Big Band Bash

Every week on Big Band Bash I try to present a variety of bands and formats. Sometimes the leaders are well known and sometimes they are not but I always try to present good music from the bands of that era. Today's show is on an excellent trumpet player who led a big band but who didn't quite achieve the fame of some of the other leaders. Today we are going to spotlight the band and trumpet of Sonny Dunham. Sonny played for a while with the Casa Loma Orchestra and then he led his own band. In addition to some of the sides that feature the Dunham orchestra, I have a 30 minute radio remote featuring Sonny's band on the One Night Stand show. There is a lot of great music on the show and I hope you enjoy this look at Sonny Dunham and his Orchestra. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

During the swing era, many of the record companies and music publishers kept track of a song's weekly standings in the polls. Just as they do today, bandleaders hoped that their recordings would reach the number one spot in the lists. But, sadly, some only made it to the number two position and then no higher. On the show today, we are going to be listening to songs from the years of 1940 and 1941 that only made it to number two. There are some great songs in this set. I got the idea for this show from a fellow big band broadcaster who has since retired. I hope you enjoy this show that I titled, "Number Two in the Charts". Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

On this week's show, instead of focusing on bandleaders or musicians, I would like to take a look at the career of one of the greatest of the American lyricists Johnny Mercer. John Herndon Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He was also a record label executive, who co-founded Capitol Records. He is best known as a tin pan alley lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. I have pulled out some a variety of songs all with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. I hope you enjoy the selections as we learn about the master lyricist Johnny Mercer. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

On this week's show I am going to take a look at the area of New York City known as Harlem. There have been many songs written about that particular area so I thought it would be interesting to learn about it and explore some of the many songs that have Harlem in the title. Some of the bands we'll be hearing from include Duke Ellington, Mildred Bailey, Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Bunny Berigan, and Erskine Hawkins. I hope you enjoy this look at some of the many bands celebrating the spot of New York known as Harlem. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I am going to continue with Part-two of "Into the 50's" from the Time Life series "The Swing Era". Today's show focuses on songs from the the late 1940's and early 1950's. There are only a couple more volumes in this set and the producers of the series stopped using individual years and lumped several years together. So today, we'll be hearing from the bands of Benny Goodman, Ralph Flanagan, Ted Heath, Count Basie and several others. There are some great songs in this set so lets go back to the years right before 1950 and hear some exciting music from the big bands. As always I am following the playlist from the original set and playing the original artists instead of the recreations. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I am going back to another set in the Time Life series "The Swing Era". Today's show focuses on songs from the the late 1940's and early 1950's. There are only a couple more volumes in this set and the producers of the series stopped using individual years and lumped several years together. So today, we'll be hearing from the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller, Harry James, Woody Herman, and Ted Heath and several others. There are some great songs in this set so lets go back to the years right before 1950 and hear some exciting music from the big bands. As always I am following the playlist from the original set and playing the original artists instead of the recreations. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Because we celebrated our nation's birthday this week, I went back to the Big Band Bash archives to pull out a show I recorded back in 2011. I think it is an interesting show and doesn't feature any one band. It was a show I did on some of the famous ballrooms that the big bands played at. Some of them were quite famous and a few are still around today. I have quite a few air checks in my collection so I tried to play selections from the ballrooms they were appearing at. We will learn about such places as the Glen Island Casino, Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook, The Pallomar Ballroom and others. I hope you enjoy this trip back to the 30's and 40's as we hear the Big Bands coming to you from their Famous Ballrooms. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

1939 was a great year for the Count Basie orchestra. This was the last year of their three year contract with Decca records where they would record many of their hits. He still had Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Jimmy Rushing and other original members in the band. He also had a great female vocalist in the band named Helen Humes. I have been listening to the Count Basie band since I was a teenage as my father had some Basie lps in his collection. I hope you enjoy this look at one recording year in the history of one of the greatest swing bands in history - the great Count Basie Orchestra. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Ray Anthony has led a big band for many years starting in the late 1940's. He played trumpet in the original Glenn Miller orchestra and after the war started his own band. He has had a lot of first class musicians play in his band throughout the years. On the show today I found a remote which was part of the One Night Stand series. It was recorded at the Hollywood Palladium in the early 1950's. Then in the second half we'll be listening to some selections from an early television show that Ray had as a summer replacement also from the early 1950's. He had two special guests singing with his band on this show. Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly. Get ready to get your feet tapping to the great band of Ray Anthony recorded live during the early 1950's. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Richard Rodgers was an American composer of music, with over 900 songs and 43 Broadway musicals, leaving a legacy as one of the most significant composers of 20th century American music. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. His music has been recorded by many different artists throughout the last century and into this one. On the show today, I thought it would be fun to listen to the great big bands interpret the music of Richard Rodgers. He is truly a giant of the Great American Songbook. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

In 1934 the Chick Webb orchestra was looking for a new singer. They hired a very young girl who had no big band singing experience. She developed into one of the greatest jazz singers in the world. On the show today I am going to be playing from a Mosaic records collection that feature all the recordings that Ella Fitzgerald made with the Chick Webb orchestra from 1934 to 1941. This is a fabulous collection and consists of 8 cds. I picked a sample of the selections from that set for the show today. I hope you enjoy this look at Ella Fitzgerald singing with the Chick Webb orchestra. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

When a band records a song that was made popular by another band the second band is said to be covering that song by the first band. For example when Benny Goodman recorded Frenesi that is a cover since it was a hit by Artie Shaw. Covers were very common in the big band years and I pulled out several that I found in my collection. There were many more available but I think you'll find it interesting to hear your favorite song done in a different way than the original. We'll be hearing from Kay Kyser, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and many more. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Will Bradley along with drummer Ray McKinley led a very exciting band from 1939 to 1942. The Bradley band became well known for boogie-woogie, particularly its hit record, "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" In 1942, McKinley departed to form his own band. Bradley hired trumpeter Shorty Rogers and drummer Shelly Manne, but many members wound up in the military due to the draft, and the band dissolved. On today's program we will take a look at and listen to many of those great Bradley recordings. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

April 29, 1899 was the birthday of the pianist, composer and big band leader Duke Ellington. I've gone back into the Big Band Bash vault and pulled out a program featuring other bands playing Duke's music in honor of his birthday. It is interesting to hear songs that Ellington composed played by other bands. I produced this program about six years ago and haven't listened to it since then. I hope you enjoy this program of Ellington music as we celebrate Duke Ellington's birthday. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week's show is part two of the Time-Life Swing Era set, "The Postwar Years". We are winding down this great set as there are only a few more volumes in the series. On the show today we will be hearing the bands of Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Nat King Cole and others. After World War Two ended the big bands became less popular and vocalists seemed to gain in popularity. I hope you enjoy the music in this set and don't forget, The Big Band Bansh Puzzler is back this week. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week I am going back to another set in the Time Life series "The Swing Era". Today's show is called "The Postwar Years" and features songs from the years after World War II. There are only a couple more volumes in this set and the producers of the series stopped using individual years and lumped several years together. So today, we'll be hearing from the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, Les Brown, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, and Harry James and several others. There are some great songs in this set so let's go back to the years right after World War II and hear some exciting music from the big bands. As always I am following the playlist from the original set and playing the original artists instead of the recreations. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

One of the most popular songs from the 1940's was Sentimental Journey. The band that recorded it was Les Brown's and the vocalist was a young Doris Day. Doris recently celebrated her 96th birthday. In order to celebrate her birthday I referenced a box set that I have called "Doris Day 1947-1950". Included in this set are many of the recordings she made for Columbia records when she was starting out as a solo performer. Many of these recordings have string accompaniment backgrounds so I hope you'll excuse the lack of a big band. Also, these are all songs from the great American Songbook and in between the selections we'll be learning about the career of Miss Doris Day. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

The first song I ever heard Miss Peggy Lee sing with a big band was "Why Don't You Do Right" when I was back in college. I have been trying to do right ever since by listening to as much of her music as I could. I haven't produced a show on Peggy Lee so I wanted to go back and listen to some of those great recordings she made with Benny Goodman's band and on her own. She had a very long career so the show today features songs she recorded in the 1940's. I hope you enjoy this look at the career and music of Miss Peggy Lee. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

Our show this week is a look at bandleader Erskine Hawkins. He is mostly known as the composer of the hit Tuxedo Junction. But in addition to composing, he was a fine trumpet player and a well liked and respected bandleader. Some of the band's hits include Tippin' In, After Hours and Bicycle Bounce. His nickname was "The 20th Century Gabriel" which some of the music critics of the day did not like. Hawkins died at his home in New Jersey in 1993 and is buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery. I hope you enjoy this look at the great band of Erskine Hawkins. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com

This week we are continuing with Big Bands Live Part 2. The music comes from a CD set called Big bands live. Each CD had 5 or 6 selections from different bands recorded live while they were appearing on location. I produced these two shows about nine years ago so if the introductions sound a little strange that's why. But introductions aside, there is some really nice recordings in this set and luckily there was enough music for two programs. On Part Two of Big Bands Live we'll be hearing the bands of Harry James, Woody Herman and Artie Shaw. I hope you enjoy these live recordings by some of the great big bands. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com