated with legal gambling. The Glen Island Casino did develop a reputation for being a speakeasy towards the end of Prohibition.

In the early 1930's the casino began to book up-and-coming musicians for weekend dances. Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra were one of the first bands to fill the hall with packs of young fans in 1932. The next summer, the Casa Loma Orchestra, drew in the large crowds and ushered in the Big Band and Swing Era for the casino.

The live performances at the Glen Island Casino were being heard nationwide via Radio Broadcasts.  The casino's enormous ballroom was ideal for the rowdy, dancing crowd. The structure and acoustics of the performance area were perfect for the crystal-clear radio transmissions.

Glenn Miller had so many great performances at the Glen Island Casino.  Many of those remote Radio Broadcasts were turned into albums years later.

Other artists that had notable engagements at the Glen Island Casino were Larry Clinton, Les Brown, Charlie Spivak, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Hal McIntyre and Claude Thornhill.

After the end of the Big Band Era, the Glen Island Casino was eventually converted to a restaurant and catering hall.

Glen Island Casino

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

History of the Song: "Sing, Sing, Sing"

Sing, Sing, Sing

"Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" is a classic Swing recording that was originally written by Louis Prima and covered by artists like Jimmy Dorsey, The Andrews Sisters and taken to new heights by The King of Swing, Benny Goodman.

In early 1936, Louis Prima recorded the first version of "Sing, Sing, Sing" with the New Orleans Gang.  Prima wrote both the music and the lyrics for the song.  It contained all of the Louis Prima trademarks including a fun, bouncy beat and catchy lyrics.

Listen to "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Louis Prima

In July of 1937, Benny Goodman and His Band recorded their instrumental version of the song. The length of standard songs released at that time were about 3 to 4 minutes so they could be recorded on one side of a 10-inch 78-rpm record. Goodman's version of "Sing, Sing, Sing" clocked in at 8 minutes and 43 seconds and it took up both sides of a 12-inch 78.  It's still retained some of Prima's catchy riffs, but overall the Goodman version only slightly resembled the original recording.  The song became "a full out jam session" featuring Benny and his band members.

...and what a band!  In 1937, The Benny Goodman Orchestra included names like: Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Red Ballard and, of course, Gene Krupa on drums. In an interview, band vocalist Helen Ward, who was there for the recording sessions stated that changes in the song just started happening spontaneously. Helen said, "One night Gene just refused to stop drumming when he got to the end of the third chorus, where the tune was supposed to end, so Benny blithely picked up the clarinet and noodled along with him. Then someone else stood up and took it, and it went on from there."  Elements from the song "Christopher Columbus" were also incorporated "Sing, Sing, Sing" and the credits for the Goodman version acknowledge this in the title - "Sing, Sing, Sing" (introducing Christopher Columbus)”.

Listen to: "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman played a classic variation of his version of "Sing, Sing, Sing" at his famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert that was filled with impromptu solos by band members. That recording is a bit different from the studio cut and is over 12 minutes in length. In my opinion, it may be the best version of them all!

Note: The Gene Krupa drum solo in the Goodman studio release was one of the first commercial recordings to feature an extended drum solo. Also worth noting is the Goodman version was arranged by Jimmy Mundy.

All three of the versions mentioned in this post are played right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Bonus Podcast - Celebrating: Benny Goodman

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Celebrating: Benny Goodman


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Hey there everybody! In this special episode of The Big Band and Swing Podcast we celebrate the music of Benny Goodman. Ronnaldo plays some classic tracks and some lesser known tracks by The King of Swing. Join us in this celebration of Benny Goodman.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Benny Carter

Picture of Benny Carter

Benny Carter was an important bandleader in the Swing Era. He also played many instruments including saxophone, clarinet and trumpet. He was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. As an arranger, his charts for Fletcher Henderson's big band helped shape the swing style. He had an unusually long career that lasted into the 1990's.

In the 1920's, Benny Carter performed with likes of June Clark, Billy Paige, and Earl Hines, then toured as a member of the Wilberforce Collegians led by Horace Henderson. He appeared on record for the first time in 1927 as a member of Charlie Johnson's Paradise Ten. He returned to the Collegians and became their bandleader through 1929, including a performance at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City.

Audio Recording of "There, I've Said It Again" by Benny Carter and His Orchestra

In his early 20's, Carter worked as arranger for Fletcher Henderson after that position was vacated by Don Redman. He had no formal education in arranging, so he learned by trial and error.

In 1932 he formed a band in New York City that included Chu Berry, Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole along with some other great musicians. Carter's arrangements were complex. Among the most significant were "Keep a Song in Your Soul", written for Henderson in 1930, and "Lonesome Nights" and "Symphony in Riffs" from 1933, both of which show off his writing for saxophones.

By the early 1930's, Carter and Johnny Hodges were considered the leading alto saxophonists. Carter also became a leading trumpet soloist, having rediscovered the instrument. He recorded extensively on trumpet in the 1930's. Carter's short-lived Orchestra played the Harlem Club in New York but only recorded a handful of records for Columbia, OKeh and Vocalion. The OKeh sides were issued under the name The Chocolate Dandies.

Carter died in 2003 at the ripe old age of 95.

You can hear Benny Carter's music and arrangements right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Podcast: Episode 20 - Savitt, Sherwood and Swing!

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 20: Savitt, Sherwood and Swing! - 

Howdy, fine People of Swing! This episode features music by Bobby Sherwood, Jimmy Dorsey, Vaughn Monroe, Duke Ellington and Johnny Mercer. We also listen to a great radio remote by Jan Savitt from 1944.


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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

History of the Song: "Rum and Coca-Cola"

Picture of The Andrews Sisters

In 1945, "Rum and Coca-Cola" became a huge commercial hit for The Andrews Sisters.  This great song topped the charts in the United States and also did quite well worldwide.  Ironically, some radio stations refused to play the song because it mentioned rum, missing the blatant hints that women were prostituting themselves for the "Yankee Dollar."

So what did The Andrews Sisters think of these risque lyrics laced with social commentary? They later claimed that they had given little thought to the meaning of the lyrics.  In my opinion, I can understand that because it had such an innocent, catchy little feel to it.

Patty Andrews shed some light on the song in an interview stating: "We had a recording date, and the song was brought to us the night before the recording date. We hardly really knew it, and when we went in we had some extra time and we just threw it in, and that was the miracle of it."

In under ten minutes The Andrews Sisters had recorded a song that sold seven million units and sat at number one on the Billboard magazine chart for seven weeks.

Maxine Andrews also recalled, "The rhythm was what attracted the Andrews Sisters to 'Rum and Coca-Cola'. We never thought of the lyric. The lyric was there, it was cute, but we didn't think of what it meant; but at that time, nobody else would think of it either, because we weren't as morally open as we are today and so, a lot of stuff—really, no excuses—just went over our heads."

Audio and Lyrics of "Rum and Coca-Cola" by The Andrews Sisters

More History...

The melody was taken from a song that was written by a Venezuelan calypso musician named Lionel Belasco.  The lyrics to "Rum and Coca-Cola" were written by Rupert Grant, a Trinidad based musician who went by the interesting performance name: "Lord Invader".

The song was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and was published with Amsterdam listed as lyricist and Jeri Sullivan and Paul Baron as composers.

The original version of "Rum and Coca-Cola" lamented that U.S. soldiers were debauching local women who "saw that the Yankees treat them nice and they give them a better price." The final stanza described a newlywed couple whose marriage is ruined when "the bride run away with a soldier lad and the stupid husband went staring mad." The Amsterdam version dropped the final part, but also hints that women are prostituting themselves by preserving the Lord Invader chorus which says, "Both mother and daughter - Working for the Yankee dollar."

Note: After the 1945 release of "Rum and Coca-Cola", Belasco and Lord Invader sued for copyright infringement of the song's music and lyrics, respectively. In 1948, after years of litigation, both plaintiffs won their cases.

For more information visit this Wikipedia article about the song.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Bonus Podcast - Celebrating: Glenn Miller

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Celebrating: Glenn Miller

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Hello everyone! In this special episode of The Big Band and Swing Podcast we celebrate the music of Glenn Miller. Ronnaldo plays some classic tracks from one of the biggest names of the Big Band Era. Join us in this audio celebration of Glenn Miller.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Louis Jordan

Picture of Louis Jordan

Louis Jordan was a bandleader who was very popular from the late 1930's to the early 1950's. He was known as "The King of the Jukebox" and his highest success came towards the end of the swing era.

Jordan was a talented singer with great comedic flair, some of his songs are simply hilarious but always catchy and memorable. He fronted his own band for more than twenty years and he performed duets with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his time, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong to name just a few. 

Louis played all forms of the saxophone but specialized in the alto. He also played the piano and clarinet. Jordan was a successful songwriter, he wrote or co-wrote many songs that are considered classics of 20th-century popular music and staples of the Big Band Era.

Audio Recording of "G.I. Jive" performed by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five


Jordan began his career in big-band swing jazz in the 1930's, but he became known as one of the leading innovators of jump blues, a swinging, up-tempo, dance-oriented hybrid of jazz, blues and boogie-woogie. As his style developed into the 1940's, it strongly focused on the rhythm section of piano, bass and drums, and after the mid-1940's, this focused mix included the electric guitar. Jordan's band also pioneered the use of the electronic organ.  He was quite the musical innovator!

With his Tympany Five bands, Louis Jordan mapped out the main parameters of the classic R/B, Urban Blues and early Rock-and-Roll genres with a series of highly influential 78-rpm discs.  When you listen to some of Louis music from the 40's, you can almost hear Rock and Roll music banging on the door wanting to come in.

Jordan ranks as one of the most successful African-American recording artists in musical history. Louis Jordan regularly topped the R/B charts and was one of the first black recording artists to achieve significant crossover in popularity with the mainstream American audience, having simultaneous Top Ten hits on the pop charts on many different occasions.

You can hear many of Louis Jordan's hits right here on Swing City Radio including: "G.I. Jive", "Saturday Night Fish Fry", "Five Guys Named Moe" and "Is You Is or Is You A'int My Baby".

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Podcast: Episode 19 - The Poor Jingle Segue

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 19: The Poor Jingle Segue - 

Hello there People of Swing! Host Ronnaldo plays music by Tommy Dorsey, Johnny Long, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman and many more. We also listen to a great Raymond Scott performance from 1961.


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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

July Birthdays

Picture of Big Band Birthday Cake

Here is a list of July Birthdays of notable Big Band and Swing artists that we play right here on Swing City Radio.  I also included the date the artist passed away for age purposes. If you feel that I missed someone, then send me an email through the website.  View more Big Band related Birthday and Events on our Swing City Radio Station Calendar.

July 1
Alvino Rey (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004)

July 2
Jack Hylton (2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965)

July 3
Dick Robertson (3 July 1903 - 1979)
Jerry Gray (July 3, 1915 – August 10, 1976)

July 6
LaVerne Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967)

July 8
Billy Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993)
Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975)

July 9
Cootie Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985)

July 12
Will Bradley - (July 12, 1912 – July 15, 1989)

July 15
Howard Lanin (July 15, 1897 – April 26, 1991)

July 18
Deek Watson (18 July 1909– d. 4 November 1969)

July 24
Bob Eberly (July 24, 1916 – November 17, 1981)

July 26
Buddy Clark (July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949)

July 29
Donald Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964)

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Independence Day


Happy Birthday America!  I can't believe you are 244 years old!  You don't look a day over 200.  :)

The USA is going through some rough times right now.  No country is, or ever will be, perfect.  We have hit some major bumps in the road, but if I know this country, I'm sure we will eventually figure this all out.

A lot of turmoil, illness, fear, anger and uncertainty has filled our country, an in most cases, the whole world.  I know that those of you in our listening audience living in different countries around the world are experiencing versions of the same issues the United States are currently facing.  I hope you all feel, wherever you are listening from, that Swing City Radio is a place you can go to escape for awhile.

With all of its faults and shortcomings - I love the United States and I'm proud to be an American!  So Happy Birthday America!

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Video: World War II Radio Programs

Picture from World War 2 Video

In May of 1942 the Armed Forces Radio Services (AFRS) was formally established to generate additional programming for the troops.

Initially AFRS programming included mostly transcribed commercial network radio shows with the commercials removed. Soon numerous original AFRS produced programs such as "Mail Call," "G.I. Journal," "Jubilee," and "G.I. Jive" were added to the mix. At its peak in 1945 the AFRS was generating about 20 hours of original programming each week. The AFRS could retain the services of the best writers and performers without regard to their network or studio contractual obligations. This was especially beneficial during The Musicians' Strike of 1942-1944.

Unlike network programming in the States, AFRS programs were recorded for later broadcast.  These original programs were broadcast to the troops overseas, and usually were not heard by Americans at home.

Check out this video that highlights some of the entertainment that was provided for American Troops during World War II.

Video of World War II Radio Programs

If you like this video, I encourage you to check The Second World War Youtube Channel.  It has many interesting videos that are fun to watch!  (Especially for history buffs such as myself.)

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

Podcast: Episode 18 - Celery Stalks, Barbeque and Woodchucks

The Big Band and Swing Podcast

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 18: Celery Stalks, Barbeque and Woodchucks - 

Hello there people! In this episode you will hear some fantastic music from Will Bradley, Kay Starr, Tex Beneke, Peggy Lee, Bob Crosby and more. We also learn about Sensible Jane and her "ducky" new slip!


Audio Player to Listen to Podcast

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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