Scatter-Brain

This seems like a good follow-up to the last radio-based post. I can only imagine how cool it must have been to be able to hear weekly live broadcasts of one's favorite band. Let the radio warm up, find the station, and it's almost like being there. Nobody does that these days, alas. Fortunately for us, many radio band remotes survive to this day and we can hear the real thing still. Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, the Dorseys, and many more ... so much great music. Although their 78 rpm recordings are essentially live recordings (no dubs, remixes, edits, etc.), it's different playing in front of a crowd of fans with expectations and reactions. These recordings give us the chance to see just how good the musicianship was, and Benny Goodman ran one of the tightest groups. Goodman went to Hollywood in 1936 to take advantage of a huge West Coast fan base that developed through East Coast broadcasts (9:30 pm) of Let's Dance. He joined CBS' Camel Caravan in 1936, with recordings existing from 1937 until late 1939 (this collection), as well as a couple more featuring Bob Crosby and his Orchestra into 1940. The show switched networks to NBC in March, 1939. Enjoy. +


Tracks

Benny Goodman and His Orchestra: Ted Pearson (announcer), Benny Goodman (cl),  Jimmy Maxwell, Johnny Martel, Ziggy Elman (trumpet), Red Ballard, Vernon Brown, Ted Vesely (tbn), Toots Mondello, Buff Estes (as), Buss Bassey, Jerry Jerome (ts), Fletcher Henderson (pn), Arnold Covey (g), Art Bernstein (bs), Nicky Fatool (d), Mildred Bailey (v).


Benny Goodman Sextet: Benny Goodman (cl), Lionel Hampton (vib), Fletcher Henderson (pn), Charlie Christian (g), Art Bernstein (bs), Nicky Fatook (d).

The Camel Caravan. November 4, 1939, NBC.

1. Introduction
2. Down By The Old Mill Stream
3. What's New
4. I Didn't Know What Time It Was (vocal, Mildred Bailey)
5. Bolero
6. Shivers (sextet)
7. Love Never Went To College
8. Scatter-Brain (vocal, Mildred Bailey)
9. Roll 'Em
10. Closing


The Camel Caravan. November 18, 1939, NBC.

11. Introduction
12. Scatter-Brain
13. Lilacs In The Rain (vocal, Mildred Bailey)
14. In The Mood
15. South Of The Border (sextet)
16. Swingin' A Dream (vocal, Mildred Bailey)
17. Boy Meets Horn (featuring, Ziggy Elman)
18. Oh Johnny Oh! (vocal, Mildred Bailey)
19. Sing, Sing, Sing (featuring, Lionel Hampton, drums)
20. Closing

On The Air

I've been a bit busier with other things of late, so here's a short one today, just fifteen tunes from Alice Faye radio performances.Although there are no liner notes, most (if not all) of these were culled from recordings of The Fleischman's Yeast Hour. Faye landed her first radio gig with Rudy Vallee's show, and sang there from 1932-1934 - several times without any billing at the beginning of the show. But that was Rudy for you, I guess. Faye also cut several 78s, which I hope to get to in the not too distant future. As I'm away from my cd collection at the moment, the images come from an ebay site. Enjoy. +


Tracks

1. Hats Off / Mimi / The Scat Song (December 29, 1932)
2. Sittin' Up, Waitin' For You (November 9, 1933)
3. You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me (May 11, 1933)
4. Gather Lip Rouge While You May (November 16, 1933)
5. Weep No More My Baby (January 4, 1934)
6. You Can't Play My Ukulele
7. You've Got Everything (October 26, 1933)
8. Dinah (sung with the Mills Brothers, November 30, 1933)
9. Young And Healthy/Oooh, I'm Thinking (May 4, 1933)
10. Old Man Harlem (May 4, 1933)
11. My, Oh, My (June 1, 1933)
12. Happy As The Day Is Long (June 15, 1933)
13. I've Got The World On A String (February 9, 1933)
14. You're An Old Smoothie (sung with Rudy Vallee)
15. Shuffle Off To Buffalo (April 6, 1933)

Where Is Mr. Volstead?

Hi All,

Please make a note of this blog address: http://whereismrvolstead.blogspot.com.

This blog here is a pre-emptive measure now that a craven coward has decided to attack my blog. It doesn't matter that the music is public domain, all it takes for RS or MU to remove the links is one anonymous complaint.

Now, the sniveling coward has threatened to have Blogger shut me down (despite claiming to "like" my blog). LOL.

Therefore, this new blog will exist to let people know where the blog is. Rest assured, the Page Mr. Volstead blog will continue to share this great (public domain) music from the Prohibition era (and the 30s-40s).

So please bookmark this blog address, or add it to the blogs you follow. If forced to move, I'm all set.

Cheers, and enjoy the music.

Chester Proudfoot

Salt Water Cowboy

Here is one that I promised a while back. This is another collection of popular tunes from the World War II era, this time including 'Salt Water Cowboy' which had caught my ear when I first heard it sung by Connie Haines on the Abbott & Costello radio program. It is typical for the period, and like much of the content may not be "politically correct." Included are Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Doris Day, Kate Smith, Harry James, Cab Calloway, and many more. Enjoy. +



Tracks

1. We Did It Before (And We Can Do It Again) - Clyde Lucas And His Orchestra
2. Miss Vivian Blane Introduces "The Air Battle" - Vivian Blane
3. Hip Hip Hooray - Nat King Cole Trio
4. There Won't Be a Shortage of Love - Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol
5. We Must Be Vigilant (American Patrol) - Chico Marx And His Orchestra
6. Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition! - Kate Smith
7. In My Arms - Eddie Cantor
8. Uncle Sam Blues - Eddie Condon and His Jazz Concert All-Stars, Hot Lips Page
9. Ev'rybody Ev'ry Payday - Barry Wood
10. You Can't Get That No More - Louis Jordan
11. Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer - Bea Wain
12. Rosie the Riveter - Allen Miller and His Orchestra
13. Johnny Zero - Marion Hutton and The Modernaires#
14. A Fellow on a Furlough - Glenn Miller and His Army Air Force Band
15. Johnson's G.I. Blues - Private Frankie Johnson
16. Why Do They Call a Private a Private? - Ethel Merman
17. Lili Marlene - March Of The Orchestra And Chorus
18. The Fuehrer's Got the Jitters - Cab Calloway & His Orchestra
19. Salt Water Cowboy - Doris Day with Les Brown and His Orchestra
20. Banzai Bugle Bit - Bob Hope with Harry James
21. Buy, Buy, Buy Bonds - Bing Crosby with Harry James and His Musicmakers
22. The Quicker I Gets to Where I'm Goin' (The Sooner He'll Be Seein' Me) - Pearl Bailey
23. Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag (And Smile, Smile, Smile) - Bob Crosby and His V-Disc Bob Cats
24. I Was Here When You Left Me - Louis Prima and His Orchestra
25. They're Either Too Young or Too Old - Joan Edwards
26. Buy a Piece of the Peace - Frank Sinatra
27. I Don't Want to Change the Subject (Victory Bond Song) - Georgia Gibbs

(Give Me That) Business in F

This is another one that I had intended to post long ago, but on the other hand there is something to be said for not posting all the best stuff first. I really like the TOM series (am hoping to pick more up soon) because they have been issuing good quality releases of artists that are largely ignored by the larger producers. Check out Charlie Palloy, for a great example. I doubt anyone could do a complete Ben Selvin series, but what TOM included is still very entertaining. Many of these songs were covered by others, including Chick Bullock (gotta get my Bullock plug in!). If you read the post for Vol. 1, the liner notes suggest that these were throw-away tunes. However, the band performs them with gusto and I'm glad the recordings survive to this day. As did others in the era, Kardos recorded these under pseudonyms in an effort to record outside of his contract. From Amazon.com, "Gene Kardos led a popular dance band in New York in the early 1930s, but most of the records he recorded were released under a variety of names on different labels, which made it difficult for him to get proper credit for his accomplishments. The songs on this CD, for example, were released on the Crown label under the name of Joel Shaw and His Orchestra. Crown was a budget label that was started during the Depression--its slogan was "Two Hits for Two Bits"--and most artists who recorded for them used pseudonyms, particularly if they had recording contracts for other labels, as Kardos did. The Joel Shaw Orchestra, which was named for the band's piano player, had a propulsive rhythm. On tracks such as their cover of the Cab Calloway classic "Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day" and on standards ("Dinah"), they were capable of playing some fine jazz. And selections like "Barnacle Bill (the Sailor)" and "Call of the Freaks" reveal a goofy sense of humor that only adds to the band's raucous, but good-natured sound. No matter whose name is on the label, the music of Gene Kardos and his band deserves to be heard." Enjoy. +


Tracks

1. Stop The Sun, Stop The Moon
2. Business In F
3. Barnacle Bill
4. Sweet Violets
5. Some Of These Days
6. Alexander's Ragtime Band
7. Sing A New Song
8. If It Ain't Love
9. Business In Q
10. My Extraordinary Gal
11. Oh! Monah
12. Goofus
13. Dinah
14. Mouthful O' Jam
15. Whistle And Blow Your Blues Away
16. Darktown Strutters' Ball
17. Call Of The Freaks
18. How'm I Doin'?
19. The Scat Song
20. Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day
21. When You're Getting Along With Your Gal
22. Who's Your Little Who-Zis?
23. One More Kiss, Then Goodnight

Shine On Harvest Moon

Finally, I'm getting around to posting this! Ethel Waters' version of Shine On Harvest Moon is my absolute favorite (Laurel & Hardy's is a close second), and there's not a track here that I don't like. Compare her playful version (some say 'campy') of A Hundred Years From Today.to that of Jack Teagarden. On Dinah she brings it down from the jumpy Mills Brothers cut to something you could slow dance to, a sort of lazy, hot afternoon stay-in-the-shade type of song. Meanwhile, Miss Otis Regrets is now a mournful ballad in comparison to Cab Calloway's version, for example. Stormy Weather is simply one of the best. Musicians present include Manny Klein, Joe Venuti, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, the Dorseys, Bunny Berigan, Dick McDonough, Benny Goodman, Jack & Charlie Teagarden, Art Karle, Taft Jordan & John Kirby. A virtual who's who of the day. Full scans included. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. River, Stay 'Way from My Door
2. Shine on Harvest Moon
3. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
4. Porgy
5. St. Louis Blues
6. Stormy Weather
7. Love Is the Thing
8. Don't Blame Me
9. Shadows on the Swanee
10. Heat Wave
11. Harlem on My Mind
12. I Just Couldn't Take It, Baby
13. A Hundred Years from Today
14. Come up and See Me Sometime
15. You've Seen Harlem at Its Best
16. Miss Otis Regrets
17. Dinah
18. When It's Sleepy Time Down South
19. Moonglow
20. Give Me a Heart to Sing To
21. I Ain't Gonna Sin No More
22. Trade Mark
23. You're Going to Leave the Old Home, Jim