Henry Busse

Henry Busse was a trumpet player whose career peaked just before the Swing Era officially began but still managed to remain quite popular into the 1940's.  

In 1917, Busse joined the Frisco "Jass" Band and then went on to form his own Busse's Buzzards.  In 1918, Busse joined up with Paul Whiteman's band as a co-leader.  Paul Whiteman eventually went on to become the sole leader of the band partly due to Whiteman's charisma, but also due to the fact that Busse was still learning to master the English language.  Henry still had a very strong German accent in those years, and post-World War I America wasn't the place to have a strong German accent.

He played with Whiteman for ten years and helped the band become one of the most popular dance orchestras throughout the 1920's.  It was such a talented band that also included both Dorsey Brothers and Bing Crosby.

In 1928, after mastering the English language and becoming more confident in the spotlight, Busse formed the "Henry Busse and the Shuffle Rhythm Band" which later became known as "The Henry Busse Orchestra".  This group was more of a sweet dance band than a jazz band and enjoyed some pretty good success in the 1930's and '40s.

You can hear the trumpet playing and shuffle rhythms of Henry Busse and his band right here on Swing City radio.  

Watch: Henry Busse and His Orchestra from 1940

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Soundie: "Take The 'A' Train"

Today's Soundie is "Take The 'A' Train" and features the wonderful harmonies of The Delta Rhythm Boys.  This was filmed in 1942 and is a fantastic rendition of the Duke Ellington classic.

Enjoy!

Watch: "Take The 'A' Train by The Delta Rhythm Boys

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Playlist: The Treasury Star Parade

Over the span of the last two weeks I have been listening to a lot of The Treasury Star Parade.  And of course, I spent much of that time cutting and cleaning up tracks so I can play them for you on Swing City Radio.  Very good Swingin' stuff from 1942 and 1943!

You can look forward to hearing some vintage performances by: Abe Lyman, Bob Crosby, Bobby Sherwood, Duke Ellington, Jan Garber, Kay Kyser, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Kaye, Tommy Dorsey, Vaughn Monroe and more. 

About the Show:

The Treasury Star Parade was sponsored by the United States Treasury Department during World War II and featured stars from the music industry and Hollywood. The show encouraged listeners to purchase War Bonds to help finance the war effort.  The shows ran 15 minutes and usually consisted of a musical act or some sort of play featuring Hollywood stars.  

The Treasury Star Parade was the predecessor to "Guest Star", a similar show also sponsored by the Treasury Department.

Keep an ear out for these great tracks.  They have been added into the general song rotation on Swing City Radio.

Enjoy!

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Jam from "Syncopation"

Today's clip is from a 1942 film called "Syncopation" and it features some very familiar faces.  The film itself received mixed reviews and didn't do too well at the Box Office, but it does serve as an archive for some great music.

Prior to the making of the film, RKO held a contest for the readers of "The Saturday Evening Post" to vote on the musicians to make up the All-American Dance Band that were to be featured in the film.  The readers chose: Alvino Rey, Joe Venuti, Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Harry James and Jack Jenney.  Vocalist, Connee Boswell was also chosen but unfortunately doesn't appear in this clip.  She was featured in another part of the movie.

This scene appears at the end of the film and is just an absolute "SCORCHER".  Enjoy!

Watch this clip of the "All-American Dance Band" from the movie "Syncopation"

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Abe Lyman

Abe Lyman learned drumming very young and by the age of 14 he was already playing in a Chicago café. Lyman left Chicago for the West Coast and by 1919 he was regularly playing with two other notable future big band leaders, Henry Halstead and Gus Arnheim, in California.

1919 was also the year Abe formed his first band and it became quite a draw.  By 1922 his band was appearing on the radio.  His orchestra was broadcasting remotes on KOG from The Ambassador Hotel.

A year later Lyman signed with the Brunswick Records.  Over the course of the next decade or so, Lyman became one of the labels leading orchestras. In the mid 1930's spent a short time recording for Decca Records and then found a home with Victor Records where he recorded for their Bluebird Label.

Something I didn't know about Abe Lyman until posting this article was the fact that he recorded a number of soundtracks for the Merrie Melodies cartoon series. 

In 1947, at the age of 50, Lyman retired from the music business and went into restaurant management.  He and his band will always be remembered for helping the West Coast of the United States fall in love with the Big Bands.  He made so many recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including Your Hit Parade.

Watch: Abe Lyman perform "Varsity Drag" in 1927

You can hear the music of Abe Lyman right here on Swing City Radio.

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Playlist: Songs from The Alan Young Show

In the mid-1940's Alan Young had a very successful radio show that contained some pretty good comedy.  The show also featured some great musical performances. Recently added to the Swing City Radio playlist is a bunch of those tracks, including songs from Diane Courtney, Four Chicks and Chuck, The Tune Twisters and a vocal group called The Smart Set.  Very good stuff.  Bea Wain starred on the first season of the show as a regular singing guest, but I'm yet to find any recordings that are in good enough condition to fix up and play on the air. 

I was also able to isolate and clean up a handful of old commercials from the show by brands like Ipana Toothpaste, Minute Rub and Vitalis Hair Tonic.  I'll be featuring those on "After Dark".

As far as The Alan Young Show itself. Young had a fascinating career in entertainment that lasted nearly 70 years.  He is most known for his work on "The Mister Ed Show" but also had an extensive list of voice over work to his credit.  He also appeared in many movies, had a very nice list of television appearances and, of course, had some great shows on radio.

Be sure to keep an ear out for these tracks on Swing City Radio.

 

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