Oct. 3, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/3/25 Edition

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Show Notes
Transcript

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s.

On this week's program: Did Big Bands of the 30s and 40s ever play classical music, the B side of a record we played last week, our yearly tribute to Benny Goodman’s groundbreaking 1938 Carnegie Hall performance, and the song Sing Sing Sing - plus many more great records and stories to cherish and enjoy on this week's broadcast.

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It's make Believe ballroom time. Put all your cares away.

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All the bands are here to bring.

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Good cheer your way.

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It's make Belief ballroom time and free to everyone. It's

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no time to friend your Dalis.

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Said Bamba.

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Yours.

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Close your eyes and visual lize in your solitude.

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Your favorite bands are on.

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This dance and mister Miller, but you're in the mood.

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It's make Believe ballroom time. We are a sweet romance.

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You make the bottom.

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Come on to the.

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Last dance last.

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Hello world, I'm Jeff Presler, turning on the lights of

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the Make Believe Ballroom and welcoming you into my Crystal

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studio for another program of classic big band hits from

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the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties. Please get ready as

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I play for you some amazing big band jazz, swing, blues,

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and boogie woogie favorites. Folks, you're listening to the Make

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Believe Ballroom, broadcasting almost continuously since nineteen thirty five. Hi, friends,

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and welcome into my Crystal studio again this week and

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at this time, I also welcome into the studio. I

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think we can squeeze all of you guys in. I

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want to introduce Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra well in

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Spirited Least.

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The b.

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From Victor Records, recorded in New York City RCA Studio

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number two on September sixteenth, nineteen thirty eight. Tommy Dorsey

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and his Orchestra with Carolina Moon featuring a wonderful trombone

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solo by Tommy himself. We play another record, then a

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follow up to a song I played last week.

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I think your gorgeous, You're charming, darling, your birth baby,

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And then some you got me dazzled and frantic, excited, romantic,

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and then.

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Some I used to think I was cold as could be,

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but I'll agree the joke is on me, quick as

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a wink. I knew I had it bad. If love

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can drive you crazy, then I want to go mad.

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I want to go mad. I'll kiss you, caress you,

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swear you, and yes you, And then some I'll be

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your shadow, your slavey, your army and navy, and then

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some I crossed my hog.

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I'll be yours frum tonight You've got me right under

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your thumb. Georgeous, charming, darling, You're perfect, And then.

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From Brunswick Records, and then some by Ozzie Nelson and

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his Orchestra. Vocal by Ozzie Nelson, recorded in New York

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City June the fifteenth, nineteen thirty five, And you know,

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I haven't played that record in a while, little remembered tune,

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But back in thirty five it took a number one

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spot for Ozzie on the weekly Your Hit Parade survey.

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Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. I'm Jeff Bresler, and you're

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

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Last week I played a record on the show by

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Les Brown and his orchestra that was called the Trylon Stomp.

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The Trylon was one of the great symbols of the

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nineteen thirty nine World's Fair that took place in Flushing Meadows,

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New York. Just to put that in perspective, Flushing Meadows

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borders the United States Tennis Center as well as City Field,

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where the New York Mets play. But back to the

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thirty nine World's Fair, it was a wonder Visitors who

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came walked through dazzling pavilions from dozens of different countries

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and American companies, each showing off bold visions of the future.

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Among the breakthroughs at the fair, RCA and NBC gave

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the first large scale public demonstration of television believe it

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or not, and yes, the fluorescent light made its debut there.

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Also at the heart of the World's Fair stood the

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Trylon that was a seven hundred foot tall triangular triangular

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spire was a spire, and beside it the Perisphere that

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was a gleaming white globe nearly two hundred feet across,

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And together they became the Worlds Fair icons, appearing on posters, postcards,

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and souvenirs everywhere. But they weren't just structures. They were

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symbols of modernistic design and American ingenuity. So last week

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we heard Trylon stomp. Today we'll flip that Bluebird record

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to the B side and listen to Les Brown's musical

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salute to the Perisphere. And when I come back, I'll

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tell you what became of those two remarkable landmarks.

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They don't do, not do that thing thing that the

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time had.

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Another from Bluebird Records, Perisphere Shuffle by Les Brown and

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his orchestra, recorded in New York City during the first

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nineteen thirty nine The B side to the Brown tune

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the Trial stomp. So what happened to the Trylon and

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the Perisphere after the nineteen thirty nine World's Fair closed

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its doors. Well, you might think these two futuristic symbols

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showcasing the affair's theme. I don't remember if I told

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you a few minutes ago, but the theme was the

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World of Tomorrow, and it was designed the theme of

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the World's Fair to give depression era America a hopeful

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vision even as World War II was looming overseas. So

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you would think these two iconic symbols have been preserved

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somewhere around the world for a posterity. But in a

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strange twist, they weren't. The steel and materials from the

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Trylon and the Perisphere were dismantled, salvaged, and recycled, with

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much of that metal reportedly going into the war effort,

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helping to build armaments for World War Two. So it's

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a striking irony. Two great symbols of peace and progress

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melted down and reforged for a brutal war.

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Love never went to college ignorant, for that's what's like

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the joy that he starts.

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His work requires no knowledge, so he can do it

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by using him to it a lot, just as you

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to kids start.

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Falling in love, got brains, but I rains over all

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in Lot.

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Never went to college, never had teaching, yet he keeps.

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Reaching from Bluebird Records. Love Never Went to College, Written

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by the dynamic duo of Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart.

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Here performed by Bob Chester and his orchestra, vocal by

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Dolores O'Neill, Recorded in Chicago, October twelfth, nineteen thirty nine.

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I'm Jeff Bresler, and thanks for joining me here in

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the Crystal Studio today and during the second half of

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the program, I'll continue a yearly tradition that being playing

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the groundbreaking nineteen thirty eight Carnegie Hall performance of Benny

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Goodman's song Sing Sing Sing, the full twelve minute version.

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Each year, I also spotlight one of the musicians who

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helped make that performance unforgettable, highlighting their unique contribution to

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Sing Sing Sing. I also each year share a broader

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story about the concert itself and its lasting legacy. This

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time I've chosen not only a remarkable sideman to feature,

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but also an intriguing story about what happened in the

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aftermath of the concert. All of that is coming up

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in the second half of today's program. So, Carnegie Hall,

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prior to Benny Goodman's concert, was known as a musical

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venue for the highbrows, so to speak, music that was

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way above the unwashed fans of swing orchestras. So here's

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a question for you. Did swing orchestras ever go classic?

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You bet they did?

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Follow the.

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Man recorded on Bluebird Records April twenty eighth, nineteen forty one,

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Glenn Miller and his orchestra with their version of Anvil Chorus,

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and Anvil Chorus, of course, goes way back. The tune

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comes from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Travitore, which he wrote

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in eighteen fifty three. The original Anvil Chorus was a

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rousing gypsy chorus, complete with on stage anvil struck with hammers.

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And I'm sure sure across your life you have seen

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or heard the operatic version of the chorus. The song

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and its production became one of Verdie's most recognizable crowd pleasers. Now,

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in the nineteen thirties and forties, swing bands often adapted

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classical themes into jazz arrangements. I don't recall who it was,

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but somebody coined this fusion swing classic mix, calling it

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a symphonic swing. Now many bands incorporated the classics into

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their shows. They did this to freshen things up. Audiences

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certainly enjoyed hearing familiar tunes reimagined with modern rhythm and drive,

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and it also gave guys like Glenn Miller the opportunity

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to project their bands as not only popular but also sophisticated.

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Probably the most famous it's use of a classic song

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that was reimagined for a swing orchestra was this one

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by Harry James. It's the total master of his craft.

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How did he do it?

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We just heard on Columbia Records Flight of the Bumblebee

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Harry James and his orchestra, Harry playing the trumpet, of course,

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a honey of a tune, so to speak. Harry took

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on one of the fastest, flashiest pieces in all of

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classical music, the Rimsky Corsic Cops Fly to the Bumblebee,

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and turned it into a swing era masterpiece. I think

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Harry well, I think he wanted to prove that no

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trumpet challenge was too great for him. He was an

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amazing showman and musical risk taker. Many of you might

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not know this. The song's arrangement, Flight of the Bumblebee

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was written by the legendary Fletcher Henderson, more closely associated

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with Benny Goodman, two classic songs of many that were

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rearranging for the Big Band era. I'm Jeff Wrestler and

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you're listening to the Make Believe Ballroom. To reach me,

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I'm Jeff at MakeBelieve Ballroom Radio dot Com. That's Jeff

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at Makebelie Ballroom Radio dot com. And to hear over

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two hundred past programs in this series, please go to

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MakeBelieve Ballroom dot com. That's MakeBelieve Ballroom dot com. And

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if we have time, I'll read an email request from

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a person who took the time to reach out to

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us on the aforementioned Make Believe Ballroom Radio dot Com.

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First friends this, and then we're going to go to

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Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall.

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It is only a mad boo hanging over a card

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boots Heed, but it wouldn't be make believe.

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If you believe in me.

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It is only a canvas sky sailing over a Muslim

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tree here, but it wouldn't be make believe.

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If you believe.

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Without your love. It's hockey talk for it without you love.

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It's some melody playing on a penny arch. It's a

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bonnamon Bailey World, just as funny as it can be here,

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but it wouldn't be made believe if you believe me

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without your love. It's hockey talk for it without you love.

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It's a melody playing peniokey. It's bonnaming Billy Wood, just

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as funny as it can be, but it would be

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made believe if you believe in me.

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From Capitol Records in nineteen forty four, It's Only a

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Paper Moon by the King Cole Trio, vocal by Nat

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King Cole and now folks, a segment I look forward

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to every year, that being the show where I play Sing,

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Sing Sing, the version performed at Carnegie Hall by Benny

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Goodman and his orchestra last year. I played Sing, Sing,

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Sing and featured a little about Gene Krupa and his

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contribution to the piece via his drum work. Let's start

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with a little background into the concert and sing Sing Sing.

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On January sixteenth, nineteen thirty eight, swing music truly crossed

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the line and had never crossed before Benny Goodman and

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his orchestra stepped onto the stage of New York's Carnegie

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Hall until that time, a hall reserved for Beethoven, Brahms,

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and Bach. Until that night, jazz was called lowbrow dance music,

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confined to being played in nightclubs and ballrooms. But Goodman

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brought it into America's most prestigious concert hall. The event

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was historic, with a lot of different elements that made

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it so. Goodman's big band, of course, his small quartet

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with Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson, two musicians who Goodman

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assisted in breaking the odious color barrier that existed until

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that point in big band orchestras, and of course the

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big finale, Sing Sing Sing, that shook the walls of

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Carnegie Hall and proved swing could stand as America's own

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version of classical music. Now, Sing Sing Sing was not

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a Goodman original. Louis Prima actually wrote Sing Sing Sing

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in nineteen thirty six. We've played that recording Louis Prima

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and his New Orleans Gang record many times here on

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the ballroom. Now. Prima's original version included lyrics Sing Sing Sing,

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Everybody's Got to Sing, and Prima even admits that he

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wrote it as more of a novelty number than the

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epic jazz showcase. It later became a Goodman and his

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arranger Jimmy Mundy, expanded the tune into a symphonic length

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big band feature at that concert in nineteen thirty seven,

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and to do that they stripped back the lyrics, turning

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it into a mostly instrumental showcase. We'll hear the song

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in a moment live from Carnegie Hall and featuring Jing

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Kroupa's drums driving the entire piece that we discussed last year.

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I'm also going to hear Harry james wonderful trumpet solos,

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and of course Goodman's clarinet weaving in and out throughout

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the piece. This year, I want to showcase the pianist

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Jess Stacey, because he did something amazing without any preparation

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at all. Towards the end of the number, as you

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will hear out of Nowhere, Benny turned to Jess Stacey

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and simply said, take it. Jess had never soloed on

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this tone, not even once. Instead of matching the fire

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of Gene Kruper, Harry James and Benny Goodman, Stacy in

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his improv decided to play a more dreamlike solo. More Oh,

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could I compare it to well more debussy than swing,

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cascading runs and gentle chords that temporarily hushed the sold

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out Carnegie Hall for a moment. As an analogy, the

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storm stopped and the audience held its breath. It was unplanned,

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as you will hear, unrehearsed, and unforgettable. Critics called it

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one of the greatest impro to solos and jazz history.

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Jess Stacey, the Quiet Side Man, stole the night with

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a moment of pure unexpected beauty. And now, folks, I

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am happy to present to you our yearly playing of

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the live Carnegie Hall version of Sing Sing Sing.

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Happen. Matt s.

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A different.

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An nothing les say, I don't stay on.

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Benny Goodman and his orchestra with what most will say

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was the most historic highlight of the big band era,

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the Carnegie Hall concert version of Sing Sing Sing, recorded

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on January the sixteenth, nineteen thirty eight, certainly stirring and swinging.

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I said earlier in the program that when I play

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Sing Sing Sing, each year I also look at an

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interesting fact that surrounded the concert, and this year I

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want to discuss how it came to be that this

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momentous event was a concert. We can hear and enjoy

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some close to ninety years later. Back in nineteen thirty eight,

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there were no LP albums long playing albums, just seventy

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eight RPM records, and of these seventy eights, no live

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material from a venue was ever offered for sale. Live

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big band performances were limited to the radio. In the

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instance of the Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall concert, by a miracle,

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the whole concert was recorded, not for sale, just as

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a keepsake. There was a jazz fan named Albert Marx,

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and he had arranged to cut the concert on fragile

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acetate discs using just one microphone, not for sale. He

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did it just as a souvenir to get to Benny well.

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Benny took those ascetates home, but for more than well.

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For more than a decade they gathered dust. Live albums,

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as I said, weren't even a thing yet, and Goodman

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didn't plan to make any record of the concert. In

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nineteen fifty though, Goodman rediscovered them in a closet in

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his home. By then, the LP had arrived and Columbia

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Records realized these fragile discs could capture jazz history. So

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engineers rolled up their shirt sleeves and carefully restored the sound,

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and the result was released as the famous nineteen thirty

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eight Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert. When the album hit record

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shops in nineteen fifty, it was a sensation, one of

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the best selling jazz albums of all time. One record

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critic hailed it as the night Swing grew up, the

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night jazz claimed its place on America's cultural main stage.

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An interesting fact about a legendary concert. I hope you

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enjoyed by annual playing of Sing Sing Sing from Carnegie Hall,

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and I truly look forward to doing it again next year.

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La Louisiana Count Basie and his Orchestra recorded on Columbia

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Records Bank in nineteen forty. And with that, it's time

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to wrap things up on this edition of the Make

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Believe Ballroom. Hope you enjoyed the show and especially our

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yearly tribute to Sing Sing Sing and the nineteen thirty

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eight Benny Goodman Concert. I know I didn't have a

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chance to read any listener's emails this week. Next week

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I will do that for certain and for those who

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wonder about the absence of our producer emeritus, Lenny from

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down the Block and his beloved record picks of the week.

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They will return. Lenny and his wife are on an

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extended are V journey. If you follow the program, then

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they came home and immediately went on a cruise the bum.

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To reach me Jeff at MakeBelieve Ballroom Radio dot com.

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

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hear more than two hundred past shows, go to make

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Believe Ballroom dot com. Let's MakeBelieve ballroom dot com. So

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until next week, this has been Jeff Bresler

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/3/25 Edition

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