Big Band Bash

Hello everyone. August 10, 1908 is the birthday of the late bandleader Claude Thornhill. It has been awhile since I have played some of the great recordings made by the Thornhill orchestra, so to remember Claude on his birthday here is a show I produced about ten years ago remembering Claude on his birthday. I had never heard of Claude when a fellow Big Band lover asked me if I had ever listened to his music. I obtained a couple of his lp's (lp stood for long playing back then) and really enjoyed what I heard. To celebrate his birthday we'll revisit some of that great music. I hope you enjoy it as well as learning a little bit about this great musician.

Back during World War Two, it took a lot of money to produce the materials, grow the food and make all the things that the soldiers needed to use in combat. So to help raise money, the United States Government sold bonds. A simple example is that you bought a bond for $10 and waited until it matured and then the government would give you back $11. You made interest for loaning the government money. I know this is a simplistic example but during WW2 many cities would have bond rallies and bring in name bands to play while the bonds were being sold. Today's show features two broadcasts by the Tommy Dorsey orchestra at two different rallies. The first broadcast has Frank Sinatra as the featured vocalist and the second features Dick Haymes. I hope you enjoy this trip into the past and enjoy the music of Tommy Dorsey.

Hello everyone. On July 21, 2023 the vocalist Tony Bennett passed away in his Manhattan apartment. He was 96 years old. Tony was a great singer and an interpreter of the Great American Songbook. He recorded in many genres and even made some recordings with big bands. On the program today, I would like to remember Tony with some of his early hits and some recordings with some big bands and some assorted songs. I will also take a look at Tony's career from Tony's New York Times' obituary. I hope you enjoy the music as we remember the man Frank Sinatra called his favorite singer.

Hello everyone. Today's program features the great big band of Harry James. The selections were taken from various radio broadcasts between the years of 1943 and 1953. There are a lot of great performances in this set from the James band. I don't do much talking on the show as all the songs are introduced by the announcer present at the broadcasts. So sit back, and relax and enjoy the sound of Harry James and His Music Makers, as he was billed, between the years of 1943 and 1953.

Hello everyone. This week's show is a potpourri show featuring songs about the summer season. I do this type of show on the jazz program I host at the radio station that I work part-time at. I haven't done too many seasonal song shows on this program. I tried to find songs that have the words summer, June, July, August, or hot in the song titles. There are lots of different bands on the show today so I hope you enjoy the songs of summer show.

Hello everyone. Today's show is a repeat of the Patriotic Show that I produced for last year. Since I didn't get to air it before the Fourth of July I decided to run it today. This was the first all patriotic show I ever produced and it has words like America, Patriot, liberty, freedom etc. in the titles. I also give a little history about the Fourth of July and it's importance. I hope you enjoy the music and I hope you had a great Fourth as I celebrate the Fourth of July one week late.

Hello everyone. This week we wrap up the four part imaginary assignment to create a four cd set of the Best of The Big Bands. This is the final part. I have picked out the final 16 numbers from the best of the big bands and I think you will recognize most of them. This was a fun series to put together and I hope I picked out several of your favorite bands and songs. Next week we will start some new programs with different subjects and bands.

Hello everyone. This week we are working on CD number three of our Best of the Big Bands four disk set. There are lots of good songs this week as I am trying to put together a set of songs that highlight many of the popular songs by the big bands from the 1930's, 40's and 50's. This is an imaginary project because if it was real we would have to license songs according to what record label they were on. We would also have to get clearance from the artist's estate since all of these great bandleaders have passed on. But it is a good set if you are looking for an introduction to the music of the big bands.

Hello everyone. This week I am continuing with our imaginary assignment to produce a Best of The Big Bands Four CD set. Remember, since this is an imaginary task we don't have to pay attention to details like copyrights, record labels etc. Th only stipulation is that there can only be one song per big band per cd. This week we get to hear some more of the classic big band recordings. This was a way for me to introduce the best of the big bands and make it a fun project. I hope you enjoy the selections as we put together disc two of our best of four cd set.

Hello everyone. I have come up with a premise for the next four shows that I hope you will enjoy. We have been tasked with creating a four CD set of the best of the big bands. Each CD will have one song per big band and all the songs will represent the best of the big bands from the 1930's and 40's. I know in the real world you would have to license songs from different record labels and there are copyright issues. But since this is imaginary we can bypass those restrictions. I hope you enjoy the songs I have picked out for CD number one as we pick out songs for an imaginary four cd set of the best of the big bands.

Hello Everyone. Today's show has a lot of variety in it. While going through my collection I noticed that there were lots of song titles that had the word blue in it. So I pulled out many different songs but they all contain the word blue. Sone of the songs use it as a color and others use it as a feeling. I hope you enjoy this potpourri of songs with the word blue.

Hello everyone and Happy Memorial Day weekend. This is a repeat of a show I did last year. I wanted to do something special as we observe Memorial Day so I hope you enjoy this encore presentation from last year. In May and Early June there are three important dates that people living in the United States observe. May 8th is VE (or Victory in Europe ) Day, The last Monday of the Month is Memorial Day and June Sixth is D-Day. I would like to play some music from the war years as I tell a little bit about each of these important dates. I know there are listeners from other countries who don't know about these dates but you can still enjoy the music. I hope you enjoy this program as I tell about three important American dates.

Hello Everyone. After a four week break, I am back with some new shows. This first show is a potpourri of moon songs. I noticed that lots of big band recordings have the word moon in the title so I set about finding as many as I could to fill up a program with. There are many of your favorite big bands in this hour and all have a Moon recording. I hope you enjoy this show which I call Moon tunes. 

Hello everyone. This week's show is the last encore presentation. I produced a ten week series back in 2021 call This is The Best of where I picked ten different bands and played their biggest hits. For the next four weeks I am going to take a break and work on some new shows so I thought I would rerun a few shows from that series. Today we will be playing some of the many hit sides that Duke Ellington recorded. He had many popular recordings and I hope I play some of your favorites. 

Hello everyone. This week's show is another encore presentation. I produced a ten week series back in 2021 call This is The Best of where I picked ten different bands and played their biggest hits. For the next four weeks I am going to take a break and work on some new shows so I thought I would rerun a few shows from that series. Today we will be playing some of the many hit sides that Jimmie Lunceford recorded. He had many popular recordings and I hope I play some of your favorites.