''Beat the Band'' is a musical quiz show heard on NBC radio from 1940 to 1944 in two distinctly different series. The program popularized the show business

catch phrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "Give me a little traveling music", often uttered on TV a decade later by

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

1940–1941

In the first series, broadcast on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. from Chicago, emcee

Garry Moore Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network ...

read music-related questions submitted by listeners to band members in the 14-piece Ted Weems Orchestra. Originally sponsored by the

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

cereal Kix, listeners whose questions were used on the air received $10; those who stumped the band received $20 and a case of Kix. Questions were often posed in the form of puns or riddles. such as, "Suppose a small fur-bearing animal gets so angry he explodes. What song title is suggested?" The answer from comedian-violinist

Red Ingle Ernest Jansen "Red" Ingle (November 7, 1906 – September 6, 1965) was an American musician, singer and songwriter, arranger, cartoonist and caricaturist. He is best known for his comedy records with Spike Jones and his own Natural Seven sides f ...

, "Pop Goes the Weasel." Band members who answered questions incorrectly had to toss a fifty-cent piece on the bass drum. The musician with the most correctly answered questions at the end of the program took home the bass drum "kitty". Unlike most radio shows of the time, ''Beat the Band'' did not always originate in Chicago; the program was often broadcast on location from places like

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. The program's vocalists were

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

, Parker Gibbs and Marvel Maxwell. Other cast members included Country Washburn and

Elmo Tanner William Elmo Tanner, known as Elmo Tanner (August 8, 1904 – December 20, 1990) was an American whistler, singer, bandleader and disc jockey, best known for his whistling on the chart-topping song “ Heartaches” with the Ted Weems Orche ...

, the Whistling Troubador. Fort Pearson was the announcer. This series aired from January 28, 1940, to February 23, 1941.

1943–1944

Relocating to New York as a summer replacement for

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

's ''

The Raleigh Cigarette Program ''The Raleigh Cigarette Program'' (alternatively known as ''The Raleigh Cigarette Program Starring Red Skelton'') was an American old-time radio comedy program that starred comedian Red Skelton. Skelton was, at the time, an up-and-coming comedian ...

'', the program began anew on June 15, 1943, with Raleigh Cigarettes as the sponsor (until June 1944). Music was supplied by the Harry Sosnik band. The first host of the second series was

Hildegarde Hildegarde Loretta Sell, known as Hildegarde (February 1, 1906 – July 29, 2005) was an American cabaret singer, who was well known for the song "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup". Early life She was born Hildegarde Loretta Sell in Adell, Wisco ...

. After June 1944, the host was

Eddie Mayehoff Edward Mier Mayehoff (July 7, 1909 – November 12, 1992) was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Harold Lampson, the henpecked husband and incompetent lawyer in ''How to Murder Your Wife'' (1965). Mayehoff could also be s ...

. The program came to an end on September 6, 1944. Announcers were

Marvin Miller Marvin Julian Miller (April 14, 1917 – November 27, 2012) was an American baseball executive who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players ...

and Tom Shirley. The program's theme music was "Out of the Night," composed by Harry Sosnik; and Walter Hirsch. The first version of this theme was by Weems and Hildegarde. The second version was performed by Sosnik. Music was the basis for several quiz shows, such as ''

Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge ''Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge'' is an American old-time radio musical quiz program starring Kay Kyser. It was broadcast on Mutual, NBC, and ABC beginning on February 1, 1938, and ending on July 29, 1949. Background In the latter ha ...

''. In 2001, Soundcraft issued a compact disk of transcripts for some of the 1940 episodes of the show.

References

External links

''That Toddlin' Town'' by Charles A. Sengstock (2004)List of ''Beat the Band'' shows
RadioGold *{{Cite web , url=http://www.radioechoes.com/?page=series&genre=Quiz&series=Beat%20The%20Band , title=Beat The Band , publisher= RadioEchoes , date=1940–1944 29 episodes. American game shows Musical game shows American radio game shows American music radio programs 1940s American radio programs 1940s American game shows Perry Como NBC radio programs 1940 radio programme debuts 1944 radio programme endings