Make Believe Ballroom - 10/30/26 Edition

0:12 It's make-believe ballroom. Time Put all your cares away All the bands are here To bring good cheer your way. It's make-believe ballroom time And free to everyone It's no time to fret, your dial is set for one. Just close your eyes. And visualize in your solitude. Your favorite bands are on the stands and Mr. Miller puts you in the mood. It's make-believe ballroom time.

1:06 Hello, world. I'm Jeff Bressler, turning on the lights of the Make-Believe Ballroom and welcoming you into my crystal studio for another jam-packed program of classic big band music from the beautiful 1930s and 40s. Please get ready. I've got an amazing lineup today of jazz, swing, blues, and boogie-woogie favorites coming your way. Folks, you're listening to the Make-Believe Ballroom, broadcasting almost continuously since 1935, and proud to be America's third longest-running musical radio program, and a big warm welcome, welcome, welcome into the crystal studio. Located at the J1 Studios right here in Balmy, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And what a show I have lined up for you today. I want to start this edition of The Ballroom with, well, I'll call it a mini-tribute to Lil Hardin Armstrong. Many corners, Lil is best known as a former wife of Louis Armstrong.

2:18 But in actuality, historically, she was so much more. Lil was a brilliant pianist, a wonderful vocalist, a talented bandleader, as well as being an accomplished composer. Lil was an absolute trailblazer. She was able to carve out a legacy, uh, and succeed as a black female artist at a time when the odds were stacked entirely against her being both black and female. She actually wasn't part of just jazz history.

3:02 She helped write it. Very underrated, in my estimation. Let me play a record by Lel, and then we'll talk about how she helped shape and reimagine the great Louis Armstrong himself.

3:51 Now come gather round us folks Let us tell you about this swing Let us tell you about the dance that was invented just for you Now you swing over here. Now you swing over there. Boy, you swing. On out and you do the boozy cue. Oh, you're dancing. Yes, you're prancing. When you hear the music play, that's your cue. Yes, you're trucking, doing the shim-sham. Then you swing on out and you're doing the Susie Q. Now stop unless you do forget. You ain't seen nothing yet. Until you see this dance that's new. Oh, you tuck over here, you swing over there. You tip just like you're walking on air. Then you're doing the Susie Q.

4:43 Now hot steps, new steps, you will give them. Good old pep and low-down rhythm Now come and give yourself a treat Watch these babies shake their feet What they're doing, they're doing a suzy cute.

5:48 We just heard Lil Hardin Armstrong and her swing orchestra tearing through doing the Susie Q. Cut out in Chicago on October the 27th, 1936, for Decca Records. And that record featured a couple of top-shelf sidemen.

6:29 You had Joe Thomas on trumpet and the great Buster Bailey playing the clarinet. Now, I mentioned before the record that Lil was a driving force and an essential mentor to Louis Armstrong. When they first met in Chicago, Lil was already a sophisticated musician and composer, as well as vocalist and piano player. She was arranging and singing with King Oliver's Creole jazz band when she met Louis. She encouraged him at the time. Louis was playing with different groups.

7:15 to step out on his own. She understood the level of talent that Louis had. She went on to refine his musical presentation, and she really played a massive role in steering him towards international superstardom. She even, it's said, redressed and got a new hairstyle for Louis, who she considered to be Rural looking, somewhat like a country bumpkin from Louisiana. Why don't we listen once again to the incomparable Lil Hardin Armstrong.

7:58 LIL HARDIN ARMSTRONG. Now I was always known to be the vamp of my hometown, and everyone could plainly see that I'd make any man my clown. I broke the hearts of many men. The way I did it shows a sin, but now those days are gone. Since my hidey-hole man came along, I fell for a hidey-hole man, and he means the world to me. And I don't want to make you understand what's on him to see. Sometimes I quit him, it's all in vain. It's just too bad when he hides all again.

8:53 Mmm, my little hidey-hole man. Ba-ba-dee-doo-doo-doo-doo. Now, that was my little hidey-hole man, but he ain't worth a dime. Now, all that I can ever get from him is just a gang of beat-up times. Say, he treats me mean and he sometimes hits me. I don't care as long as he don't quit me. My little hidey-hole man.

9:50 Now, folks, did you hear my hearty ho man? Oh, he's my honey. I'm going to bump back bar and steal all I can till. He can have his correct money. Say he stays out late, won't even phone. Tells me my place is home alone. Such a little hidey hole man.

10:38 Folks, we just heard another sizzling side by Lil, my hidey-ho man, recorded at the same deck of session that doing the Susie Q was recorded on October the 27th, 1936. So, a little music and a little about the wonderful Lil Hardin Armstrong. Folks, head over to makebelieveballroom.com. It's your ultimate online destination for the Make Believe Ballroom. We've got over 260 past episodes waiting for you right now with brand new shows and some of the older vintage ones that I've been able to dig up added all the time.

11:25 That's over 260 hours of incredible big band jazz, swing blues, boogie woogie, and Dixieland music available 24-7. So keep the music playing. Bookmark makebelieveballroom.com today and dive into the ultimate library of classic American swing radio programs through our past shows. And now a song from the short-lived Burt Block and his orchestra.

12:49 No other one, yes, no other one Can ever do what you do when. You do what you do Kissing. Me, oh, no other one, yes, no other one Can ever make me like you, like you, like I'd like. To constantly talk about caresses. With an 18-carat thrill. I don't have to. Make three guesses when I'm thinking of someone who can fill the bill. There's no other one, yes, no other one. Can ever make me want to want to say, who do I want. In a great big way? No other one. ¶ ¶.

14:44 Folks, before we move on, I want to share a fascinating little slice of record history about that last side. That was, indeed, Burt Block and his orchestra with No Other One, recorded in New York City on October the 3rd, 1935, on the Perfect label. Now, interestingly, that was the very first of five documented records commercial recording sessions for Bloch's orchestra, and it's the only one that didn't carry the quote-unquote and his bells billing. Yes, all other Bloch's sides included the addition of bell music within the song. Also on that particular ARC record date, the legendary Axl Stardahl served double duty as both trumpeter and arranger, and he even stepped up to the microphone. He joined fellow trumpeter Joe Bauer and longtime vocalist Jack Leonard to form the vocal trio known on the label as the Three Chirps. If those names sound familiar, well, I've told this story on a past show, All three of them would soon, after

16:16 that recording session, head off to join the Tommy Dorsey Band, where they continued performing together as a vocal trio under the moniker of not the Three Chirps, but the Three Esquires. So, here on the Make-Believe Ballroom, I now offer you Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. Edith Wright and the Three Esquires. ¶ ¶.

17:17 Start to swing, it's a jamboree Have your fling, it's a jamboree Get that music to wear you down Rockin' rhythm to tear you down Here we go, stepping wide and high. Trumpets blow while we're riding high. Go to town, spread the jam with me. Start to swing, it's a jamboree. Social devs and college tutors mixed with Broadway hands. Stage celebs and cloak and suitors, why, everybody jams. Crazy punks who've got ambitions, throw them all away.

18:06 Sailors, drunks, and hot musicians get right in the sway. Gigolos with their painted eyebrows, picking up wealthy frumps. And the bigolos, known as Boston Highbrows, doing the Harlem bumps. All the swells and honky-tonks from Brooklyn to the Bronx. Feel that shockin' rockin' rhythm of the jamboree You've got to go get. Into your stride You've got to go get ready. To ride Start to swing, it's a jamboree.

18:55 That was Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra with Jamboree, a song sourced from the Universal film Top of the Town, recorded in New York City at RCA Victor's Studio 3. That was their East 24th Street studio. on November the 24th, 1936, under the Victor label. It's written by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson. And that side featured the wonderful vocal by Edith Wright, alongside the Three Esquires, who, as I earlier mentioned, were none other than Jack Leonard, Joe Bauer, and Axel Stordahl.

19:42 So we were talking about Burt Block and his orchestra that had a limited range. run, both as a record and live performance group. But don't worry about Bert. He went on to become a, well, a hugely famous recording company agent and executive. I guess you had bands like Blocks that were a limited run, to say the least. But while I was playing Tommy Dorsey and the Three Esquires, I was thinking about which big bands had the longest amount of longevity. Let me spin another record, then the top two and some of their music. Who do you folks think were the two legendary big bands with the greatest continuous longevity?

20:40 ¶ ¶.

21:26 So so my my.

23:20 Folks, if you were holding an original. Copy of Vocalion record number... 5493. In your hands, you'd see right there on the label, it says Bobby Hackett's tribute to Bix Beiderbecke. It's a gorgeous sign. Horace Haidt presenting Bobby Hackett and his orchestra with Singin' the Blues, recorded in Los Angeles on February the 1st, 1940. However, whoever was proofreading the record label that day, clearly had their mind on a totally different topic.

24:27 Perhaps it was a coffee break. Perhaps it was a woman's phone number that that individual obtained on a matchbook. We don't know, but the label credits the song written by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, who actually wrote a totally different tune called Singin' the Blues back in 1931. The real authors behind this classic jazz standard that we just heard were J. Russell Robinson and Con Conrad. Now, how on earth did a mix-up like that make it onto a pressing plant master? Well, Record labels back in the 1940s were rushing releases out the door at a breakneck pace, relying on tired typists, I guess. Handwritten, poorly handwritten, I must say, session sheets passed from studio to office and likely serious problems and zero second guessing. A busy layout artist probably saw us singing the blues and pulled the first title match in their publishing catalog, which happened to be the McHugh and Fields tune, and they ended

25:59 up slapping it right on the label before anyone had a chance to check the sheet music. The glamorous, era-prone romance of the 78 RPM era. so quaint and homey, so disorganized, similar to the console here in the Crystal Studio. I'm Jeff Bressler, and you're listening to the one, the only, the original Make-Believe Ballroom on the radio since 1935, making this program America's third longest-running radio show. Before I played Bobby Hackett and told you that label story, I asked you to think about the Two big bands that had the greatest longevity. So why don't I begin with number two?

26:48 And when you talk about true longevity in the big band world, few can touch the Duke Ellington Orchestra. And I'm sure many of you had that either as number one or number two. For over 50 continuous years under Duke's direct leadership, starting way back in 1923 until his passing in 1974, Duke Ellington treated his orchestra not merely as a touring dance band, but more importantly as a living laboratory for composition. And by writing custom arrangements, that were tailored specifically to the unique individual tones of his star sidemen, the group developed an inimitable, constantly fresh new sound.

27:53 The Duke. The Duke.

31:28 That smooth swinging classic was just a sitting and a rocking composed by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn. and Lee Gaines, and it was recorded in New York City at the RCA Victor Studio No. 2, which we had just discussed a few moments ago on April 26, 1945. And now my beloved audience, the beloved band that has had the longest run of longevity of all the big bands in history. When we talk about the ultimate band I guess you'd have to call it marathon contest of the big band world.

32:13 We have to look no further than, and I'm sure many of you got this correct, Count Basie and his orchestra. For over 90 years, they have been in continuous operation since the founding by Count Basie back in Kansas City in 1935 and long after. Basie passed in 1984. The orchestra continued and continues to tour and record under the direction of a number of esteemed band leaders, the likes of which have been Thad Jones led the band for a number of years, Frank Foster, a number of others.

33:02 So we can say that Count Basie And his orchestra stand as the longest-running active big band in jazz history. And a song now with the title of something Count Basie certainly did not do. ¶ ¶.

36:24 Friends, that incredible jump tune was Doggin' Around, composed by the brilliant tenor saxophonist Herschel Evans, and Count Basie certainly never wanted to dog it. And that fine disc was recorded in New York City. June the 6th, 1938 by Count Basie and his orchestra and released on Decca Records. The two big bands with the longest longevity, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. And I think it's Guy Lombardo who holds the distinction of being third on that list. Quick reminder for all of our listeners, make sure to head over and subscribe to the Make Believe Ballroom Radio Facebook page to catch daily record plays, historical features, and some added programming you don't hear on the radio. Subscribe to Make Believe Ballroom Radio on Facebook.

37:38 Got a snap in my fingers Got rhythm in my walk As the elephants say I'm living in a great. Big way. Got a handful. Of nothing And I watch it like a hawk Well, I'm doing okay I'm. Living in a great big way. I'm the salt in the ocean I'm the sun in the sky. I'm a Franklin D. Roosevelt. I'm a million dollars long as. I got a snap in my fingers. Got a rhythm in my walk. Got the devil to pay. I'm living in a great big way.

38:19 Oh.

40:33 We just heard that wonderful number, I'm Livin' in a Great Big Way, sourced from the film Hooray for Love, recorded in New York City at the Brunswick Studios on April 3rd, 1935, by Louis Prima and his New Orleans gang, and released today. on Naturally Brunswick Records. Let me play another tune, then a listener's email regarding a recent segment we had on the program about band leader feuds. Piano plays.

43:42 That swingin' rendition of 920 Special was recorded in 1944 for the Langworth Transcription Service, featuring Sonny Dunham and his orchestra, Sonny Dunham. one of the premier trumpet and valve trombone virtuosos of the swing era. I'm Jeff Bressler, and I'm swinging through another edition of the Make Believe Ballroom coming to you from the Crystal Studio in the J1 Studios in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And thanks so much for listening in today. To reach me, I'm Jeff at makebelieveballroomradio.com. That's Jeff at makebelieveballroomradio.com. And if you were with us a few weeks ago, I did a segment on band leader feuds and as a result got quite a few emails about that. Last week I read a listener's email who wanted more information on the Frank Sinatra-Buddy Rich feud. It was actually more of a tiff than a feud actually.

44:53 I've used that word tiff my whole life, and I don't actually know what it means. I'm going to have to look that up. Today, though, I have what would be described as feud hyphen tiff. Not quite a feud or tiff, but a little of both. And Alfred Carnes wants to be illuminated on the tensions between Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa. And Alfred, who listens on Jazz 90.1 in Rochester, New York, was nice enough to take the time to sit down and ask the question, which I deeply appreciate. So for you, Alfred, as the story goes, well, it really all blew wide open at Benny Goodman's historic concert.

45:39 January the 16th, 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, which I have covered extensively over the years here in the Make-Believe Ballroom. I'm sure most of you have heard Gene Krupa's explosive drum solo on Sing, Sing, Sing, which brought the house down and made him, Gene, the most talked-about musician in the entire Benny Goodman orchestra. The problem with that, well, the problem with that was Benny Goodman, who was notorious among his own sidemen for a wordless, icy stare nicknamed The Ray, which we spoke about recently. And that I, Ray, was aimed at Gene Krupa because Benny deeply at his own concert being upstaged by his own drummer. Now Lionel Hampton, who shared the stage with both of them, put the conflict simply. He said that Goodman disliked the showmanship, overshadowing what he considered the real music, while Gene Krupa firmly believed that the showmanship was the whole point of the Carnegie Hall concert. The tension came to a head afterwards

47:11 when Krupa left Goodman later that year to form his own successful big band that debuted at Atlantic City's Steel Pier in New Jersey. But, Alfred, thankfully, time heals old wounds and the two eventually reconciled reuniting on stage several times over the following decades to the delight of jazz fans everywhere. So a happy ending to that TIFF-feud. And thank you, Alfred Carnes, for your email asking for more information on the dynamics between Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman.

47:56 And now, hopefully, some happy music. A little while back in the program, we played a song by Sonny Dunham that was recorded for the Langworth Transcription Service to be used as syndicated musical radio material geared for independent radio stations around the country in 1944. In 1941, there was a major Langworth transcription recording series that was released to independent stations. It was a 21-track collection recorded at New York's Leader Kranz Hall in 1941 for the Langworth Transcription Library to be distributed at a later date. It featured the Ten tracks by the Woody Herman Orchestra with vocals by Woody, Muriel Lane, and Steddy Nelson. And also there were 11 tracks by the Gene Krupa Orchestra with vocals by Anita O'Day, Roy Eltridge, and Howard Delaney. Let me play a track by Krupa from that session for Langworth.

49:14 Then I'll play one by Woody Herman. Although they were in the same hall, they did not record any mutual or combined material for that Langworth session. So let's start off with Gene Krupa. ¦ What a fool am I To love you so

50:49 dearly What a fool am I To show it so clearly. I've been acting like a schoolgirl In her first romantic affair But I can't change this feeling I'm so in love And I don't. Care What a fool am I. To spend days in dreaming when I know that I should really be scheming. But instead, I'll keep on waiting till the day that you'll be mine. And I'll play the part of a broken heart.

51:33 Fool is fool, am I? Guitar solo.

52:42 A Fool Am I, Gene Krupa and his orchestra, vocal by Anita O'Day, recorded at the 1941 Langworth Transcription Session in New York City. Now Woody in the same building at the same time. For there's a change in the weather, there's a change in the sea. From now on there'll be a change in me. My walk will be different My talk and my name Nothing about me's gonna be the same I'm gonna change my way of living And if that ain't enough Then I'll change.

53:37 The way I strut my stuff. Cause nobody wants. You when you're old and gray. There'll be some changes made today. There'll be some changes made.

54:25 I'm gonna change my way of living and if that ain't enough then I'll change the way I strut my stuff cause nobody wants you when you're old and There'll be some. Changes made today There'll be some changes. Made Woody Herman and his orchestra, vocal by Muriel Lane From the 1941 Langworth transcription recordings session, there'll be some changes made. And folks, we are out of time. And I'm going out with Teddy Wilson and his orchestra recorded for Columbia in New York City, January the 18th, 1940, with the song titled 71. To reach me, I'm Jeff at makebelieveballroomradio.com. That's jeff at makebelieveballroomradio.com. For past shows or recorded requests, please go to makebelieveballroom.com, makebelieveballroom.com. Please join me on the Make-Believe Ballroom Radio Facebook page for new recordings and features daily that augment the radio version of the show.

55:52 Quick thanks to our syndicators and distributors for offering the Make-Believe Ballroom radio cost-free to commercial-free public community and university radio stations. They are the Public Radio Exchange, PRX, the Pacifica Network, and Global Community Radio. The program's flagship affiliate is Jazz 90.1, WGMC in Rochester, New York. The Ballroom is also heard on your favorite podcast provider. So friends, until next week, this has been Jeff Bressler. Thank you.