Oct. 11, 2024

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/11/24 Edition

Show Notes
Transcript

Join us for this weeks MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM, broadcast over member supported Jazz 90.1 WGMC-FM in Rochester, NY, and other fine affiliates across the US as well as in the United Kingdom -- a little about two unsung talents of the big band era, the first time ever recording of a beloved classic, the revival of the Ralphie from Canarsie Record Club list - plus many, many more of the greatest hits of the big band era are played for your musical enjoyment during this episode.

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It's make Believe ballroom time.

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Put all your cares away. All the bands are here.

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To bring good cheer your way.

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It's make Believe ball on time and free to everyone.

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It's no time to friend your Dalis said Bob.

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Yours.

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Close your eyes and visualize in your solitude.

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Your favorite bands are on this dance and mister Miller,

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but you're in the mood.

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Its make Believe ballroom time.

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We are a sweet romances you make believe. Come on, Joe,

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last dat least.

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Hi, folks, I'm Jeff Presler, turning on the lights of

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the Make Belief Ballroom and welcoming you into my Crystal

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studio for another hour of the greatest swing, jazz and

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big band hits of the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties.

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I'm hosting the show to keep the music in traditions

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of past hosts Martin block Al, Jarvis William B. Williams

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in the legendary Steve Allen alive. Whether one of my

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longtime listeners or maybe tuning in for the first time today,

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I invite you to join me for some of the

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greatest jazz and swing hits from the big band era.

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Hello world, and welcome welcome, Welcome, one and all into

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the Make Believe Ballroom, coming to you coast to coast

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and across the Atlantic Ocean. On station's like members supported

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Jazz ninety point one WGMC in Rochester, New York, and

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on other fine affiliates across the US as well as

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in the United La Kingdom. Let's get things underway today

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with a record, you know, come to think of it,

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I don't think I ever played this record before on

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the Make Belief ball Rope.

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If I stayed till nine or after, why you folks

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don't think it's right, But don't forget that great things

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have happened, and the best things happen at nine. Mister

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Edison said a place when he discovered lives, he saw

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ahead that big things would happen, and the best things

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happen at night. Now take a famous man like Lincoln.

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He had the bush apply all day.

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The only time he had for thinking was late in

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the night, and Lincoln was lame. So when we bring

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up all of our children, we'll go about it ride

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when the fox strikes nine, we'll always remember that the

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best things happen at night. Now take a famous man

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like Lincoln.

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He had whizblow all day all.

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The only time he.

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Had for thinking was late in the night, and Lincoln

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was by. So if we bring up our children, we'll

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go about it.

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Ryan.

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When the box backs nine, we always remember that the

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Best Things Happened at night.

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That was Bob Howard and his orchestra, The Best Things

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Happen at Night, recorded on Decca Records in nineteen thirty six.

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Bob Howard, for the uninitiated, was a vocalist and piano player,

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but he was probably a best known for who he

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handpicked to be in his various bands and for his

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own talents. But as we heard on the record just

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concluded his own talents were indeed very impressive as a vocalist.

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Although I think I read somewhere that even though Howard

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played the piano, he didn't do so on I don't

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think any of his recordings he preferred to serve as

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a vocalist and band Later, out of Howard's bands in

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the thirties came such talented musicians as Benny Carter, Buster Bailey,

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Ben Webster, Teddy Wilson, Cozy Cole, Artie Shaw, and if

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I'm not mistaken, I think Bunny Berrigan played for a

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while with Bob Howard. So a little about Bob Howard

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to get things off to a swinging start here on

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the Make Bullieve ball Room, I think now I am

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going to go to the playlist computer here in the

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Crystal studio and choose a tune from one of Bob

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Howard's recording session musicians. And why don't I go to

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Buster Bailey, the great bandleader and clarinetist. Buster also led

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a sextet for a number of years, and here on

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the Make Believe Ballroom, handpicked just.

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For you, man man man manners.

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That's not fame.

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That was the Blue Room Buster Bailey Sextet, recorded on

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Varsity Records in nineteen forty. Let me play one more record,

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then I'm going to tell you some stories about Richard Himber,

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a little remembered bandleader who was the first to record

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one walloping hit that is still as popular today as

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it was when first recorded back in nineteen thirty four.

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We'll play that song in a little while. But now this.

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Don't slap my hair, don't slap my fingers.

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I'm shutting like bect feeling like a millionnaire. You don't

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stand my feet, I don't start you don't. I'm shutting

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like bect feeling like a millionnaire.

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Man, you love me?

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You want to make a fly.

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Love?

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He'd yelling, my my, I'm gonna clap my hand. I'm

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gonta slap my thing. I'm strugg like become feeling like

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a mail man.

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I'm gonna clap my hand.

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Movelinger, Lucky cops me like a man.

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Stop sho, step up.

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I'm gonna talk to you while Luck a millionaires here

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and feeling gee said you love me?

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Now that's a big oh.

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Don't you want love them?

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Get help by looking in mydel.

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Clap my, I'm gonna snap momblinger Luck met you like him?

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Millions? You like all.

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I'm gonna clap my hands. Recorded by Dolly Dawn and

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her Dawn Patrol on January the thirty first, nineteen thirty

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six for Bluebird Records. I'm Jeff Wrestler and you are

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listening to the one, the only, the original Make Believe

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Ballroom coming to you today from the Crystal Studio in

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New York. I can be reached at you Jef at

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Make Believe Ballroom Radio dot com. That's Jeff at Make

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Believe Ballroomradio dot com, where you can contact me with

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your requests and comments. As a matter of fact, after

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this segment about Richard Himber, I will indeed read and

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react to a couple of emails I received this past week. So, friends,

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what better way to introduce you to one Richard Himber

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than with one of his hit records. Richard Himber and

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his orchestra recorded back in nineteen thirty eight with a

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tune called I Should Have Stayed in Bed? So who

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was Richard and what song? Originally played by him became

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one of the greatest great American songbook standards of all time.

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We'll give that answer in just a little while, but

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first let's look at Himber. Richard Himber was a bandleader,

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a composer, a violinist, a magician, and, probably, next to

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Joe Venuti, the great violinist, probably the second most proficient

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practical joker during the big band era. Himber was from Newark,

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New Jersey, and he was given a violin by his

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parents at an early age, which he learned to play

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very well. His parents were delighted with their young virtuoso

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until word got out to his mother that Richard was performing,

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unbeknownst to them, in a side Newark, New Jersey, Dive

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Club and bar. I guess that was a huge shock

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to Himber's parents, because not only did they take the

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violin away, but they bought Himber a one way train

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ticket to send him off to military school. Well, I

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guess that didn't work out well, because Himber in nineteen

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fifteen ended up heading into New York City with the

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legendary Sophie Tucker. Sophie Tucker whose music we played here

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on the ballroom a few weeks back. Well, Sophie heard

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him play and hired him as a novelty act to

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play with her, and the Five Kings of Syncopation, where

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Himber behind Sophie, was the highlight of that cabaret act.

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After Sophie Tucker, Heimber's career moved along quite quickly. Much

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of that due to the fact that Richard was alleged

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to be a wonderful salesman and self promoter. A legend

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has it that Richard Himber was able to obtain the

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first ever I guess what we would call today a

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vanity phone number, So in nineteen thirty two to reach him,

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all you had to do was dial R. Himber and

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he would pick up the phone, or when he was

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not there, he'd hire somebody to answer so the phone

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in essence was covered. Twenty four to seven he started

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his first orchestra hotel band, which he called the Richard

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Himber Essex House Hotel Orchestra. That band gained a huge

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popularity in New York City and as a result of that,

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received a national remote contract with NBC Radio. I played

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Bob Howard a little while ago, and I told you

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how he was able to assemble some future big name

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talent into his astra. Well, Himber did the exact same thing,

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and at one time or another his band featured Benny Goodman,

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Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and many other future stars of

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the Big Band era. Himber, a jack of all trades,

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was also a skilled magician. In later years, his band

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act often included an interlude of magic, and he performed

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magic as strictly a magician and not a musician, on

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many television shows as well. In the early days of TV.

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In nineteen thirty four, composer of Felix Bernard and lyricist

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Richard Bernhardt Smith wrote a song about the winter. Due

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to its seasonal theme, the tune is often regarded as

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a Christmas song, although it's not. The song has been

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covered by over two hundred different artists, but Himber Richard

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Himber was the first ever to record the song, and

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here it is with a vocal by Joey Nash. You'll

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know it almost immediately.

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A sleigh els rings. Are you listening in the lane?

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Snow is listening? A beautiful sight.

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We're happy to night, walking in a wind to wonder line.

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Gone away. He's a blue bird here to stay. He

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is a new bird. He sings a love song.

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As we go along, walking in a wind to wonder

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line in the meadow. We can build a snow man

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and pretend.

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That he is hoss and brown. He'll say, are you married?

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We'll say, no man, but you can do the job

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when you're Later on, we'll conspire as we dream by

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the fire, to face on a flag, the plans that we.

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Made walking in a wind wonder line.

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Winter Wonderland by Richard Himber and his then Ritz Carlton,

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orchestra vocal by Joey Nash. The earliest recording ever of

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Winter Wonderland recorded on Victor Records in New York City,

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October the twenty third, nineteen thirty four. Let me give

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you two more fun facts about Himber before we move on.

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He was, as I mentioned earlier, a legendary practical joker.

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He also was known for wearing very loud clothing, especially

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brightly patterned sports jackets. So in a restaurant in New

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York City, he was once confronted by a friend and

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complained to that friend that his coat was louder than Himber's,

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and in a fit of staged rage, he tore out

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the back scene of his pals jacket. So before the

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less than a pleased friend of Himberg could object, Richard

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steered him into a clothier shop right next to the restaurant,

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where an exact copy of that coat was waiting, paid

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for ahead of time by Himber himself. Richard Himber was

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also an innovator. He was the first to design and

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utilize a traveling bandstand on a flatbed truck. Pepsicola was

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so impressed with his invention they sponsored that vehicle for

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a number of years, and Richard Himber and his orchestra

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used it for free outdoor concerts in the New York

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City area in the nineteen sixties. Unfortunately, though, was during

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one of these concerts in nineteen sixty six that Richard

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Himber suffered a heart attack, dying in the hospital several

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hours later. So a little about a band leader you

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might not have known a whole lot about that, being

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Richard Himber. Now Here is the other practical joker that

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I mentioned a while ago.

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Listen le.

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Jovin Nudy and his Blue Sex with Sweet Lorraine and

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featuring Benny Goodman on the clarinety Young Benny Goodman recorded

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October the second, nineteen thirty three. And Jovin Nudi's most

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famed practical joke was when he called every bass player

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in the New York phone book and asked them to

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meet with him on a street corner for a possible job. Well,

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when over fifty bass players arrived with their instruments, it

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created a minor roadblock in traffic jam that necessitated the

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dispatching of the New York City Police Department. It was

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a costly practical joke to pull off, since Jovenudi knew

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he would, through the union, have to pay each bass

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player for their time, which he was happy to do.

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A little about a practical joke from the great violinist Joevenudi,

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and I'm happy to tell you that I am Jeff Bressler,

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housed in the Crystal Studio in New York and bringing

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you this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom. You

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can write to me at Jeff at MakeBelieve Ballroom Radio

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dot com. That's Jeff at MakeBelieve Ballroom Radio dot com.

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And two folks who did write this past week are

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do an acknowledgment on the air. The first is Marie Nightingale.

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She wrote, Hi, Jeff, what a great program Make Believe

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Ballroom is. It's so unique to hear this kind of music.

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I have attended many ragtime festivals and often heard music

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like this at those. Have you ever attended any rag

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time festivals? Thanks for what you're doing, Marie Nightingale. WGMC listener,

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Thanks Marie, and of course WGMC is Jazz ninety point

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one in Rochester, New York, one of the nation's greatest

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members supported all jazz radio stations, and you could listen

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whenever you want by searching Jazz ninety point one on

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iHeartRadio to hear the live stream whenever you wish. But Maria,

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to answer your question, I was a number of years

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ago at the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival, and that

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was in I think, if I recall correctly, Sedalia, Missouri,

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and a few years back during the COVID epidemic, I

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had the good fortune of having the broadcast rights when

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I handle the programming for the Syncopated Times Radio network,

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I had the radio rights to the Mississippi State University's

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Charles H. Templeton Ragtime Festival, which was a joy to

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offer on the radio when there was so much uncertainty

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and lack of opportunity to leave one's house at the time.

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I guess my first taste of ragtime, like for so

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many others, was the revival of that music in the

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nineteen seventies, when Scott Joplin's The Entertainer was used as

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the theme music for the Oscar winning film The Sting.

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Marvin Hamlish's adaptation was a huge hit.

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Many of you.

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May recall that The Sting, though strangely enough, was set

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in the nineteen thirties, and well, that was really a

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full generation after the end of RAGTIME's mainstream popularity, and

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it in many ways portrayed in an accurate impression that

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ragtime music was popular at that time. I don't know

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how they decided to use a nineteen two song to

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portray the thirties, but they did, and they certainly pulled

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it off. Let me play some ragtime for you, Marie.

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There was an opportunity for me to play some classic

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rag with the nineteen thirties twist. We just listened to

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England's own Harry Roy and his band with Temptation Rag.

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Temptation Rag goes back to Henry Lodge's nineteen o three

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composition and again revived by Harry Roy with a little

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swing element added to it in nineteen thirty five. And

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thank you Marie Nightingale for your wonderful email. And now

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for our next email which comes from our favorite down

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Under listener, Troy Workman, who writes as he always opens

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his emails. Gooday, Jeff, great show last week. Really enjoyed

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the story about seven twenty in the books, the Jen

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sav song that we played a few weeks back. Speaking

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of tunes in the books, are you going to spin

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the wheel from Ralphie's List again on one episode soon?

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Signed Troy from Sydney, Australia. Thanks Troy, and at your suggestion,

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I will dust off the Ralphie's List wheel and spin

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a couple of tunes later on from the famed Ralphie's

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record club list. I haven't done that in a long

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long time. Like Troy and Marie. You can email me

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at Jeff at MakeBelieve Ballroomradio dot com. Jeff at MakeBelieve

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Ballroomradio dot com. I'd love to read your emails.

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On the air.

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I had to call you on the fool because I

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feel so all old. Don't like this being on my

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own cancer. Won't you her? I'll leave the door locking

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cave like me. You find your.

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Out of place.

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I'd give the world to see your veins, cancher, won't

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you her?

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I learned a lot. I didn't know I was a

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fool when I left you go.

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Since you've been gone, and it's all very clear, life

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is just an empty thing without.

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I made an awfully big mistake. Oh what a different

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love can make.

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Please give my heart another brain catches?

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Won't you Hurry?

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That was Al Donahue and his orchestra, and Hurry Home

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with a vocal by Paula Kelly, recorded on November the

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twenty third, nineteen thirty eight. Let's play One More Then

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onto Ralphie's last.

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At the Battle of Bunker Hill. All the men were

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tired until the Drumming Five gave them new life and

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rhythm saved the world. And in France, not so long ago,

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all the men were feeling low. The drummer man struck up.

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The band.

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And rhythm saved the world. You'll find music wherever history

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is concerned. Nero Fiddle while Rome was being If the

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truth you're looking for, you'll find music one each war,

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Drumming five gave them new life. Drummer Man struck up

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the band. A trumpet blow be Jericho and Redons heaves

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the world.

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Rhythms save the world. Bunny Berrigan and his Boys recorded

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in nineteen thirty six, and now, onto Troy's request that

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I revive random selections from the Ralphie's record club list.

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And who is Ralphie? You might ask, well, in nineteen

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I think it was nineteen thirty six, Ralphie Carbone and

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his wife Rose started a record club in their home

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in Canarsie, Brooklyn. The club met every other week and

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featured the playing of the top records of the day

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on Ralphie and Roses Victrola in their living room. So

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the group got together on Saturday nights listening to that

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wonderful music. They danced and enjoyed potluck suppers where each

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couple would bring a dish, most likely good Italian home cooking.

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So the club met until the mid nineteen seventies in

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that same home in Canarci, Brooklyn, and over all those years,

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the club put together a rated list of their favorite

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songs of the Big Band era, and from what I understand,

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a secondary list of tunes all raided from the nineteen

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fifties to the mid nineteen seventies. And how do I

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know all of this? Well, Ralphie and Rosa's son Angelo Carbone,

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a regular listener to this program and who still listens

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each week from his home in Naples, Florida, told me

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the story and sent the copy of the list, which

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has around seven hundred songs. Angelo God Bless him, is

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in his nineties and the past producer of the Make

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Believe Ballroom, Lenny from down the Block, who now lives

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in the Tampa Bay area, visits Angelo a few times

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a year. So on the show in the past, I

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spin a virtual wheel, use a computer random numbered program,

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I obtain that number and play the corresponding song. This

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is exciting because I haven't done this for a while,

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So let's spin the wheel and see where it lands.

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And it lands on number one, five seven, one fifty seven.

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And that is as I look on the list, the

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strangely named nineteen thirty nine tune the Man from Mars.

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The version I have in the playlist is a radio

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remote Artie Shaw and his Orchestra.

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Second sometimes the mad the ating the best.

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Residise everything the.

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Hardy Shaw and his Orchestra Man from Mars on the

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Old Gold Radio Show, recorded September nineteenth, nineteen thirty nine,

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and sitting at number one fifty seven on the Ralphie's

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Record Club list. And let's take another spin, and this

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time we land on the Ralphie's Record Club list of

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Rated Tunes at number two ninety one, two nine to one.

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And that song is another strange title like Man from Mars.

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Number two ninety one is a Viper's Moan Willie Bryant

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and his Orchestra, recorded in nineteen thirty five, and bear

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with me, I can't can't find it. Hold on, okay,

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I was looking under a viper's moan, but found it

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under a viper's moon.

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On a viru's moon.

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To get together and bring me out, because that's theater

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is ringing. The day says the day say.

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That was drown back of his tumbles, Little Johnny and sexophone.

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Well look here you're gonna do it.

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He's a fly, but you.

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God bring it, bring it him.

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Way down, way down a day.

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I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready.

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A viper's moan on Bluebird Records Willie Bryant and his Orchestra,

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recorded in nineteen thirty five and number two ninety one

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on the Ralphie's Record Club List. Strangely enough, a viper

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in the song refers to marijuana. I guess another one

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that slipped by the censors of the era. Could they

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have been high, Well, who knows. But strangely enough, viper

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in the song does indeed refer to marijuana. Let me

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play one more from the list, and a mighty spin

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we will take, and it lands us on. The spin

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might have been mighty, but it certainly takes us a

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ways down the list to number three ninety six, And

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three ninety six is just a little bit south of

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North Carolina, Gene Croupa.

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Just a little bit south with the North Carolina. That's

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