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It's make-believe ballroom.
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Time Put all your cares away All the bands are
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here To bring good cheer your way.
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It's make-believe ballroom time And free to everyone It's no
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time to fret, your dial is set for one.
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Just close your eyes.
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And visualize in your solitude.
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Your favorite bands are on the stands and Mr.
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Miller puts you in the mood.
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It's make-believe ballroom time.
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Hello, world. I'm Jeff Bressler, turning on the lights of
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the Make-Believe Ballroom and welcoming you into my crystal studio
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for another jam-packed program of classic big band music from
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the beautiful 1930s and 40s. Please get ready. I've got
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an amazing lineup today of jazz, swing, blues, and boogie-woogie
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favorites coming your way. Folks, you're listening to the Make-Believe Ballroom,
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broadcasting almost continuously since 1935, and proud to be America's
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third longest-running musical radio program, and a big warm welcome, welcome,
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welcome into the crystal studio. Located at the J1 Studios
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right here in Balmy, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And what a
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show I have lined up for you today. I want
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to start this edition of The Ballroom with, well, I'll
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call it a mini-tribute to Lil Hardin Armstrong. Many corners,
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Lil is best known as a former wife of Louis Armstrong.
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But in actuality, historically, she was so much more. Lil
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was a brilliant pianist, a wonderful vocalist, a talented bandleader,
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as well as being an accomplished composer. Lil was an
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absolute trailblazer. She was able to carve out a legacy, uh,
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and succeed as a black female artist at a time
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when the odds were stacked entirely against her being both
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black and female. She actually wasn't part of just jazz history.
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She helped write it. Very underrated, in my estimation. Let
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me play a record by Lel, and then we'll talk
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about how she helped shape and reimagine the great Louis
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Armstrong himself.
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Now come gather round us folks Let us tell you
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about this swing Let us tell you about the dance
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that was invented just for you Now you swing over here.
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Now you swing over there.
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Boy, you swing.
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On out and you do the boozy cue.
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Oh, you're dancing.
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Yes, you're prancing.
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When you hear the music play, that's your cue.
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Yes, you're trucking, doing the shim-sham.
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Then you swing on out and you're doing the Susie Q.
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Now stop unless you do forget.
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You ain't seen nothing yet.
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Until you see this dance that's new. Oh, you tuck
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over here, you swing over there. You tip just like
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you're walking on air. Then you're doing the Susie Q.
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Now hot steps, new steps, you will give them.
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Good old pep and low-down rhythm Now come and give
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yourself a treat Watch these babies shake their feet What
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they're doing, they're doing a suzy cute.
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We just heard Lil Hardin Armstrong and her swing orchestra
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tearing through doing the Susie Q.
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Cut out in Chicago on October the 27th, 1936, for
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Decca Records. And that record featured a couple of top-shelf sidemen.
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You had Joe Thomas on trumpet and the great Buster
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Bailey playing the clarinet. Now, I mentioned before the record
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that Lil was a driving force and an essential mentor
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to Louis Armstrong. When they first met in Chicago, Lil
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was already a sophisticated musician and composer, as well as
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vocalist and piano player. She was arranging and singing with
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King Oliver's Creole jazz band when she met Louis. She
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encouraged him at the time. Louis was playing with different groups.
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to step out on his own. She understood the level
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of talent that Louis had. She went on to refine
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his musical presentation, and she really played a massive role
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in steering him towards international superstardom. She even, it's said,
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redressed and got a new hairstyle for
Load full transcript
Louis, who she
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considered to be Rural looking, somewhat like a country bumpkin
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from Louisiana. Why don't we listen once again to the
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incomparable Lil Hardin Armstrong.
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LIL HARDIN ARMSTRONG.
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Now I was always known to be the vamp of
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my hometown, and everyone could plainly see that I'd make
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any man my clown. I broke the hearts of many men.
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The way I did it shows a sin, but now
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those days are gone. Since my hidey-hole man came along,
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I fell for a hidey-hole man, and he means the
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world to me. And I don't want to make you
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understand what's on him to see. Sometimes I quit him,
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it's all in vain. It's just too bad when he
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hides all again.
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Mmm, my little hidey-hole man.
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Ba-ba-dee-doo-doo-doo-doo.
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Now, that was my little hidey-hole man, but he ain't
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worth a dime.
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Now, all that I can ever get from him is
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just a gang of beat-up times. Say, he treats me
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mean and he sometimes hits me. I don't care as
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long as he don't quit me. My little hidey-hole man.
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Now, folks, did you hear my hearty ho man?
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Oh, he's my honey.
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I'm going to bump back bar and steal all I
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can till.
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He can have his correct money.
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Say he stays out late, won't even phone. Tells me
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my place is home alone.
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Such a little hidey hole man.
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Folks, we just heard another sizzling side by Lil, my
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hidey-ho man, recorded at the same deck of session that
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doing the Susie Q was recorded on October the 27th, 1936. So,
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a little music and a little about the wonderful Lil
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Hardin Armstrong. Folks, head over to makebelieveballroom.com. It's your ultimate
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online destination for the Make Believe Ballroom. We've got over
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260 past episodes waiting for you right now with brand
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new shows and some of the older vintage ones that
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I've been able to dig up
added all the time.
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That's over 260 hours of incredible big band jazz, swing blues,
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boogie woogie, and Dixieland music available 24-7. So keep the
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music playing. Bookmark makebelieveballroom.com today and dive into the ultimate
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library of classic American swing radio programs through our past shows.
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And now a song from the short-lived Burt Block and
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his orchestra.
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No other one, yes, no other one Can ever do
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what you do when.
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You do what you do Kissing.
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Me, oh, no other one, yes, no other one Can
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ever make me like you, like you, like I'd like.
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To constantly talk about caresses.
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With an 18-carat thrill. I don't have to.
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Make three guesses when I'm thinking of someone who can
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fill the bill.
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There's no other one, yes, no other one.
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Can ever make me want to want to say, who
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do I want.
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In a great big way? No other one.
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¶ ¶.
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Folks, before we move on, I want to share a
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fascinating little slice of record history about that last side.
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That was, indeed, Burt Block and his orchestra with No
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Other One, recorded in New York City on October the 3rd, 1935,
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on the Perfect label. Now, interestingly, that was the very
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first of five documented records commercial recording sessions for Bloch's orchestra,
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and it's the only one that didn't carry the quote-unquote
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and his bells billing. Yes, all other Bloch's sides included
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the addition of bell music within the song. Also on
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that particular ARC record date, the legendary Axl Stardahl served
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double duty as both trumpeter and arranger, and he even
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stepped up to the microphone. He joined fellow trumpeter Joe
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Bauer and longtime vocalist Jack Leonard to form the vocal
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trio known on the label as the Three Chirps. If
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those names sound familiar, well, I've told this story on
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a past show, All three of them would soon, after
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that recording session, head off to join the Tommy Dorsey Band,
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where they continued performing together as a vocal trio under
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the moniker of not the Three Chirps, but the Three Esquires. So,
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here on the Make-Believe Ballroom, I now offer you Tommy
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Dorsey and his orchestra. Edith Wright and the Three Esquires.
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¶ ¶.
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Start to swing, it's a jamboree Have your fling, it's
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a jamboree Get that music to wear you down Rockin'
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rhythm to tear you down Here we go, stepping wide
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and high. Trumpets blow while we're riding high. Go to town,
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spread the jam with me. Start to swing, it's a jamboree.
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Social devs and college tutors mixed with Broadway hands. Stage
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celebs and cloak and suitors, why, everybody jams. Crazy punks
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who've got ambitions, throw them all away.
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Sailors, drunks, and hot musicians get right in the sway.
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Gigolos with their painted eyebrows, picking up wealthy frumps.
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And the bigolos, known as Boston Highbrows, doing the Harlem bumps.
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All the swells and honky-tonks from Brooklyn to the Bronx.
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Feel that shockin' rockin' rhythm of the jamboree You've got
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to go get.
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Into your stride You've got to go get ready.
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To ride Start to swing, it's a jamboree.
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That was Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra with Jamboree, a
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song sourced from the Universal film Top of the Town,
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recorded in New York City at RCA Victor's Studio 3.
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That was their East 24th Street studio. on November the 24th, 1936,
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under the Victor label. It's written by Jimmy McHugh and
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Harold Adamson. And that side featured the wonderful vocal by
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Edith Wright, alongside the Three Esquires, who, as I earlier mentioned,
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were none other than Jack Leonard, Joe Bauer, and Axel Stordahl.
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So we were talking about Burt Block and his orchestra
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that had a limited range. run, both as a record
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and live performance group. But don't worry about Bert. He
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went on to become a, well, a hugely famous recording
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company agent and executive. I guess you had bands like
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Blocks that were a limited run, to say the least.
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But while I was playing Tommy Dorsey and the Three Esquires,
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I was thinking about which big bands had the longest
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amount of longevity. Let me spin another record, then the
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top two and some of their music. Who do you
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folks think were the two legendary big bands with the
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greatest continuous longevity?
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¶ ¶.
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So so my my.
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Folks, if you were holding an original.
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Copy of Vocalion record number... 5493.
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In your hands, you'd see right there on the label,
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it says Bobby Hackett's tribute to Bix Beiderbecke. It's a
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gorgeous sign. Horace Haidt presenting Bobby Hackett and his orchestra
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with Singin' the Blues, recorded in Los Angeles on February
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the 1st, 1940. However, whoever was proofreading the record label
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that day, clearly had their mind on a totally different topic.
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Perhaps it was a coffee break. Perhaps it was a
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woman's phone number that that individual obtained on a matchbook.
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We don't know, but the label credits the song written
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by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, who actually wrote a
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totally different tune called Singin' the Blues back in 1931.
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The real authors behind this classic jazz standard that we
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just heard were J. Russell Robinson and Con Conrad. Now,
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how on earth did a mix-up like that make it
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onto a pressing plant master? Well, Record labels back in
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the 1940s were rushing releases out the door at a
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breakneck pace, relying on tired typists, I guess. Handwritten, poorly handwritten,
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I must say, session sheets passed from studio to office
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and likely serious problems and zero second guessing. A busy
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layout artist probably saw us singing the blues and pulled
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the first title match in their publishing catalog, which happened
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to be the McHugh and Fields tune, and they ended
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up slapping it right on the label before anyone had
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a chance to check the sheet music. The glamorous, era-prone
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romance of the 78 RPM era. so quaint and homey,
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so disorganized, similar to the console here in the Crystal Studio.
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I'm Jeff Bressler, and you're listening to the one, the only,
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the original Make-Believe Ballroom on the radio since 1935, making
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this program America's third longest-running radio show. Before I played
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Bobby Hackett and told you that label story, I asked
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you to think about the Two big bands that had
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the greatest longevity. So why don't I begin with number two?
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And when you talk about true longevity in the big
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band world, few can touch the Duke Ellington Orchestra. And
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I'm sure many of you had that either as number
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one or number two. For over 50 continuous years under
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Duke's direct leadership, starting way back in 1923 until his
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passing in 1974, Duke Ellington treated his orchestra not merely
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as a touring dance band, but more importantly as a
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living laboratory for composition. And by writing custom arrangements, that
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were tailored specifically to the unique individual tones of his
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star sidemen, the group developed an inimitable, constantly fresh new sound.
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The Duke. The Duke.
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That smooth swinging classic was just a sitting and a
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rocking composed by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn. and Lee Gaines,
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and it was recorded in New York City at the
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RCA Victor Studio No. 2, which we had just discussed
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a few moments ago on April 26, 1945. And now
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my beloved audience, the beloved band that has had the
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longest run of longevity of all the big bands in history.
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When we talk about the ultimate band I guess you'd
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have to call it marathon contest of the big band world.
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We have to look no further than, and I'm sure
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many of you got this correct, Count Basie and his orchestra.
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For over 90 years, they have been in continuous operation
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since the founding by Count Basie back in Kansas City
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in 1935 and long after. Basie passed in 1984. The
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orchestra continued and continues to tour and record under the
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direction of a number of esteemed band leaders, the likes
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of which have been Thad Jones led the band for
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a number of years, Frank Foster, a number of others.
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So we can say that Count Basie And his orchestra
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stand as the longest-running active big band in jazz history.
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And a song now with the title of something Count
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Basie certainly did not do.
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¶ ¶.
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Friends, that incredible jump tune was Doggin' Around, composed by
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the brilliant tenor saxophonist Herschel Evans, and Count Basie certainly
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never wanted to dog it. And that fine disc was
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recorded in New York City. June the 6th, 1938 by
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Count Basie and his orchestra and released on Decca Records.
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The two big bands with the longest longevity, Count Basie
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and Duke Ellington. And I think it's Guy Lombardo who
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holds the distinction of being third on that list. Quick
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reminder for all of our listeners, make sure to head
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over and subscribe to the Make Believe Ballroom Radio Facebook
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page to catch daily record plays, historical features, and some
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added programming you don't hear on the radio. Subscribe to
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Make Believe Ballroom Radio on Facebook.
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Got a snap in my fingers Got rhythm in my
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walk As the elephants say I'm living in a great.
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Big way.
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Got a handful.
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Of nothing And I watch it like a hawk Well,
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I'm doing okay I'm.
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Living in a great big way.
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I'm the salt in the ocean I'm the sun in
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the sky.
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I'm a Franklin D.
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Roosevelt.
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I'm a million dollars long as.
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I got a snap in my fingers.
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Got a rhythm in my walk.
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Got the devil to pay.
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00:38:19.400
I'm living in a great big way.
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Oh.
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We just heard that wonderful number, I'm Livin' in a
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Great Big Way, sourced from the film Hooray for Love,
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recorded in New York City at the Brunswick Studios on
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April 3rd, 1935, by Louis Prima and his New Orleans gang,
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and released today. on Naturally Brunswick Records. Let me play
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another tune, then a listener's email regarding a recent segment
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we had on the program about band leader feuds.
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Piano plays.
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That swingin' rendition of 920 Special was recorded in 1944
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for the Langworth Transcription Service, featuring Sonny Dunham and his orchestra,
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Sonny Dunham. one of the premier trumpet and valve trombone
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virtuosos of the swing era. I'm Jeff Bressler, and I'm
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swinging through another edition of the Make Believe Ballroom coming
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to you from the Crystal Studio in the J1 Studios
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in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And thanks so much for listening
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in today. To reach me, I'm Jeff at makebelieveballroomradio.com. That's
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Jeff at makebelieveballroomradio.com. And if you were with us a
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few weeks ago, I did a segment on band leader
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feuds and as a result got quite a few emails
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about that. Last week I read a listener's email who
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wanted more information on the Frank Sinatra-Buddy Rich feud. It
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was actually more of a tiff than a feud actually.
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I've used that word tiff my whole life, and I
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don't actually know what it means. I'm going to have
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to look that up. Today, though, I have what would
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be described as feud hyphen tiff. Not quite a feud
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or tiff, but a little of both. And Alfred Carnes
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wants to be illuminated on the tensions between Benny Goodman
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and Gene Krupa. And Alfred, who listens on Jazz 90.1
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in Rochester, New York, was nice enough to take the
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time to sit down and ask the question, which I
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deeply appreciate. So for you, Alfred, as the story goes, well,
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it really all blew wide open
at Benny Goodman's historic concert.
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January the 16th, 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, which I have
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covered extensively over the years here in the Make-Believe Ballroom.
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I'm sure most of you have heard Gene Krupa's explosive
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drum solo on Sing, Sing, Sing, which brought the house
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down and made him, Gene, the most talked-about musician in
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the entire Benny Goodman orchestra. The problem with that, well,
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the problem with that was Benny Goodman, who was notorious
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among his own sidemen for a wordless, icy stare nicknamed
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The Ray, which we spoke about recently. And that I, Ray,
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was aimed at Gene Krupa because Benny deeply at his
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own concert being upstaged by his own drummer. Now Lionel Hampton,
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who shared the stage with both of them, put the
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conflict simply. He said that Goodman disliked the showmanship, overshadowing
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what he considered the real music, while Gene Krupa firmly
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believed that the showmanship was the whole point of the
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Carnegie Hall concert. The tension came to a head afterwards
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when Krupa left Goodman later that year to form his
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own successful big band that debuted at Atlantic City's Steel
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Pier in New Jersey. But, Alfred, thankfully, time heals old
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wounds and the two eventually reconciled reuniting on stage several
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times over the following decades to the delight of jazz
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fans everywhere. So a happy ending to that TIFF-feud. And
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thank you, Alfred Carnes, for your email asking for more
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information on the dynamics between Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman.
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And now, hopefully, some happy music. A little while back
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in the program, we played a song by Sonny Dunham
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that was recorded for the Langworth Transcription Service to be
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used as syndicated musical radio material geared for independent radio
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stations around the country in 1944. In 1941, there was
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a major Langworth transcription recording series that was released to
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independent stations. It was a 21-track collection recorded at New
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York's Leader Kranz Hall in 1941 for the Langworth Transcription
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Library to be distributed at a later date. It featured
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the Ten tracks by the Woody Herman Orchestra with vocals
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by Woody, Muriel Lane, and Steddy Nelson. And also there
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were 11 tracks by the Gene Krupa Orchestra with vocals
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by Anita O'Day, Roy Eltridge, and Howard Delaney. Let me
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play a track by Krupa from that session for Langworth.
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Then I'll play one by Woody Herman. Although they were
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in the same hall, they did not record any mutual
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or combined material for that Langworth session. So let's start
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off with Gene Krupa.
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¦ What a fool am I To love you so
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dearly What a fool am I To show it so clearly.
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I've been acting like a schoolgirl In her first romantic
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affair But I can't change this feeling I'm so in
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love And I don't.
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Care What a fool am I.
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To spend days in dreaming when I know that I
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should really be scheming. But instead, I'll keep on waiting
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till the day that you'll be mine. And I'll play
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the part of a broken heart.
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Fool is fool, am I?
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Guitar solo.
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A Fool Am I, Gene Krupa and his orchestra, vocal
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by Anita O'Day, recorded at the 1941 Langworth Transcription Session
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in New York City. Now Woody in the same building
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at the same time.
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For there's a change in the weather, there's a change
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in the sea. From now on there'll be a change
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in me. My walk will be different My talk and
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my name Nothing about me's gonna be the same I'm
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gonna change my way of living And if that ain't
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enough Then I'll change.
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The way I strut my stuff.
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Cause nobody wants.
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You when you're old and gray.
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There'll be some changes made today. There'll be some changes made.
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I'm gonna change my way of living and if that
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ain't enough then I'll change the way I strut my
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stuff cause nobody wants you when you're old and There'll
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be some.
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Changes made today There'll be some changes.
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Made Woody Herman and his orchestra, vocal by Muriel Lane
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From the 1941 Langworth transcription recordings session, there'll be some
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changes made. And folks, we are out of time. And
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I'm going out with Teddy Wilson and his orchestra recorded
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for Columbia in New York City, January the 18th, 1940,
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with the song titled 71. To reach me, I'm Jeff
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at makebelieveballroomradio.com. That's jeff at makebelieveballroomradio.com. For past shows or
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00:55:34.760 --> 00:55:42.429
recorded requests, please go to makebelieveballroom.com, makebelieveballroom.com. Please join me
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00:55:42.550 --> 00:55:47.429
on the Make-Believe Ballroom Radio Facebook page for new recordings
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and features daily that augment the radio version of the show.
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Quick thanks to our syndicators and distributors for offering the
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00:55:56.440 --> 00:56:01.659
Make-Believe Ballroom radio cost-free to commercial-free public community and university
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radio stations. They are the Public Radio Exchange, PRX, the
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00:56:06.969 --> 00:56:13.090
Pacifica Network, and Global Community Radio. The program's flagship affiliate
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is Jazz 90.1, WGMC in Rochester, New York. The Ballroom
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is also heard on your favorite podcast provider. So friends,
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until next week, this has been Jeff Bressler.
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Thank you.