01x23 - The Swingin' Singin' Years

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR: Ford presents
"The Swingin' Singin' Years"

with Charlie Barnet and his band.

NARRATOR 2: Woody Herman and his Herd.

NARRATOR 1: Eddy Howard and his orchestra.

NARRATOR 2: Louis Jordan
and his Tympany Five.

NARRATOR 1: Dinah Washington.

NARRATOR 2: Stan Kenton and his orchestra.

NARRATOR 1: Freddy Martin
and his orchestra, with Jack Fina.

NARRATOR 2: Vaughn Monroe
and his orchestra.

NARRATOR 1: Ella Mae Morse
and Freddie Slack.

NARRATOR 2: Jo Stafford
with the Red Ingle Seven.

NARRATOR 1: And your host, Ronald Reagan.

-Welcome to "The Swingin' Singin' Years."

A time of exciting change
in the world of music,

and a time in the '40s when many former
band vocalists became singing stars

and the swing bands began playing for
audiences of listeners instead of dancers.

Woody Herman and the Herd
made the transition with ease.

From one of the favorites
swing bands of the '30s,

they became one of the top concert
attractions of the '40s.

The success of Woody's
Carnegie Hall concert

and those of Stan Kenton and others

prompted civic leaders to include
swing bands in their concert series.

Here in Des Moines, Iowa,
the big night has arrived.

The faithful are all in their places or
jammed together in the overflow section.

Let's join them and listen to the music
that caused all this excitement.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUSE]

NARRATOR: And here's that old Brooklyn folk

song, "Your Father's Mustache," yeah.

Bow Bow.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[INAUDIBLE]

-Back at the beginning of
"The Swingin' Singin' Years,"

there were three major record companies--

Victor, Columbia, and Decca.

And of course, each had its share of hits.

Although they have their
own recording studios,

we've taken the liberty of
grouping them all together here

at a recording center
to help tell our story.

Over at Decca.

The money really poured in
from the record cut of this session.

[MUSIC - BING CROSBY, "WHITE CHRISTMAS"]

-And what Bing did for Decca,
Kay Kyser and his band

did for Columbia with this one.

[MUSIC - "WHO WOULDN'T LOVE YOU"]

-Excuse me, please.

And RCA Victor really hit the jackpot

when Duke Ellington recorded this side.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-The big three had the field
pretty much for themselves

until an ex-Paul Whiteman
vocalist-turned-songwriter

and an ex-songwriter-turned-movie
producer

teamed up with a radio repairman
to form a new company.

The names of the partners
were Johnny Mercer,

Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn Wallichs.

In the beginning, nobody could remember
the name of the company.

In fact, when they teamed a couple
of graduates of Jimmy Dorsey's band,

singer Ella Mae Morse and
pianist Freddie Slack

and came up with a smash
hit called "Cow Cow Boogie,"

the mail man used to
deliver some letters

that were addressed just for the
Cow Cow Record Company USA.

But now, let's recreate
the recording session

that made a major company
out of Capital Records.

[MUSIC - "COW COW BOOGIE"]

-This was one of the popular songs
of the swingin' singin' years,

"Everybody's Making
Money but Tchaikovsky."

The writers of this song could
have added the names of Chopin,

Rachmaninoff, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

At one time, all of them
made the hit parade--

with assists from the top singers
and bands of the period.

Chopin's "Polonaise" was a big instrumental

get for Carmen Cavallaro,
and an even bigger hit

for Perry Como as "Till the End of Time."

Frank Sinatra made a big
man out of Rachmaninoff

with "Full Moon and "Empty Arms."

And the spot where most of
the lovers of classical music

went to hear their favorites modernized

was the Coconut Grove here at the
Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Every night, the smooth
orchestra of Freddy Martin

could be heard doing do wonderful
things to Tchaikovsky's compositions

like his "Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor,"
made popular as "Tonight We Love."

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you. Thank you very much.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,

it's a pleasure to present our
very special guest, Jack Fina.

Jack's going to play Rimsky-Korsakov's
"Flight of the Bumblebee."

However, we call it "Bumble Boogie."
Jack.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUSE]

-Freddie Martin's music brings back some
wonderful memories, and so does this.

Right now, we're going to take you to the
Wonderland of Alice for some wonderful news.

Ready?
Here we go.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-As more and more band singers
reached stardom, many of them

went out on their own to
find even greater success

as headliners of their own radio shows,

as the airwaves were full
of ex-band singers.

No less than three programs were headed
by alumni of the Tommy Dorsey band--

Frank Sinatra, d*ck Haymes, and a
young lady who began singing lead.

with the Pied Pipers, became known as
the singer's singer-- Miss Jo Stafford.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-It's the "Jo Stafford Show"
with Jo's special guest,

Cinderella G Stump, accompanied by Red
Ingle and his Natural Seven.

And now, here's Jo.

[MUSIC - "THE GENTLEMAN IS A DOPE"]

[APPLAUSE]

-It's time now to meet
Jo's special guest.

Here, accompanied by Red Ingle
and his Natural Seven,

is the Tennessee songbird
Cinderella G Stump.

-Round up the bow, here we go.

[MUSIC - "TIM-TAY-SHUN"]

[APPLAUSE]

[CAR HORNS]

-Does this look familiar, Freddie?
-It sure does, Ronnie.

-You know, all over America, audiences
may have been sitting and listening

to their favorite music,
but here at the Aragon Ballroom

in Chicago, they were still playing
music for dancers only.

-You're so right, Ronnie.

You know, Wayne King
made musical history here.

And Jan Garber was tremendously popular.

You know, I had three
wonderful years there myself.

-I know.

-And following me was a great
man named d*ck Jurgens.

d*ck had a great singer, too, at that time.

He was so popular with
the dancers at the Aragon

that he later formed his own band

and became one of the greatest
attractions in Aragon history.

Yes, that was Eddy Howard.
Of course, his popularity there.

wasn't just confined to the people
in Chicago who liked to dance.

Between 1945 and 1948,


sold more than a million copies each.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-Well, that's our cue.

There's the music we've been waiting to
hear, and now we'll go inside and find out

what turned those records to told.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you.
Thank you very kindly.

Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to the Aragon.

This time the boys and myself would
like to do our record arrangement

of "To Each His Own."
Here it is.

[MUSIC - "TO EACH HIS OWN"]

[APPLAUSE]

-One of the world's most
unique movie houses

has always been the Apollo Theater

on 125th Street, New York City.

The show is already in progress.

As usual, the bill features two of
the swinginest stars of the day.

Dinah Washington, who
started out as a vocalist

with Lionel Hampton's band,
and a former Chick Webb

saxophone player, Louis Jordan.

- Louis?
-Yeah?

-I was just about to tell them
how the Apollo Theater never

bothers to advertise
the picture that's playing.

Right. The management knows the audience
only cares about the stage hit.

-Well, I understand when the
stage show is going real good,

they don't even bother to run the movie.
-Right.

Is it true that the minute
you finish one show,

you have to get ready for the next one?
-True.

When Dizzy Gillespie played the Apollo,

Dizz said to have no backstage.

At the other end of the band stand,
they have a revolving door.

[LAUGHTER]

-Excuse me, Ronnie.
I'm on.

[APPLAUSE]

-Thank you so very much,
ladies and gentlemen.

And now it's star time
at the Apollo Theater.

And what could be finah than my Dinah.

Here she is, the queen of the blues,
Miss Dina Washington.

[APPLAUSE]

[MUSIC - "WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES"]

[MUSIC - "MAKIN' WHOOPEE"]

[APPLAUSE]

-Miss Dinah Washington.

And now, ladies and gentlemen,
here's a little tune

that goes with the Tympany
Five like red beans and rice.

In fact, it's on a million records.

And here it is, "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie."

One, two.

[MUSIC - "CHOO CHOO CH'BOOGIE"]

[APPLAUSE]

-Earlier, we took you to
Ford's Wagon Wonderland

where for the first time you saw
the new Falcon wagons.

And just as there was a second
book about Alice's adventures,

so there is more news from Ford, too.
Watch.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-When it comes to making
overseas friends for the United

States, nothing has been more effective

than our popular music.

Our government distributed
thousands of D discs

as a morale booster to American forces.

Played over the Armed Forces
Radio Networks,

they brought American
jazz to civilians in Europe,

Asia, Africa, all over the world.

At the Hot Club of France in Paris, just as

in other foreign cities,
touring all-star groups

played to cheering fans of Le Jazz Hot.

One of these groups,
composed of star instrumentalists

from his big band, was headed
by one of the world's greatest

saxophone players, the one
and only Charlie Barnet.

[APPLAUSE]

[SPEAKING FRENCH]

[APPLAUSE]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

RONALD REAGAN: Back in the
States, bands were travelling,

but the way they travelled had changed.

With gas rationing off,
more and more of the them

toured in private cars as well as buses.

But neither snow nor rain
nor sleet nor gloom of night

could keep these musicians
from their destination.

Of course, a flat tire occasionally
prevented half a saxophone section

from arriving on time for the first set.

The growing demand for
vocalists had encouraged

many instrumentalists
to try to make as singers.

A jazz trombone player from Earl Hines
band, Billy Eckstine, made it big.

So did a piano player, Nat King Cole.

One young trumpet player
who'd been struggling to get bookings

for his band reluctantly laid aside his
horn and hit the jackpot as a singer.

He toured the country
playing one night stands

in civic auditoriums, ballrooms,
and-- believe it or not--

down south in tobacco warehouses
where the college boys

and girls from Wake Forest, North
Carolina, and Duke University

have gathered to dance and listen
to the music of Vaughn Monroe.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-Thank you very much, folks.

The Moon Maids and I would like
to do a little number we record

not too long ago, and we hope you enjoy it.

It's called "There I've Said It Again."

[MUSIC - "THERE I'VE SAID IT AGAIN"]

[APPLAUSE]

-Now to tell you more about
the wonderful wagons of Ford's

Wagon Wonderland, here's
someone I'm sure you know.

Hear that?
That's the music of a man whose band

they say is 10 years ahead of his time.

Today, it's evident they're right.

Stan Kenton has never been one to stand
still and let the pack catch up.

He has been a pioneer of the
use of the modern dissonances

of Stravinsky, Delius,
and Ravel in popular music.

Stan also led in blending the primitive
Afro-Cuban rhythms with modern jazz.

Let's join the thousands
of music lovers seated

beneath the stars of the world
famous Hollywood Bowl

and listen to Stan Kenton and the swinging
sounds of the future.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen,
now a design in modern music

constructed of rhythms,
harmony, and melody,

Ernesto Lecouna's "Malaguena."

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[APPLAUSE]

-Those were the swingin' singin' years.

At the beginning of the '50s, the
music world entered a new era.

The public had its entertainment
delivered to its living room.

People could sit at home and be entertained

by television shows
or long-playing records.

Many band men unpacked their suitcases

and settled down in New York,
Hollywood, or Chicago,

and became television studio musicians.

Others took off on jazz tours
all over the globe.

Their success, coupled with the release

to foreign markets of
American television programs

and long-playing records, further

spread the popularity of our swing music.

Today, there's hardly a spot on this planet

where American jazz isn't being enjoyed.

In a world divided by language barriers

and political differences, this music

is the closest thing we've yet
found to a universal language.

Therein lies a ray of hope-- a hope

that people who share an appreciation

for musical harmonies may one day

learn to live together in harmony.

[MUSIC PLAYING]