Soundie: Frankie and Johnny

Today's Soundie is a great Dixieland version of the famed jazz standard "Frankie and Johnny".  It features Henry Levine and his "Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street" band along with the fine vocals of Linda Keene.

This Soundie was filmed and released in 1942 and also stars the dance team of Moore and Revel.  It's a very catchy rendition of "Frankie and Johnny" and shows off the true talents possessed by Levine and his band.  The film short also gives us a small glimpse of vocalist Linda Keene.  Keene was quite gifted, but failed to receive the publicity needed to become a household name. Enjoy!

Watch the Soundie "Frankie and Johnny"

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Playlist: Teagarden, Brown and Morrow

Last week I continued to insert more V-Discs to the rotation.  But, I also cleaned up and added some fantastic "One Night Stand" performances from Jack Teagarden, Les Brown and Buddy Morrow.

Listen for these newly added recordings to the Swing City Radio playlist:

Jack Teagarden - "One Night Stand" Ep #374 - Aug 15, 1944

Includes songs like "Rompin' and Stompin'", "Poinciana" and a song featuring vocalist Phyllis Lane called "And Then".

Les Brown - "One Night Stand" - Ep #328 - July 17, 1944

This performance was recorded at the Café Rouge and includes the songs "Okay For Baby", "G.I. Jive", "I Dream of You" and many others.  Vocalists Doris Day, Gordon Drake and Butch Stone are all featured.

Buddy Morrow - One Night Stand - Ep #1026 - May 27, 1946

Buddy had made quite a few appearances on "One Night Stand" at this point, and this performance is among his best on the show.  He performs great versions of "Smoke Get's In Your Eyes" and "How High The Moon".  Also, be sure to listen for Helen Lee on vocals on "Snap Your Fingers" and "Shoo Fly Pie".

Songs on a Silver Platter

I also added some tracks from an AFRS show called "Silver Platter".  The episode starred Marion Hutton, Andy Russell and The Pied Pipers.  I was able to restore six songs from that recording including "Love Is So Terrific" by The Pied Pipers, "But Beautiful" by Marion Hutton and "The Best things In Life Are Free" by Andy Russell.  Also, two duets featuring Hutton and Russell.  Very good stuff!

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band Favorites from the Archives of Old Time Radio! - Listener Supported and Streaming Commercial Free.

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Soundie: Wham

Today's Soundie is a great version of "Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam" by a vocal group named The Four Ginger Snaps from 1943.  The song title was shortened to "Wham" for this film.  I think you'll find this version quite entertaining and I definitely want to dig up more music by this group.

The Four Ginger Snaps were are composed of a girl trio (Leona Virginia Hemingway, Ethel E. Harper, Ruth Christian) and one male, piano playing member (Charles Ford).  They recorded some sides for RCA Victor during the mid-1940's but never really made much of a splash.

They are credited with three Soundies and their song "The Shrimp Man" was released on a V-Disc in 1946.  I've searched the archives of Old Time Radio looking for some performances by the group, but I'm yet to find any.  They were believed to have done a guest spot on a 1944 episode of G.I. Journal so I will be sure to keep my eyes and ears out for that.

Enjoy!

Watch: "Wham" by The Four Ginger Snaps

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band Favorites from the Archives of Old Time Radio! - Listener Supported and Streaming Commercial Free.

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Soundie: I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem

Today's Soundie features a long-lasting vocal group called The Delta Rhythm Boys.  The Delta Rhythm Boys were active from 1934 until 1987.  They were known for their close harmonies and energetic performances.  In 1956, they relocated to Europe where they spent the rest of their careers.  

"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem" was released as a Soundie in 1941 and is the first of nine Soundies the group appeared in.  The Delta Rhythm Boys also appeared in many Hollywood films as well.  Steve Schultz and His Orchestra provide the music for this one.  Enjoy.

Watch: "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem" by The Delta Rhythm Boys

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band Favorites from the Archives of Old Time Radio! - Listener Supported and Streaming Commercial Free.

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Playlist: V-Discs

By the end of this month, I should have over 700 V-Disc recordings added to the Swing City Radio rotation.  These classic, vintage recordings contain some of the best music of the Big Band Era in my opinion.  Those of you that listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast should be quite familiar with V-Discs by now. If you've never heard of V-Discs, you can learn about them here.  In a nutshell, V-Disc was a record label that was formed in 1943 by the U.S Armed Forces to provide recorded entertainment for U.S. military personnel serving around the world during World War II.

The majority of recordings were top shelf, performed by the most popular artists of the era and never released commercially.  The V-Disc program ran from October 1943 to May 1949.  I dedicated a whole episode of the podcast on the subject and covered just a fraction of the history and the material the program produced.  Click here to listen to Show 75: "V-Discs and Some More V-Discs".

So as I led off with, by the end of this month Swing City Radio will have over 700 different V-Disc recordings in it's normal playlist rotation. I'm so excited to share these with you and I'm sure you will really enjoy them.  I will also be adding more in the future as I locate and clean up the audio of these fantastic recordings.  Enjoy! 

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band Favorites from the Archives of Old Time Radio! - Listener Supported and Streaming Commercial Free.

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