Police Radio-Telephone - A Mere 20 Pounds!

Think about how far we have progressed, at least in some ways.  This article from a 1935 issue of Modern Mechanix reveals how police officers on patrol can now talk to headquarters without leaving their cars, and the transmitter weighs "but 20 pounds."  Think about that next time you use your cell phone.

Sunrise Serenade: Polka Dot Stomp

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Polka Dot Stomp" by Sidney Bechet.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page. 

Playlist For September 29, 2010

The playlist for the Septmeber 29, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

The Andrews Sisters in Buck Privates

A big "thank you" to Film Noir Photos for posting some nice shots of the Andrews Sisters, as well as the following YouTube video of the girls performing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" from the Abbot and Costello film, Buck Privates.  This post made my day. 

Sunrise Serenade: Atom And Evil

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was the light, bouncy warning against nuclear proliferation known as "Atom And Evil" by the Golden Gate Quartet.  Click on the song for a sample from emusic, or here for the album page. 

Stay Warm With The Red Hot Lindy Hop

Keep warm as the weather cools off with the weekly Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session this Friday night.  The lesson will be by Kirk and Becky with music by Becky.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $5 at the door afterwards. 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

U of M Swing every Monday, Fieldhouse Room 254 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:45pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was an encore from earlier this year:  "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" by Ella Fitzgerald.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

RMS Queen Elizabeth, The Axis And New Cars

What do the above have in common?  According to The People History, the answer is September 27th. 

September 27, 1938:  RMS Queen Elizabeth is launched at the John Brown and Company yard in Clydebank, Scotland.  She was the largest passenger liner ever built and named to honor Queen Elizabeth, a consort of King George VI of England and mother to Queen Elizabeth II.

September 27, 1940:  The Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan sign the The Tripartite Pact with a one for all and all for one pledge.

September 27, 1946:  With returning GI's and the end to the war, people are trying to buy new cars with little success as many of the factories have not been converted back to automobile production.  This means that anyone wishing to buy a new car can expect to pay 25% more than the OPA price guides from the factory. Prices range from $1,125 for a Chevrolet to $2,000 for a Cadillac.

Sunrise Serenade: Limehouse Blues

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Limehouse Blues" by Django Reinhardt.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Naughty But Mice

Here is a Famous Studios' "Noveltoon" released by Paramount.  Herman the city mouse helps his country cousins rid themselves of a troublesome feline.  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1947 animated short, Naughty But Mice.

Miniature Village Built By The WPA

Jim Linderman on Dull Tool Dim Bulb posted this neat item about a miniature town in Traverse City, Michigan.  The photos are from around 1940. 

During the depression . . . the Traverse City Opera House, still standing, became home for an unusual WPA project. Traverse City mayor "Con" Foster, who was formerly a circus promoter, thought up the original project to find work for carpenters who couldn't find any building the real thing, so Roosevelt's WPA coughed up the dough! Workers were hired to create miniature models of prominent actual buildings in the city. The intricate, perfect models were then installed in Clinch Park. At one time, there were over 100 buildings.

Sunrise Serenade: Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, with Tex Beneke and the Modernaires on vocals.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

The Anti-Superman?

No, it is not Lex Luthor, Bizarro, or any of the other usual suspects.  Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine posted this interesting item about "Funnyman," who was on the opposite end of the character spectrum from the Man of Steel for a very practical, legal reason.  From Pappy:

A few years after being bumped from Superman they [creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster] came up with another character, Funnyman. I'm sure they knew all about the Superman lawsuit against Fawcett over Captain Marvel and their lawyers may have told them, "Make any new characters you create unlike Superman or DC will sue." Funnyman is about as un-Supermanlike as you can get.

Sunrise Serenade: The Honeydripper

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "The Honeydripper" by Memphis' own Jimmie Lunceford.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Playlist For September 22, 2010

The playlist for the Septmeber 22, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Pulp Cover Art "Unplugged"

I have posted items about pulp fiction cover art before, but this is the first time I found a set of pulp cover art scans in their natural state - without the title, author, publisher or anything else that usually goes on a paperback cover.  Golden Age Comic Book Stories posted this interesting collection of pulp cover art paintings, minus the actual publication information.

Sunrise Serenade: I'm Livin' In A Great Big Way

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "I'm Livin' In A Great Big Way" by Louis Prima.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Fall Into Lindy Hop

Start Fall with the weekly Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session this Friday night.  The lesson will be by Mike and Becky with music by Becky.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $5 at the door afterwards. 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

U of M Swing every Monday, Fieldhouse Room 254 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:45pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Joseph, Joseph

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Joseph, Joseph" by the Andrews Sisters.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

The Thin Man

One of my all time favorite movie teams is William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man and its sequels.  Film Noir Photos posted this very striking publicity shot from the first Thin Man film in 1934.  The only thing missing is their faithful canine, Asta. 

Sunrise Serenade: It Don't Mean A Thing

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was an old favorite:  "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" by the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Felix The Cat: The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg

In this 1936 Van Beuren production, Captain Kidd steals Felix the Cat's profitable goose.  From the Internet Archive, here is The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg. 

"Bless Your Heart, Honey"? From Chevrolet?

Once again, there is nothing like advertising to show how society changes. I found this Chevrolet ad on Vintage Ads. Based on the car's design, I'm guessing this ad ran in the late 1940's, probably between 1946-1948. Putting aside the premise of marketing cars to women as a fashion accessory, I really like the ad's design.

Sunrise Serenade: Moon Ray

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Moon Ray" by Ella Fitzgerald.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

The 1940's Experiment: A World War II Diet In The UK

While cruising through the blogosphere, I came across an interesting blog from the UK.  In The 1940's Experiment, a woman documents her plan to lose weight by living for one year on the food that would have been available in Britain under rationing during World War II.  It includes ration lists, diet sheets, recipies and the results.  Although more about the young lady's diet and personal experiences than history, it does provide an interesting insight into rationing.

Sunrise Serenade: Caravan

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was the "faux" instrumental (i.e. vocal without words) version of "Caravan" by the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Playlist For September 15, 2010

The playlist for the Septmeber 15, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Mugshots Of Every Dick Tracy Character

Golden Age Comic Book Stories posted a nice series of "mugshots" of every Dick Tracy character that Chester Gould created, along with the year of their introduction.  You can't go wrong with bad guy names like "Supeena" and "The Blank."

Sunrise Serenade: Goody Goody

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Goody Goody" by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Red Hot Lindy Hop - Music At An Exhibition!

This Friday's Red Hot Lindy Hop will have live music by Jeremy Shrader's Quintessentials with featured vocalist Jayna Morgan, an exhibition by the RHLH Perfomance Team plus a lesson with Jaredan and Erin. 

 

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

U of M Swing is in a new room, Fieldhouse Room 254 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:45pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Dinah

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Dinah" by Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Casablanca At The Orpheum Friday Night

The Orpheum Theatre's Summer Movie Series wraps up this Friday with one of its much-loved "usual suspects":  Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains.  Show starts at 7:15 p.m. 

Sunrise Serenade: Goodbye Sue

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was a sentimental piece:  "Goodbye Sue" by Perry Como with Benny Goodman and the V-Disc All Stars.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Superman: The Mummy Strikes

Superman is back, this time facing an ancient Egyptian menance.  From the Internet Archive, the 1943 animated short, The Mummy Strikes.

Night-Club Map Of Harlem, Circa 1932

If you took the "A" Train to Harlem in the early 1930's, this map would tell you where to go next.  Boing Boing pointed me to a posting on Strange Maps featuring this 1932 Night-Club Map of Harlem, complete with references to the Cotton Club, Cab Calloway, the Savoy Ballroom, Don Redmon, the Lindy Hop, etc.  It being Prohibition, as the map notes, the only omission is the location of the speakeasies, but since there were about 500 of them, the visitor would have no problem finding one.  Click on the map for a full size version. 

Sunrise Serenade: Powerhouse (Happy Birthday Raymond Scott!)

Today's Sunrise Serenade popped into my head as soon as I realized the date.  On September 10, 1908, Raymond Scott was born in Brooklyn as Harry Warnow.  Scott was a musician, band leader, composer and inventor, whose work is familar to millions of people, even though most do not know his name.  In the late 1930's and early 1940's, Scott composed a series of unusual musical pieces that caught the ear of Carl Stalling, head of music for Warner Brothers animation.  Stalling convinced WB to buy the rights to over 20 Scott compositions, and the rest is history, as that music became the soundtrack for the golden age of Warner Bros. cartoons from the mid-1940's into the 1950's.  One of the most recognized pieces was this morning's Sunrise Serenade, which also serves as the theme music for the Swing Shift Shuffle:  "Powerhouse."  Click on the song title to hear and see a YouTube video of Raymond Scott's Quintette performing the piece on a 1955 TV show. 

The Very First Computer Bug

Who knew that computer "bugs" went back so far?  The People History posted this item about the first case of a computer bug on September 9, 1945. 

First bug discovered in computer software program when operators at the Harvard Faculty Computation Laboratory traced an error in the Mark II computer to a moth trapped in a relay, coining the term bug. This bug was carefully removed and taped to the log book September 9th 1945.

Sunrise Serenade: Danny Boy

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was definitely calm and peaceful:  "Danny Boy" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Playlist For September 8, 2010

The playlist for the Septmeber 8, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Read The Book! See The Picture!

A posting on Golden Age Comic Book Stories reveals that multi-media marketing is hardly new.  This set of Big Little Book Photoplays from 1934-1938 feature miniture books of movies from the era, illustrated with pictures from the films.  The titles range from classics like Tarzan, to lesser known films.

Sunrise Serenade: South American Way

This morning's Sunrise Serenade took me south of the border with Carmen Miranda's version of "South American Way."  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Lindy This Week And Live Music Next Week

The weekly Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday night with a lesson by Matt and Amanda, with music by Amanda.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $5 at the door afterwards. 

Dress like you are going out!

Next week, September 17, 2010, the Hop will have live music by the Hot Memphis Four with featured vocalist Jayna Morgan returning for more fun. 



Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

U of M Swing will take a Labor Day break, but return on Monday, Septmeber 13, in a new room, Fieldhouse Room 254 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.  Free taster lesson from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topics vary from week to week and include East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues and Balboa. All are welcome and no partner is required. Open practice from 8-9:45pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Old Dan Tucker

Vocal harmonies return for this morning's Sunrise Serenade:  "Old Dan Tucker" by the Golden Gate Quartet.  Click on the song title for a sample clip from emusic.  Click here for the album page. 

Happy Labor Day!

Here is someone working away in 1942.  From the Library of Congress American Memory Collection, America from the Great Depression to World War II: Color Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1939-1945:    

A rivet is her fighting weapon. Oyida Peaks, daughter of a Navy lieutenant, one of many women taking NYA training to become mechanics at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas. After eight weeks apprenticeship she will be qualified as a civil service worker in the Assembly and Repair Department.

Betty Boop's Ker-Choo

Many folks hop in the car over Labor Day weekend, and Betty Boop and her pals are no exception, but it is a competitive venture for them.  From the Internet Archive, Betty does a little racing in this 1932 animated short:  Betty Boop's Ker-Choo. 

World Land Speed Record In 1935

The People History reminds us that on September 3, 1935, Sir Malcolm Campbell set a new land speed record for the second time that year.  Campbell drove his 2500 horsepower Bluebird to over 300 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.  His previous record was 276 MPH.  Below is a photo of the Bluebird at Daytona Beach. 

Sunrise Serenade: Dirt Dishin' Daisy

Well, my unconscious apparenly likes the Mills Brothers this week, as they return for this morning's Sunrise Serenade:  Dirt Dishin' Daisy.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Astaire, Ball, Iturbi & Marx

Here is an all star line-up never seen in a movie (as far as I know).  From left:  Jose Iturbi, Lucille Ball, Harpo Marx and Fred Astaire.  Film Noir Photos posted this picture of them rehearsing a routine for a USO tour during World War II.

Sunrise Serenade: Just A Dream

Vocal harmonies return again for this morning's Sunrise Serenade:  "Just A Dream" by the Four Vagabonds.  Click on the song title for a sample clip from emusic.  Click here for the album page. 

Playlist For September 1, 2010

The playlist for the Septmeber 1, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

A Model Representation Of Air Power

I have seen mass displays of model aircraft in aviation museums that were impressive, but this photo is far beyond any of those.  Make: posted this photo of 4500 model airplanes suspended from the ceiling of Chicago's Union Station in 1942, and explained the significance of the installation.

In 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt committed the U.S. economy to the production of 60,000 warplanes that year, and suggested that as many as 185,000 aircraft might be produced by the end of 1943. He turned out to be almost correct. In June 1944, TIME reported 171,257 aircraft produced since Pearl Harbor. In 1942, however, those were Herculean goals, yet to be achieved, and as part of an effort to help Americans understand the task before them, a fleet of 4,500 model airplanes was suspended from the ceiling of Chicago's Union Station. Once you absorb the spectacle of 4,500 planes, of course, then comes the whammy: That's only 1/48th of the production goal. The image above is 600 pixels wide. At that scale, if your monitor's pitch is 72 dpi, an image of all 185,000 planes would be 33 feet wide.

 That is a lot of airplanes.  I especially like the fact that the model makers bothered to represent the different types of aircraft.  The lower level planes (those closest to the camera) at the top of the photo are B-24 Liberators.  The twin-tailed model in the center of the upper level represent P-38 Lightnings.

Sunrise Serenade: My Gal Sal

The Mills Brothers returned for another appearance on the Sunrise Serenade this morning with "My Gal Sal."  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.