Turner Classic Movies In March

In its monthly preview of TCM's schedule, The Hollywood Revue reports that the lovely Greer Garson is the Star of the Month for March, with her films featured every Monday night.  Mrs. Miniver and Random Harvest are among the movies to be aired.

Sunrise Serenade: St. Louis Blues

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "St. Louis Blues" by Sidney Bechet and the Bluenote Jazzmen.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Playlist For February 27, 2013

The playlist for the February 27, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet. 

Art Deco Watches

I have never had much interest in jewelry, but I do like a nice watch.  Some of my favorites are the rectangle or square Art Deco style watches from the 1930's.  Dieselpunk posted two nice images of an original 1934 Cartier watch, as well as a modern replica.

Sunrise Serenade: Ko Ko

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Ko Ko" by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Red Hot Lindy Hops On

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday night at the Rumba Room.  Free lesson at 7:00 p.m.  Free admission before 7:00, and $5 cover at the door afterwards.  The lesson will be by Mike and Angela, with music by Alexis.  Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

The Tiger Rag progressive dance lessons and guided practice sessions are in full swing at the Madison Dance Studio in Minglewood Plaza, 1555 Madison Ave Memphis, TN 38104.  Learn more and register here. 

Sunrise Serenade: I've Heard That Song Before

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "I've Heard That Song Before" by Harry James and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

1937 Mobile Home

One of the thousands of projects I want to try, but will probably never begin, much less complete, is a retro-style 1940's bus to RV conversion.  Modern Mechanix posted this article from the October 1937 issue of Mechanics And Handicraft to show how folks did it with (then) much newer vehicles.

Sunrise Serenade: I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" by Red Norvo and Mildred Bailey.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

The Scarlet Pumpernickel

Warner Bros. took a satirical aim at swashbucklers (including its own star, Errol Flynn) and the movie industry in this 1948 Daffy Duck cartoon.  From the Internet Archive, here is The Scarlet Pumpernickel.

Sunrise Serenade: I'd Rather Lead A Band

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "I'd Rather Lead A Band" by Bunny Berigan and His Boys.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

How A Car Differential Works

The Hemmings blog posted this really cool Chevrolet Jam Handy film that provides a simple but thorough explanation of how a differential works.  Even after 75 years, this demonstration is just as informative as it was then. 

Sunrise Serenade: Star Dust

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Star Dust" by Louis Armstrong.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Playlist For February 20, 2013

The playlist for the February 20, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet. 

Westinghouse Boulder Dam Ad

Now here is an eye-catcher.  This 1936 Westinghouse ad about Boulder Dam, posted on Deiselpunk, boasts some striking color and design.

Sunrise Serenade: I'll Be Glad You're Dead, You Rascal You

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You" by Louis Armstrong.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Live Music At The Lindy Hop

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday night at the Rumba Room with live music from Jayna Morgan and the Sazerac Sunrise Jazz Band.  Free lesson at 7:00 p.m.  Free admission before 7:00, and $7 band cover at the door afterwards.  The lesson will be by Kishore and Heather.  Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

The Tiger Rag progressive dance lessons and guided practice sessions are in full swing at the Madison Dance Studio in Minglewood Plaza, 1555 Madison Ave Memphis, TN 38104.  Learn more and register here. 

Sunrise Serenade: My Honey's Lovin' Arms

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" by Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Carspotting In Harlem 1949

In this carspotting photo from the Hemmings blog, we visit Harlem in 1949.  Aside from the cars, it is interesting to note the theaters marquees (including the Apollo) and the movies playing at the time.

Sunrise Serenade: Georgia On My Mind

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Georgia On My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Frigid Hare

In the days before GPS, all navigation problems could be corrected by turning left at Albuquerque.  Once again, however, our hero Bugs Bunny fails to heed this advice, and ends up at the South Pole, where he is forced to help out a hapless penguin.  Ignoring the geographical and zoological inaccuracies, this cartoon is classic Chuck Jones fun.  From the Internet Archive here is the 1948 animated short, Frigid Hare.

Sunrise Serenade: Someone Stole Gabriel's Horn

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Someone Stole Gabriel's Horn" by Bunny Berigan.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day, RetroPlanet has a neat post on the history of the Whitman's Chocolates ads associated with February 14. 

Sunrise Serenade: Begin The Beguine

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Begin The Beguine" by Artie Shaw.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Playlist For February 13, 2013

The playlist for the February 13, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet. 

Keri Krane (Katherine Hepburn?) Detective

As posted on Four Color Shadows, Keri Krane was the sister of a murdered policewoman, who decided to continue her sister's fight for justice by running a detective agency.  I have to agree with the poster that Keri is most certainly a copy of Katherine Hepburn, both in appearance and in the style of the dialogue.  It reminds me of the fast paced exchanges between Hepburn and Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby. 

Sunrise Serenade: Sweet Sue

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Sweet Sue" by Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club Quintet of France.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Hops Keep Hopping - Live Music Next Week

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday night at the Rumba Room.  Free lesson at 7:00 p.m.  Free admission before 7:00, and $5 cover at the door afterwards.  The lesson will be by Kirk and Erin, with music by Jessica C.  Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

Next week:  Jayna Morgan and the Sazerac Sunrise Jazz Band return to Memphis for the RHLH. 

The Tiger Rag progressive dance lessons and guided practice sessions are in full swing at the Madison Dance Studio in Minglewood Plaza, 1555 Madison Ave Memphis, TN 38104.  Learn more and register here. 

Sunrise Serenade: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" by the Casa Loma Orchestra.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

1930's Jazz Videos

A friend sent me a link to 30sjazz.com, a site that features videos of (as its name implies) 1930's jazz music.  Some of the videos are actual film footage of the musicians performing, while others are essentially audio files of the music with still photographs for visuals.  There is a nice mix of artists here, including this piece from Blanche Calloway (yes, Cab's older sister), who was successfully leading a band years before her little brother.

Sunrise Serenade: Pavanne

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Pavanne" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Betty Boop: Crazy Town

Early Betty Boop cartoons usually have a surreal flavor to them, but in this case, Fleischer Studios made the surreal the main theme.  Bosko and Betty take a trolley to Crazy Town, where everything operates just a little "different."  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1931 animated short, Crazy Town. 

Sunrise Serenade: Shine On Harvest Moon

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Shine On Harvest Moon" by Jimmy Dorsey.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Norma Jean: War Worker

As I previously noted in a July 2012 post, Marilyn Monroe does not appear much on this blog because her fame really started in the 1950's, rather than the Swing Era.  These photos, taken in 1945 and posted on Retronaut, were taken well before Marilyn existed, are what launched that fame.  Norma Jean was a war worker, assembling remote control target drones. 

Sunrise Serenade: Swanee River

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Swanee River" by Les Brown and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Playlist For February 6, 2013

The playlist for the February 6, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet. 

Danish Air Lines

Dieselpunk posted this 1945 poster from Danish Air Lines, and I am reposting it simply because it features a Douglas DC-3, one of my favorite aircraft. 

Sunrise Serenade: Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" by the Andrews Sisters.  Enjoy the video from YouTube. 

Pre-Valentine Hop

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues this Friday night at the Rumba Room.  Free lesson at 7:00 p.m.  Free admission before 7:00, and $5 cover at the door afterwards.  The lesson will be by Mike and Amanda, with music by Amanda.  Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

303 South Main

Memphis, TN 38103

The Tiger Rag progressive dance lessons and guided practice sessions are in full swing at the Madison Dance Studio in Minglewood Plaza, 1555 Madison Ave Memphis, TN 38104.  Learn more and register here. 

Sunrise Serenade: Begin The Beguine

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Begin The Beguine" by the Andrews Sisters.  It happened this moring, as always, but I could not get it posted until now.  Better late than never!  Enjoy the video from YouTube. 

Mimetic Architecture

Remember the Brown Derby, a restaurant shaped like a man's derby hat?  A post of mimetic architecture on Retronaut has a series of photographs of buildings shaped like anything other than a building.  This piano supply company is my favorite. 

Sunrise Serenade: Rhumboogie

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Rhumboogie" by the Andrews Sisters.  Enjoy the video from YouTube. 

The Three Bears

In this Ub Iwerks version of the classic children's story, Goldilocks looks a little like Bette Davis, and she basically does a breaking-and-entering job on the three bears house.  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1935 animated short, The Three Bears. 

Sunrise Serenade: Arkansas Traveler

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Arkansas Traveler" by Stan Kenton and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.