Dolly Dawn

Dolly Dawn was a vocalist and band leader. She was a singer with George Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra in the 1930's and later took over control of the band.

In the early 1930's, Dolly was appearing weekly on a local radio show based in New Jersey where she grew up.  This eventually led to her big break in 1935 when she replaced Loretta Lee as vocalist with George Hall's orchestra.  She and the band broadcast six days a week from the famous Grill Room of the Taft Hotel in New York. The band soon became very popular. Her most successful song with George Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra was "You're a Sweetheart."

Listen to Dolly Dawn sing "Says My Heart" with the George Hall Orchestra

In July of 1941, George Hall retired from performing and officially turned the band over to Dolly and became her manager. The band was renamed "Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol".  This was short-lived because she lost many member of the band because of the World War II draft. From 1942 on, she continued without the band appearing in clubs, dance halls and in other engagements throughout the United States.

Dolly continued to record as a successful solo artist into the 1950's.

You can hear Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol as well as George Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Bonus Podcast: Celebrating Les Brown

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Celebrating: Les Brown

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Hello there everyone! In this special episode of The Big Band and Swing Podcast we celebrate the music of Les Brown. We play some of his hits and take a deeper look at this Big Band Icon. Join us in this musical celebration of Les Brown.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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New Schedule Starting Fall 2020

I'm excited to announce that starting on Tuesday, September 1st, Swing City Radio will begin our Fall Schedule.  The Fall Schedule includes two new shows which I think you will really enjoy.   I will also be scheduling a few of the shows to air twice daily so they can be enjoyed by our international audience.

Every Weekday: (All Times are Eastern Standard Time)

3pm and 3am - The Modern Block

5pm and 5am - The Big Band and Swing Podcast (Archived Episodes)

6pm and 6am - The Mix at 6

8pm - After Dark

** Our Weekend Schedule will remain the same.

To learn more about these shows, check out our Shows and Schedule Page.  Enjoy!

~ Ronnaldo

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Podcast: Episode 26 - The Great Hollywood Hangover

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 26: The Great Hollywood Hangover - 

Hello Podcast Listeners! This episode features some great recordings by Duke Ellington, Russ Morgan, The Andrews Sisters, Bob Crosby and more. Let's get drunk on Big Band and Swing music together.

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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Second Chorus

Lately, I've been watching old movies from the 1930's and 1940's just to mix things up. I've been running out of things to watch ... I admit it.  Binge watching shows and movies on platforms like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime have gone to a whole new level around the world as we all find ways to keep our sanity during the pandemic.

The other night I had the pleasure to stumble upon the movie "Second Chorus".  It stars Fred Astaire and Paulette Goddard and features a ton of music by Artie Shaw.  In fact, Shaw has a big role in the film, and the musical performances featuring him and the band are fantastic.

Overall, it's a fun movie and if you are looking for something different to watch, then give it a try.  I've included a synopsis of the plot below.  Enjoy!

Artie Shaw performing in the movie "Second Chorus"

The Plot (taken from Wikipedia)

Danny O'Neill (Fred Astaire) and Hank Taylor (Burgess Meredith) are friends and rival trumpeters with "O'Neill's Perennials", a college band. Both have managed to prolong their college careers by failing seven years in a row. At a performance, Ellen Miller (Paulette Goddard) catches Danny's and Hank's eyes. She serves them a notice for her boss, a debt collector, but the fast-talking O'Neill and Taylor soon have her working as their manager.

Tired of losing gigs to the Perennials, Artie Shaw, playing himself, comes to woo Ellen away to be his booking manager. She tries to get Danny and Hank an audition for Shaw's band, but their jealous hi-jinks get them fired.

Watch: Movie clip from "Second Chorus"

Ellen talks Shaw into letting rich wannabee musician J. Lester Chisholm (Charles Butterworth) back a concert. It looks like the jig is up when Hank pretends to be Ellen's jealous husband, and then her brother. Danny and Hank manage get Chisholm back on board, then get Shaw to agree to put Danny's song into the show. All they have to do is keep Chisholm and his mandolin (which he wants to play in the concert) away from Shaw until after the show; the solution is sleeping pills to knock Chisholm, and incidentally Hank, out.

To Ellen's relief, Danny finally acts professionally, arranging his number for the show, which Shaw says "has really grown up into something special." He hands the baton to Danny, who successfully dance-conducts his own composition.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Raymond Scott

Raymond Scott, was in my humble opinion, the most unique bandleader of the Big Band Era.  He was also a talented pianist, record producer, and inventor of many electronic instruments.

Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, but his music may seem familiar to you because Carl Stalling adapted it in over 120 Warner Bros cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck.  Just try to listen to Scott's music and not have visions of famous cartoon scenes that you may remember from your childhood. :)

Scott began his professional career as a pianist for the CBS Radio house band with his older brother. In late 1936, Raymond Scott put together a band with some of his CBS colleagues, calling it the Raymond Scott Quintette.  It was a six-piece group, but he thought "Quintette" (an original spelling created by him) sounded "crisper" and more original.  They made their first recordings in 1937 for Master Records.

The Quintette represented Scott's vision of breathing new life into swing music through tight, busy arrangements and riffs that reduced improvisation. Scott called this style "descriptive jazz." He is also known for his unique and unusual song titles like "New Year's Eve in a Haunted House", "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals" and "Bumpy Weather Over Newark".

Listen to "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott

Scott believed in composing and playing by ear. He didn't compose on paper at all, which was a complete departure from the norm at that time.  The Quintette's songs derived from Scott humming phrases to his sidemen or by playing riffs and rhythms on his piano and letting the band members interpret his cues. Scott, who was also a very creative sound engineer, recorded the band's rehearsals on discs and used the recordings as references to develop his compositions. He reworked, re-sequenced, and deleted passages, and added themes from other discs to construct the final songs. While creating a song, he let his group members improvise, but once the song had been completed, he regarded the song as "locked". This was also a very different approach at that time.

The Quintette existed from 1937 to 1939 and recorded the popular "Twilight in Turkey", "Minuet in Jazz", "War Dance for Wooden Indians", "Reckless Night on Board an Ocean Liner", "Powerhouse", and "The Penguin."

Listen to "The Penguin" by Raymond Scott

You can hear many of Raymond Scott's recordings right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Watch Video: Radio Sound Effects

Have you ever wondered how they did all of those great sound effects on those old radio shows in the 1930's and 1940's?  Now you have a chance to look behind the scenes at how the sound men and women created the broadcasts with sound effects. The nine minute video below, "Back of the Mic", begins with a child listening to the radio and his imagination is put on the screen. The camera then goes to a 1930's era radio sound studio where the program is originating. I started the video at the 2 minute mark to get to the good parts of the video.

This video gives you an insightful look at how those creative and life-like sounds were created.  Enjoy!

Watch Video of an old radio show and how they produced their sound effects.

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Podcast: Episode 25 - Beyond Half-Past Jump Time

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 25: Beyond Half-Past Jump Time - 

Hey there People of Swing! In this episode of The Big Band and Swing Podcast we feature some fantastic music by Martha Tilton, Mabel Lee, Buddy Rich, Larry Clinton, Billie Holiday and more. It's a Swingin' good time!

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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee, born with the name Norma Deloris Egstrom, was a popular vocalist whose career spanned over six decades.  Her unique vocal style, sophisticated persona and beauty helped her stand out from other female singers of the Big Band Era. She also appeared in many films.

Originally from North Dakota, Peggy Lee spent time performing in California nightclubs in the late 1930's. It was during this time that she developed her trademark "sultry purr".  Lee decided to compete with the noisy nightclub crowds in a subtle, softer, singing voice rather than with volume.  She later relocated to Chicago to take a gig at the famed Buttery Room, a nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel East in Chicago.

It was at the Buttery Room in Chicago, that Peggy Lee was first noticed by Lady Alice Duckworth.  At that time Duckworth was engaged to Benny Goodman and she was very impressed by Peggy's vocals and style. According to Lee, "Benny's then-fiancée, Lady Alice Duckworth, came into the Buttery, and she was very impressed. So the next evening, she brought Benny in, because they were looking for a replacement for Helen Forrest. And although I didn't know, I was it. He was looking at me strangely, I thought, but it was just his preoccupied way of looking. I thought that he didn't like me at first, but it just was that he was preoccupied with what he was hearing."  Peggy Lee joined Benny Goodman's band in 1941.

In 1942, Lee had her first number-one hit with Goodman's band, "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place" followed in 1943 by "Why Don't You Do Right?", which sold more than one million copies and made her a household name. She also sang with Goodman's orchestra in two Hollywood films, "Stage Door Canteen" and "The Powers Girl".

Video of Peggy Lee performing "Why Don't You Do Right?" with Benny Goodman in 1943

In March 1943, Lee married a guitarist in Goodman's band named Dave Barbour.  This was another significant moment in Peggy's career. Lee said, "David joined Benny's band and there was a ruling that no one should fraternize with the girl singer. But I fell in love with David the first time I heard him play, and so I married him. Benny then fired David, so I quit, too. Benny and I made up, although David didn't play with him anymore. Benny stuck to his rule. I think that's not too bad a rule, but you can't help falling in love with somebody."

...when she left the band in the spring 1943, her intention was to quit the music scene altogether and become Mrs. Barbour, full-time housewife.

"I fell in love with David Barbour," she later recalled. "But 'Why Don't You Do Right' was such a giant hit that I kept getting offers and kept turning them down. And at that time it was a lot of money, but it really didn't matter to me at all. I was very happy. All I wanted was to have a family and cling to my daughter Nicki. Well, they kept talking to me and finally David joined them and said 'You really have too much talent to stay at home and someday you might regret it.'"

Listen to Peggy Lee sing "Somebody Else is Taking My Place" with the Benny Goodman Orchestra

She drifted back to songwriting and occasional recording sessions for the Capitol Records in 1947, for whom she recorded a long string of hits, many of them with lyrics and music by Lee and her husband.

In 1948, Lee joined Perry Como and Jo Stafford to host The Chesterfield Supper Club.  She also appeared frequently on Bing Crosby's radio shows during the late 1940's and early 1950's.

Her relationship with Capitol spanned almost three decades.  For that label, she recorded Black Coffee and had hit singles such as "Lover", "Mister Wonderful" and her very popular version of "Fever".

You can hear Peggy Lee right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Watch Video of Chattanooga Choo Choo

The video below is "Chattanooga Choo Choo" performed by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra from the 1941 movie "Sun Valley Serenade."  This is my favorite version of the song, though there are a few live versions that I would rank at the top of my list as well.

Watch "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

I watched the movie "Sun Valley Serenade" a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it.  The skiing portions are a "Hoot"!  Overall, it is a fun and entertaining movie so check it out if you are out of things to watch on Netflix or Hulu.  There are some copies that are free to watch floating around on Youtube.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Podcast: Episode 24 - Why Don't You Do Right, Arthur Murray?

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 24: Why Don't You Do Right, Arthur Murray? - 

Hello Swingers and Swingettes! This episode features some great music by Billy Eckstine, Boyd Raeburn, Betty Hutton, Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra and more. Men also learn how to achieve the well-groomed look to get ahead both socially and on the job.

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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Cootie Williams

Cootie Williams was a highly gifted trumpeter and band leader.  His trumpet playing was very influential throughout The Big Band Era.

Cootie Williams began his professional career at the young age of fourteen with the Young Family band, which also happened to include Lester Young on sax. Williams once said he acquired his nickname as a boy when his father took him to a band concert. When it was over his father asked him what he'd heard and the young William replied, "Cootie, cootie, cootie."  Makes me wonder what band his father took him to see. :)

In 1928, he worked briefly in the bands of both Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson.  His career took off when he became a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra when the band was playing at the Cotton Club. He also recorded his own sessions during this time, both as a freelancer and with other members of Ellington's band. Williams was renowned for his "jungle" style of trumpet playing and for his use of the plunger mute. He would also sing occasionally. He was the soloist in famous Ellington compositions like "Echoes of Harlem" and "Harlem Air Shaft."

Listen to "Airmail Special" by Cootie Williams

In 1940, he joined Benny Goodman's Orchestra. It was a highly publicized move within the Big Band community and it's fans. and it caused quite a stir at the time.  Then in 1941, Cootie Williams formed his own orchestra.  Some of the musicians he employed over the years were Charlie Parker, Eddie Davis, Bud Powell and Eddie Vinson.

In the late 1940's the band disbanded and Cootie began to focus more on rhythm and blues music.

You can listen to Cootie Williams and His Orchestra right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Bunny Berigan

Bunny Berigan was one of the most talented trumpeters of The Big Band Era and a bandleader whose career was tragically cut short by alcoholism.

Berigan started his career playing with local bands as a teenager in his home state of Wisconsin. He joined Hal Kemp's Orchestra in 1929 after failing his first tryout for the band.  By late 1930 he had already become a sought out studio musician providing trumpet solos for Abe Lyman, Paul Whiteman and Benny Goodman.  From late 1932 through early 1934, Berigan was a member of Paul Whiteman's orchestra, before playing with Abe Lyman's band for a bit in 1934.

In 1934, Bunny returned to freelancing and recorded as a sideman on hundreds of recordings, most notably with the Dorsey Brothers and Glenn Miller's earliest recordings as a band leader.

At the same time, Berigan joined Benny Goodman's Swing band. With Berigan and Gene Krupa both on board, the Goodman band made the tour that ended at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. That tour and performance are often credited with the launch of the swing era.  Berigan recorded a number of solos while with Benny Goodman, including "King Porter Stomp", "Sometimes I'm Happy", and "Blue Skies".

Listen to Bunny Berigan's version of "I Can't Get Started"

Berigan led his own band full-time from early 1937 until June 1942, with a six-month hiatus in 1940 as a sideman in Tommy Dorsey's band. Berigan's alcoholism worked against his financial success as a bandleader. The stresses of bandleading drove Berigan to drink even more heavily. Some of the most notable members of his band were Buddy Rich, Ray Conniff and Les Elgart.

Berigan sadly passed away in 1942 of cirrhosis of the liver.

You can hear Bunny Berigan right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Special Podcast: Celebrating Harry James

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Hello there fine People of Swing! In this special episode of The Big Band and Swing Podcast we celebrate the music of a true icon of the Big Band Era, Harry James. We play some of his hits and take a closer look at the trumpet playing bandleader. Join us in this musical celebration of Harry James.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Roy Eldridge

Roy Eldridge, nicknamed "Little Jazz", was born in 1911 and passed away in 1989.  His unique trumpet solos mark him as one of the most influential musicians of the swing era and a precursor of bebop.  Eldridge was also a featured vocalist at times in his career.

Eldridge, originally from Pittsburgh, led and played in a number of bands during his early years, touring extensively throughout the Midwest of the United States. He was influenced greatly by Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins.

At the age of 20, Eldridge led a band in Pittsburgh, billed as "Roy Elliott and his Palais Royal Orchestra".  His agent at the time intentionally changed Eldridge's name to Elliot because "he thought it more classy."  The name change didn't last very long.

Roy soon left to try out for the orchestra of Horace Henderson, younger brother of Fletcher Henderson, and joined the band, which was then being billed as "The Fletcher Henderson Stompers under the Direction of Horace Henderson."  Eldridge then played with a number of other territory bands, he drifted from band to band making a name for himself and making strong contacts throughout the industry.

Listen to Roy Eldridge's trumpet playing featured on "Rockin' Chair"

Eldridge moved to New York in November 1930, playing in various bands in the early 1930's.  At this time, Eldridge was also making records and radio broadcasts under his own name. He laid down his first recorded solos with Teddy Hill in 1935, which gained almost immediate popularity.  In October of 1935, Eldridge joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, playing lead trumpet and occasionally singing.  Until he left the group in early September 1936, Eldridge was Henderson's featured soloist, his talent highlighted by such numbers as "Christopher Columbus" and "Blue Lou."

Eldridge, fed up with the racism he had encountered in the music industry, quit playing in 1938 to study radio engineering. But in April of 1941, after receiving many offers from white swing bands, Eldridge joined Gene Krupa's Orchestra, and was successfully featured with rookie singer Anita O'Day.  This made Eldridge one of the first black musicians to become a permanent member of a white big band. Eldridge and O'Day were featured in a number of recordings, including the novelty hit "Let Me Off Uptown" and "Knock Me a Kiss".

Listen to Gene Krupa's "Let Me Off Uptown" with Roy Eldridge and Anita O'Day on vocals.

Krupa's band soon broke up when Krupa was jailed for marijuana possession in July 1943.  After leaving Krupa's band, Eldridge freelanced in New York during 1943 before joining Artie Shaw's band in 1944. Racial incidents that he faced while playing in Shaw's band prompted Eldridge to leave and form a big band, but this eventually proved financially unsuccessful, and Eldridge returned to small group work.

You can hear the influential trumpet playing of Roy Eldridge right here on Swing City Radio.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Podcast: Episode 23 - Frankie, Bing and Delicious Homemade Pickles

Listen to The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Episode 23: Frankie, Bing and Delicious Homemade Pickles - 

Hey there People of Swing! In this episode we hear some great music by The Ink Spots, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, The Benny Goodman Sextet, Ella Fitzgerald and more. We also listen to an old Chase and Sanborn Coffee radio ad. Oh, and I almost forgot: Pickles.

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Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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Don Redman

Don Redman had moderate success as a bandleader, but left a huge impact on the Big Band Era as an arranger.  Redman was also an accomplished musician playing both clarinet and saxophones.

In 1923, Redman joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and began writing arrangements that did much to formulate the sound that was to become "Swing".  Don Redman's arrangements were sophisticated, highly innovative, and formed much of the foundation of the Big Band sound.  In my opinion, the work he did with Fletcher Henderson and His Band was some of his most impressive work.

Redman then joined McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1927 as their musical director and leader. He was responsible for their great success and arranged over half of their music. He was a main fixture with McKinney's Cotton Pickers until 1931 when he left to form his own Orchestra.

Don Redman and His Orchestra signed with Brunswick Records and also did a series of radio broadcasts. During the early 1930's, the records Redman made were some of the most complex, "hot" arrangements of the period. Both Harlan Lattimore and Redman himself handled the vocals for the band.  He signed with the Bluebird label in 1938 and recorded with them until 1940, when he disbanded the orchestra.

Listen to Lazybones by Don Redman and His Orchestra

The 1940's saw Redman spread his musical influence as a freelance arranger. His arrangements provided hits for Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Harry James.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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August Birthdays

Here is a list of August Birthdays of notable Big Band and Swing artists that we play right here on Swing City Radio.  I also included the date the artist passed away for age purposes. If you feel that I missed someone, then send me an email through the website.  View more Big Band related Birthday and Events on our Swing City Radio Station Calendar.

August 3
Les Elgart (August 3, 1917 – July 29, 1995)

August 4
Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957)
Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971)

August 7
Freddie Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965)

August 8
Benny Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003)
Lucky Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966)

August 9
Harry Mills (August 9, 1913 – June 28, 1982)

August 10
Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965)

August 13
Anna Mae Winburn (August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999)
Skinnay Ennis (August 13, 1907 – June 3, 1963)

August 17
Larry Clinton (August 17, 1909 – May 2, 1985)

August 19
Eddie Durham (August 19, 1906 – March 6, 1987)

August 20
Jack Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964)

August 21
Count Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984)

August 23
Bob Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993)

August 24
Buster Smith (August 24, 1904 – August 10, 1991)

August 26
Jimmy Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972)
Lester Lanin (August 26, 1907 – October 27, 2004)

August 27
Lester Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959)

August 30
Kenny Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972)

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Music Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Big Band Radio Station Broadcasting Online from King of Prussia, PA.

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