Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Big Band Era with William Price King and Sally Cronin – 1940s – Dooley Wilson, Glenn Miller, Debbie Reynolds

Welcome to the 2023 series of the music column where I am joined as always by Jazz singer and composer William Price King.  We hope you will join us every Tuesday for some of the chart hits of the big band era from the 1930s through to the 1950s.

Some of the earlier videos are not of the best quality however where possible we have sourced remastered copies to share with you. Considering some are almost 100 years old, it is remarkable that they exist at all.  A testament to the love of the music of that era. Along with our selections each week we will also be showcasing some of the iconic dancers of the era.

Here is my next selection from the Big Band chart in the 1940s from Dooley Wilson

Dooley Wilson “As Time Goes By” (1942)

“As Time Goes By” was written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931 for the Broadway musical “Everybody’s Welcome,” and became famous when it was featured in the 1942 Warner Bros. film “Casablanca,” performed by Dooley Wilson as Sam. The song was voted #2 on the AFI’s 100 Years . . .100 Songs special, commemorating the best songs in film. The song has since become the signature tune of Warner Bros. and used as such in the production logos at the beginning of many Warner Bros. films.

Here is my next selection from the 1940s from Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller with Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke, & the Modernaires “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else But Me” (1942)

“Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)” is a popular song that was made famous by Glenn Miller and by the Andrews Sisters during World War II. Its lyrics are the words of two young lovers who pledge their fidelity while one of them is away serving in the war

Originally titled “Anywhere the Bluebird Goes”, the melody was written by Sam H. Stept as an updated version of the nineteenth-century English folk song “Long, Long Ago” Lew Brown and Charles Tobias wrote the lyrics and the song debuted in the 1939 Broadway musical Yokel Boy. After the United States entered the war in December 1941, Brown and Tobias modified the lyrics to their current form, with the chorus ending with “…till I come marching home”.

On February 18, 1942 the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded the song with vocals by Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, and The Modernaires. This record spent thirteen weeks on the Billboard charts and was ranked as the nation’s twelfth best-selling recording of the year.

Other sources: Wikipedia – And: Jazz Standards

Debbie Reynolds – Mary Frances “Debbie” Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portrayal of Helen Kane in the 1950 film Three Little Words. Her breakout role was her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Her other successes include The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), Susan Slept Here (1954), Bundle of Joy (1956 Golden Globe nomination), The Catered Affair (1956 National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Winner), and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), in which her performance of the song “Tammy” reached number one on the Billboard music charts.In 1959, she released her first pop music album, titled Debbie.

She starred in Singin’ in the Rain (1952), How the West Was Won (1962), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), a biographical film about the famously boisterous Molly Brown.[1] Her performance as Brown earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other films include The Singing Nun (1966), Divorce American Style (1967), What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971), Charlotte’s Web (1973), Mother (1996) (Golden Globe nomination), and In & Out (1997).

Reynolds also had several business ventures, including ownership of a dance studio and a Las Vegas hotel and casino, and she was an avid collector of film memorabilia, beginning with items purchased at the landmark 1970 MGM auction.

Here is Debbie Reynolds with Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly with the iconic Good Morning from Singing in the Rain

 Your Hosts for The Big Band Era

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thanks for tuning in and as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

 

 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Big Band Era with William Price King and Sally Cronin – 1940s – Lionel Hampton, Glenn Miller, The Conga

Welcome to the 2023 series of the music column where I am joined as always by Jazz singer and composer William Price King.  We hope you will join us every Tuesday for some of the chart hits of the big band era from the 1930s through to the 1950s.

Some of the earlier videos are not of the best quality however where possible we have sourced remastered copies to share with you. Considering some are almost 100 years old, it is remarkable that they exist at all.  A testament to the love of the music of that era. Along with our selections each week we will also be showcasing one of the dance crazes from the 1920s onwards and as with the music videos some are not of the highest quality and in some cases I have substituted more modern versions.

Here is my next selection from the Big Band chart in the 1940s from Lionel Hampton

Lionel Hampton “Flying Home” (1940)

“Flying Home” was written by Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton with lyrics by Sid Robin. It was developed while Hampton was in the Benny Goodman band. A gig in 1939 required the band to fly from L.A. to Atlantic City, the first time Hampton had flown. He began whistling a tune while waiting for the plane to taxi. Goodman asked him what it was, to which he replied “I don’t know, we can call it ‘Flying Home,’ I guess.”

Hampton later confessed that he was humming the tune as a way to keep his mind off of the impending flight. It was first recorded by the Benny Goodman Sextet in 1939, featuring solos by Hampton and Charlie Christian. The tune charted twice, in two different versions by the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. The first version, which rose to #25 in 1940, featured Ziggy Elman on trumpet. The second and most renowned version, with Dexter Gordon on tenor sax, featured an outstanding saxophone solo by Illinois Jacquet and charted in 1942, rising to #23.  Michael Zirpolo

Here is my next selection from the 1940s from Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller “Pennsylvania 6-5000” (1940)

“Pennsylvania 6-5000” (also written “Pennsylvania Six-Five Thousand”) is a 1940 swing jazz and pop standard with music by Jerry Gray and lyrics by Carl Sigman. It was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra as a Bluebird 78 rpm single.

Many big band names played in Hotel Pennsylvania’s Cafe Rouge in New York City, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra.The hotel’s telephone number, Pennsylvania 6-5000, inspired the Glenn Miller 1940 Top 5 Billboard hit of the same name, which had a 12-week chart run. The instrumental was recorded on April 28, 1940 in New York. The 78 single was released in June, 1940 as RCA Victor Bluebird 78 B-10754-A backed with “Rug Cutter’s Swing”. The song was also an advertisement for attendance at the band’s live performances, as a call could be put through to Hotel Pennsylvania’s venue the Cafe Rouge for a reservation. Classic Mood Experience

Other sources: Wikipedia – And: Jazz Standards

The conga line is a novelty line dance that was derived from the Cuban carnival dance of the same name and became popular in the US in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line, which would usually turn into a circle. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat. The conga, a term sometimes mistakenly believed to be derived from the African region of Congo, is both a lyrical and danceable genre, rooted in the music of carnival troupes or comparsas

The conga dance was believed to have been brought over from Africa by enslaved people in the West Indies, and became a popular street dance in Cuba. The style was appropriated by politicians during the early years of republic in an attempt to appeal to the masses before election. During the Machado dictatorship in Cuba, Havana citizens were forbidden to dance the conga, because rival groups would work themselves to high excitement and explode into street fighting. When Fulgencio “El Checho” Batista became president in the 1940s, he permitted people to dance congas during elections, but a police permit was required.

Your Hosts for The Big Band Era

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thanks for tuning in and as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

 

 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – 8th – 14th May 2023 – New Kitchen, Out and About, Glenn Miller, Diana Krall, Foods ‘W’, Podcast, Book Reviews, Bloggers, Health and Funnies

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I hope you have all had a good week and have enjoyed some of the sunnier weather we have. While David began to dismantle the kitchen to speed up the process of the installation of the new one this week, I sat in the garden and caught up with reading, music and sunshine… It certainly makes a difference. One of the neighbour’s cats came and kept me company all afternoon sitting in the shade of my chair and occasional commenting on the birds and the state of the world.

Here are some ‘before’ photos of the kitchen and hopefully next week you will get the ‘after’ ones!  All these units are being taken out and so it will take a two or three days to get the job done…Our office is in the diner part of the kitchen so we will be covering everything with sheets and decamping into the dining room. I will be offline during the day but will be checking in first thing and in the evening.

A wonderful surprise on Friday to find myself featured on author Stevie Turner’s blog along with the lovely review by Robbie Cheadle for Variety is the Spice of Life.. I hope you will head over to enjoy. Stevie Turner – Friday Showcase Sally Cronin

As always my thanks to my friends who contribute to the blog…

William Price King joined me this week for the Big Band Era with Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra and the Texas Tommy.  On Friday William continued the series featuring Diana Krall.  You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies​ is taking a short break but will be back next Monday with her series Spiritual Awareness.. Debby was here during the week with her terrific funnies for our laughter spot. On her own blog you will find her book review for the latest release by Carol Balawyder, a reblog of her post on Timing and a wonderful post on the art in Puerto Vallarta. Head over to …D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor was here on Wednesday with her A-Z of food and the letter ‘W’. Carol is on a short blogging break but you can catch up with her Monday Musings  where she shares her thoughts on the coronation, the sad death of Jock Zonfrillo of Australian Master Chef and the anniversary of 1879 George Selden filed for the 1st patent for a gasoline-driven automobile…Carol Taylor’s Monday Musings

Toni Pike will be here on Wednesday with her series on Personal Power and in this week, Becoming your own best friend… a very important relationship.

Thank you very much for your visits, comments and shares to social media, as always it is appreciated ♥

On with the show…

The Big Band Era with William Price King and Sally Cronin – 1940s – Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra, The Texas Tommy

William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Jazz – Diana Krall – The 1990s

Carol Taylor’s – Culinary A – Z Rewind – ‘W’ for Wakame, Wasabi, Walnuts, Watercress, and Wax Beans

Podcast #Poetry – Advancing Years, Ageism, Memories by Sally Cronin

Something to think about – The R’s of Life – Relationships Part Two – The Teen Years and outside influences by Sally Cronin

The Body our Greatest Asset – The Immune System and a Chicken Sandwich by Sally Cronin

#Mystery #Thriller – A Killer Strikes: (A Shade Darker Book 1) by Georgia Rose

Previous Reviews from 2022 – #Psychologicalthriller – Means to Deceive by Alex Craigie

#Coronation Janet Gogerty, #Tribute Janet Weight Reed, #Review Ritu Bhathal, #Sofas Silly Old Sod, #Homonyms Harmony Kent, #Review Carla Loves to Read

New Book on the Shelves – #Fantasy – BROKEN TIES: Book 2 Realms of the Mist by Jude Itakali

#Memoir #History – You Can Take The Girl From The Prairie: Stories about growing up on the Canadian prairies by Darlene Foster

#Murder #Mystery – Death by Surfboard (Holly Swimsuit Mystery Book 3) by Susie Black

#Crime #Mystery – Her Scorched Bones: An Australian Outback Crime Novel (Opal Fields Book 3) by Fiona Tarr

#YA #Travel #Adventure Darlene Foster, #Childrens #Dogs #SouthAfrica Patricia Furstenberg, #Childrens #Bears Sue Wickstead

Hosts Sally Cronin and Debby Gies – Cats revolting and Rehabilitation

Hosts Sally Cronin and Debby Gies – Demanding Dogs and Smart Cats

 

Thanks for dropping in and I hope you will join me again next week… Sally

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Big Band Era with William Price King and Sally Cronin – 1940s – Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra, The Texas Tommy

Welcome to the 2023 series of the music column where I am joined as always by Jazz singer and composer William Price King.  We hope you will join us every Tuesday for some of the chart hits of the big band era from the 1930s through to the 1950s.

Some of the earlier videos are not of the best quality however where possible we have sourced remastered copies to share with you. Considering some are almost 100 years old, it is remarkable that they exist at all.  A testament to the love of the music of that era. Along with our selections each week we will also be showcasing one of the dance crazes from the 1920s onwards and as with the music videos some are not of the highest quality and in some cases I have substituted more modern versions.

Here is my next selection from the Big Band chart in the 1940s from Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller Tuxedo Junction (1940)  

“Tuxedo Junction” was penned by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, Julian Dash and Buddy Feyne. The song was introduced by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra, a college dance band previously known as the Bama State Collegians. RCA released it in 1939 and it climbed to #7 on the American pop charts. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra had the most successful recording of the song, topping the Billboard charts at #1. Miller slowed down the tempo and added trumpet fanfares. The main soloists on that recording were Johnny Best and Bobby Hackett. The Glenn Miller recording sold 115,000 copies in the first week. It was featured in the 1953 Glenn Miller biopic. “The Glenn Miller Story” starring James Stewart and Harry Morgan. In The Christmas Mood – The Glenn Miller Orchestra

Here is my next selection from the 1940s from Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra

Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra I’ll Never Smile Again” (1940)

“I’ll Never Smile Again” is a 1939 song written by Ruth Lowe. It has been recorded by many other artists since, becoming a standard.

The most successful and best-known million selling single version of the song was recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers in 1940. This version was number one on Billboard’s first “National List of Best Selling Retail Records”—the first official national music chart—on July 27, 1940, staying at the top spot for 12 weeks until October 12, 1940. The tune was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982 mrcmxoner

Other sources: Wikipedia – And: Jazz Standards

The Texas Tommy is a vigorous social dance for couples that originated in San Francisco in the early twentieth century After the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the Barbary Coast, the red-light district of the city, was rebuilt and given new life as a tourist attraction, a place of dance halls, theaters, shops, and restaurants. Dance exhibitions and variety shows designed to attract tourists replaced prostitution as the chief business of the area. Many of the dance crazes that swept America during the 1900s and 1910s originated in this section of San Francisco.The Thalia, the largest and most popular dance hall on the Pacific coast,was the birthplace of the Texas Tommy.(“Tommy” was a slang term for prostitute.)

Who invented the Texas Tommy is obscure. Most likely the signature moves of the dance were being performed by patrons at Purcell’s, and some innovative visitor adapted them for the ballroom floor. Some historians say that Johnny Peters, an African American, developed the Texas Tommy some time before 1910. In any event, after sheet music for “The Texas Tommy Swing” was published on 1 February 1911, the Fairmont’s house band frequently played the song for its patrons. It was not long before the Texas Tommy was danced on Broadway, in Ziegfeld Follies of 1911, performed by Vera Maxwell, Harry Watson Jr., and the ensemble. It was also included as a number in Darktown Follies, an all-black musical produced Off-Broadway in 1913. Peters and Ethel Williams, who were masters of the dance, executed it on stage, as they had done regularly at the Fairmont. Jason Anderson

Your Hosts for The Big Band Era

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thanks for tuning in and as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

 

 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Big Band Era with William Price King and Sally Cronin – 1930s – Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, The Tango

Welcome to the 2023 series of the music column where I am joined as always by Jazz singer and composer William Price King.  We hope you will join us every Tuesday for some of the chart hits of the big band era from the 1930s through to the 1950s.

Some of the earlier videos are not of the best quality however where possible we have sourced remastered copies to share with you. Considering some are almost 100 years old, it is remarkable that they exist at all.  A testament to the love of the music of that era. Along with our selections each week we will also be showcasing one of the dance crazes from the 1920s onwards and as with the music videos some are not of the highest quality and in some cases I have substituted more modern versions.

Here is my next selection from the Big Band chart in the 1930s from Tommy Dorsey with Jack Leonard.

Tommy Dorsey with Jack Leonard “All the Things You Are” (1939) 

“All the Things You Are” was composed in 1939 by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein for the musical “Very Warm for May” and was introduced by Hiram Sherman, Frances Mercer, Hollace Shaw, and Ralph Stuart. It appeared in the film “Broadway Rhythm” in 1944, sung by Ginny Simms, and again in the Kern biopic “Till the Clouds Roll By,” sung by Tony Martin. It was Tommy Dorsey’s 17th #1 hit on the Pop charts.  tmmvds

Here is my next selection from this era of popular music from Glen Miller

Glen Miller – In The Mood 1939

Glen Miller’s most popular track “In the Mood” was recorded August 1, 1939. Famous for its opening and bass riffs as well as its “dueling” saxophone solos between Tex Beneke and Al Klink, the song hit number one on the Billboard charts, staying for a total of 30 weeks. Joe Garland compiled the song from riffs he’d heard in other songs, and is credited on the label.  Miller purchased the song in June 1939 and asked Eddie Durham to arrange it for his orchestra, and Miller made final tweaks in Victor studios symir547

Other sources: Wikipedia – And: Jazz Standards

The Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combination of Rioplatense Candombe celebrations, Spanish-Cuban Habanera, and Argentine Milonga.The tango was frequently practiced in the brothels and bars of ports, where business owners employed bands to entertain their patrons. The tango then spread to the rest of the world.Many variations of this dance currently exist around the world.

Tango is a dance that has influences from African and European culture. Dances from the candombe ceremonies of former African enslaved peoples helped shape the modern day tango. The dance originated in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe. The words “tango” and “tambo” around the River Plate basin were initially used to refer to musical gatherings of slaves, with written records of colonial authorities attempting to ban such gatherings as early as 1789.

Many neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires have their particular tango histories: for example La Boca, San Telmo and Boedo. At Boedo Avenue, Cátulo Castillo, Homero Manzi and other singers and composers used to meet at the Japanese Cafe with the Boedo Group.
Argentine Tango danced by Anthony Dexter and Patricia Medina in Valentino (1951) The Ultimate Movies Broadcast Show

Your Hosts for The Big Band Era

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thanks for tuning in and as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

 

 

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1940s – Billie Holiday, Glenn Miller, Vera Lynn, Nat King Cole-

Welcome to our show and whilst there has been some great music since 2005, we felt that hits from the 40s and 50s deserved a showcase from now to the end of the year… we hope you will enjoy.

Here is my next selection of top 1940s hits which I hope you will enjoy.

God bless the child – Billie Holiday

“God bless the child” written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, was released on Okeh Records in 1942. In her autobiography, “Lady Sings the Blues”, Holiday said the song was inspired from an argument she had with her mother when she was a child concerning money, with her mother saying “God bless the child that’s got his own”

Holiday’s version of the song was honored with the « Grammy Hall of Fame » award in 1976 and is included in the list of “Songs of the Century” by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

News Event: May 7th 1941 Glenn Miller records “Chattanooga Choo Choo” for RCA, it becomes 1st record to be designated “gold”

Glenn Miller – Chattanooga Choo Choo

“Chattanooga Choo Choo”, penned by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren is from the 1941 film “ Sun Valley Serenade “ directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. “Chattanooga Choo Choo” was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996.

News Event – July 19th 1941 BBC World Service begins playing V(ictory) (“…-” in Morse code) (opening of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 5th symphony)

Now time for my next picks from the 1940s all tunes that were played in our home by my parents who were wonderful dancers and fans of the old musicals.

Vera Lynn There’ll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs of Dover

“(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover” is a popular World War II song composed in 1941 by Walter Kent to lyrics by Nat Burton. Made famous in Vera Lynn’s 1942 version, it was one of Lynn’s best-known recordings and among the most popular World War II tunes. The American lyricist, Nat Burton, wrote his lyric (unaware that the bluebird is not indigenous to Britain) and asked Kent to set it to music. 1090VIE

News event – October 29th 1941 Cole Porter’s musical “Let’s Face It” opens at the Imperial Theatre, NYC; runs 547 performances

Nat King Cole – Straighten Up And Fly Right 1944

“Straighten Up and Fly Right” is a 1943 song written by Nat King Cole and Irving Mills and one of the first vocal hits for the King Cole Trio. It was the trio’s most popular single, reaching number one on the Harlem Hit Parade for ten nonconsecutive weeks. The single also peaked at number nine on the pop charts. “Straighten Up and Fly Right” also reached number one for six nonconsecutive weeks on the Most Played Jukebox Hillbilly Records Nat King Cole

News Event: May 29th 1942 Bing Crosby records “White Christmas”, world’s best-selling single (estimated 100 million copies sold)

Additional sources: On This Day – Music – Hits of the 1940s and 1950s: Playback FM – Wikipedia

Your Hosts for The Breakfast Show

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thanks for tuning in and as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Music Column with William Price King – Glenn Miller #Trombonist, Composer, Big Band Leader

This week one of the iconic band leaders of all time whose music is still played today by big bands for those who love to dance. The legendary Glenn Miller has been immortalised on film and many of the war-time generation felt great sorrow at his untimely death in an air crash in 1944 at age 40.

This week William Price King pays tribute to this incredible artist.

Glenn Miller was born in Iowa in 1904 to Lewis and Mattie Miller. When he was eleven years old his family moved to Missouri and he made enough money from milking cows to buy his first trombone and began playing for the local orchestra. He also played cornet and Mandolin but dropped them to focus on the trombone. The family moved again in 1918 to Colorado where he went to high school. Despite playing for the school football team during his senior year he developed an interest in ‘dance band music’ and he formed a band with class mates. When he graduated in 1921 he decided to become a professional musician.

He spent a short term at the University of Colorado in 1923 but spent much of his time attending auditions and playing any gigs that he could. He dropped out of school to pursue his music full-time. He did study with Joseph Schillinger a composer, music theorist and teach who originated the Schillinger System of Musical Composition.

By 1926 he was touring with several groups including Ben Pollack and Victor Young which enabled him to take advantage of the mentorship of other professional musicians. He was originally the main trombonist for Ben Pollack but was sidelined with the arrival of Jack Teagarden which led Glenn to focus on arranging and composing

He published a songbook in Chicago in 1928 ‘Glenn Miller’s 125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone’ and he also wrote several arrangements and his first composition ‘Room 1411 with Benny Goodman. He joined Red Nichol’s orchestra in 1930 and played with the band for two of the hit Broadway shows of the day Strike up the Band and Girl Crazy.

Glenn freelanced as a trombonist with Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and other big bands of the day as well as continuing to arrange for the Dorsey Brothers on their recordings including ‘My Kinda Love’. He also worked vocalists such as Bing Crosby.

The melody for “Moonlight Serenade” was composed by Glenn Miller in 1935 when he was a trombone player in Ray Noble’s band. The lyricist Eddie Heyman added words, and the song was titled “As I Lay Me Down To Weep.” However, Miller didn’t record nor publish the song with these lyrics, but in 1938 used the instrumental as theme music for his radio broadcasts on the NBC network. In 1939 Robbins Music bought the music and asked Mitchell Parish (Stardust) to write a new set of lyrics, which he did, and called the song “Moonlight Serenade”. This became Glenn Miller’s signature song and a Top Ten hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard charts for fifteen weeks. It has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 1935, he assembled an American orchestra for British bandleader Ray Noble and developed the arrangement of lead clarinet over four saxophones that became a characteristic of his own big band in 1937. However, it failed to stand out against all the other successful bands of the time and it folded after a show at the Ritz Ballroom in Connecticut in January 1938.

“In the Mood”, written by Wingy Manone, Andy Razaf, and Joe Garland was recorded by Glenn Miller in 1939 on the Bluebird label and topped the charts for 13 weeks in a row. A year later it was featured in the movie “Sun Valley Serenade”. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983 and in 1999 the National Public Radio added the song to its list of ‘The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century.’ “In the Mood” was also inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2004 which honors songs it considers culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Discouraged, Miller returned to New York. He realized that he needed to develop a unique sound, and decided to make the clarinet play a melodic line with a tenor saxophone holding the same note, while three other saxophones harmonized within a single octave. George T. Simon discovered a saxophonist named Wilbur Schwartz for Glenn Miller. Miller hired Schwartz, but instead had him play lead clarinet. According to Simon, “Willie’s tone and way of playing provided a fullness and richness so distinctive that none of the later Miller imitators could ever accurately reproduce the Miller sound.”

With this new sound combination, Glenn Miller found a way to differentiate his band’s style from the many bands that existed in the late thirties. Miller talked about his style in the May 1939 issue of Metronome magazine. “You’ll notice today some bands use the same trick on every introduction; others repeat the same musical phrase as a modulation into a vocal … We’re fortunate in that our style doesn’t limit us to stereotyped intros, modulations, first choruses, endings or even trick rhythms. The fifth sax, playing clarinet most of the time, lets you know whose band you’re listening to. And that’s about all there is to it.”

From the end of 1938 the band began recording for Bluebird records a subsidiary of RCA Victor. They began to play popular venues including the Glen Island Casino where they attracted a record breaking audience of 1800. In 1939 Time Magazine noted. “Of the twelve to 24 discs in each of today’s 300,000 U.S. jukeboxes, from two to six are usually Glenn Miller’s. ‘Tuxedo Junction’ sold 115,000 copies its first week and Glenn Miller topped this in October 1939 with an appearance at Carnegie Hall.

During the early years of the war until September 1942 Miller’s band performed three times a week on CBS radio, with The Andrew Sisters and then on then on its own.  In 1941 and 1942 the band appeared in two Hollywood films, Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives with Jackie Gleason. Glenn Miller was contracted to appear in a third film, Blind Date but he entered the U.S. Army.

“ Chattanooga Choo Choo”, featured in the movie “Sun Valley Serenade “, was composed in 1941 by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren while they were travelling on the Southern Railway’s Birmingham Special train. This song tells the story of their voyage from New York City to Chattanooga. In 1942 this song received the first gold record ever, presented by RCA Victor for sales over 1.2 million copies and remained the #1 song in the US for nine weeks. In this 8 minute video vocalists Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, Dorothy Dandridge are featured as well as the famous Nicholas Brothers in a tap dance routine. In 1996 Glenn’s version of this song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

After being turned down by the Navy, Glenn Miller persuaded the US army to accept him to be placed in charge of a modernized Army band. His popular approach to entertaining the troops with his dance band resulted in a promotion to Captain in 1944. His band expanded to a 50 piece Army Air Force Band and he took it to England in the summer of 1944 where they gave 800 performances. Now a major, Glenn also recorded at Abby Road Studios with some songs in German which were used as counter-propaganda to denounce oppression in Europe. Others were used to boost morale of allied troops as they pushed through Europe.

On December 15th Glenn Miller was due to fly to Paris to make arrangements to move the entire AAF band there as soon as possible. He plane disappeared over the English Channel and that is still being investigated today. As recently as January this year, new witness accounts have led the investigators to believe that the wreckage of the plane is 30 miles south of the Portland Bill in Devon. There are hopes to relocate the wreck and raise it later this year.

“ (I’ve Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo*” was the best-selling US recording in 1942, according to Billboard, spending 19 weeks on the Billboard charts and 8 weeks as #1. It was nominated for an Oscar Award for ‘Best Music, Original Song’ in 1943 – Harry Warren for the music, and Mack Gordon for the lyrics. This swinging, serious, and powerful song is featured in the 1942 20th Century Fox movie « Orchestra Wives » featuring the Nicholas Brothers.

*Kalamazoo is a city in the southwest region of the US state of Michigan. The name Kalamazoo has become a métonym for exotic places as in the phrase ‘from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo.’

Buy the music of Glenn Miller: https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Miller/e/B000APVC16

Other sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Miller

About William Price King

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

His debut jazz album was entitled “Home,” and was a collection of contemporary compositions he composed, with lyrics written by his wife Jeanne King. His second album was a Duo (Voice and Guitar) with Eric Sempé on the guitar. This album included original songs as well as well known standards from contemporary jazz and pop artists. The “King-Sempé” duo toured France and thrilled audiences for more than three years before going their separate ways. King has formed a new duo with French/Greek guitarist Manolis, and is now exploring new ideas, in a smooth jazz/soul/folk direction.

In addition to singing and composing, King has been collaborating with author Sally Cronin over the past few years on her blog “Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life,” with the series “A Man And His Music – Jazz, Contemporary, Classical, and Legends” and now, the “William Price King Music Column.” Working with author Sally Cronin has been an exhilarating experience in many ways and has brought a new dimension to King’s creative life. King has also created a micro blog, “Improvisation,” which features and introduces mostly jazz artists from across the jazz spectrum who have made considerable contributions in the world of jazz; and also artwork from painters who have made their mark in the world of art. This micro blog can be found on Tumblr.

His vocal mentors are two of the greatest giants in jazz, Nat King Cole and Mel Tormé. King has a distinctive wide-ranging voice which displays a remarkable technical facility and emotional depth.

William Price King on Tumblr – IMPROVISATION – https://williampriceking.tumblr.com

Connect with William

Website – http://www.williampriceking.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WilliamPriceKing
Twitter – https://twitter.com/wpkofficial
Regular Venue – http://cave-wilson.com/ 
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/william-price-king/id788678484

You can find all of the Music Column series in this directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/william-price-king-music-column/

As always we would love to receive your feedback.. thanks Sally and William