Tommy Carlyn

Tommy Carlyn and his Orchestra never really ascended to the national level, but they did achieve some success as a regional band. It was a decent band as well, showing a lot of promise and talent.  Carlyn, whose real name was Anthony Colella, based his outfit in the Pittsburgh area during the 1940's. At that time, Western Pennsylvania had a very good Swing Scene going on. Nothing that rivaled New York or Chicago, but it did have a fair amount of clubs that featured some very entertaining bands.  Tommy Carlyn led one of those bands.

I have found and restored one of Tommy Carlyn's performances from January of 1945 that took place at Bill Green's Casino. I've added a handful of songs from that show to the Swing City Radio playlist and it's very good stuff.  The concert was originally recorded and featured on the AFRS Show - One Night Stand.  Below, I included one of his songs that I played by him on my podcast.  It should be cued up starting with his version of "There Goes That Song Again". 

Listen to: Tommy Carlyn perform "There Goes That Song Again"

Tommy Carlyn's music continues to live on all these years later and can be heard right here on Swing City Radio.

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Soundie: Fuzzy Wuzzy

Today's Soundie is a great one from Louis Jordan.  Jorden recorded quite a few Soundies and personally I think this one is among his best and most entertaining.  "Fuzzy Wuzzy" was released to Panoram in December of 1942 and is a perfect example that "high energy" Jordan was always bring to his performances.

This Soundie also features the dancing of Ruby Richards.  She plays the role of the "little devil who is strictly on the level."  

This is such a great Soundie and it really captures Louis Jordan and his band at the top of their game.  Enjoy!

Watch the Soundie: "Fuzzy Wuzzy" by Louis Jordan

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Podcast: Show 96 - Three Songs From Sisters

The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Three Songs From Sisters - Show 96 - 

Includes Big Band recordings by Vaughn Monroe, Raymond Scott and Les Brown.  We also listen to a track by yet another one of those great Belgian bandleaders, Gus Deloof.

* All music in this podcast are Creative Commons.  Artists are credited within the podcast.

Listen to: Three Songs From Sisters (Show 96)

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Ray Anthony Turns 100!

Swing City Radio would like to wish Ray Anthony a Happy 100th Birthday. To celebrate the talent of this great trumpet player and bandleader, I've posted a performance of Mr. Anthony's Boogie from the early 1950's.  Such a great song by one of the last true living links to the Big Band Era. Enjoy!

Watch: Ray Anthony perform "Mr. Anthony's Boogie".

You can hear the great music of Ray Anthony right here on Swing City Radio.

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Podcast: Show 95 - Swing and The Johnny Thing

The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Swing and The Johnny Thing - Show 95 - 

Features vintage Big Band music by Ozzie Nelson, Bob Crosby, Duke Ellington and more.  Ronnaldo plays clips from a 1946 educational film titled "Johnny Learns His Manners" and also answers listener mail.

* All music in this podcast are Creative Commons.  Artists are credited within the podcast.

Listen to: Swing and The Johnny Thing (Show 95)

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Shorty Sherock

Shorty Sherock will always be known more as a great sideman.  In the 1930's, he was a sought out trumpeter playing for the orchestras of Ben Pollack, Jimmy Dorsey and Bob Crosby.  The 1940's saw Sherock spend time in the bands of Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Raymond Scott, Bud Freeman, Alvino Rey and Horace Heidt.  As you can see, Shorty Sherock's finger prints (or I should say, trumpet playing) are all over the Big Band Era.

In 1945, he decided to lead his own band.  Shorty Sherock and His Orchestra were a talented unit but unfortunately they didn't last long.  They disband in 1946.  But luckily, there was a Radio Remote that was recorded of one of their performances from the Glen Island Casino.  It was a great show that took place on August 7, 1945 and the sound quality was great.  Some of the songs featured were: "Lame Brain", "Four Bones" and "I Miss Your Kiss".  You can hear those songs along with others from that performance right here on Swing City Radio.

Listen to: "Lame Brain" by Shorty Sherock

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Now Available on TuneIn

Hey there everyone!  I'm happy to announce that you can now listen to Swing City Radio on TuneIn.  This is exciting news because TuneIn boasts a listening audience of over 30 million users in just the United States alone.  My hopes are that this added exposure will introduce Big Band Music to so many more people and turn them on to this great, vintage music.

I'm also very excited for my current listeners as well.  TuneIn provides new ways to listen to Swing City Radio on all types of smart home devices, in your car, on your TV, on gaming platforms and hundreds of other devices.  Their smart phone app has been the standard for years and is one of the major reasons I wanted to get on the platform.  So if you are already a fan of Swing City Radio, access to listening has become even wider.

This should be a lot of fun to see how this increases exposure to Swing City Radio and I'm eager to see how much our little community of Big Band fans grows.  If you'd like to listen on TuneIn just put "Swing City Radio" into the search bar while on TuneIn, or click here to go directly to our station page.

And don't forget to mark Swing City Radio as a FAVORITE!  Enjoy.

~ Ronnaldo

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

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Playlist: Johnny Mercer's Music Shop

Johnny Mercer's Music Shop was an old-time radio program that featured some of the most popular songs of its day and included musical performances by Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford, The Pied Pipers and other well known names. The Mercer performances on the show are simply fantastic!  The show's band was led by Paul Weston and the music he provides is top shelf.

Johnny Mercer's Music Shop was first broadcast on NBC Radio in 1943 as a summer replacement for The Pepsodent Show which starred Bob Hope. A year later, the program returned with a slightly different format and was broadcasted by both NBC and The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS).  The AFRS would transmit the shows to United States military personnel serving around the world.  The show is sometimes referred to as "The Chesterfield Music Shop" due to Chesterfield's sponsorship of the show.  

I've been hard at work extracting these great performances from the original recordings and cleaning up the audio, just so I can play them for you on Swing City Radio. I think you are really going to dig these tracks and you will begin to hear them in the normal daily rotations by the end of January.

Enjoy!

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Podcast: Show 94 - Boog It and Budgets

The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Boog It and Budgets - Show 94 - 

Includes some great Big Band recordings by Cab Calloway, Sam Donahue and Johnny Mercer.  Ronnaldo also plays a track by Belgian bandleader Fud Candrix and we listen to a couple of clips from "Your Thrift Habits".

* All music in this podcast are Creative Commons.  Artists are credited within the podcast.

Listen to: Boog It and Budgets (Show 94)

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Connie Haines

If you would have asked me a few years ago to list some of the best female vocalists from the Big Band Era, I admit that Connie Haines may not have made my list.  But, as I hear more and more of her work found in the archives of Old Time Radio, my opinion is changing.

At the age of 9, Connie had her own local radio show performing as "Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air". (Connie was born as Yvonne Marie Antoinette Jasme.)  In the early 1940's she joined the band of Harry James.  That is where she changed her name to Connie Haines per James' request.  Haines later recalled, "He said you don't look like Yvonne Marie Antonette Jasme. And there would be no room on the marquee for me. You look like a Connie to me."

Haines spent some time featured with Harry James and his Orchestra and also became the lead singer on The Abbott and Costello Show from 1942 to 1946. She later moved on to sing with Tommy Dorsey before starting a solo career that lasted a couple of decades.

Watch the Soundie: "The Continental" by Connie Haines. 
The music for this one was provided by Hal Bourne and his Orchestra.

You can hear the music of Connie Haines right here on Swing City Radio.

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Playlist: Jubilee

This month, I will be adding at least 4 to 5 dozen performances from the show "Jubilee" to the Swing City Radio playlist. These performances, in my opinion, are among the best that Old Time Radio has to offer.  They are filled with raw energy and are very well done.  

Over time, I will be adding as many "Jubilee" songs as I can.  Unfortunately, many of the original recordings that still exist may take some work to clean up.  As always, I'll see what I can do to improve the audio.

Some of the tracks I'll be adding to Swing City Radio this month are performances from names like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Benny Carter.  You will also be able to hear some fantastic tracks from names you might not instantly recognize. Wilbert Baranco, Elmer Fain and Jimmy Mundy are just a few names that come to mind.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the show "Jubilee":

"Jubilee" was an AFRS radio program that was broadcast to servicemen via Armed Forces Radio from 1942 to 1953. "Jubilee" was conceived, at least in part, as a morale-building service for African American troops stationed overseas. The wartime host was Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman.  The man had a true gift as an announcer.

Most of the shows were recorded before live audiences in Los Angeles. The series later emerged as an important piece of black heritage. Its War Department status exempted the performing artists from the union-mandated recording bans of 1942-43 and many of the shows contain unique performances.

Great stuff!  Be sure to check these tracks out on Swing City Radio starting this month.

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

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Podcast: Show 93 - Flat Foot Floogie Difficulties

The Big Band and Swing Podcast - Flat Foot Floogie Difficulties - Show 93 - 

Features vintage Big Band music by Count Basie, Bing Crosby, The Hudson-DeLange Orchestra and many more. We also listen to a great Soundie by Louis Jordan.

* All music in this podcast are Creative Commons.  Artists are credited within the podcast.

Listen to: Flat Foot Floogie Difficulties (Show 93)

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

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Eugenie Baird

Eugenie Baird might not be a name that quickly comes to mind when listing the great female vocalists of the Big Band Era, but her fingerprints are all over the 1940's.

Baird joined Jan Savitt's band in the early 1940's and eventually moved on to become a featured vocalist with Tony Pastor's Orchestra in 1942.  In 1943, she was a singing for The Casa Loma Orchestra.  This was a big deal!  The Casa Loma Orchestra had been around forever, and she was the first female to be named as a featured voice in the famed orchestra.

In a 1944 review, jazz writer George T. Simon, who wrote for "Metronome" magazine, described Baird as "the prettiest girl I've ever seen in front of a band, and, in addition, the possessor of one of the prettiest voices I've ever heard in back of a microphone."  As always, Simon was right on the money.

Early on, before joining on with the bands I listed above and while still in high school, Eugenie Baird had her own program on KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA. This prepared her for the years she later spent on air. Baird was Bing Crosby's singing partner on the popular "Kraft Music Hall" on NBC for awhile.  She also sang on Paul Whiteman's "Forever Tops" weekly program, "The Jack Smith Show", and she hosted her own radio program "Eugenie Baird Sings" on ABC in 1946. She was all over the dial in the mid 1940's. 

By the time the 1950's rolled along, Baird's star had unfortunately burned out.  She remained active making radio jingles but at that point, she had pretty much disappeared from the public eye.

Listen to: "My Shining Hour" by Glen Gray and The Casa Loma Orchestra 

featuring Eugenie Baird on vocals.

You can hear the beautiful voice of Eugenie Baird right here on Swing City Radio.

Consider supporting Swing City Radio by becoming a Hepcat.  Learn more at: SupportSwing.com.

Swing City Radio: Playing Your Big Band and Swing Favorites from the 1930's, 40's and Today! - Listener Supported and Streaming Commercial Free.

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