this is a great site to remind you of the songs from your Yoof
Wow! Excellent site, so much choice!
Thanks Joe!
Great site
Depends on how wrinkly you are, though a quick flip dosen’t show a lot pre the 50’s. Me - I grew up on trad jazz, swing and then modern jazz (be-bop in some terms) and earlier rock n’ roll. Some contemporary music lost the plot, and some was good.I also developed a liking for Flamenco, and later Romantic period composers
as well as latin american music, so while I never dug Classical composers a lot, you could say I love music in general - when it’s good.
No sign of Kenton, Basie, The duke, The Herd or other great bands, so disappointing for me. Maybe I should ask this guy if he wants more input!
However - many thanks Joe, well found and posted.
I think that’s a very good idea; he must have had help finding all that stuff & would probably appreciate more tracks from a fellow enthusiast.
Big Grin! You keep challenging me Joe! I’ll give it some thought. I did buy a analogue to digital record player some time back, but due to space restrictions, never got round to using it. My intention was to transfer records to CD’s, so I could enjoy music in the car, but fate and life always get’s in the way.
Transferring music files to a public source may also involve performing rights legislation, so I’d need to check that out before doing anything.AS I said in a recent thread ‘FIP’ radio (online) is a great source of good music, of all rtypes, they have a wonderful balance between different kinds of music, ranging from Ochestral (classic and romantic) coupled with Trad and modern Jazz, swing music, Euroopean modern, latin etc etc.They even throw in some mariachi (mexican) music now and then, unheard of on our stations.During and after the war (the second done) the only place we heard good music was on Jack Jacksons 11 to 12 Saturday midnight slot on the Beeb, a ‘wait for’ event of the week. Anything else was rubbish.It didn’t matter where we were, or what we were doing, everything stopped so we could hear that Harry James trumpet opener.
Which brings up the most humorous and best music event ever-
National Service RAF Bomber Command, Upwood 1952/53. Every morning we were woken up with the usual trumpet reveille at 6.30 am. Most of us rolled over and went back to sleep! One wonderful morning whoever was on the tannoy opened up with Stan Kenton’s “How high the moon” which if you ever heard it, started off full throttle and then went into a vocal, followed by more solos and a rousing finale. We all woke up laughing, all except the classic lovers, but it was the best good morning call we ever had. We heard eventually the tannoy guy got a severe rollicking, so it never happened again, The 'erks loved it, the Officers and sergeants mess complained (we were told) which was typical of the gap between species in those years.
Yes, funnily enough we were reminiscing this afternoon and we’d commented that the Jack Jackson show was brilliant! Other than that in the late 40’s, the 50’s and the early 60’s the only places that I can remember where you could hear anything other than “BBC approved” music were Radio Luxembourg or AFN (American Forces Network). AH! those were the days!
All that wonderful fading just when a piece you really wanted to hear was played!
Hey guys, I’m only 69 so I feel a bit out of place with this now
In my yoof it was all trad jazz & town hall concerts featuring all the current greats, in fact the first time I ever visited Mallory Park was to see Ottilie Patterson singing with Chris Barber. great stuff
Hey Joe! (Hendrix!) I’m not THAT much older at 73! Must say though that neither “Trad” or “Modern” jazz was my thing.
Thanks Joe, great site.
I guess I was lucky, I saw Ted Heath in Nottingham around 1955 I think, with Lita Roza and her male counterpart, whose name I can’t recall now, but a good singer, and did impressions of others, like Johnnie Ray for example. Saw Guy Mitchell at the Albert Hall (Nottingham) around that time, and a great Coloured folk singer who accompanied himself with a 12 string guitar - another name gone now. That was part of my 21st birthday treat, along with the family. Graeme Bell (best trad jazz band I ever heard) and the Australian Jazz band, from OZ, on a UK tour. Walked out of a Dankworth Concert - disgusted.The day he picked up a plastic sax - was the day he went downhill.
In Canada I saw Duke Ellington in concert, Kenton and the Basie band in concert (split bill - Basie was better) and others, at the Town Tavern - which had a reputation for booking good acts, Martha and the Vandellas, Pee wee Russel, My favourite alto sax player Stan Getz and his band, playing latin american (sambas were the rage then) and various American groups who have faded in time. Louie Armstrong (in the distance!) at a lakeside concert in Toronto, but he was past his best.The crowd loved him though.
During a year long break back in the UK, '64 to '65 I took the girl next door (her 24, me 30ish) to the De Montfort in Leicester to hear Basie again, She’d only ever heard Rock and Roll and was dumbstruck, so a convert to swing I guess. She said after “It was great - Iv’e never heard music like that before”. I nearly had a punch up with one of four guys sat in front of use, who chattered all the way through the first two numbers, so I tapped him on the shoulder and said “Can you be quiet please, some of us are here to listen to the music” His response, “You wanna come outside?” One of his mates told him to shut up, but he glowered at me several times during the concert. Luckily he wasn’t waiting for me me outside!
Took my present wife to a Flamenco guitarist’s individual performance, at the West Bridgford spanish guitar club. Pepe Martinez, brilliant guitarist. I’d heard flamenco guitar before, but when you are on the front row center and right in front of him, you are spellbound. Earlier, before I met her, I and another bloke went to the Alhambra in Granada, where we saw a performance of flamenco with traditional dancers, performing dances from around Spain.I enjoyed Pepe better. We even bought one of his records when in Spain a couple of years later.
In the early fifties, we had Ken Mackintosh and his orchestra at the Astoria Ballroom in Nottingham, during the week he played dance music, but if you joined the ‘Sunday Club’ they let rip, and jiving (forbidden at normal dances) was allowed… A lot of us went to hear the band, it was really good. Best band in England I reckon, as did most of us. Though we would admit, Heath was better, but he only did concerts then. At the interval, a guy took over and played his ‘records of the week’ which were all the new releases from the States, that’s when we knew how good American big bands were. Ken stood ‘well up’ on the comparison.
These days, anywhere between three and five singers are called ‘A Band’, and I always think - “You have no idea”. Once upon a time they were vocalists, and a group was called ‘A Vocal group’ Remember the Mills brothers, and ‘The Andrews Sisters’?
My ‘All time’ favourite songs and singers? Sinatra at his peak, singing ‘The Continental’ a tape recording I took off the FM station is Toronto. Never heard before or since. ‘To the ends of the Earth’ no other than Nat King Cole - fantastic recording. ‘So tired’ - Russ Morgan (that’s an oldie, but has strong memories for me.) And of course ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ Fats Waller. Another I’ve Been trying to trace for years- heard on the Beeb, but can’t remember if the orchestra was James Last, or the other German Orchestra around at the time. Katrina Valente - singing ‘Granada’ - it’s a spine chiller. And I nearly forgot, Doris Day singing ‘It was just one of those things’. (Les Brown Orchestra at the time IIRC) Hollywood lured her away from the big band scene, so she made movies and sang in a few, but her best singing was before they made her a movie stan.I liked Ella, but don’t have a favourite if hers on my list. All up, many songs, great singers, great song writers, and many big bands backing, but these were the ones I remember so well. IIRC Fats and Russ Morgan are on youtube somewhere. Recording, no videos then!
WOW, interesting stuff there, thanks. I know most of those names but the others will need lots of google time so will enjoy the discovery. Already listened to black & tan fantasy from Graeme Bell’s band. Thought Ellington’s version was good listening but now, wow. marvellous
And for those of us without Sky or DAB it is on Freeview 708
Other names I remember - Charlie Barnet - Skyliner: The Dorsey Brothers (Tommy and Jimmy) who started together, split then went back together for a limited time. Tommy liked brass - he was a trombone player, and Jimmy liked sax’s - he was a sax player, so each formed their own bands and both were successful together or apart. Les Brown. Woody Herman - his later bands became famous as ‘The Herd’ which went through various stages as sax players came and went, so we had Herd 1; Herd 2; and Herd 3; Stan Getz was one of several sax players who made a name for themselves while playing with Woody. Let’s not EVER forget Glen Miller, and The Glen Miller AEF Orchestra, the first famous throughout America, and the second became famous through most of the Western World. Some of us still mourn, quietly.
Then Artie Shaw, a soprano sax player, who also played clarinet. Great swing band, but he made a name for himself as having more Hollywood stars as wives in a long (and exhausting) career!
Trad Jazz - Started -n as everyone knows - or should! - In New Orleans, but then came the ‘Chicago Sound’ which was recognisably different, Most famous name among the latter was Bix Beiderbecke who Jack Jackson once featured on his program, with a recording of Bix, according to Jack - “caught playing a piano in a moment of soliloquy playing an abstract piece inspired by the moment”; That went by the name of “In a Mist”,
which some thought meant 'While under the influence - - ’ Research on Youtube and Wiki tells us now that Bix took nearly two years to record that piece, so Jack got it wrong, bless his socks. It was a revelation though, Bix normally played trumpet, and was never known for playing the piano. That piece is now on Youtube. Worth listening to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2_Ai8dgBko
Ted Heath and Orchestra went to the States, accompanying Count Basie and his band on a tour of southern states. At one town, the Basie band came under a lot of abuse and finally physical attack, so most of the Heath Band joined in to help the Basie boys. A classic example of whites helping blacks in the deep south.
(All of the Basie band were coloured BTW.) Real ‘Soul’ came from the negro population, not many whites achieved to capture that, though many came close. Stan Getz was a ‘free spirit’ and was closer than most.
So was Bix. Harry James was a world class trumpet player,but never really got near to pure soul IMHO.
Bobby Hackett, not well known, was one of few trumpet players who played with soul, and few recordings are available AFAIK. He was persuaded to make a record later in his career, but listening to it he was past his best, though the soul was still present.
Soul can be different, so turn to Spain for real alternative Soul music, you have to know and understand Spain, and it’s past, to realise the hidden content of classical spanish music, as written by Rodrigo for instance, who wrote beautiful music for guitar, piano and orchestra, while transmitting Spanish ‘Soul’ to the world. There were others, but Rodrigo remains supreme. Listen to a good orchestra - and a fine guitarist, playing Rodrigo’s Concerto for guitar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erwLhFO2f88 If that doesn’t touch you heart and your soul, then man - you’re dead! It brings tears to my eyes everytime I hear it. Rock and Roll never did that, nor did most swing, closest is genuine negro soul, which is hard to find these days. Gospel groups still have it, but the message is different.
All 78 r.p.m. recordings were restrained to 3 min tracks, all you could get on a 78.Came the 45 rpm disc, and things didn’t change much. Amercian Pie - the full version, was one of few rock and roll era songs that carried a real sense of sadness, only Dillon managed that, but his outlook was reflection, rather than personal. I’ve only ever heard the full version of American Pie about three times in my life, most radio stations won’t play it. Let’s face it, most stations are more concerned about fading out than playing the full version of anything. Commercial radio being the worst offender. (gotta get that toothpaste ad on next)
- common in America and Canada. The Canadian equivalent to the Beeb was CBC, with stations in most leading cities.CFRB in Toronto was linked to CBC, but managed to somehow sound independant, but Rock and Roll was mainly off limits, so they still featured swing, but in limited times slots. Radio CHUM was THE rock and roll station, so was more popular with most, but a minefield of commercials. You developed the ‘deaf ear’ over time. THen came commercial TV over here, and you either watch commercials, or go deaf and blind for the next five minutes. - You can’t keep making tea or coffee! Best thing about American and Canadian TV stations, key programmes are sponsored by major players, like GM and Ford for instance, so events are screened non stop, with a half hour minimum allowed for a quick commercial. Some shows only have a commercial at the beginning, and the end. A rarity, but still better than here. Now they manage to get five or six commercials before, during and after a half hour show - like The Simpsons for instance. Otherwise it would be a twenty minute cartoon - period. And yes- it came that way to start with!