April 11, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 4/11/25 Edition

Show Notes
Transcript

On this week's Make Believe Ballroom broadcast on member-supported Jazz 90.1 in Rochester, NY, and other fine radio affiliates across the United States as well as in the United Kingdom – a song that took many years to become a hit, bandleaders on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, two prominent vocal groups that sang with the same band, Lenny from Down the Block with his Record Pick of the Week - this and many more great songs to cherish and enjoy on the program.

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It's make belief 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 ballom 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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Your close your eyes and visualize in your solitude. Your

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favorite bands are on this dance and mister Miller, but

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you're in the wood. It's make believe ballroom time. We

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are of sweet romances.

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You make it.

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Come on, Joe the Last dast last, Hello world, I'm

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Jeff Pressler, turning on the lights of the make Believe

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ballroom men, welcoming you into my Crystal studio for another

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program of the great big band hits of the nineteen

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thirties and nineteen forties. Whether you're listening on the radio

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via great affiliates like Jazz ninety point one WGMC in Rochester,

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New York, or on podcast or perhaps on internet radio

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across the United Kingdom, any way you've arrived. I'm delighted

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you're here and ready to bring you an hour of

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some wonderful big band jazz, swing, blues and boogie woogie classics. Folks,

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you're listening to the make Believe ballroom broadcasting almost continuously

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since nineteen thirty five. And let's get this week's program

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underway with the cool swing in tune. And who better

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to deliver on that statement than Will Bradley.

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Satarastrata shame music, Bugles in the Sky Will Bradley and

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his orchestralong with Ray McKinley, recorded in nineteen forty one.

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Let's play another then, the story of a record that

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I mean really really aged well with time.

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Long with a dance to let the melody be mellowed,

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and let it weave a spell over you and me

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on with a dance. When they play a love song

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for us, my heart will sing the for us soderly

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then from the seeing let it from stealing that blood

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of colored love like a all in and romance, and

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it's not the banded playing. You can't blame me for same.

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On Brunswick we just heard on with the dance by

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Gus Arnheim and his orchestra vocal Nice vocal by Jimmy Farrell,

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recorded in New York City, July the twenty second, nineteen

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teen thirty seven. I'm Jeff Bresler, and you're listening to

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the one, the only, the original Make Believe Ballroom coming

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to you as always on the radio as well as

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in podcast form transmitted weekly from the Crystals Studio. So

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I just said, I do the Make Believe Ballroom weekly,

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but I want to talk about a song that took

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years to mature, sort of like a fine French wine.

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Many of you may be familiar with bandleader Ted Wims,

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who led his orchestra for the better part of forty years.

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As a matter of fact, Ted Williams was so popular

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during the big band era that he has a star

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on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. And

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I'm just thinking I think I might have done a

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show on the Hollywood Walk of Fame several years ago,

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not one hundred percent sure, but currently, right now, as

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I sit in front of the microphone, I'm wondering how

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many other nineteen thirties and forties big band eerra musicians

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and band leaders also have stars on the Walk in

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addition to vocalists. And as usual, I am going to

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have to sacrifice my outline for this show to spontaneously

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attempt to find out the answer to that question, and

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perhaps a little later on in the show play some

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of those walk of fame recipients music. And in order

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to do that, I am going to impose as I

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look to my left, on the Snotty Kid, as I

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call him Dylan his true name. Dylan hangs out here

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in the Crystal studio before entering another studio here that's

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solely reserved for podcasts, as he hosts some sort of

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gaming program, a show that I am going to have

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to listen to, since Dylan spends time here listening to

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my music from the thirties and forties. Dylan, you know,

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I don't think I ever asked you how old are you?

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Was that twenty three at twenty three? I do respect you, Dylan,

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because you have gained an appreciation for this music. So

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Snotty Kid, if you could take the time from texting

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your girlfriend incessantly to perhaps lend a hand and see

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if you could research out big band personalities who have

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Hollywood walk stars, And if you could do that, you'd

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be doing the show a great service. So thank you, Dylan.

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So back to Ted Wems the subject at hand, Well,

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let me play a Weems song, then the story of

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one of his records that aged oh so well.

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Sing bars, then.

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The burdon.

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That was Savannah Swinging nineteen forty one version of a

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song that Ted Weims originally recorded in nineteen twenty four.

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So I'm going to tell you the story of a

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record that Weims made that aged well to say the least.

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It's one of my estimation, one of the more interesting

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record and recording stories of the big band era. On

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August fourth, nineteen thirty three, Ted recorded six tunes for

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RCA Victor, including the song Heartaches that many of you

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perhaps not the Snotty Kid though many of you might remember,

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and RCA Victor on August the fourth, nineteen thirty three,

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for whatever reason, wanted the recording of Heartaches made quickly,

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so Unfortunately, Weims and his band had time for only

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one rehearsal session prior to the start of the recording session. Now,

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Weims was under a lot of pressure. He didn't like

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the song or the lyrics at first, and he decided

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to have Elmo Tannor, who was his regular vocalist, whistle

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rather than sing the lyrics. Elmo Tanner was a great

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whistler and asked often by Ted and other big bands

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to use that skill. Now, while rehearsing, some one in

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the Weems band Camp came up with the idea of

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trying the song at a faster tempo than it was

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written for and perhaps this would help Weims along and

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get rid of some of his angst. So they decided

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to do it at that faster tempo. But unfortunately, after

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the record was released and went on sale, a fast

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tempo recording attracted very little, if any attention from the

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record buying public. So five years later, in nineteen thirty eight,

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Weims decided to record a new rumba foxtrot version of

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Heartaches for Records to see if that would work. And

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that version again featured Elmo Tanner's whistling, and the tune

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was played briskly, but not at the breakneck tempo of

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the nineteen thirty three version, and lo and behold again. Unfortunately,

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for Decca Records and Ted, it was not a huge seller,

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so the record sat there and collected the dust. But

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now let's go to nineteen forty seven. Nineteen forty seven

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being fourteen years after the original recording of Heartache, and

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we're going to visit with an overnight disc jockey named

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Kurt Webster who worked at station WBT, which was located

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in Charlotte, North Carolina. So Kurt was looking through old

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records and he found the nineteen thirty eight version of

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heart Aches in a box of old records that he

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had recently received that was sent to the station for

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him to pick throw. He played it on the air.

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He played Heartaches on the air, and as soon as

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the record concluded, the radio station's phones literally never stopped reading.

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Callers wanted to hear the song again and again, and

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those calls continued for several days, and it is said

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that even record stores started calling WBT to find out

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what record label the song was recorded under so they

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could order copies of the record. So word spread and

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other radio markets began playing the song, and that prompted

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Decca to go ahead and press new copies. Now, since

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the Weims Orchestra had also recorded Heartaches for Victor Records

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the original recording from nineteen thirty three, the company decided

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to re release its own version of the song. Now

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both labels shared the credit on the charts for Heartaches,

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both Decca and RCA Victor. Heartaches topped the hit parade

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on April nineteenth, nineteen forty seven, nine years after the

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nineteen thirty eight version was recorded sadly. In a nineteen

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sixty interview that I had read band member Elmo Tanner,

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he related that he and Weims received absolutely nothing for

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the reissue, as that both men had let their contracts

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expire while they were in the Merchant Marines during World

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War Two. So, friends, thanks for allowing me to tell

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you the story of a record originally recorded hastily in

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nineteen thirty three, updated in nineteen thirty eight, and finally

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becoming a number one hit some fourteen years later. If

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at first you don't succeed, what did they say? They say,

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try try against.

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Us? Ut questions, question.

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Question, heartaches Ted Wims and his orchestra with a whistling

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rendition by Elmo Tanner. I'm Jeff Bresler, and you're listening

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to the Make Believe Ballroom. Thanks so much for joining

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me today for either all or part of the program.

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And I am delighted to announce that the snotty kid

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Dylan himself as indeed found and compiled for me a

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list of Big band era musicians who do have the

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lofty honor of having a star embedded into the sidewalk

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of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and I will take

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a look at that list a little while later in

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the program. I want to take a look first. Actually,

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I want to key in on two popular vocal groups

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who sang for the same big band and I will

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get to that in a second. Friends. Later on in

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the show, we will have our weekly feature Lenny from

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Down the Blocks Record Pick of the Week, and many

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of you have emailed letting me know that you like

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this second mint and Lenny himself, as a result of

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his record Pick of the Week, is now putting together

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exclusively on Spotify, the Lenny from Down the Block Record

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Playlist Picks of the Week, and Lenny is handpicking each

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week an hour of his favorite tunes, and that playlist,

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Lenny Tony will change each Saturday. So to hear his

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uninterrupted hour of big band classics, just go to Spotify

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dot com s P O, T I f Y Spotify

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dot com, or perhaps you already have a Spotify phone app.

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Just type in the search box Lenny from Down the

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Block and it will magically take you to the playlist.

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And we're happy to offer this to you, folks, Lenny

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from Down the Blocks Record Playlist Picks of the Week

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exclusively and changed each Saturday on Spotify, which also hosts

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podcast version of this program that Make Believe Ballroom. So

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I promised a segment on two groups who sang for

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the same band leader. Here's another one that well sort

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of fits into that category.

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Oh Lord, all lod o Lord, when adull, night dot

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fallen and a.

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Start to roll. What is the same that keeps calling?

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It goes bad in my soul? Oh, I long for

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that delto It's my home, it's my goal. What is

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the safe in its shelder? Got to sow in my soul.

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Too long?

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I lingered in the dog now.

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No matter what I want, I wanna say goodbody, dog noss.

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And spend all my days in us run.

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Let me lie on that levee, Let me burn like

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its gold.

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I know my heart won't be heavy. I got to

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sow in my soul. Oh, the night.

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Starts falling, the moon starts shine.

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What is think calling the South on my mind?

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I hear it all through the night.

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I just can't help forgot to start my tho today's

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darn lonely the nights or so long?

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What is think calling saying I'm wrong? I hear it

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all through the night.

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I just can't help forgot to start my soul. You

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long a bill in darkness. No matter what I wanted,

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I want to say goodbye to darkness and.

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Spend the day's not done.

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Let me long and leave it.

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Let me burns like as gold.

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I know my heart won't be so everywhere about my soul.

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Oh no, iimmao low.

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A nice Boswell Sisters record on the Brunswick label from

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April to ninth, nineteen thirty two with the Dorsey Brothers

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and their orchestra, Got the South in My soul And

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speaking of a Dorsey, let's move to the first of

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the two singing groups I wanted to talk to you about,

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that being the Pied Pipers, the legendary vocal group originally

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formed in the late nineteen thirties. They had several chart

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hits throughout the forties, both under their own name and

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in association with Tommy Dorsey, Johnny Mercer as well as

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Frank Sinatra. Now Originally the Pied Pipers consisted of eight

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members who had belonged to three separate groups. Joe Stafford,

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the most famous member of the group, came from the

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Stafford Sisters, and the remaining were seven male singers, some

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from the Four Esquires and the Three Rhythm Kings. Now,

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their big break came when they landed a job with

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Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra, but unfortunately and strangely, that

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was short lived. They sang with Dorsey's orchestra for about

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six weeks, mostly on the radio, before a British representative

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of the radio sponsor objected to some of the songs

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in their repertoire and he actually fired them. Now you

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might be wondering what kind of songs caused such a

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stir that a sponsor would fire the Pied Pipers from

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the Dorsey radio show. Well, it's said that he was.

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The British representative of the sponsor was aghast at their overly,

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at least a him off color repertoire, which included the

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song hole Tight Wants Some Seafood Mama, which is many

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of us know the Andrews sisters made into a bona

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fide head. So with their heads down, the group ended

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up having to go back to California, where they decided

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a octet wasn't the way to go, and through negotiations

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amongst themselves, they became a quartet as some members stayed

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and some members left the group, so the quartet consisted

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of Joe Stafford, her then husband John Huddleson, and Chuck

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Lowry from the original eight and a gentleman named Billy

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Wilson was added. Now, even with this new format, they

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were getting very little work on the West Coast and

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actually ready to disband when they, amazingly enough, received a

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call from believe it or not, Tommy Dorsey. Now he

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said he couldn't afford to hire eight pipers, but would

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be happy to have them join him if they could

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cut the number down to a quartet. And as they

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had already done this, they looked absolutely golden to Dorsey,

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who appreciated their loyalty. Now they combined with Frank Sinatra

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and helped produce a number of hits for Tommy Dorsey.

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Now this story is unbelievable, But around Thanksgiving in nineteen

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forty two, Tommy Dorsey, who was prone to incidents of

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bad temper, and many of you know the reason he

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split in the mid nineteen thirties from brother Jimmy was

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because they had a fight. Well, this story is even

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more unbelievable than that, because Tommy became angry at one

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of the Pipers for sending him in the wrong direction

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at a railroad station in Portland, Oregon, and fired him

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on the spot. Well, the Pipers out of their own

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team loyalty resigned in Moss at that moment. The number

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one record on the charts in November of nineteen forty

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two was There Are Such Things Sung by Frank Sinatra

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and the Pied Pipers, And that was the last RCA

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record they did with Dorsey. So the Pied Pipers after

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that continued to successfully record a number of hits. Why

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don't we now play a Dorsey Pied Piper record from

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nineteen forty one?

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Don't remember remember.

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Nothing from Yeah?

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00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:36.680
What do you know?

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Watch Old Joe?

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I don't know nothing watching old Joe. Tell me something?

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Watch Old Joe in Conniven I had jiving. I don't

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Watching old Joe, Well, I don't know what happens.

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What you know?

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Joe ain't high heaven.

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Watching Old Joe. I ain't fooling. I need school. I

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00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:01.920
don't know.

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00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:03.519
I don't know.

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Mom tried to tell me so, Papa wouldn't.

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Let me go.

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Couldn't even see a movie. Show Wajo Joe?

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Well, I just can't figure what gen Joe well, I

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00:33:18.359 --> 00:33:21.920
don't take it. What Joe, Joe, were you just walking?

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I ain't talking. I just don't know.

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I'm Victor Records. Watch You Know Joe by Tommy Dorsey

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and his orchestra vocal by the Pied Pipers, recorded in

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New York City, February seventh, nineteen forty one. Now, Tommy

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00:34:23.639 --> 00:34:27.639
Dorsey's ill temper put him in quite a dilemma. The

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Pied Pipers that were an integral part of his band

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and radio program, and he needed a replacement. So Tommy

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00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:40.800
lucked out when he found the Sentimentalists, also known as

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00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:44.559
the Clark Sisters, and the Clark Sisters were a close

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00:34:44.639 --> 00:34:49.840
harmony singing group and consisting of sisters Mary Clark Branson,

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00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:56.480
Peggy Clark Schwartz and Clark Terry and Jean Clark Freely.

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They came out of Grand Forks, North to and they

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00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:04.039
were a mere seventeen to twenty three years of age

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when they signed with the Dorsey Band in nineteen forty

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four to replace the wildly popular Pied Pipers. Now, Dorsey

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just sort of put his toe in the water with

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the Clark Sisters, giving them at first a few appearances

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on his radio program where he didn't credit them at all,

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but much to his delight, he began to receive mail

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from listeners wondering about the identities of these new vocalists. Now,

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at that point, realizing he had a potential threat to

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the vocal domination of the Andrews Sisters, he Tommy Dorsey

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made plans to build them into regular and featured appearances

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on his show. Now, since he owned the name Sentimentalists,

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he was confident that he could avoid a repeat of

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the incident with the Pied Pipers. Even if he decided

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to have a temper tantrum and fire all these Sentimentalists,

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he could replace them and still maintain that name. So

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the Clarks never gained the fame of the Andrews Sisters.

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Still they went on to be stars, and they stayed

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with Dorsey Tommy Dorsey until the early fifties, and they're

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recorded well into the early sixties. So here's a tune

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by Tommy Dorsey and the Sentimentalists that's a lot older

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than you might think.

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00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:47.480
Chico Shaicago, Tarland Down, Tarland Down.

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Jumping in Chicago, Jackson, lace up boots and I will

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show you will you like it?

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00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:54.119
I love it?

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That cha bottom dollar you lose, lose Chicago, Jack Jo's

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really jumping.

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00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:04.000
I missed the bail Sunday. Couldn't shut oh place.

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Down, Folks kept going the down on Say Street, that

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great street.

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I just want to say, hey, now, yes, really really

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do things they don't do on Broadways.

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Say You'll have the time at the time of your life.

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00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:24.159
I know, man dance.

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00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:26.719
In Chicago.

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Time on Victor Records. Chicago by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra,

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vocal by Cy Oliver and the Sentimentalists aka the Clark Sisters,

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00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:40.400
recorded September the seventh, nineteen forty five. Now, folks, Frank

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00:39:40.519 --> 00:39:45.239
Sinatra was not the first to record Chicago. As a

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matter of fact, it was written Tommy Dorsey was not

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the first either. It was written by Fred Fisher back

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in nineteen twenty two. And you know, if I'm not mistaken,

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Sinatra saying two as we know windy City songs Chicago

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00:40:03.519 --> 00:40:08.039
and My kind of Town and neither one. Initially when

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they were recorded by Sinatra, proved to be instant hits.

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Folks.

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I'm Jeff Bresler and you're listening to the weekly edition

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of The Make Believe Ballroom. I can be reached at

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00:40:20.639 --> 00:40:24.159
Jeff at MakeBelieve Ballroom Radio dot com. That's Jeff at

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00:40:24.199 --> 00:40:29.039
MakeBelieve Ballroom Radio dot com for your comments, questions, and requests,

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00:40:29.519 --> 00:40:32.679
and I hope we could get in one or two

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00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:36.960
emails just a little later on in the program. Also

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00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:40.639
to hear past programs, go to make Belie Ballroom Podcast

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00:40:40.920 --> 00:40:44.079
dot com. Let's make Believe Ballroom podcast dot com. You

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00:40:44.119 --> 00:40:46.719
could also go to make Believe Ballroom Podcast dot com

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00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:50.679
to record an audio request for us to play here

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00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:54.599
on the air. And you could also hear past shows

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00:40:54.679 --> 00:41:00.280
by going to your favorite podcast provider. And folks, don't

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00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:03.800
forget Lenny from Down the Block is now doing a

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00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:07.960
record playlist Picks of the Week, an hour of hand

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00:41:08.039 --> 00:41:13.920
pick music by Lenny himself, appearing exclusively on Spotify. Go

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00:41:14.079 --> 00:41:17.119
to Spotify and put Lenny from Down the Block in

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00:41:17.239 --> 00:41:21.719
the search box. He updates that playlist each Saturday, sixty

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00:41:21.880 --> 00:41:26.679
minutes of uninterrupted music. And speaking of Lenny from Down

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00:41:26.760 --> 00:41:31.400
the Block, retired producer emeritus of the Make Believe Ballroom

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00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:37.280
here he is mister Excitement in his weekly record Pick

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00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:40.400
of the Week from Tampa, Florida.

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Hi gang, Lenny from Down the Block here with my

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record pick of the week. They called him the gi Sinatra,

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00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:52.800
and singer Johnny Desmond earned that nickname along with his

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Sergeant Stripes as a member of Glenn Miller's World War

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00:41:56.920 --> 00:42:01.079
Two Army Air Forces orchestra, where the Baron Crouner cast

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00:42:01.159 --> 00:42:03.320
such a swoon with his sound that he also became

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00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:08.119
known as the Twins Sinatra. Desmond was born in Detroit

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00:42:08.239 --> 00:42:11.519
in nineteen twenty and as a boy used to sing

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in his father's grocery store, attracting the attention of a

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00:42:15.199 --> 00:42:19.559
radio producer. Desmond's career really took off after he joined

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00:42:19.599 --> 00:42:23.199
Bob Crosby and his Bobcats, forming a vocal backup group

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00:42:23.320 --> 00:42:28.400
for the popular Dixieland small band. After enlisting in the Army,

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Desmond wrote to Glenn Miller, who was putting together a

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00:42:32.199 --> 00:42:35.800
military orchestra, and asked for the chance to work with

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00:42:35.960 --> 00:42:40.840
the popular bandleader. Miller arranged for the singer's transfer, and

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00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:43.840
for the rest of the war, Desmond appeared on numerous

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00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:49.320
recordings and broadcasts, building a reputation that seemed to ensure

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success as a solo act once global hostilities had ceased.

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Here's Johnny Desmond on RCA, Victor records with shoe Fly

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Pie an Apple Pan Dowdy Orchestra conducted by rust Case,

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00:43:04.239 --> 00:43:06.480