At Your Service
At Your Service – 1940s
MORE ...Male Order
Gags & Gals: Male Order – 1940s
MORE ...Hawaiian Hula Song
Hawaiian Hula Song, a classic. A seductive beauty does the hula while a duo play on guitar and slide. During the last third of the song, the rhythm picks up, becoming swingy. Where Hawaiian traditional and American Jazz meet, practically western swing.
MORE ...Bela Lam & Family: Poor Little Benny
Virginia native Zanddervon Beliah Lamb, renamed Bela Lam by Okeh Records, performs the song Poor Little Benny with wife Rose Meadows. With Bela’s brother-in-law Paul and son Alva, they became local favorites near the Blue Ridge Mountain region in the 1920’s, eventually being called to New York City to record six songs. Influenced by the […]
MORE ...Diane Jewitt: How to Yodel
In this vintage performance, the yodeling is entirely live and more contemporaneous, with a decidedly rockabilly slant.
MORE ...A Jazz Etude
In this serendipitously surreal short “A Jazz Etude,” tap dance extraordinaire Billy Burt dances up a storm in top hat, tuxedo tail and cane. Is he floating? And that screwy soundtrack … a mishmash of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee,’ ragtime fills, and 1930’s jazz cliches, is remeniscent of Carl Stalling or Raymond Scott. Still, I […]
MORE ...Tica Ti – Tica Ta
Tica Ti Tica Ta, produced in 1942, stars “dynamite swing singer” Ginger Harmon and vaudeville dancing team the Mercer Brothers. On April 18, 1942 Billboard’s Movie Machine Reviews writes, “Ginger Harmon and the Mercer Brothers don South American garb for Tica Ti – Tica Ta. Ginger sings well and the nimble Mercer boys contribute a […]
MORE ...Bob Wills: Good Old Oklahoma
In this clip, from the B Western “Take Me Back to Oklahoma,” Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys croon in perfect harmony ‘Oklahoma we love you’ in an upbeat version of “Good Old Oklahoma” with Wills’ signature backup calls. Riding with Tex Ritter, they sing together ‘Calamity Kate.’ But, clearly, the King of Western Swing […]
MORE ...Who’s Yehoodi?
An amusing soundie from 1942, Who’s Yehoodi?, was originally composed in 1940 by Bill Seckler and Matt Dennis. Based on a running gag by radio comedian Jerry Colona, this rendition of Who’s Yehoodi? is quite risque for its day. Who’s Yehoodi?
MORE ...Bob Wills: Fiddlin’ Man
Bob Wills: Fiddlin’ Man – 1950’s Bob Wills exhibits his master showmanship as both bandleader and musician in this short known as Fiddlin’ Man. Backing the king of western swing, the gum-chewing pianist, the expressionless guitarist, and the giddy drummer make playing with Wills look easy.
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