The Swing Shift Shuffle is a radio program of swing, big band, jazz, boogie woogie and other popular music from the 1930's and 40's that airs every Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (US Central Time) on WEVL 89.9 FM in Memphis, Tennessee, with a live webcast at wevl.org. In addition to the radio show, this blog is dedicated to all aspects of the Swing Era, including art, automobiles, cartoons, comics, history, movies, music, news, science, technology, and anything else that happened during that time. It also includes announcements about events in the Memphis/Mid-South area related to the Swing Era, such as classic movies, concerts, dances, lectures, etc. If you see something that fits the description, send it to me at tim@wevl.org. If you would like more information about the radio show, just go to the Radio Show FAQ page.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween!

From the SSS and Donna Reed, posted on Film Noir Photos.

Turner Classic Movies In November

I may have been remiss the past few months in overlooking The Hollywood Revue's monthly preview of programming on Turner Classic Movies, so I am eager to make amends by directing your attention to their preview of November's TCM schedule.  The Friday Night Spotlight will be classic screwball comedies, and Burt Lancaster will be Star of the Month, with his films on Wednesday. 

Sunrise Serenade: Conga Brava

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Conga Brava" by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.  Enjoy the YouTube video below. 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Playlist For October 30, 2013

The playlist for the October 30, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet.  

75th Anniversary Of Orson Welles' War Of The Worlds Broadcast

Seventy-five years ago today, on Sunday, October 30, 1938, a young actor named Orson Welles broadcast a Halloween episode of the CBS radio drama The Mercury Theatre on the Air based on H.G. Wells' novel, The War of the Worlds.  Adapting the novel to the time, the broadcast opened as a series of radio news alerts reporting something strange happening in New Jersey.  The rest is history.  Although traditional urban lore suggests that the broadcast caused mass panic among radio listeners who thought the portrayed events were real, historians have cast significant doubt on those claims, indicating that press reports of panic at the time were exaggerated.

Sunrise Serenade: Riverboat Shuffle

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Riverboat Shuffle" by Hoagy Carmichael.  Enjoy the video from Dailymotion

Hoagy Carmichael - Riverboat Shuffle (Alternate... by JazznBluesexperience

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Beat Your Feet After All "Soles" Night At The 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.  Lesson by Mike and Bethany with music by Bethany.  Dress like you are going out!
303 South Main
Memphis, TN 38103

The Tiger Rag 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 Want To Learn About Love

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "I Want To Learn About Love" by Ella Fitzgerald with the Daydreamers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Handle With Care (And Boy Do We Mean It!)

An appropriate sequel to the Calutron Girls post last week is this item from Paleofuture.  When the Manhattan Project had to move some material, say plutonium, why call attention to it with a lot of escorts and security?  Just hand it off to a courier with the instructions that "at the first sign of any unusual behavior inside the box he was to abandon the automobile in a hurry and run as far away from it as his legs would carry him."  What happened next?  Click above to learn the rest of the story. 

Sunrise Serenade: El Choclo

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "El Choclo" by Stan Kenton and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Betty Boop: Whoops! I'm A Cowboy

In this 1937 Betty Boop cartoon, she rejects the marriage proposal from her co-worker, Wiffle Piffle, because she wants to marry a bronco-busting cowboy.  In the "extremis and euphoria" of love, Mr. Piffle goes West to learn cowboy ways at a dude ranch.  From the Internet Archive, here is Whoops!  I'm A Cowboy.

Sunrise Serenade: Sun Valley Jump

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

Thursday, October 24, 2013

New York World's Fair Stunt Drivers

What is a World's Fair, with all of its hope and optimism for a bright, prosperous future, without a little good, old fashioned daring and destruction.  Retronaut posted this photos of the Jimmie Lynch Death Dodgers, a stunt driver show, at the 1939 New York World's Fair. 

Sunrise Serenade: Deep River

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Deep River" by Stan Kenton and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title for a sample from last.fm.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Playlist For October 23, 2013

The playlist for the October 23, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet.  

Nigel, Basil & Evelyn

This picture, posted on Film Noir Photos, shows one of my favorite actors, Basil Rathbone, on the set of Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror, with co-stars Nigel Bruce and Evelyn Ankers. 

Sunrise Serenade: Runnin' Wild

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

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Stay Warm With The Red Hot Lindy 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.  Lesson by Matt and Becky with music by EJ.  Dress like you are going out!
303 South Main
Memphis, TN 38103

The Tiger Rag 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: Nagasaki

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Nagasaki" by the Benny Goodman Sextet.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Calutron Girls

In many operations during World War II, maintaining secrecy meant that everyone was on a "need to know" basis.  As a result, some employees had no idea of the part their work played in some very top secret projects.  These "Calutron Girls," posted on Retronaut, worked at their stations, monitoring meters and adjusting dials, without ever knowing that they were actually separating isotopes of  unranium for the Manhattan Project. 

Sunrise Serenade: Guess I'll Go Back Home

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Guess I'll Go Back Home" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, with Tex Beneke on vocals.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Superman: The Mummy Strikes

Superman is back in this encore from 2010, this time facing an ancient Egyptian menance.  From the Internet Archive, here is the 1943 animated short, The Mummy Strikes.

Sunrise Serenade: Boogie Woogie Piggy

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Boogie Woogie Piggy" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, with Tex Beneke on vocals.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Rex Dexter Returns . . . To Earth!

Rex Dexter of Mars returns!  I posted a Rex Dexter story back in July 2012, and today I came across what is essentially his origin story, posted on Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine.  It seems that Rex' great grandfather, his wife and a few other scientists were so fed up with strife and war on Earth in 1939 that they left the planet to start a new life on Mars.  Blasting off from the 1939 World's Fair (where else?), the Dexters settled on Mars.  Great Granddad had a plan, however, and he left instructions for his descedents to return to Earth in the year 2040 to report on the progress of the Mars experiment.  Rex and his girlfriend faithfully carry out their predecessor's orders to find a modern Utopia on Earth, where everyone works only because they want to, machines do the "menial labor," and city buses are free!  We better hurry up, we only have about 26 years to get there. 

Sunrise Serenade: The Guy With The Slide Trombone (Hungarian Rhapsody)

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "The Guy With The Slide Trombone (a/k/a Hungarian Rhapsody)" by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.  Enjoy the video from YouTube.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Playlist For October 16, 2013

The playlist for the October 16, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet.  

Betty The Boat Builder: Female Chris Craft War Workers

While it is possible that Chris Craft may have employed a "Rosie the Riveter" during World War II, the firm known for its high quality wooden boats probably had many more Betty the Boat Builders, like these.  Posted on Dull Tool Dim Bulb, this photo (apparently) shows Chris Craft workers in the employee parking lot, presumably at one of the company's Michigan plants.  Chris Craft, like its Southern counterpart, Higgins in Louisiana, built landing craft for the military during World War II. 

Sunrise Serenade: Your Father's Mustache

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Your Father's Mustache" by Woody Herman and His Orchestra.  Enjoy the video from YouTube

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Live Music At The Lindy Hop

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session this Friday night at the Rumba Room features live music from the Side Street Steppers.  Free lesson at 7:00 p.m.  Free admission before 7:00, and $7 cover at the door afterwards.  The lesson will be by Jaredan and Amanda.  Dress like you are going out!
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: Pistol Packin' Mama

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Don Redman and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line

Monday, October 14, 2013

Then And Now: New York City Crime

Back in July, I posted a link to a "Then And Now" collection of photographs depicting various scenes in Europe taken both during World War II and today.  The BBC's First Person series just did a profile on a New York photographer who used the same approach for crime scenes in NYC from the 1930s-1960s.  The First Person story is very interesting (nice hat, by the way), and the series of photographs is available at Then and Now

Sunrise Serenade: Exactly Like You

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Exactly Like You" by Louis Armstrong.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Wolf! Wolf!

The worlds most powerful rodent returns to save the day in this encore from 2010.  This short from the 1940's features a wolf playing pied piper for some lambs with a little jazz before Mighty Mouse shows up to spoil the fun.  From the Internet Archive, here is Mighty Mouse in "Wolf!  Wolf!"

Sunrise Serenade: Avalon

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

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Droolingly Cool Toy Monorail From 1934

This is way too cool.  This ad by the Aero Monorail Company in the January 1934 issue of Science and Mechanics, posted on Modern Mechanix, promotes a toy electric monorail set.  I have never seen such a set before, but I can imagine how cool it would have been, especially when paired with a quality electric train set of the time. 

Sunrise Serenade: Tico Tico

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

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Playlist For October 9, 2013

The playlist for the October 9, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet.  

2013 Jazz Dance Film Fest First Place: One Girl And Two Boys

Today we reveal the first place entry in the 2013 Jazz Dance Film Fest contest:  One Girl And Two Boys.  In addition to the great dancing, there is some nice, apparently original, music in this one.  Enjoy. 

Sunrise Serenade: Button Up Your Overcoat

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Button Up Your Overcoat" by Johnny Mercer.  Enjoy the video from YouTube

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Autumn Oughta Swing With The Lindy 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.  Lesson by Jim and Heather with music by Jim.  Dress like you are going out!
303 South Main
Memphis, TN 38103

Live music next week with the Side Street Steppers.

The Tiger Rag 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: Eager Beaver

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Eager Beaver" by Stan Kenton and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line

Monday, October 7, 2013

Dance Macabre - Gabriel Blows His Horn

Although the cover page makes this comic, Dance Macabre, look like a horror tale, it is actually a tried and true formula for a detective story.  A handsome playboy and amateur detective attends a party at a hot nightclub to celebrate the engagement of his old flame, a torch singer (pun intended), to a serviceman.  Said serviceman is shot dead at the beginning of page 2, and the cops show up, eager to pin the murder on aforementioned playboy/amateur detective, who must escape and find the real killer.  This comic, posted on Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine, was a fun read.

Sunrise Serenade: Benny Rides Again

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

Friday, October 4, 2013

The Big Bad Wolf

This encore from 2010 is an early 1930's U.B. Iwerks cartoon featuring a fairy tale/nursery rhyme mashup.  There is some nice early '30s jazz in this short.  From the Internet Archive, here is The Big Bad Wolf.

Sunrise Serenade: Anvil Chorus

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

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Czech Please! Tatra Innovations Ahead Of Their Time

If I had the choice of owning only one, classic foreign car, one of the late 1930's Tatras would be easily near, if not at, the top of the list.  These finned, streamlined, rear-engined, air-cooled sedans are some of the most iconic automotive designs in the world.  A Tatra from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville was part of the recent Sensuous Steel exhibition at the Frist Center.  The Hemmings blog posted a nice article about the origins of the innovative Tatra 77s and 87s

Sunrise Serenade: It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "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.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Playlist For October 2, 2013

The playlist for the October 2, 2013 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has been added to the playlist filing cabinet.  

2013 Jazz Dance Film Fest Second Place: The Killer Diller

Continuing our presentation of the finalists in the 2013 Jazz Dance Film Fest contest, here is the second place entry:  The Killer Diller.  There is some serious film noir goin' on here, folks. 

Sunrise Serenade: Memphis Blues

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

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Red Hot Lindy Hoptober

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.  Lesson by Matt and Jasmine with music by Matt.  Dress like you are going out!
303 South Main
Memphis, TN 38103

The Tiger Rag 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: Sleepy Time Gal

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "Sleepy Time Gal" by Hoagy Carmichael.  Enjoy the video from YouTube