THE HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM ON A TYPICAL NEW YEAR'S EVE IN THE GOLDEN AGE.
EVERYBODY DANCE (OR LISTEN)
New Year's Eve in Network Radio's Golden Age meant just one thing. It was always a parade of big bands in 15-minute or half-hour chunks from the ballrooms, hotels and night clubs across the time zones from coast to coast as midnight was greeted from New York to Chicago to Denver to Hollywood.
Armed Forces Radio had a unique and ambitious way of condensing those hours into one 60-minute presentation on December 31, 1945. It was a swing (literally) around the country for one number each from 17 of the country's top dance bands.
The broadcast featured, in order, Harry James, Count Basie, Freddy Martin, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Henry King, Louie Armstrong, Jimmy Dorsey, Les Brown, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, Tommy Dorsey, Carmen Cavallaro, Louis Prima, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and, of course, Guy Lombardo. Some of the AFRS dance program sounds "augmented," nevertheless, it was an ambitious project by the broadcasters in khaki.
If that hour-long marathon whets your appetite for Big Band music on New Year's Eve, you've come to the right place. There are hours of dance and swing melodies in our posts Big Band Remotes, Spotlight Bands, In The Miller Mood, The King of Swing, The Aragon's Last Stand, "By Transcription", The Waltz King and Guy Lombardo.
Enjoy and have a most Happy New Year!
New Year's Eve in Network Radio's Golden Age meant just one thing. It was always a parade of big bands in 15-minute or half-hour chunks from the ballrooms, hotels and night clubs across the time zones from coast to coast as midnight was greeted from New York to Chicago to Denver to Hollywood.
Armed Forces Radio had a unique and ambitious way of condensing those hours into one 60-minute presentation on December 31, 1945. It was a swing (literally) around the country for one number each from 17 of the country's top dance bands.
The broadcast featured, in order, Harry James, Count Basie, Freddy Martin, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Henry King, Louie Armstrong, Jimmy Dorsey, Les Brown, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, Tommy Dorsey, Carmen Cavallaro, Louis Prima, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and, of course, Guy Lombardo. Some of the AFRS dance program sounds "augmented," nevertheless, it was an ambitious project by the broadcasters in khaki.
If that hour-long marathon whets your appetite for Big Band music on New Year's Eve, you've come to the right place. There are hours of dance and swing melodies in our posts Big Band Remotes, Spotlight Bands, In The Miller Mood, The King of Swing, The Aragon's Last Stand, "By Transcription", The Waltz King and Guy Lombardo.
Enjoy and have a most Happy New Year!
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