There's Good Boos Tonight

For Halloween, I thought it appropriate to have an encore appearance of Casper the Friendly Ghost in the 1948 animated short, There's Good Boos Tonight, from the Internet Archive. 

Putting The Hex On Hitler

This item seems appropriate for Halloween, even though the actual event occurred in January.  Boing Boing pointed me to this example of how "LIFE" (both the magazine and the broader definition) in the 1940's could be full of unusual surprises.  LIFE offers a narrative and photographic description of the interesting event below. 

"On the wet windy evening of January 22, a youthful band of idealists went to a lonely cabin in the Maryland woods." Thus begins one of the odder stories LIFE magazine ever published -- a straightforward, tongue-nowhere-near-cheek account of a 1941 "hex party" convened with one aim in mind: "to kill Adolf Hitler by voodoo incantation." According to LIFE, the party featured "a dressmaker's dummy, a Nazi uniform, nails, axes, tom-toms and plenty of Jamaica rum," and was inspired by a book by occultist and writer William Seabrook that was popular at the time: Witchcraft: Its Power in the World Today.

Sunrise Serenade: Hotter Than 'Ell

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Hotter Than 'Ell" by Fletcher Henderson.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Modern Morgan Trike

In 1909, the Morgan Motor Company began building three wheel cycle-cars or "trikes" in the UK as a compromise hybrid.  With only three wheels, the SuperSports (official name) were regulated as motorcycles, and therefore cheaper, but they could carry two people in relative comfort with impressive performance.  They remained in production until 1952.  I have always loved these vehicles.  The Hemmings blog reports that Morgan recently licensed Liberty Motors in Seattle, Washington to produce a modern version of trike, known as the ACE Cyclecar, with state of the art materials powered by a Harley-Davidson V-Twin.  Donations to the "buy Tim a trike" fund are now being accepted. 

Sunrise Serenade: Your Father's Mustache

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Your Father's Mustache" by Woody Herman.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Playlist For October 27, 2010

The playlist for the October 27, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

The Phantom

One of my favorite serials was The Phantom, and Golden Age Comic Book Stories posted a series of Phantom comic book covers from the 1930's through the 1970's.

Sunrise Serenade: Alabamy Bound

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Alabamy Bound" by Django Reinhardt.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Live Music At The Lindy Hop

This Friday's Red Hot Lindy Hop features live music by J. Thomas & The Swinging Monkeys, with a lesson by Mike and Erin.  Free admission before 7:00 p.m., and $7 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 8-9:30 pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: Lulu's Back In Town

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Lulu's Back In Town" by the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Myrna Loy In The Mask Of Fu Manchu

Just two years before debuting in the role of Nora Charles, Myrna Loy played the evil seductress daughter of Boris Karloff's title-role villian in The Mask Of Fu Manchu, a delightfully corny horror/suspense film from 1932.  Film Noir Photos posted this publicity shot from the movie.

Sunrise Serenade: Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

This morning's Sunrise Serenade had a decidedly exotic feel.  It was "Istanbul" by Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald.  Click on the song title for a sample clip from emusic, or click here for the album page. 

Farm Frolics

Fall is always a nice time to go for a drive in the country, where you may see sights like those featured in this 1941 Warner Bros. cartoon.  Topical references include a horse doing an imitation of comedian/dancer/singer Eddie Cantor, and an owl using the slang catchphrase "Who's Yehoodi?"  From the Internet Archive, here is Farm Frolics. 

Dieselpunk: Streamlined Stuff

I recently discovered Dieselpunk, a blog devoted to images of art deco and streamlined . . . well, anything.  One example is this photo of a 1937 Fiat 1500.  Also featured in the blog are scans of old art deco advertisements as well as images of modern art deco/streamlined-inspired machinery and design.  Very cool stuff.

Sunrise Serenade: Opus One

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Opus One" by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Electric Wheelchairs From 1940

In the past 10 years or so, the use of electric wheelchairs (a/k/a "hoverounds" or "scooters") by older or physically challeged people has increased substantially, probably due to improvements in technology, decreased cost, and the greater availability of assistance programs to pay for them.  Despite the recent explosion in use, however, they are hardly a new idea.  Modern Mechanix posted an article from a 1940 issue of Science and Mechanics about the new (and unfortunately named) "electric chairs." 

Sunrise Serenade: That Old Black Magic

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "That Old Black Magic" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Playlist For October 20, 2010

The playlist for the October 20, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Three Chances For The Gypsy Hombres This Weekend

Peter Hyrka and the Gypsy Hombres return to Memphis and the Mid-South for not one, but three performances this weekend:  Saturday, October 23 - River Arts Fest in Downtown Memphis at 1:40 p.m.; Otherlands Coffee Bar in Midtown at 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, October 24 - Lyn Jones' Coffee In The Attic in Covington, Tennessee from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  They are always a great show.  Below is a sample from their last performance at Otherlands earlier this year.

Sunrise Serenade: Floatin' Down To Cotton Town

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Floatin' Down To Cotton Town" by Fats Waller.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Lindy Continutes - Live Music Next Week

The weekly Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday with a lesson by Jaredan and Amanda and music by Jaredan.  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

Live music next week, October 29, 2010.

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 8-9:30 pm. Improve your moves during this dance time. Ask questions, come practice your swing dancing and have fun with other Memphis swing dancers!

Sunrise Serenade: I'll See You In My Dreams

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "I'll See You In My Dreams" by Ella Fitzgerald.  Click on the song title for a sample clip from emusic, or click here for the album page. 

Holy Comic Strips, Batman!

I always associated Batman with comic books rather than comic strips, but Golden Age Comic Book Stories posted a series of Batman comic strips from 1946 editions of the New York Sunday Mirror.  The scan below features "Two Face" at a double feature drive in movie hold up! 

Sunrise Serenade: Gotta Go Places And Do Things

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Gotta Go Places And Do Things" by Cab Calloway.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Fifth Column Mouse

This 1943 short from Warner Bros. was a parable about the failed policy of appeasement before World War II, with a hungry cat symbolizing Hitler.  Watch when the cat rubs the dirt off the window and looks through it, with the clean parts of the window becoming Hitler's trademark hair and mustache.  I also like the nice four-part mouse harmony on "Blues in the Night."  From the Internet Archive, here is Fifth Column Mouse. 

Swedish Swing Music Blog And Chick Webb Movie

Henrik Eriksson is a swing/jazz/blues dance DJ in Uppsala, Sweden, whose blog, Swing, Jazz and Blues, is "about music that makes you want to dance."  He has a lot of modern swing on the site, and provides resources for music and dancing, CD and book reviews, and video clips.  He just did a post on a movie (to be released in 2011) about Chick Webb entitled The Savoy King:  Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America, and he has three vingettes from the film on his site.  The film includes interviews with the likes of Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington and Gene Krupa.

Sunrise Serenade: Taking A Chance On Love

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Taking A Chance On Love" by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra with Helen Forrest on vocals.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Nash Pushes Gas Mileage

Concern about automobile gas mileage did not originate within the past few years, or even during the oil crisis of the early 1970's.  Vintage Ads posted this item touting the fuel efficiency of the 1949 Nash Airflyte.  I've always liked Nashes, especially those with the aerodynamic closed wheel wells.  At 25 mpg, considering its size and the state of automotive technology at the time, it performs as well as a modern sedan.  Bear in mind that "average highway speed" was probably not 70 MPH, but the mileage is still impressive.

Sunrise Serenade: Frenesi

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Frenesi" by Artie Shaw and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Playlist For October 13, 2010

The playlist for the October 13, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

More Lindy Hop

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this week with a lesson by Matt and Becky and 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

There will be no U of M Swing session on Monday, October 18, 2010 because of Fall Break. 

Sunrise Serenade: My Honey's Loving Arms

This morning's Sunrise Serenade featured a combination of the artists from the past two days:  "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" by Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

From The Olympic Pool To The Hollywood Jungle

As noted by The People History, on October 12, 1931, Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weissmuller was chosen to play Tarzan in a number of films.

Weissmuller made six big budget Tarzan films with MGM, and then moved to RKO, where he made another six Tarzan movies with a new Jane and reduced production costs.  Although he was not the first actor to play Tarzan on film, he became the most famous.  An example of his popularity from Wikipedia: 

According to David Wallechinsky's Complete Book of the Olympics, while playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Cuba in 1958, Weissmuller's golf cart was suddenly captured by rebel soldiers. Weissmuller sized up the situation, got out of the cart and gave his trademark Tarzan yell. The shocked rebels soon began to jump up and down, calling "Tarzan! Welcome to Cuba!" Johnny and his companions were not only not kidnapped, but were given a rebel escort to the golf course.

Sunrise Serenade: Small Fry

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Small Fry" by Bing Crosby with Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

"Poverty Row" Hollywood Studios

Matinee at the Bijou posted a very interesting and enlightening item about the smaller, independent "Poverty Row" movie studios in Hollywood that cranked out hundreds of films in the 1920's-50's.  Although many of these studios are often associated only with "B" movies or serials, several produced films with longstanding appeal, including several early John Wayne features.

Sunrise Serenade: Sidekick Joe

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Sidekick Joe" by the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Hollywood Steps Out

Now here is one of those great old Warner Bros. cartoons that I liked, but did not fully understand as a kid because I did not know all the Hollywood characters from the 1940s.  Now that I am more familiar with the stars of that era, it is even more enjoyable.  From the Internet Archive, and directed by Tex Avery, here is Hollywood Steps Out. 

How A Watch Works (1949)

I've been to the excellent National Clock & Watch Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania, and it featured many exhibits associated with the Hamilton watch company, which had a factory nearby.  Boing Boing posted this 1949 film sponsored by Hamilton explaning How A Watch Works. 

Sunrise Serenade: Avalon

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Avalon" by Django Reinhardt.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Jive Of The Day!

It has been quite a while since we studied an entry in Cab Calloway's Jive Dictionary, so I thought it time recommence our schooling.  Today's lesson from Professor Calloway:

Armstrongs (n.) -- musical notes in the upper register, high trumpet notes.

Considering the date, I think we are safe to assume the origin of this term relates to Louis Armstrong, rather than any other Armstrongs, like Neil or Stretch. 

Sunrise Serenade: Margie

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Margie" by Cab Calloway.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Playlist For October 6, 2010

The playlist for the October 6, 2010 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

1930's Advertising Mashup: Leading Ladys & Spark Plugs

The 1937 version of The Prisoner of Zenda, starring Ronald Coleman, Madeleine Carroll (pictured), Douglas Faribanks, Jr., and Raymond Massey; is one of my favorite movies.  That being said, I would have never imagined the film's leading lady hawking spark plugs.  Vintage Ads posted this somewhat incongruous combination, apparently connected only by their "perfect performance."

Sunrise Serenade: If You Build A Better Mousetrap

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "If You Build A Better Mousetrap" by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, featuring Art Lund and Peggy Lee on vocals.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

The Lindy Hops On

The weekly Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday night with a lesson by Jaredan and Michelle and music by Jaredan.  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: Mister Meadowlark

This morning's Sunrise Serenade had a pastoral feel:  "Mister Meadowlark" by Bing Crosby and Johnny Mercer.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Boyer, Colbert And Cooper

Here is a nice shot from Film Noir Photos of "Charles Boyer, Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper at a Hollywood Stage Door Canteen party at Fort MacArthur, 1942."

Sunrise Serenade: I Don't Know What I'd Do Without You

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "I Don't Know What I'd Do Without You" by Andy Kirk and his Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Foney Fables

Here is a classic storybook cartoon released by Warner Bros. in 1942.  From the Internet Archive:  Foney Fables.

Destination 1940

I found another retro-living-style blog, Destination 1940, that follows the efforts of a 21st century "dame" (her word) who hates all things housework to reinvent herself into the image of a 1940's housewife.  Includes vintage housecleaning tips and recipes. 

Sunrise Serenade: Undecided

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was, despite its title, easy to distinguish:  "Undecided" by Django Reinhardt.  Click on the song title for a sample clip from emusic, or click here for the album page.