Child Prodigy Jazz Pianist – Phantom Dancer 24 September 2019

A child prodigy on this week’s Phantom Dancer radio show with Greg Poppleton – Frank ‘Sugar Chile Robinson’. He played a White House dinner in 1946 aged 7, then played again at the White House in 2016 to a standing ovation aged 77.

The Phantom Dancer is your two hour non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV, presented by Greg Poppleton on Radio 2SER 107.3 Sydney since 1985. Hear the show online from 12:04pm Tuesday 24 September at 2ser.com

The last hour is all vinyl.

SUGAR CHILE

Fom Wiki,
Frank Isaac Robinson (born December 28, 1938), known in his early musical career as Sugar Chile Robinson, is an American jazz pianist and singer who became famous as a child prodigy.

PIANO

Robinson was born in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age he showed unusual gifts singing the blues and accompanying himself on the piano. According to contemporary newsreels, he was self-taught and managed to use techniques including slapping the keys with elbows and fists.

AGE 3

He won a talent show at the Paradise Theatre in Detroit at the age of three, and in 1945 played guest spots at the theatre with Lionel Hampton, who was prevented by child protection legislation from taking Robinson on tour with him. However, Robinson performed on radio with Hampton and Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson and also appeared as himself in the Hollywood film No Leave, No Love, starring Van Johnson and Keenan Wynn.

CATCH PHRASE

In 1946, he played for President Harry S. Truman at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, shouting out “How’m I Doin’, Mr. President?” – which became his catchphrase – during his performance of “Caldonia”. He was the first African American performer to appear at the annual WHCA dinner. He began touring major theaters, setting box office records in Detroit and California. In 1949 he was given special permission to join the American Federation of Musicians and record his first releases on Capitol Records, “Numbers Boogie” and “Caldonia”, both reaching the Billboard R&B chart. In 1950, he toured and appeared on television with Count Basie and in a short film ‘Sugar Chile’ Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet. The following year, he toured the UK, appearing at the London Palladium. He stopped recording in 1952, later explaining,

“I wanted to go to school… I wanted some school background in me and I asked my Dad if I could stop, and I went to school because I honestly wanted my college diploma.”

UNI AND TV

Until 1956 he continued to make occasional appearances as a jazz musician, billed as Frank Robinson, and performed on one occasion with Gerry Mulligan, but then gave up his musical career entirely. Continuing his academic studies, he earned a degree in history from Olivet College and one in psychology from the Detroit Institute of Technology. In the 1960s, he worked for WGPR-TV, and also helped set up small record labels in Detroit and opened a recording studio.

LATELY

In the 21st Century he has made a comeback as a musician with the help of the American Music Research Foundation. In 2002, he appeared at a special concert celebrating Detroit music, and in 2007 he traveled to Britain to appear at a rock and roll weekend festival. In the last Dr Boogie show of 2013, Sugar Chile Robinson was the featured artist, with four of his classic hits showcasing amid biographical sketches of his early career. On April 30, 2016, he attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on the 70th anniversary of his appearance at the 1946 dinner. He met President Obama and was saluted during the dinner, receiving a standing ovation as the picture of him as a child appeared on the video screens. In 2016 he was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week is Sugar Chile Robinson! Enjoy…

Make sure you come back to this blog, Greg Poppleton’s Radio Lounge, every Tuesday, for the newest Phantom Dancer play list and Video of the Week!

Thank you.

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #406
107.3 2SER Tuesday 24 September 2019 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT)
Set 1	That Ace Drummer Man Gene Krupa on 1945-46 Radio
Whispering	Gene Krupa Orchestra	’Spotlight Bands’ MBS 1946
Bugle Call Rag	Gene Krupa Orchestra	Pacific Square San Diego MBS 2 Mar 1945
Yes, Yes, Honey	Gene Krupa Orchestra (voc) Carolyn Gray	’One Night Stand’ The Click, Phildelphia AFRS Re-broadcast 8 Jan 1945
Set 2	Rock’n’Roll Live on 1950s Radio
Theme + I Was Born To Rock	Smilin’ Smokey Lynn	’Midnite Matinee’ Olympic Auditorium KFVD Los Angeles 28 Sep 1951
Tender Trap	Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Joe Williams	’Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’ WCBS CBS NY 12 May 1956
Baby Please Don’t Go		’Sepia Swing Club’ WDIA Memphis 14 Dec 1951
Set 3	Progressive Jazz on 1948-62 Radio and TV
Theme + Move	Miles Davis Nonet	’Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA New York 4 Sep 1948
Strike Up the Band	Pete Brown	’All-Star Parade of Bands’ Birdland WRCA NBC NY 2 Sep 1952
Oleo + Theme	Phineas Newborn Jr	’Jazz Scene USA’ TV Series Los Angeles 15 Oct 1962
Set 4	Woody Herman on Live 1944-45 Radio
Flying Home	Woody Herman Orchestra	’Old Gold Show’ Rehearsal WABC CBS NY 2 Aug 1944
Goosey Gander	Woody Herman Orchestra	Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania WABC CBS NY 21 Jul 1945
Apple Honey + Blue Flame (theme)	Woody Herman Orchestra	’One Night Stand’ Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania NYC AFRS Re-broadcast 6 Aug 1945
Set 5	Raymond Scott Orchestra 1940
Pretty Little Petticoat (theme) + Huckleberry Duck	Raymond Scott Orchestra	Panther Room Hotel Sherman WMAQ NBC Chicago 1940
Creepy Weepy	Raymond Scott Orchestra	’Music Depreciation’ KHJ Mutual-Don Lees LA 1940
Blueberry Hill	Raymond Scott Orchestra (voc) Nan Wynn	Panther Room Hotel Sherman WMAQ NBC Chicago 1940
Caterpillar Creep	Raymond Scott Orchestra	’Music Depreciation’ KHJ Mutual-Don Lees LA 1940
Set 6	1930s Swing Bands on Radio
I Let a Song Go Out of my Heart	Charlie Barnet Orchestra	Radio Transcription Los Angeles 1938
The Chant	Artie Shaw Orchestra	Aircheck 28 May 1939
Satan Takes a Holiday	Benny Goodman Orchestra	’Camel Caravan’ KNX CBS LA 17 Aug 1937
Bugle Blues	Count Basie Orchestra	Savoy Ballroom Harlem NYC 30 June 1937
Set 7	Tommy Dorsey on 1945 Radip
I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (theme) + Instrumental	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ 400 Restaurant AFRS Re-broadcast 30 Sep 1945
I’m Beginning To See The Light	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (voc) Sentimentalists	Aircheck Meadowbrook Ballroom Cedar Grove NJ 3 Feb 1945
Song of India	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	Aircheck Ocean Park Ca 19 Aug 1945
The Minor Goes Muggin’	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	Aircheck Meadowbrook Ballroom Cedar Grove NJ 3 Feb 1945
Set 8	Pianists on 1940s-50s Radio
Caldonia Boogie	Sugar Chile Robinson with Lionel Hampton Orchestra	‘Jubilee’ AFRS Hollywood 1946
Theme + I’m In a Dancing Mood	Dave Brubeck	Basin Street WCBS CBS New York City Mar 1957
When Your Lover Has Gone	Erroll Garner	‘Storyville’ WHDH Boston Dec 1953

Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson – 12 Feb 2019 Phantom Dancer

THE HIPSTER

Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist with Greg Poppleton. The stride and boogie pianist claimed to have invented the word ‘hipster’. His stellar career nosedived in 1946 after he released the drug song ‘Who Put The Benzedrine in Mrs Murphy’s Ovaltine?’. That same song brought him out of obscurity when ‘discovered’ by Dr Demento in 1985 after which he released three albums.

PHANTOM DANCER

Hear this week’s Phantom Dancer (after 12 Feb) and past Phantom Dancers at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney

HARRY ‘THE HIPSTER’ GIBSON

was a jazz songwriter, stride and boogie woogie pianist, who sang in a large style that pitched the story out to his audience.

Born Harry Raab, he began his musical career in the late 1920s playing stride piano in Dixieland jazz bands in Harlem. He added barrelhouse boogie to his repertoire in the 1930s, and was discovered by Fats Waller in 1939. Waller brought him down to 52nd Street Manhattan jazz clubs where he became famous and changed his surname to Gibson.

AHEAD

Gibson’s songwriting was considered ahead of its time in the early 1940s. His singing and piano was also unique, his piano in particular taking on a ‘frantic’ quality.

CLASSICAL

At the same time as playing in 52nd Swing Street clubs, Gibson attended the strictly classical Juilliard School of music where he excelled.

We missed out last week, but on this week’s Phantom Dancer Gibson will play live on a 1944 Blue Network Eddie Condon jazz concert, Bix Beidebeck’s difficult piano pieces ‘Candlelight’ and ‘In a Mist’.

HIPSTER

Gibson grew up near Harlem, New York City. So his use of black jive talk was not an affectation but his uptown New York dialect. In his autobiography, Gibson claimed he coined the term hipster between 1939 and 1945 when he was performing on Swing Street when he started using “Harry the Hipster” as his stage name.

NAUGHTY

On this week’s Phantom Dancer we hear the 1946 Musicraft recording that sent his career plunging – ‘Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Ovaltine’. His own drug use didn’t help.

BEATLES

In the 1960s Gibson saw the huge success of the Beatles and switched to rock and roll. By the 1970s, he was playing hard rock, blues, bop, novelty songs and a few songs that mixed ragtime with rock and roll. His hipster act became a hippie act. His old records were revived on the Dr. Demento radio show, particularly ‘Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Ovaltine’, which was included on the 1975 compilation album Dr. Demento’s Delights.

His comeback resulted in three more albums: Harry the Hipster Digs Christmas, Everybody’s Crazy but Me, and Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Ovaltine (Delmark, 1989). Those two include some jazz, blues, ragtime, and rock and roll songs about reefer, nude bathing, hippie communes, strip clubs, male chauvinists, “rocking the 88s”, and Shirley MacLaine.

In 1991, shortly before his death, Gibson’s family made a biographical movie short on his life and music called Boogie in Blue, published as a VHS video that year.

VIDEO

This week’s Phantom Dancer video of the week has Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson give a school music lesson about how to ‘Keep the Beat’ in this 1944 soundie. Pay attention!

12 FEBRUARY PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #374
107.3 2SER Tuesday 12 February 2019 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+11 hours GMT) National Program: ArtSoundFM Canberra Sunday 7 – 8pm and early morning on 24 other stations.
Set 1	1944-46 Radio Big Bands
Racing with the Moon (theme) + Candy Hop	Vaughan Monroe Orchestra (voc) VM	‘One Night Stand’ Blackhawk Restaurant Chicago AFRS Re-broadcast 6 Feb 1945
Accentuate the Positive	Frankie Masters Orchestra (voc) Frankie Masters, Phyllis Miles and the Girl Quartet	‘Spotlight Bands’ Cedar Rapids, Iowa Blue Network 1945
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #2	Freddy Martin Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Cocoanut Grove Ambassador Hotel Los Angeles AFRS Re-broadcast 27 Jan 1946
Set 2	Count Basie Rock’n’Roll
(Theme and close) One O’Clock Jump + Little Pony + Why Not? + The Moon is Green + Tpp Close For Comfort (voc) Joe Williams	Count Basie Orchestra	‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’ WCBS CBS NY 16 Jun 1956
Heading Home + As Long As I’m Moving	Shirley Gunter	‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’ WCBS CBS NY 16 Jun 1956
In Self-Defence	The Flairs	‘Rock’n’Roll Dance Party’ WCBS CBS NY 16 Jun 1956
Set 3	Woody Herman 1947 – 50s Radio
Open + I’ve Got News For You	Woody Herman Orchestra (voc) WH	‘Just Jazz’ Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles AFRS Re-broadcast 1947
Ad + The Goof and I	Woody Herman Third Herd	‘Monitor’ Basin Street WRCA NBC NY 26 Jun 1955
Mambo the Most	Woody Herman Third Herd	‘All-Star Parade of Bands’ Peony Park WOW NBC Omaha Nebraska 1948
Set 4	Jazz Inspired Arabic Music
(Open and Close) Coca Cola Ad	Unknown	Cairo 1950
Rhumba	Hanan and Fairouz	Comm Rec Beirut 1950s
Swing	Hanan and Fairouz	Comm Rec Beirut 1950s
Set 5	Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson 1944 – 46
Who Put The Benzedrine in Mrs Murphy’s Ovaltine?	Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson	Radio Transcription Los Angeles 8 Feb 1946
Candlelight + In a Mist	Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson	‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 10 Jul 1944
Who’s Goin’ Steady With Who?	Harry ‘The Hipster’ Gibson	Radio Transcription Los Angeles 8 Feb 1946
Set 6	Eddie Condon 1944 Blue Network
Rosetta	Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole	‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944
Memphis Blues	Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole	‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944
There’ll Be Some Changes Made	Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole (voc) Red McKenzie	‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944
I’d Do Anything For You	Eddie Condon group with Muggsy Spanier and Miff Mole	‘Eddie Condon Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 16 Sep 1944
Set 7	1930s Count Basie
Texas Shuffle	Count Basie Orchestra	Comm Rec New York City 22 Aug 1938
Swing It, Brother, Swing	Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Billie Holliday	Aircheck Savoy Ballroom Harlem NYC 30 Jun 1937
Darn That Dream	Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Helen Humes	Southland Cafe WNAC NBC Red Boston 20 Feb 1940
St Louis Blues	Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Jimmy Rushing	Chatterbox Hotel William Penn WCAE NBC Red Pittsburgh 8 Feb 1937
Set 8	1932 Dance Music
Gnaedige Frau, komm und spiel mit mir	Hans Albers	Movie ‘Quick’ Berlin 1932
Try Getting a Good Night’s Sleep	Don Redman Orchestra (voc) DR	Comm Rec New York City 26 Feb 1932
Linda	earl Burtnett Orchestra (voc) Jess Kirkpatrick	Radio Transcription Los Angeles 1932
On the Alamo / My Ideal / I’ll Get By + Egyptian Shimmy	Anson Weekes Orchestra	Radio Transcription San Francisco 1932

Herbie Fields Child Prodigy – Phantom Dancer 29 May Radio Swing Jazz Mix

Herbie Fields is a musician I’ve long wanted to play a set of. Now the time has come.

I’m Greg Poppleton, 1920s-30s singer and your Phantom Dancer.

The Phantom Dancer is your non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV.

On air every Tuesday, live from 107.3 2SER Sydney from 12:04-2pm, the Phantom Dancer is recorded for re-broadcast over 23 radio stations of the Community Radio Network and online at 2ser.com.

THIS WEEK’S PHANTOM DANCER MIX
– opens with a set of dance bands live on the 1940s ‘One Night Stand’ radio series,
– hear a set of Sarah Vaughan from live 1950s radio,
– a set of early radio dance bands from rare 1920s-30s radio,
– a set of the daddies of boogie woogie pianists from live 1930s radio,
– a set of today’s feature artist, Herbie Fields, including Miles Davis’s recording debut. See the full play list below for more…

HERBIE FIELDS
Herbie Fields was a child prodigy clarinet and sax player whose meteoric career in the mid-1940s faltered in the 1950s, making him increasing disgruntled until he couldn’t take it any more.

A student at the famous Juilliard School of Music, he began recording and broadcasting in 1944 after a two year stint in the U.S Army.

On this week’s Phantom Dancer we’ll hear his first orchestra live from 1944 radio on its own national network band remote. It was coveted radio exposure mostly given to more seasoned bands. We’ll also hear a song from his first recording session made for the prestigious Savoy record label.

The 1945 Savoy record we’ll hear on today’s show features singer Rubberlegs Williams. Rubberlegs, sounding very Fats Waller, calls out Herbie Fields by name on the record – more evidence of the meteoric rise of Herbie Field as a swing name.

This was also the first recording by teenage Miles Davis on trumpet. Miles sounds like Miles even then, though some players on the session complained that the teenager wasn’t good enough – another story for another Phantom Dancer.

Herbie Fields and his 3 year old daughter, Sandra

 

UP-AND-COMING
His star rising in just twelve short months, Fields also won Esquire magazine’s New Star Award on alto sax in 1945.

In 1946, RCA Victor signed Fields as leader of his own big band. Despite including musicians of the calibre of Neal Hefti, Bill Evans, Marty Napoleon and Serge Chaloff, the band was a commercial failure. Big bands were out of fashion.

He went from big band to septet in 1949. We’ll hear that septet on this week’s Phantom Dancer in a 1951 radio broadcast.

In the septet was Frank Rosolino trombone, Jimmy Nottingham trumpet, Jim Aton double bass, Bill Evans piano and Tiny Kahn drums. The group backed Billie Holiday on a successful U.S east coat tour. You’ll hear in this septet broadcast how Fields could play in swing, bop and r’n’b styles all on the one song (‘How High The Moon’).

R’N’B
In the 1950s, Fields moved into rhythm and blues. He became a sax ‘honker’.

You’ll hear him mix honk with bop and swing on ‘How High the Moon’ with his septet on what the 1951 announcer calls a ‘rock’n’roll’ number.

But his decreasing popularity after such a promising career start in 1944 made him increasing disgruntled.

Bill Evans said of Field’s r’n’b style, “In some ways he had been a forerunner of rock ‘n’ roll. He was wiggling, jerking. Rock ‘n’ roll came, brought millions of dollars, but nothing for Herbie Fields.”

Field’s recorded sporadically as an r’n’b artist, bop player and big band leader.

He was leading a trio in his own Miami restaurant in 1958 when is suddenly had enough at age 39.

PHANTOM DANCER VIDEO OF THE WEEK
It’s Herbie Fields on clarinet with the Lionel Hampton sextet on a Decca recording of ‘Ribs and Hot Sauce’.

29 MAY PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #318
107.3 2SER Tuesday 29 May 2018 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 – 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT) National Program: ArtSoundFM Canberra Sunday 7 – 8pm and early morning on 22 other stations.
Set 1	Swing Bands on ‘One Night Stand’
Theme + Kentucky	Gay Claridge Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Chez Paree, Chicago AFRS Re-broadcast 21 Aug 1945
You’re Driving Me Crazy	Jan Savitt Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Palladium Ballroom Hollywood AFRS Re-broadcast 20 Sep 1945
9:20 Special + Pavanne (close)	Sonny Dunham Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania NYC AFRS Re-broadcast 14 Apr 1944
Set 2	Sarah Vaughan Sings Jazz on 1953-56 Radio
Tenderly	Sarah Vaughan	‘Stars in Jazz’ Birdland WNBC NBC NY 31 Mar 1953
I Get a Kick Out of You	Sarah Vaughan	‘Stars in Jazz’ Birdland WNBC NBC NY 31 Mar 1953
Linger Awhile + ‘S Wonderful + Tenderly	Sarah Vaughan	‘All-Star Parade of Bands’ Zardi’s KFI NBC LA 21 May 1956
Set 3	Herbie Fields Feature
That’s The Stuff You Got To Watch	Herbie Fields, Miles Davis’s first recording, Rubberlegs Williams (voc)	WOR Studios New York City 25 Apr 1945
Theme + Don’t Take Your Love From Me	Herbie Fields Orchestra (voc) Carol Kaye	Glen Island Casinu New Rochelle NY WOR MBS NY 9 Aug 1944
How High The Moon + Close	Herbie Fields Septet	‘Stars on Parade’ Radio Transcription 1951
Set 4	1920s-30s Radio Bands
I’m Just A Vagabond Lover	Eskimo Pie Orchestra	Radio Transcription 1929
I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me	Jimmy Grier Orchestra (voc) Gogo Delys	Radio Transcription 1932
I Following You + Coca Cola Waltz	Leonard Joy Coca-Cola Orchestra	‘Coca-Cola Top Notchers’ WEAF NBC Red NY 19 Mar 1930
Set 5	Duke Ellington on 1950s Radio
Open + Tulip or Turnip	Duke Ellington Orchestra (voc) Ray Nance	Blue Note WMAQ NBC Chicago 13 Aug 1952
Things Ain’t What They Used To Be	Duke Ellington Orchestra	Meadowbrook Ballroom Cedar Grove NJ WNBC NBC NY 11 Jun 1951
The Hawk Talks	Duke Ellington Orchestra	Blue Note WMAQ NBC Chicago 30 Jul 1952
Great Times	Duke Ellington Orchestra	Radio Transcription New York 11 Feb 1951
Set 6	Eddie Condon
Open + At The Jazz Band Ball	Eddie Condon Group	‘Eddie Condon Town Hall Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 30 Sep 1944
I’m a Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas	Eddie Condon Group	‘Eddie Condon Town Hall Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 16 Jul 1944
Easter Parade	Eddie Condon Group	‘Eddie Condon Town Hall Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 23 Sep 1944
Ensemble Blues	Eddie Condon Group	‘Eddie Condon Town Hall Jazz Concert’ WJZ Blue NY 29 Jul 1944
Set 7	Boogie Woogie
Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie	Pine Tops Smith	Comm Rec Chicago 29 Dec 1928
Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie	Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis (voc) Johnny Mercer	‘Camel Caravan’ WABC CBS NY 11 Apr 1939
Honky Tonk Train Blues	Meade Lux Lewis	‘Camel Caravan’ WABC CBS NY 3 Jan 1939
Roll ‘Em	Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis	‘Camel Caravan’ WABC CBS NY 3 Jan 1939
Set 8	Farewell
Boompsie	Chubby Jackson Orchestra	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA NY 5 Mar 1949