Tag Archives: jazz

Les Paul & Mary Ford Multitrack On 1953 TV


Well, well, Phantom Dancers, another most delightful show of live swing and jazz from 1920s-60s radio & TV for you this Tuesday.

There’s a set of swing and bop small groups from the 1940s & 50s, a set of dance music from the late 20s and early 30s, a set of swing from the 1940s and lots, lots more

And for your Video of the Week, Alistair Cooke talks to Les Paul and Mary Ford on the CBS TV show ‘Omnibus’, 23 Oct 1953, about their music and multitracking. Les & Mary demonstrate. Enjoy!

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
, Live Stream, Digital Radio

Community Radio Network Show #53

2SER Tuesday 21 May 2013
12 noon – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT)

Set 1

Music In The Moonlight (theme) + Say You Are Teasing Me

Jimmy Grier Orchestra (voc) Gogo Delys

Cocoanut Grove
TRANSCO
Radio Transcription
Los Angeles
1933

Quel Motivetto Che Mi Piace Tanto
Orchestra Barzizza (voc) Trio

Comm Rec
Rome
c 1928

Yellow Dog Blues
Coot Grant (voc)
‘This Is Jazz’
WOR MBS NY
3 May 1947
Carnegie Leap
Eddie Condon Ensemble
‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’
Ritz Theatre
WJZ Blue NY
10 Feb 1945
Set 2
Dark Eyes
Harry Sosnick and the Savings Bonds Orchestra
‘Guest Star’
New York
1948
Let’s Go Home
Charlie Spivak Orchestra
Palladium Ballroom
KNX CBS LA
1948
I’ve Got You Under My Skin
Woody Herman Orchestra
Palladium Ballroom
KNX CBS LA
17 Oct 1944
Flight Of The Bumble Bee + Close (Rhythm & Romance by Ella Fitzgerald (voc) Chick Webb Orch.
‘Dick Hallsy’ Orchestra
‘Rhythm & Romance’
WJSV CBS
Washington DC
21 Sep 1939
Set 3

Gone With What Wind
Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian
Cocoanut Grove
Ambassador Hotel
KFI NBC Red LA
6 Apr 1940
Andyology
John Kirby Sextet
‘One Night Stand’
Aquarium Restaurant NY
AFRS Re-broadcast
18 Jul 1944
Sometimes I’m Happy
Archie Bleyer Group
‘Arthur Godfrey Show’
CBS
1950s
Ornithology + 52nd Street Theme
Charlie Parker Quintet

‘Symphony Sid Show’
WCOP Boston
1954

Set 4

Right About Face
Benny Goodman Orchestra (voc) Helen Ward
‘Let’s Dance’
WEAF NBC Red NY
27 Apr 1935
Wabash Blues
Johnny Green Orchestra
‘Fitch Bandwagon’
WEAF NBC Red NY
9 Apr 1939
A Boy Named Lem
Larry Clinton Orchestra (voc) Mary Dugan
Coconut Grove
Park Central Hotel
WEAF NBC Red NY
7 Jul 1939
I’ll Remember April
Gay Claridge Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Chez Paree
Chicago

AFRS Re-broadcast
7 Aug 1944
Set 5

Second Balcony Jump
Billy Eckstine Orchestra
‘Rhythm In A Riff’
Film Soundtrack
mid-1946
Beulah’s Boogie
Lionel Hampton Orchestra
Casa Manana
Culver City Ca
KFI NBC LA
20 Jul 1947
Theme + Mr Ghost Goes To Town
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
WEAF NBC Red NY
31 Jan 1937
Poor Little Rich Girl
Chick Webb Orchestra
Southland Cafe
WNAC NBC Boston
20 Feb 1940
Set 6

Buds Won’t Bud
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra

Comm Rec
New York
10 Apr 1940

I Remember You
Harry James Orchestra (voc) Helen Forrest
‘Chesterfield Show’
WABC CBS NY
30 Dec 1942
Stormy Weather
Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra
‘Uncle Sam Presents’
NBC
Oct 1943
Medley: Sleepy Time Gal / Cuddle Up A Little Closer / Ragtime Cowboy Joe / I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter + Close (So Long For Now)
Eddy Howard orchestra (voc) Eddy Howard
Aragon Ballroom
Mutual Chicago
5 Dec 1945
Set 7

Sloppy Water Blues
Fats Waller (pipe organ)
Comm Rec
Camden NJ
14 Jan 1927
Can’t We Be Friends + Moanin’ Low
Dixie Two-Steppers
Radio Transcription
Chicago
1929
Melody In F
Red Nichols ARC-Brunswick Studio Band
‘Devoe and Reynolds Program’
New York
30 Nov 1931
One Two Button Your Shoe
Red Nichols Orchestra (voc) Songcopators
Radio Transcription
World Broadcasting System
New York
30 Nov 1936
Set 8

Leap Frog
Les Brown Orchestra
Radio Transcription
New York
Sep 1949
Theme + The Dart Game
Shelly Manne Quintet
Basin Street
WRCA NBC NY
1956
Groovin’ For Nat
Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra
Birdland
WCBS CBS NY
Jul 1956
God Child
Chubby Jackson Orchestra
‘Symphony Sid Show’
WMCA NY
12 Mar 1949

Leave a Comment

Filed under jazz, radio, swing, otr, entertainment, dance, australian jazz, lounge, old time radio, 1920s Jazz Orchestra, 1940s dance band, 1920s, 1920s band, 1930s band, great gatsby band, be bop, 1950s tv, latin jazz, drums, 1920s jazz band, dixieland

Rap From 1929 By The High-Hatted Tragedian Of Jazz, Ted Lewis


Hello Phantom Dancers,

On this week’s show, you’ll hear a rare radio broadcast from Shep Fields’ New Music (including early electric guitar) and a broadcast excerpt from Glen Island Casino by Bob Strong. There’s also a couple of sets of jazz and dance from 1920s-30s radio for your listening and dancing pleasure. Full play list below.

And for your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, from 1929, rap from the High Hatted Tragedian of Jazz, Ted Lewis.

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
, Live Stream, Digital Radio

Community Radio Network Show #52

2SER Tuesday 14 May 2013
12 noon – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT)

Set 1

When My Ship Comes In

George Hall Hotel Taft Orchestra (voc) Allen Church

Comm Rec
Sydney
14 Sep 1934

Good For You Bad For Me
Boswell Sisters

Radio Transcription
Continental LA
1930

Open + Flirtation Waltz
Vincent Valsanti aka Ted Fio Rito Orchestra (voc) Jack Howard
Radio Transcription
TRANSCO LA
1934
Hold My Hand
Ray Pearl Orchestra
Casino Gardens
Ocean Park Ca
KHJ Mutual LA
10 Apr 1940
Set 2
9:20 Special
Andy Kirk Orchestra
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
21 May 1945
Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone
Eddie Heywood Sextet
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
21 May 1945
Sheik Of Araby + Lover Come Back To Me + Close
Shep Fields and his New Music
‘Spotlight Bands’
Orlando Fl
Blue Network
21 Jul 1943
Set 3

Good Night
Desi Arnez Orchestra (voc) Desi Arnez
Ciro’s Hollywood
KNX BCS LA
1946
Texas Tex
Tex Beneke Orchestra
Palladium Ballroom
KNX CBS LA
2 Oct 1946
Open + Kentucky
Bob Strong Orchestra (voc) Tony Fiola
‘One Night Stand’
Glen Island Casino
New Rochelle NY
20 Aug 1944
The Continental
Champs Butler (voc) Frank deVol Orchestra

‘Stand By For Music’
Radio Transcription
Hollywood
6 Jan 1955

Set 4

Open + Re-stringing The Pearls
Jerry Gray and his Band Of Today
Palladium Ballroom
KFI Los Angeles
20 Jan 1961
Open + Perdido
Ray Anthony Orchestra
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
25 Dec 1952
Open + Bop City + Close
Charlie Barnet Orchestra
Rendezvous Ballroom
Balboa Ca
KHJ Mutual LA
30 Jul 1949
Set 5

Don’t Be That Way
Roy Eldridge and his Trumpet Ensemble
Comm Rec
New York
24 Jan 1944
Sleepy Lagoon
Harry James Orchestra
Roof Garden
Hotel Astor
WABC CBS NY
28 Aug 1942
Body And Soul
Stan Kenton Orchestra
Palladium Ballroom
KNX CBS LA
27 Nov 1945
Blue Rain
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra (voc) Connie Morgan
Spotlight Bands
Columbus OH
Blue Network
19 Nov 1943
Set 6

Japanese Sandman
Ray Noble Orchestra

Beverly-Wiltshire Hotel Beverly Hills Ca
KFI NBC Red LA
18 Feb 1940

Laughing At Life
Benny Goodman Orchestra
‘Camel Caravan’
WABC CBS NY
19 Nov 1937
It’s You, You, Darling
Bob Crosby Orchestra (voc) Bob Crosby
Terrace Room
Hotel New Yorker
WOR Mutual NY
25 Mar 1940
I’m An Old Cowhand
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
‘Ford V8 Show’
Texas Centennial
CBS Dallas Tx
Aug 1936
Set 7

At Your Command
Fred Rich Orchestra
Comm Rec
New York
15 Jun 1931
Linda
Earl Burtnett Orchestra (voc) Jess Kirkpatrick
Radio Transcription
Los Angeles
1931
Nobody’s Sweetheart Now
Mills Hotsy Totsy Gang
‘Brunswick Brevities’
New York
Oct 1929
Royal Graden Blues
Ray Miller Orchestra
‘Sunny Meadows Radio Show’
Radio Transcription
Chicago
Jan 1929
Set 8

Leap Frog
Les Brown Orchestra
Radio Transcription
New York
Sep 1949
Theme + The Dart Game
Shelly Manne Quintet
Basin Street
WRCA NBC NY
1956
Groovin’ For Nat
Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra
Birdland
WCBS CBS NY
Jul 1956
God Child
Chubby Jackson Orchestra
‘Symphony Sid Show’
WMCA NY
12 Mar 1949

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1920s, 1920s band, 1920s jazz band, 1920s Jazz Orchestra, 1930s band, 1940s dance band, australian jazz, dance, dixieland, entertainment, great gatsby band, jazz, lounge, old time radio, otr, swing

Saturday Night Swing Club 1938 Video


Much Hullabulloo To You, Phantom Dancers,

The Phantom Dancer playlist for Tuesday 7 May 2013 is posted for you below. You can hear the show on 2SER 107.3 and online (see the online address at the top of the play list). Tune in for live 1930s – 60s swing and jazz radio by Duke Ellington, Pee Wee Erwin, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Anita O’Day and more. Enjoy!

And now for your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, two Phantom Dancer regulars in a soundie of CBS’ Saturday Night Swing Club. Together on the sound stage, the house swing band lead by Leith Stevens and Eddie Condon’s Dixieland group. But who is the singer? Is it Kay Thompson, Bea Wain…?

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
, Live Stream, Digital Radio

Community Radio Network Show #51

2SER Tuesday 7 May 2013
12 noon – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT)

Set 1

Open + There Must Be A Way

Boyd Raeburn Orchestra (voc) David Allan & Margie Wood

Rose Room
Palace Hotel
KQW CBS San Francisco
19 Jun 1945

These Things Money Can’t Buy
Nat King Cole

‘King Cole Trio Time’
NBC Cincinnati
6 Dec 1947

To Each His Own / Body & Soul / Mood Indigo
Larry Green
Starlight Room
Hotel Chase
KMOX CBS St Louis
1959
Closing Song & Ads
MacFarlane Twins Orchestra
‘Jack Benny Show’
Fort Mead Md NBC
1943
Set 2
We’re Off To See The Wizard
Jim Davidson ABC Dance Orchestra (voc) Band
Comm Rec
Sydney
21 Nov 1939
I’m Shooting High
Benny Goodman Orchestra (voc) Helen Ward
Joseph Urban Room
Congress Hotel
WMAQ NBC Red Chicago
20 Jan 1936
Theme + Dinah
Count Basie Orchestra
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
2 Oct 1944
Eccentric
Pee Wee Erwin’s Dixieland 6

‘One Night Stand’
Nick’s NYC
AFRS Re-broadcast
14 Dec 1950

Set 3

Diminuendo In Blue
Duke Ellington Orchestra
‘A Date With The Duke’
New York
AFRS Re-broadcast
1946
Transbluecency
Duke Ellington Orchestra (voc) Kay Davis
‘A Date With The Duke’
New York
AFRS Re-broadcast
1946
Crescendo In Blue
Duke Ellington Orchestra
‘A Date With The Duke’
New York
AFRS Re-broadcast
1946
Pitter Panther Patter
Duke Ellington Orchestra (double bass) Oscar Pettiford

‘A Date With The Duke’
New York
AFRS Re-broadcast
1946

Set 4

Maria Gilberto
Ernesto Bonino
Comm Rec
Fonit Cetra
Rome
1942
Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby
Herbie Fields Orchestra (voc) Carol Kay
Glen Island Casino
New Rochelle NY
WOR Mutual NY
9 Aug 1944
Mississippi Mud
Dick Jurgens Orchestra (voc) Al Galanti
Trocadero Ballroom
Elitch’s Gardens
Mutual Network
Denver Co
Jun 1951
Swingin’ On A Star
Jan Savitt Orchestra (voc) Buddy Welcome

‘One Night Stand’
Trianon Ballroom
Southgate Ca
AFRS Re-broadcast
27 Jul 1944

Set 5

There Goes That Song Again
George Trevare and his Australians (voc) unknown
Comm Rec
Sydney
1943
Do Nothing Till You Here From Me
Harry James Orchestra (voc) Helen Forrest
Palladium Ballroom
KNX CBS LA
1944
Blue Profile
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
Hotel New Yorker
WJZ Blue NY
May 1944
Old Fashioned Love
Eddy Howard Orchestra (voc) Eddy Howard
Aragon Ballroom
WGN Mutual Chicago
5 Dec 1945
Set 6

Singin’ In The Rain
Claude Hopkins and his Cotton Club Orchestra
Radio Transcription
New York
18 Oct 1935
St Louis Blues
Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Jimmy Rushing
Chatterbox
Hotel William Penn
WCAE NBC Red
Pittsburgh
8 Feb 1937
Hindustan
Bob Crosby Bobcats
‘Camel Caravan’
WABC CBS NY
4 Jul 1939
Cow Cow Boogie
Gene Krupa Orchestra (voc) Anita O’Day
Palladium Ballroom
KNX CBS LA
13 Nov 1942
Set 7

Peg O’ My Heart
Vic Lewis and his Jazzmen
Radio Broadcast
London
8 Aug 1945
I Cover The Waterfront
Sarah Vaughan
Eddie Condon’s Floorshow
WPIX TV NY
13 Dec 1948
Jazz Me Blues
Bobby Hackett Band
‘Chamber Music Society Of Lower Basin Street’
WJZ NBC Blue NY
23 Jun 1940
Stadust
Bunny Berrigan
‘What Is Swing?’
WNEW NY
12 Mar 1936
Set 8

Washington Whirligig
Charlie Barnet Orchestra
Radio Transcription
New York
21 Jul 1944
Open + I Never Knew
Louis Armstrong Orchestra (voc) Louis Armstrong
‘Spotlight Bands’
Blue Network
Dallas Tx
17 Aug 1943
Open + Benny’s Original
Benny Carter Orchestra
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Orchestra
1945
God Child
Chubby Jackson Orchestra
‘Symphony Sid Show’
WMCA NY
12 Mar 1949

2 Comments

Filed under 1920s, 1920s band, 1920s jazz band, 1930s band, 1940s dance band, australian jazz, dance, drums, entertainment, great gatsby band, jazz, lounge, old time radio, otr, radio, soundie, swing, sydney jazz

Greg Poppleton Poster Django Bar 23 May 2013


Do come to the Django Bar of the Camelot Lounge on Thursday 23 May for a night of toe-tappin’ 20′s croonin’ with Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters. With Geoff Power trumpet and sousaphone and Grahame Conlon tenor banjo. I’ll be singing. Please spread the word. Doors open at 6pm. Music at 8pm. Pizzas are the best in Sydney. Just whipped up a poster…

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters in the Django Bar

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters in the Django Bar

The Django Bar is on the corner of Marrickville Road and Railway Parade opposite Sydenham Station

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1920s, 1920s band, 1920s jazz band, australian jazz, dance, entertainment, great gatsby band, jazz, newtown, swing, sydney jazz

Phantom Dancer History – 2SER 1st Anniversary 1980


History time, Phantom Dancers,

The very first 2 hour Phantom Dancer (and Program 50 for national listeners) starts this week.

I started The Phantom Dancer on 107.3 2SER Sydney way back in December 1985.

I had already been doing a 15 minute segment of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV within another program called Cityscope since Dec 1984. The segment was called, Hot House, after the song.

Then in December 1985 I was asked to fill in for a vacated time slot. The previous show had been called Jazz Direction Out and I unhappily inherited the name.

However, the show hit the right note with listeners. I even had a few live shows, bring musicians into the studio like James Morrison, John Morrison, Ian Date, Andrew Speight, Ted Heath Goes Latin (the band) and an outside recording of Mic Conway and his Hiccups Orchestra.

And the first request came in, handwritten in blue biro, posted from a motel in Blakehurst on a scrap of pad paper.

The next name for the show after a schedule reshuffle was even worse than Jazz Direction Out. I didn’t choose it. My proposed title, ‘Hot Shit!’, was not accepted (and was at that time illegal). Because the show was in a late lunchtime slot, it got called ‘Swing Sandwich’. Cringe.

In 1989 there was yet another radio schedule reshuffle and the show was moved to 11:30pm – 1am Sunday night – Monday mornings. I called it ‘Round About Midnight’, after the song. Listenership bloomed. And I did a few ‘wacky’ things like a ‘Honeysuckle Rose-a-thon’ and a live mix of women in jazz with excerpts from an episode of Lost In Space. Like, far out, daddy-o!’.

Sunday nights used to start at 6pm for me at 2SER, because that’s when I’d also record, then dub edit, a weekly half-hour quiz show that had a 2 year run on 2SER called, ‘Wordsports’, a word game devised by performance poet Komninos and which I also ran at the Harold Park Hotel.

I also won the first of two BASF Hi Fi Certificates Of Merit for a soundscape called ‘Registered Clubs Of NSW A Musical Legacy,’ and began working in radio professionally.

In 1991 The Phantom Dancer won a BASF Hi Fi Certficate Of Merit for its special, ’42 Years Of TV’, demonstrating that TV had been around much longer than the 25 years the Australian commercial networks had been crowing about that year.

Another reshuffle saw the show put back to a weekday afternoon at 1pm. This, too, was considered a dead spot like late Sunday night, but contrary to expectations, listenership grew some more. In this ‘carnation, I called the show ‘The One O’Clock Jump’.

Another reshuffle shunted the show in 1994 to another then graveyard slot of 10:30am Tuesday morning. But the show did well. And I changed the name to The Phantom Dancer.

Introduced in 1994, The Phantom Dancer was the first 2SER show with a digitally edited theme – and that’s the show theme that’s still in use.

On 8 May 1995, The Phantom Dancer, was the first 2SER show (and possibly one of the first Sydney radio shows) to be wholly digitally produced and edited. The one hour special commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe. And it went to air on CD. The hard-to-get CD blank cost me around $30.

In 1997, The Phantom Dancer almost went off-air due to a ‘music producer’ who nevertheless still thought enough of the show to claim in a prestigious jazz dictionary (without telling me) that he ‘produced’ the show. He went on to an academic career.

The Phantom Dancer did have its one only ever producer in 1999. Jo White helped refocus the show and as a result, the show became even more popular in the 2000s and 2010s.

In April 2007, a story on The Phantom Dancer, was the feature article in a Sydney Morning Herald Metro lift out.

In November 2007, The Phantom Dancer, won Best Music Show in the annual national CBAA Radio Awards.

In 2008, the show began to be repeated 6am Sunday mornings.

Then in 2010, the repeat program was moved to 6pm Saturday evenings.

In 2011 I was very honoured to receive a much coveted 2SER volunteers award.

In 2012, The Phantom Dancer, went national. It’s now heard on over 30 radio stations of the Community Radio Network across Australia. It has a particularly strong listenership on the popular ArtsoundFM in Canberra.

And now, as of 30 April 2013, The Phantom Dancer has grown to be two hours long! And I still work professionally in radio – as a voice over artist with RGM Voices (here’s my voicereel) – as well as volunteer.

I suppose that makes me one of the many radio professionals 2SER has created over the years.

Many people have supported and nurtured the Phantom Dancer since 1985 when hair was long, black pants, black coats and black pointy shoes were de rigueur, and swing was a dirty word. The list of names is too long to print here. Most important are the many 2SER Phantom Dancer subscribers who keep Australia’s only live 1920s-60s radio swing & jazz show, and 2SER, on air with their subscriptions and donations. 2SER is a community supported station. Thank you.

Hence, this week’s Phantom Dancer Video of the Week. It’s a mix of 2SER 1st Birthday Idents by Sydney commercial radio personalities for the very first subscriber drive in 1980. Long time 2SER listeners, is that the voice of John Cochrane giving George Donikian some feedback after his first ID read? Enjoy…

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
, Live Stream, Digital Radio

Community Radio Network Show #50

2SER Tuesday 30 April 2013
12 noon – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT)

Set 1

Open + Ad

Victor Miller Orchestra with Mel Blanc

‘Mel Blanc Show’
KNX CBS Los Angesles
3 Jul 1947

Open (April Showers+ + Baby Face
Al Jolson (voc) Lou Bring Orchestra

‘Kraft Music Hall’
KFI NBC Los Angeles
7 Oct 1948

Mood Indigo
Ted Fio Rito Orchestra
Chez Paree
WGN Chicago
1950
It’s A Long Way To Tipperary
Wally Portingale Orchestra
‘Army On Parade’
2CH AWA Network
Sydney
Sep 1943
Set 2
Back Room Romp (A Contrapuntal Stomp)
Rex Stewart and his 52nd Street Stompers
Comm Rec
New York
7 Jul 1937
Boog It
Glenn Miller Orchestra (voc) Marion Hutton and Band
Cafe Rouge
Hotel Pennsylvania
WJZ NBC Blue NY
5 Apr 1940
Jumpin’ For Maria
Dean Hudson Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Blue Room
Hotel Lincoln
New York

AFRS Re-broadcast
11 Nov 1944
Holiday For Strings
Lucky Millinder Orchestra (p) Sir Charles Thompson

‘One Night Stand’
Savoy Ballroom
Harlem, NYC
AFRS Re-broadcast
11 Jun 1946

Set 3

Night Life (Go Up In Smoke)
Stan Kenton Orchestra
Radio Transcription
Los Angeles
Oct 1941
Laura
Charlie Parker Quartet
‘Symphony Sid Show’
WCOP Boston
1954
Ghost Of A Chance
Lester Young
‘Adventures In Jazz’
WCBS TV CBS NY
1952
Walkin’
Andre Previn
London House
WBBM CBS Chicago
1959
Open + Undercurrent Blues
Benny Goodman Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Palladium Ballroom
Hollywood
AFRS Re-broadcast
29 Mar 1949
Set 4

Sepulveda
Jimmy Grier Orchestra
Radio Transcription
Los Angeles
1946
Lamar’s Boogie
Cab Calloway Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Club Zanzibar
New York

AFRS Re-broadcast
1945
Winnin’ Boy
Jelly Roll Morton
‘Chamber Music Society Of Lower Basin Street’
WJZ NBC Blue NY
14 Jul 1940
When You And I Were Young Maggie
Fats Waller
Panther Room
Hotel Sherman
WMAQ NBC Red Chicago
3 Dec 1940
Set 5

Sorta Blue
Graeme Bell
Comm Rec
Sylvania Hotel
Sydney
Jan 1960
Never On Sunday
Duke Ellington Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Steel Pier
Atlantic City

AFRTS Re-broadcast
1964
Have I Told You Lately?
Tony Bennett (voc) Gene Krupa Trio
‘Guard Sessions’
Hollywood
1963
My Love Is Blue
Russ Morgan Orchestra
Dunes Hotel
KLAV CBS Las Vegas
19 Jul 1969
Set 6

RIde Tenderfoot Ride
Dick Jurgens Orchestra (voc) Eddy Howard
Radio Transcription
New York
1938
Open + In A Minor Mood
Bob Crosby Orchestra
‘Swing Concert’
Congress Hotel
WMAQ NBC Red Chicago
18 May 1937
News From Europe
WABC CBS NY
30 Oct 1938
The Moon Was Yellow
Billy Cotton Orchestra (voc) Alan Breeze
Comm Rec
London
19 Jan 1935
Set 7

Washington Squabble
Claude Hopkins Orchestra
Radio Transcription
New York
1935
Caravan
Bunny Berrigan Orchestra
Manhattan Centre
WNEW NY
26 Sep 1939
Babs + Baby Brown
Inkspots
WEAF NBC Red NY
9 Aug 1935

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1930s band, 1940s dance band, 1950s tv, australian jazz, be bop, dance, entertainment, great gatsby band, jazz, lounge, old time radio, otr, radio, swing, sydney jazz

The Last Saturday Phantom Dancer This Week!


Hello Phantom Dancers,

There are big changes afoot.

Firstly, this Saturday’s show will be the last.

After six years of being heard twice a week on 2SER, the show will now be heard just once weekly – every Tuesday at the same time since the late 1990s – 12 noon.

But, instead of being a 90 minute show on Tuesday, it’ll be 2 hours from next week, 12 noon – 2pm

And, sometime this year, and I don’t know when as yet, you’ll be able to hear The Phantom dancer any time you want on the 2SER website

And now for this week’s Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, Vitaphone’s latest news on Hollywood from 1934. Enjoy!

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
, Live Stream, Digital Radio

Community Radio Network Show #48

2SER Tuesday 23 April 2013
12 noon – 1:30pm (+10 hours GMT)

2SER Saturday 27 April 2013 – THE LAST SAT. SHOW
6 – 7:30pm (+10 hours GMT)

Set 1

If It Ain’t Love

Boswell Sisters (voc) Dorsey Brothers’ Orchestra

Comm Rec
New York
9 Apr 1932

Says My Heart
Larry Clinton (voc) Gene McNally aka Denis Day

‘Campus Club’
Glen Island Casino
New Rochelle NY
WEAF NBC Red NY
2 Jul 1938

Dodgin’ The Dean
Ella Fitzgerald Orchestra
Savoy Ballroom
WEAF NBC Red NY
22 Jan 1940
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Caspar Reardon (swing harp) Steven Leith Orchestra
‘Saturday Night Swing Club
WABC CBS NY
12 Jun 1937
Set 2
I Sustain The Wings (theme) + In The Mood
Army Air Forces Overseas Orchestra (Glenn Miller) dir. Jerry Gray
‘I Sustain The Wings’
Bowling Green Vi
WRC NBC
Washington DC
17 Nov 1945
Take The A Train
Duke Ellington Orchestra (voc) Bette Roche
Birdland
WNBC NBC NY
20 Nov 1952
Someday Sweetheart
Benny Goodman Orchestra
Madhattan Room
Hotel Pennsylvania
WABC CBS NY
23 Oct 1937
Bases Loaded
Count Basie Orchestra

Birdland
WNBC NBC NY
6 Jan 1953

Set 3

Ad + Coconut Grove
Sid King and the Five Strings
KTNT-FM
Denton Tx
1954
As If I Didn’t Have Enough On My Mind
Leighton Noble Orchestra (voc) Helen Wynn
‘One Night Stand’
Starlight Roof
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
AFRS Re-broadcast
21 Jun 1946
Homesick That’s All
Dick Todd (voc)
‘Your Hit Parade’
AFRS Re-broadcast
27 Oct 1945
I’ve Told Every Little Star
Harry Sosnick Savings Bonds Orchestra
‘Guest Star’
New York
13 Aug 1950
Set 4

Roller-Skating On A Rainbow
Blue Barron Orchestra (voc) 3 Blue Notes
Radio Transcription
New York
1938
High On A Windy Trumpet
Les Brown Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Cafe Rouge
Hotel Pennsylvania

AFRS Re-broadcast
28 Dec 1945
Struttin’ With Some Barbeque
Jack Teagarden All-Stars
‘Timex All-Star Jazz Show’
WNBC TV New York
30 Dec 1957
Mr Chips + Blue ‘n’ Boggie (theme)
Billy Eckstine Orchestra
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
Feb 1945
Set 5

St Louis Blues
Jack Hylton Orchestra
Comm Rec
London
5 Oct 1932
Open + First Song
Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
Tiparillo Pavilion
New York World’s Fair
WCBS CBS NY
1964
I Should Care
Harry James Orchestra (voc) Buddy DeVito
Meadowbrook Gardens
KFI NBC LA
10 Feb 1946
The Trouble With Me Is You
King Cole Trio (voc) Nat king Cole
Trocadero
KHJ Mutual LA
26 Apr 1945
Set 6

I’m Going Back To Where I Come From
Spike Jones and his City Slickers
Radio Transcription
New York
1943
Caravan
Bunny Berrigan Orchestra
Manhattan Centre
WNEW NY
26 Sep 1939
Farewell Blues + Close
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
Camel Caravan
WABC CBS NY
13 Jan 1937

Greg Poppleton is Sydney’s only authentic 1920s – 1930s singer. Website: www.bakelitejazz.com . Latest CD on Bandcamp: http://gregpoppletonandhisbakelitebroadcasters.bandcamp.com/

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1920s, 1920s band, 1920s jazz band, 1920s Jazz Orchestra, 1930s band, 1940s dance band, dance, entertainment, jazz, movie, movies, old time radio, otr, swing

Sydney’s 1920s Speakeasy Jazz Band in 1929 Essex Roadster


Here are some pictures taken by the Tony Atkinson, President, Hudson-AMC Car Club of Aust., of Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters gathered about the club’s beautifully restored 1929 Essex Roadster

The Hudson-AMC Car Club of Australia is dedicated to the preservation of cars built by the Hudson, Nash and American Motors Corporation.

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters are Sydney’s 1920s Speakeasy and 1930s Swing Trio – Sextet. We feature Sydney’s only authentic 1920s – 1930s singer, Greg Poppleton, and world-touring vintage swing jazz musicians.

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters are in demand for weddings, corporate functions, parties and historical occasions

The Hudson-AMC Car Club and Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters were at the annual Fairfield Museum Fair. Thank you, Tony, for the pictures…

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters around the 1929 Essex Roadster

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters around the 1929 Essex Roadster. In the Bakelite Broadcasters, singer Greg Poppleton seated with megaphone, Geoff Power big silver sousaphone and trumpet, Paul Baker banjo, Adam Barnard drums and washboard

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters - Sydney's 1920s Speakeasy Trio - Sextet

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters – Sydney’s 1920s Speakeasy Trio – Sextet

The 1929 Essex Roadster belonging to the Hudson-AMC Club of Australia

The 1929 Essex Roadster belonging to the Hudson-AMC Club of Australia

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1920s, 1920s band, 1920s jazz band, 1920s Jazz Orchestra, 1930s band, australian jazz, collectibles, dance, entertainment, great gatsby band, jazz, swing, sydney jazz, wedding jazz band, wedding music

Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead


Salutations Phantom Dancer,

Of course this week’s show has a version of ‘Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead’

But we’re a cut above the rest

We’ll be playing the live Glenn Miller swing version with Marion Hutton singing over WEAF New York in 1939. Make sure you tune in. What makes this version special? Marion obviously doesn’t think much of the song!

And since the famous song is from The Wizard Of Oz, this week’s Video Of The Week is a Command Performance USA film clip of Oz star, Judy Garland, singing the most famous song from the film, ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’. And Bob Hope’s in there, too. Enjoy!

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
, Live Stream, Digital Radio

Community Radio Network Show #47

2SER Tuesday 16 April 2013
12 noon – 1:30pm (+10 hours GMT)

2SER Saturday 20 April 2013
6 – 7:30pm (+10 hours GMT)

Set 1

Ornithology

Bud Powell Trio

Birdland
WJZ ABC NY
14 Feb 1953

Open + Tenderly
Sarah Vaughan

Birdland
WNBC NBC NY
31 Mar 1953

D.B. Blues
Lester Young
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
20 Mar 1946
Bop City
Kai Winding
‘Adventures In Jazz’
WCBS TV CBS NY
4 Mar 1952
Set 2
Boo Hoo
Mullens Sisters (voc) Russ Morgan Orchestra
Radio Transcription
New York
1937
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead
Marion Hutton (voc) Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glen Island Casino
New Rochelle NY
WEAF NBC Red NY
10 Aug 1939
You’re Driving Me Crazy
Jan Savitt Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Palladium Ballroom
Hollywood
AFRS re-broadcast
20 Sep 1945
When It’s Sleepy Time Down South + Camel Hop
Benny Goodman Orchestra

Madhattan Room
Hotel Pennsylvania
WABC CBS NY
20 Oct 1937

Set 3

Song Of The Inadequacy Of Live
Bertolt Brecht (voc) Theo Mackeben Jazz Band
Comm Rec
Berlin
1930
Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man
Ethel Waters (voc) Fletcher Henderson (p)
‘Guest Star’
New York
16 Jul 1950
More Than You Know
Frank Sinatra
‘Max Factor Show’
KNX CBS LA
14 Mar 1945
Shake My Mother’s Hand
Roy Acuff
‘Roy Acuff Show’
WSM Nashville
1949
Set 4

Let’s All Sing Like The Birdies Sing
Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra
Comm Rec
London
1935
Open + Get Happy
1944 Esquire All-Stars
‘Chamber Music Society Of Lower Basin Street’
WJZ Blue NY
16 Jan 1944
Straighten Up And Fly Right
Golden Gate Quartet
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
1944
Open + Smiles
Charlie Barnet Orchestra
‘For The Record’
WEAF NBC NY
11 Sep 1944
Set 5

Tony’s Wife
Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheums
Comm Rec
London
28 Jun 1933
Lazy Lady Blues
Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Jimmy Rushing
Avadon Ballroom
KHJ Mutual Don Lees LA
Jun 1946
When Day Is Done
Henry Busse Orchestra
Rose Room
Palace Hotel
KQW CBS
San Francisco
28 Dec 1944
In The Still Of The Night
Woody Herman Orchestra (voc) Allan Jones
‘Woody Herman Show’
KECA ABC LA
Oct 1944
Set 6

Alexanders Ragtime Band
Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights
Radio Transcription
New York
1943
King Porter Stomp
Glenn Miller Orchestra
Meadowbrook Ballroom
Cedar Grove NJ
WEAF NBC Red NY
18 Apr 1939
Farewell Blues + Close
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
Camel Caravan
WABC CBS NY
13 Jan 1937

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1930s band, 1940s dance band, 1950s tv, australian jazz, be bop, dance, entertainment, jazz, lounge, movie, old time radio, otr, politics, radio, swing, Uncategorized

Czech Swing & Harmony Singing From 1941


On this week’s Phantom Dancer we highlight Benny Goodman’s swing band, swing sextet and his bop group in three different radio broadcasts. See the play list below

And the Video of the Week: a German swing song (Hmm Hmm) by the great Czech swing band and singers, R.A. Dvorsky and the Allan Sisters recorded in 1941. Enjoy!

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
, Live Stream, Digital Radio

Community Radio Network Show #46

2SER Tuesday 9 April 2013
12 noon – 1:30pm (+10 hours GMT)

2SER Saturday 13 April 2013
6 – 7:30pm (+10 hours GMT)

Set 1

Confessin’

Count Basie (organ) Nonet

Comm Rec
Boston
7 Sep 1954

Open + Skyliner
Charlie Barnet Orchestra

‘One Night Stand’
AFRS re-broadcast
2 Jun 1944

It’s A Beautiful Day
Chuck Foster Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Ice Terrace Room
Hotel New Yorker
AFRS re-broadcast
13 Aug 1945
Chatanooga Shoe Shine Boy
Jack Smith (voc) Margaret Whiting also heard. Frank deVol Orchestra
‘Oxydol Show’
KNX CBS LA
1950

Set 2
Festival Swing ’41
French All-Star Orchestra
Paris Radio
26 Dec 1940
That’s My Weakness Now + I Love You
Denis Segay and the Savings Bonds Orchestra (voc) The Three Singing Dollars
‘Guest Star’
New York
24 Jan 1954
Janine
Clyde McCoy Orchestra
‘Jubilee’
AFRS Hollywood
Oct 1943
Birmingham Special
Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
‘GI Jive’
AFRS Hollywood
1945
Set 3

Annoying Evening Rain
Bai Hing (voc) Orchestra
Comm Rec
Pathe
Shanghai
1948
She’s Funny That Way
Frank Sinatra (voc)
‘Vimms Vitamins Show’
WABC CBS NY
16 Aug 1944
Rislaia
Vincent Lopez Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Grill Room
Hotel Taft, New York
AFRS re-broadcast
1959
Intermezzo
Benny Goodman Orchestra
‘One Night Stand’
Palladium Ballroom
Hollywood
AFRS re-broadcast
29 Mar 1949

Set 4

Let Me Off Uptown
Lucky Millinder Orchestra (voc) Trevor Bacon
Comm Rec
New York
18 Feb 1942
Umbrella Man
Benny Goodman Sextet
‘Camel Caravan’
WABC CBS NY
10 Jan 1939
Jam With Sam
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Blackkawk Restaurant
WMAQ NBC Chicago
30 Jul 1952
Jumpin’ At The Woodside
Benny Goodman Orchestra
WEAF NBC NY
9 Sep 1939
Set 5

There Goes That Song Again
George Trevare Orchestra with vocal
Comm Rec
Sydney
1944
On The Sentimental Side
Lee Wiley
KHJ Mutual Don Lees
Los Angeles
31 Mar 1938
Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man
Mildred Bailey (voc) Woody Herman Orchestra
‘Wild Root Show’
NBC
8 Feb 1946
I’ll Get By
Billie Holliday
‘Spotlight Bands’
Metropolitan Opera House
WJZ Blue Network
New York
18 Jan 1944
Set 6

Gandy Dancer
George Hall Orchestra
Radio Transcription
New York
1937
When My Dreamboat Comes Home
Count Basie Orchestra
Savoy Ballroom
New York
30 Jun 1937
Hold Tight + Close
Glenn Miller Orchestra (voc) Marion Hutton
Meadowbrook Ballroom
Cedar Grove NJ
WEAF NBC Red NY
18 Apr 1939

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1930s band, 1940s dance band, australian jazz, dance, entertainment, jazz, lounge, old time radio, otr, swing, sydney jazz, Uncategorized

Doin’ The Charleston Album


The latest independent release by Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters is pure 1920s in flavour and available on Bandcamp

With the same maverick spirit that produced ‘The Phantom Dancer’ (the sold-out first CD and the award-winning, national community radio show), ‘Doin’ The Charleston’, is the long-awaited second album from Greg Poppleton & The Bakelite Broadcasters

Recorded live-in-studio in just 5 hours, ‘Doin’ The Charleston’, is the first document of Greg Poppleton & The Bakelite Broadcasters as a purely Roaring 20s Speakeasy 5-piece. There are more layers, more stylistic tangents than before, with a DNA recovered from the very bones of smoking, catchy, 1920s speakeasy pop. At the forefront is the undeniably authentic and unique Roaring 20s vocal style of Greg Poppleton

A pre-release spin of ‘Doin The Charleston’ at the 2012 Sydney Fringe Festival had swing dancers crowding the dance floor

Greg Poppleton is very proud of the results, “For me, ‘Doin’ The Charleston’, is all about the songs, how they line up, intertwine, switch partners and promenade home”

Greg has expanded his 3.5 octave sonic palette with a long list of influences to forge his own sound. Heir to a tradition of finely-crafted, dramatic, confessional music that explores the ups and downs of life and love with a keenly-observed honesty that touches all who hear, Greg Poppleton is backed by what really is an all-star speakeasy band of world-touring jazz musicians…

Paul Furniss weaves shimmering, infectious, toe-tapping anthems using soprano, alto, tenor saxophones and clarinet. Al Davey wails, growls and caresses on trumpet and trombone. He brings together the brightest elements and darkest undertones in a unique blend of unshackled two-beat. Grahame Conlon’s banjo demands attention weaving audacious fat chords around the pulsing, minimalist sousaphone loops of Rod Herbert and ARIA nominee Geoff Power and the chemically infused drum beats and bootleg hooch washboard laid down by Bell band legend, Lawrie Thompson

The quintet makes lullabies, lush dreamy vintage pop, and the powerful, bone-rattling immediacy of hot, danceable jazz. Vocal hooks are inescapable, lush productions uncannily authentic to the Roaring 20s, as sophisticated and pristine as anything on a 78 disc. ‘Doin’ The Charleston’s’ 14 tracks (including a bonus alternate take on the soaring St James Infirmary) trace a unique aesthetic universe that is fully-crafted and fully-realised, deftly walking the lines between joyous exhilaration and otherworldly rapture, pleasure-centre pop and total self-possession

It has been described as the Temperance Seven meets’ Don Byron’s Bug Music

Greg Poppleton & The Bakelite Broadcasters’ is a universe that invites exploration and demands revisiting. ‘Doin’ The Charleston’ is a journey from darkness to light, from anger to love, from chaos to order. Buy at Bandcamp, CD Baby and bakelitejazz.com

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters Trio for a 30th Birthday at the ArtHouse

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters Trio for a 30th Birthday at the ArtHouse

‘Doin’ The Charleston’ has been featured by Bob Rogers in a one hour special on the album over 2CH and the Macquarie Network, Sydney. It has also been CD of the Week on ArtSoundFM Canberra and Jazz Album of the Week on 5MBS Adelaide

Former jazz critic for The Australian newspaper, Kevin Jones, wrote about ‘Doin The Charleston’…

“Even in the 21st century, the music of the so-called jazz age (the Roaring Twenties) still holds a fascination for many, judging by the number of bands which play this style of music world-wide. The Bakelite Broadcasters, led by vocalist Greg Poppleton, keeps the 1920s’ flag flying in Sydney as this enjoyable disc, the second by the group, shows.

They are mostly pre-Swing Era songs written before Benny Goodman launched jazz’s most popular years at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935 ranging from Paul Dresser’s My Gal Sal (1907) to Fats Wallers’ I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Lettter (1935) and include The Charleston (1923) and Sweet Lorraine and Button Up Your Overcoat (both written in 1928)
Listening to the 1929 recording by the Mound City Blue Blowers of I Ain’t Got Nobody and My Gal Sal shows the Broadcasters have captured the basic sound. Not surprising when you consider the group includes musicians of the calibre of Paul Furniss (reeds) Al Davey (trumpet and trombone) and Lawrie Thompson (drums and washboard) who show how well they have mastered the style. Grahame Conlon (tenor banjo) makes a mockery of those many banjo jokes with his rollicking solo on The Road To Gundagai. As for the leader, some may find his voice a little affected at times but he has captured that decade’s vocal style to perfection especially on Falling in Love Again sung in both English and German. As enjoyable as they are to listen to The Bakelite Broadcasters must be even better live.”

Enjoy!

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1920s, 1920s band, 1920s Jazz Orchestra, 1930s band, australian jazz, dance, entertainment, great gatsby band, jazz, lounge, swing, sydney jazz, Uncategorized, wedding, wedding jazz band, wedding music