bigbandbash's podcast

Big Band Bash is a show presenting the music, musicians, and era of the great Big Bands. Each show highlights a different aspect of the big bands, whether it be a show about a certain band or a subject of the big bands anywhere from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. I hope to get your feet tapping with this great music.

Benny Goodman 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert 04/19/2025

Benny Goodman 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert January 16th 1938 is the date of the Benny Goodman concert at Carnegie Hall. This was the first concert given in the respectable concert venue by a swing band. We are very fortunate that the concert was recorded. Since the recording date was during the infancy of recording, the sound quality is not as good as today's recordings. The concert was originally issued in a two-LP gatefold album in 1950, the nearly forgotten documentation of this historic event quickly became Columbia's best-selling jazz release, a distinction it was to hold for decades to come. Although rumored among collectors for decades, the public had no way of knowing that two big band numbers had been excised from the commercial release and all subsequent reissues. The original concert was over two hours so I have picked some selected cuts from that night.temp /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/36230445

Memories of the Swing Era Part 4 04/19/2025

Memories of the Swing Era Part 4 Hello everyone. I have to correct myself. There were four parts to this series. So, this week we are going to conclude the series from the Reader's Digest Set, Memories of the Swing Era. Back in the 1960's and 70's Reader's Digest used to put out vinyl album sets on different topics. My parents had a couple in their record collection and we have some at the radio staion where I work. I was lucky to come across this set as it has a wide variety of bands in it. I tried to put together a varied show full of your favorite bands. So join me as we bring back Memories of the Swing Era with this great multi-album set from Reader's Digest Records. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/36230440

Les Brown Part 2 04/19/2025

Les Brown Part 2 Hello everyone. This is part two of a program I did on the great bandleader, Les Brown. Les passed away January 4, 2001. Since we just passed the anniversary of his death I would like to play a program that I produced two years ago and feature those great les Brown recordings. I have included in the show snippets of an interview that Les gave in 1990 to Chris Neilsen. Chris is no longer with us but when he was alive he hosted a program called One Night Stand. These are some of Les' early recordings and some of his most popular. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/36230425

Les Brown - Part 1 03/18/2025

Les Brown - Part 1 As we return from the holidays, I want to feature the big band of Les Brown. Les passed away January 4, 2001. Since we just passed the anniversary of his death I would like to play a program that I produced two years ago and feature those great les Brown recordings. I have included in the show snippets of an interview that Les gave in 1990 to Chris Neilsen. Chris is no longer with us but when he was alive he hosted a program called One Night Stand. These are some of Les' early recordings and some of his most popular. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35751255

Martha Tilton - A Birthday Salute 03/18/2025

Martha Tilton - A Birthday Salute This week we pay a birthday salute to Martha Tilton who was born on November 14th, 1915. After singing with the quartet Three Hits and a Miss, she joined the Myer Alexander Chorus on Benny Goodman's radio show, Camel Caravan. Goodman hired Tilton as a vocalist with his band in August 1937. She was with Goodman in January 1938, when the band performed at Carnegie Hall. She continued to appear as Goodman's star vocalist until the end of 1939. The program today has many of her recordings with the Goodman band and some released under her own name. I hope you enjoy this birthday salute to the late Martha Tilton. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35751230

Memories of the Swing Era Part 3 03/18/2025

Memories of the Swing Era Part 3 Hello everyone. This week we are going to conclude the series from the Reader's Digest Set, Memories of the Swing Era. Back in the 1960's and 70's Reader's Digest used to put out vinyl album sets on different topics. My parents had a couple in their record collection and we have some at the radio staion where I work. I was lucky to come across this set as it has a wide variety of bands in it. I tried to put together a varied show full of your favorite bands. So join me as we bring back Memories of the Swing Era with this great multi-album set from Reader's Digest Records. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35751165

Memories of the Swing Era Part 2 03/10/2025

Memories of the Swing Era Part 2 Hello. This week we are going to continue with more selections from the Reader's Digest Set, Memories of the Swing Era. I tried to put together a varied show full of your favorite bands. So join me as we bring back Memories of the Swing Era with this great multi-album set from Reader's Digest Records. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35613050

Memories of the Swing Era Part 1 03/10/2025

Memories of the Swing Era Part 1 I recently came across a set of records in a Box Set from Reader's Digest Records called Memories of the Swing Era. There were several compilation sets from Reader's Digest that were released and I am fortunate to have this one. So for the next few weeks, I have gone through and selected many of the recordings from this set to make three different shows. I tried to pick a wide enough variety of selections so that maybe you will hear your favorite bands. I hope you remember some of your favorite Memories of the Swing Era in this set from Reader's Digest Records. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35613000

Songs by Anita O'Day 03/10/2025

Songs by Anita O'Day This week I am returning to a program I produced a few years ago. It was a program to honor a listener's request. It had been awhile since I featured the singing of Anita O'Day so I put together this program of some of her early big band recordings. She achieved her first fame with the Gene Krupa orchestra and then went on to sing with Stan Kenton. Most of the recordings on the show today are those great sides she recorded with the Krupa band. I hope you enjoy this look at one of the greatest big band vocalists, the late Anita O'Day. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35612965

Bunny Berigan - A Birthday Salute 01/29/2025

Bunny Berigan - A Birthday Salute Born on November 2, 1908, this trumpeter, despite the brevity of his career and his all-too-short life, remains one of the most compelling trumpet players in the history of music. Do you know who it is? If I said his initials were BB and his first name was not Bix then you would say I was speaking of the great Bunny Berigan. Today we pay a birthday salute to one of the most exciting trumpet players in Big Band history. We'll start with a couple numbers by Benny Goodman and then a couple by Tommy Dorsey. All of these have great solos by Bunny. Then we'll play some of the sides he recorded with his own band. I hope you enjoy this look at the music and career of the late Bunny Berigan. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35072845

64 Assorted Songs Part 4 01/29/2025

64 Assorted Songs Part 4 Greetings everyone. This week we conclude this series with part four of a potpourri show as I go through my collection by first names. I have quite a collection of bands so I hope you enjoy this assortment of bands and songs on the final part of 64 Assorted Songs. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35072785

64 Assorted Songs Part 3 01/29/2025

64 Assorted Songs Part 3 Well hello everyone. This week we continue with part three of a potpourri show as I go through my collection by first names. I have quite a collection of bands so I hope you enjoy this assortment of bands and songs on part three of 64 Assorted Songs. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/35072755

64 Assorted Songs Part 2 12/26/2024

64 Assorted Songs Part 2 temp /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/34625215

64 Assorted Songs Part 1 12/26/2024

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The Jerry Atkins Collection Part 3 12/26/2024

The Jerry Atkins Collection Part 3 temp /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/34625180

The Jerry Atkins Collection Part 2 11/11/2024

The Jerry Atkins Collection Part 2 Hello everyone. This is part two of a series I call the Jerry Atkins Collection. Jerry had a show on Saturdays on the radio station I work at called The Enjoyment of Jazz. He played recordings from his massive record collection and entertained us with stories of his meetings and befriending many of the jazz masters. Sadly, Jerry passed away in 2010. His son, who is also a great jazz musician, donated many of the albums and cds in his father's collection to our station. Jerry collected albums by lots of jazz musicians but he liked the more modern big bands. This week I have pulled out several of the Woody Herman albums in the collection. I have digitized them and cleaned up the ticks and pops and background noise as best I could. So as I pay a small tribute to my friend I hope you enjoy this set of recordings from the Jerry Atkins Collection. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33887427

The Jerry Atkins Collection Part 1 11/11/2024

The Jerry Atkins Collection Part 1 Jerry Atkins was a well known musician, jazz historian, and record collector who lived in Texarkana, Texas until his passing in 2010. His record collection was huge and was donated to the the radio station where I work and produce Big Band Bash. Since most of these albums have not been purchased by the station, I have been digitizing some of them. It is amazing how well the software cleans up ticks and pops and eliminates surface noise from the records. I have decided to present four shows from the many albums that Jerry had. Part one features several albums by Les Brown, Part two will be Woody Herman, Parts three and four will be assorted bands. I hope you enjoy the music from the many record albums in the Jerry Atkins Collection. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33887397

Songs of the 1920's Part 4 11/11/2024

Songs of the 1920's Part 4 Hello everyone. On this week's show I am going to wrap up Songs of the 1920's. We'll conclude the alphabet and then I'll present some odds and ends. This was a fun series to research and present. The 1920's was a time for great music from some of the best composers in America. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33887387

Songs of the 1920's Part 3 10/29/2024

Songs of the 1920's Part 3 This week continues our look at the songs composed in the 1920s. We start with the letter N and go down to the Letter T. The puzzler is back this week so I hope you have your thinking caps on. Next week we'll conclude our series with the last part of the alphabet along with some odds and ends. I hope you enjoy the music from the big bands as they play the Songs of the 1920s. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33673367

Songs of the 1920's Part 2 10/29/2024

Songs of the 1920's Part 2 Welcome back to this four part series on songs of the 1920s. Today we cover songs from that decade that begin with the letter "E" and go all the way down to "M". I broke my rule for this series by playing two songs on the show recorded by Artie Shaw. I had already recorded the introductions when I discovered I did this but I am sure you won't mind because it is one of his best sides. I hope you enjoy this look back at some of the many hit songs from the 1920s. As usual the puzzle is back so get your thinking caps on. This is a repeat of a 4 part series from a few years ago. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33673247

Songs of the 1920's Part 1 10/29/2024

Songs of the 1920's Part 1 This was a repeat of a show from a few years ago. The 1920s were a decade filled with original songs by some of the leading composers of the era. I found a list of many of the popular songs composed in the 1920s and thought it would be fun to listen to those songs as recorded by the big bands of the thirties and forties. Each show for the next four weeks is filled with all of those great songs composed in the 1920s. I did have one rule for myself. In order to make it interesting I only chose one big band per episode. That way one band would not monopolize the show. So get ready to back to the 1920's during the month of August on Big Band Bash. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33673222

Two Kays - Kay Kyser and Sammy Kaye 10/15/2024

Two Kays - Kay Kyser and Sammy Kaye This week I feature the two Kays, Sammy Kaye and Kay Kyser. Kay Kyser led a very successful swing orchestra although he didn't play an instrument. Sammy Kaye on the other hand, was a clarinetist and saxophonist but didn't play with his band. Both had unusual attractions: Kyser had "The College of Musical Knowledge" and Sammy had, "So You Want To Lead A Band?". /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33472767

Harry James Live 1943 - 1953 10/15/2024

Harry James Live 1943 - 1953 Harry James had a very popular band during the war years. The set of recordings I will be playng from this week are live recordings from the years of 1943 through 1953. Helen Forrest is featured on several of the selections but mostly it is the Music Makers who stand out. I hope you enjoy this set of live recordings by Harry James and His Orchestra. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33472712

Theme Songs Part 2 10/15/2024

Theme Songs Part 2 This week we are going to continue listening to the many theme songs used by the big bands. Theme songs were usually the first song played by a band when they were appearing or broadcasting live. It let the audience know whose band they were listening to. I tried to find all the original recordings of the bands. I hope you enjoy this look at the Big Band's theme songs. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/33472677

Theme Songs Part 1 08/28/2024

Theme Songs Part 1 This week I am going to start a three part look at the theme songs of the big bands. Each band had a song or a theme with which they would open and close their performances. I tried to find all the original recordings of the bands. I hope you enjoy this look at the Big Band's theme songs. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/32781932

Tribute to Bill Holman 08/28/2024

Tribute to Bill Holman This week we pay a tribute to the late arranger and tenor saxophonist Bill Holman. Bill got his start as a saxophonist in the Stan Kenton orchestra and then proved to be a great arranger as well. He went on to write arrangements for many bands and artists. He passed away at the age of 94. So I hope you enjoy this tribute to the late Bill Holman. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/32781737

July 4th and Patriotic Music 08/28/2024

July 4th and Patriotic Music Hello as we celebrate the Fourth of July this week.I tried to find as many Patriotic songs from the Big Band Era as I could. I hope you will help me celebrate this special holiday as we listen to some patriotic music. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/32781692

Songs of Summer Part 2 07/06/2024

Songs of Summer Part 2 As I am back from vacation, I am going to try and catch up with the podcasts. We continue this week with a program I did a few years ago on the Summer season of the year. I am looking at songs that have the words summer, june, July or Hot or anything that deals with summer. I hope you enjoy this Big Band salute to summer. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/32030852

Songs of Summer Part 1 06/26/2024

Songs of Summer Part 1 Since we are starting the Summer season of the year, here is a two part program I did a few years ago. There are some nice songs that have the words summer, June, July, or hot in the title. I hope you enjoy this program of assorted songs about the Summer season. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/31902472

Steve Lawrence A Tribute 06/15/2024

Steve Lawrence A Tribute Hello everyone. We lost a very special vocalist this past March. Steve Lawrence passed away at the age of 88. He had been ill with Alzheimer's Disease for the last few years. I usually play big bands and vocalists associated with the Big Bands but Steve came up during the last years of the Big band era so I wanted to do a tribute to this great vocalist. Most of the songs on the show today are from the Great American Songbook. We will also learn about his career as I pay a tribute to the late, great vocalist Steve Lawrence. /episode/index/show/bigbandbash/id/31758285

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