Happy Thanksgiving! And A Holiday Break

We here at the SSS wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving, and a very safe holiday season.  This November 1942 image from the Library of Congress shows a family in Neffsville, Pennsylvania beginning their holiday feast. 

With the start of the holidays, I will be reducing SSS operations for a week or so.  Full posting will resume on Monday, December 8.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Playlist For November 26, 2014

The playlist for the November 26, 2014 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has now been added to the playlist filing cabinet.  

This Week In History

RetroPlanet's Planet Retro Blog posts a weekly "Retro History" item, and this week is full of all sorts of interesting anniversaries from the Swing Era, in a variety of areas.  
World News & the American Experience:

1930 – Ruth Nichols becomes the first woman pilot on a transcontinental flight from New York to California.  It took 7 days.

1942 – A tragic fire at the famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, MA kills nearly 500 people.

Movies & TV:

1940 – Woody Woodpecker is seen for the first time in the theatrical short Knock Knock.

1942 – Casablanca premieres at Hollywood Theatre in New York City.

1948 – Hopalong Cassidy premieres on TV.
Music & Radio:

1932 – Groucho Marx performs on radio for the first time.

1944 – The FBI in Peace and War is broadcast by CBS radio for the first time.

1949 – Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, by Gene Autry, becomes the musical hit of the Christmas season.

1956 – Bandleader Tommy Dorsey dies at the age of 51. His records sold more than 110,000,000 copies.

Arts & Entertainment:

1936 – The first issue of Life magazine, created by Henry R. Luce, is published.

Technology & Inventions:

1944 – Johns Hopkins Hospital performs the first open heart surgery.

1948 – The Zoomar Lens is patented by Dr. Frank G. Back of New York City.  It becomes a popular lens most often used in television production.

1948 – The first Polaroid camera is sold.

Sunrise Serenade: A Porter's Love Song To A Chambermaid

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "A Porter's Love Song To A Chambermaid" by Fats Waller and His Rhythm.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line. 

Red Hot Black Friday Hop

The Red Hot Lindy Hop lesson and session continues at the Rumba Room this Friday night.  Free beginner lesson at 7:00 p.m.  Free admission before 7:00 and $5 thereafter.  Lesson by Angela and Pip, with music by DJ EJ.

Dress like you are going out!

Rumba Room

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 Found A New Baby

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "I Found A New Baby" by the Mills Brothers.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Myrna Loy In Suspense Radio Role

Myrna Loy, costar of The Thin Man series with William Powell, appears here in a 1945 episode of the radio series Suspense called "The Library Book".  Posted on 20th Century Radio. 

Sunrise Serenade: Limehouse Blues

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

Jerky Turkey

This Friday before Thanksgiving, we once again invite the great Tex Avery to tell the story of a simple Pilgrim looking for that first Thanksgiving Day meal, and throw in a pack of World War II era jokes to boot.  From the Internet Archive, the 1945 animated short, Jerky Turkey.

Sunrise Serenade: Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)" by Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.