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The 1940's Radio Hour
''The Radio Hour'' is a musical by Walton Jones. Using popular songs from the 1940s, it portrays the final holiday broadcast of the Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade on the New York radio station WOV in December 1942. Plot A little New York City radio station called WOV records a broadcast for American soldiers serving overseas in World War II. The narrative concerns the harassed producer, the drunken lead singer, the second banana who dreams of singing a ballad, the delivery boy who wants a chance in front of the mic, and the young trumpet player who chooses a fighter plane over Glenn Miller. Jones, Walton. 1981. Characters List of Musical Numbers * " |
Broadway Theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Theatre'' as the proper noun in their names (12 others used neither), with many performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations also using the spelling ''theatre''. or Broadway, are the theatrical performances presented in the 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theater District and the Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world. While the thoroughfare is eponymous with the district and its collection of 41 theaters, and it is also closely identified with Times Square, only three of the theaters are located on Broadway itself (namely the Broadwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ain't She Sweet
"Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like ''Happy Days Are Here Again'' (1929), it became a Tin Pan Alley standard. Both Ager and Yellen were elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Milton Ager wrote ''Ain't She Sweet'' for his daughter Shana Ager, who in her adult life was known as the political commentator Shana Alexander. Recorded versions ''Ain't She Sweet'' was also recorded by Fabian Forte, Hoosier Hot Shots, Ray Anthony, Nat King Cole, Tiny Hill , The Playboys, The Viscounts, and Frankie Lymon. The song was also covered in 1990 on the album '' Funk of Ages'' by Bernie Worrell and several former members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Versions by the Beatles The Beatles regularly performed the song live from 1957 to 1962. According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, " John ennonmay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'll Be Seeing You (song)
"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song about missing a loved one, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, it was inserted into the Broadway musical '' Right This Way'', which closed after fifteen performances. The title of the 1944 film '' I'll Be Seeing You'' was taken from this song at the suggestion of the film's producer, Dore Schary. The song is included in the film's soundtrack. Background A resemblance between the main tune's first four lines and a passage within the theme of the last movement of Gustav Mahler's Third Symphony (1896) was pointed out by Deryck Cooke in 1970. Discography *The earliest recording of the song was by Dick Todd in 1940 on the Bluebird label. * The recording by Bing Crosby became a hit in 1944, reaching number one for the week of July 1. * Frank Sinatra's version with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra from 1940 charted in 1944 and peaked at No. 4. A new recording of the song by Frank Sinatra was included in 1961's I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strike Up The Band (song)
"Strike Up the Band" is a 1927 song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin with the collaboration of Millie Raush. It was written for the 1927 musical ''Strike Up the Band (musical), Strike Up the Band'', where it formed part of a satire on war and militaristic music. Although the musical was not successful, the instrumental version of the song, titled the "March from Strike Up the Band", has become quite well known. The song was also used in the Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney 1940 film ''Strike Up the Band (film), Strike Up the Band''. Background In 1936, UCLA students were looking for a new rally tune. George and Ira Gershwin had moved from New York to Beverly Hills to work in Los Angeles on the Fred Astaire movie ''Shall We Dance (1937 film), Shall We Dance''. Maxson Judell, a music industry contact, approached them about contributing a song to UCLA.Gordon, Larry At 81, tune is a hit at Big Dance Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2008. George and Ira Gershwin originall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in American cinema. ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' The song was written in 1943 for the then-upcoming film ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', for which MGM had hired Martin and Blane to write several songs. Martin was vacationing in a house in the neighborhood of Southside in Birmingham, Alabama that his father Hugh Martin had designed for his mother as a honeymoon cottage, located just down the street from his birthplace, and which later became the home of Martin and his family in 1923. The song first appeared in a scene in which a fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Brown Jug (song)
"Little Brown Jug" is a song written in 1869 by Joseph Eastburn Winner, originally published in Philadelphia with the author listed as Winner's middle name "Eastburn". Background It was originally a drinking song. It remained well known as a folk song into the early 20th century. Like many songs which make reference to alcohol, it enjoyed new popularity during the Prohibition era. 1939 Glenn Miller recording In 1939, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released a hit version of the song on RCA Bluebird, as an A side 78 single, B-10286-A, in a new arrangement by Bill Finegan backed with "Pavanne". The recording was an early chart hit for Glenn Miller. The song was performed in Glenn Miller's Carnegie Hall concert that year and became a staple of the Glenn Miller Orchestra repertoire, and a classic of the Big Band era. The personnel on the Glenn Miller recording: Saxes: Hal McIntyre, Tex Beneke, Wilbur Schwartz, Stanley Aronson, Al Klink; Trumpets: Bob Price, R. D. McMickle, Legh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
At Last
"At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US '' Billboard'' pop music chart. In 1960, rhythm and blues singer Etta James recorded an arrangement by Riley Hampton that improvised on Warren's original melody. Etta James' rendition was the title track on her debut album '' At Last!'' (1960) and was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Most recently, Celine Dion and Beyoncé have also had chart successes with the song. Glenn Miller original renditions Prior to release of ''Sun Valley Serenade'', "At Last" was performed in the film by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, with vocals by John Payne and Lynn Bari, dubbed by Pat Friday. Studio head Darryl Zanuck reportedly said: "There are too many big ones in this. Let's save one for the next." The "At Last" vocal by Payne and Bar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Go To My Head
"You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. Numerous versions of the song have been recorded, and it has since become a pop and jazz standard. Melody and lyrics Alec Wilder terms Coots' melody a "minor masterpiece". According to Ted Gioia, “’You Go to my Head’ is an intricately constructed affair with plenty of harmonic movement. The song starts in a major key, but from the second bar onward, Mr. Coots seems intent on creating a feverish dream quality tending more to the minor mode. The release builds on the drama, and the final restatement holds some surprises as well. The piece would be noteworthy even if it lacked such an exquisite coda, but those last eight bars convey a sense of resigned closure to the song that fittingly matches the resolution of the lyrics.” Gillespie's lyrics begin: ''"You go to my head and you linger like a haunting refrain"''. Recordings, use in film, and performances Larry Clinton re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)
"I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" is a pop and jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1941. It was introduced in the musical revue ''Jump for Joy'' by Ivie Anderson, who also provided the vocals for Duke Ellington and His Orchestra on the single Victor 27531. Recordings to reach the Billboard charts in 1941/42 were by Duke Ellington (#13) and by Benny Goodman (vocal by Peggy Lee) (#25). Recorded versions by notable artists *Al Aarons * John "Johnny" Adriano Acea * Cannonball Adderley *Jamey Aebersold * Harry Allen * Carl Anderson *Ernestine Anderson *Ivie Anderson * Susie Arioli * Louis Armstrong *Benny Bailey *Guy Barker *Bruce Barth *Count Basie *BBC Big Band *Tobias Beecher *Madeline Bell * Joe Benjamin *Tony Bennett *Big Miller *Paul Bley *Carolyn Breuer * Marvin Gaye * Charles Brown * Sandy Brown *Beryl Bryden *Kenny Burrell * Charlie Byrd * Donald Byrd *Ann Hampton Callaway * Harry Carney *Benny Carter * Cher - ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed that it was originally written to be sung by a Sunday school choir for Thanksgiving, or as a drinking song. Although it has no original connection to Christmas, it became associated with winter and Christmas music in the 1860s and 1870s, and it was featured in a variety of parlor song and college anthologies in the 1880s. It was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder; this recording, believed to be the first Christmas record, is lost, but an 1898 recording also from Edison Records survives. History Composition James Lord Pierpont who was the uncle of JP Morgan, wrote "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857 and claimed to be a drinking song (it was always performed in blackface) It didn't become a Christmas song until decades after it was f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" is a World War II jump blues song written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince which was introduced by The Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello comedy film, ''Buck Privates'' (1941). The Andrews Sisters' Decca recording reached number six on the U.S. pop singles chart in the spring of 1941 when the film was in release. The song is ranked No. 6 on Songs of the Century. Bette Midler's 1972 recording of the song also reached the top ten on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot 100. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to "The Last Time I Saw Paris". The song is closely based on an earlier Raye-Prince hit, "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar," which is about a virtuoso boogie-woogie piano player. Storyline According to the lyrics, a renowned trumpet player from Chicago, Illinois is drafted into the U.S. Army but is reduced to blowing the wake-up call (reveille). Restrained from playing boogie-woogie, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
