Sound Beat

The mythical Sirens have long been depicted as tantalizing, seductive, banes to the existence of accursed sailors, enchanted by their fatal song.  The Greeks had them as winged maidens, but somewhere along the way, the meaning shifted: in most European languages, the word Siren translates as “mermaid”. You’re listening to the Green Brothers Novelty band with “Siren of the South Sea”.

If the smell of fresh-brewed coffee renders you ...

Like Slim Gaillard said, “The Atomic Cocktail” is “the drink that you don’t pour”…until Las Vegas bartenders made it one.

You see, in 1951, the government announced Nevada would be home to new bombing test sites. There was, understandably, heightened tension in the area…but then, Vegas knows a thing or two about relieving tension. Hotels and bars embraced the plans and the Atomic Cocktail was born.

Want to make your own...

You’re listening to “The Airplane” from an RCA Victor Youth Series 78 entitled “LET’S PLAY”. It was produced by Helen Myers in 1946.

The year before that, New York mayor Fiorello Laguardia left office. One of his biggest achievements, the development of the airport that would bear his name, came about as the result of, well, a bit of a hissy fit.

The mayor had been sold a ticket to “New York”, which was at the tim...

On today’s episode we’re talking electronic music…and the importance of a thorough resume.

You’re on the Sound Beat.

Miklos Rosza had long considered using electronic music in a film. He got his chance when director Alfred Hitchcock and producer David O. Selznick approached him about scoring 1945’s Spellbound. Wanting to add an atmospheric, contemplative air to the piece, he settled on the theremin.

Here’s a quote from Dr. Samuel ...

Why did Governor Dewitt Clinton build a giant ditch across New York state? To get to the other side.

From the time the first shovel went into the ground in 1817, critics blasted the Erie Canal project, dubbing it Clinton’s Ditch. But it would go down in history as an engineering marvel. When finished, it stretched three hundred and sixty three miles across New York, from : (lyrics “Albany to Buffalo”)

This is Low Bridge! Everybody ...

The American B-24 Bomber Lady Be Good departed a Libyan Air Base on a bombing raid in April 1943.  She did so into a sandstorm, and disappeared for 15 years.

World War II raged, and then ended. Still, the whereabouts of the Lady Be Good remained unknown. It was thought the men had crashed into the Mediterranean, but in 1958 the nearly-intact bomber was found over 400 miles inland. Remains of 8 of the 9 crew members were found, some...

You’re listening to the Carter Family’s rendition of “Honey in the Rock”, a Coral Record from 1949, and you’re on the Sound Beat.

Frederick A. Graves originally wrote the song in 1895, but his version was a bit, well, heavy…A.P. Carter then rewrote it in 1937 to better fit the Carter Family’s repertoire. In short, he focused more on the “honey and the salvation” than the” blood and the sins”. Probably a good move,...

You’re listening to one of the most distinctive signature sounds in all of recorded music, and…

You’re on the Sound Beat.

That telltale whoop belongs to Sonny Terry, one of the most influential harmonica players of all time. Blind, but not from birth, Terry lost his sight one eye at a time, first in early childhood, and the second in his late teens. He recorded “Whoopin’ the Blues” with Brownie McGhee in 1947 for Capitol Records. T...

Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan, and nicknamed Lady Day. This 1946 recording of “Big Stuff” represents something of an anomaly in her career. It emerged only multiple, vigorous recording sessions. Her difficulties in the studio seemed to mirror those in her personal life, as Holiday was struggling with drug and alcohol abuse.  

The song itself was composed by Leonard Bernstein for his 1944 ballet “Fancy Free”. Once Holliday’s versi...

For those who celebrate it, the big day is here. Many parents are bleary-eyed and sipping coffee while the kids riot in merry madness. But short as it was, your night was probably more restful than old Ebenezer Scrooge’s. Our gift to you: Scrooge’s Awakening, an Edison Blue Amberol cylinder released in 1914.

And for your stocking: listen to the whole thing right now, courtesy of the Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection.

Jim

I...

The story goes like this: Fats Waller, the great stride pianist, is playing in a club when he spots Art Tatum walk through the door. Waller stops, turns to the audience and announces: “I just play the piano, but God is in the house tonight.” Perhaps no pianist before or since has equaled Tatum’s technical and rhythmic mastery, harmonic imagination, and sheer ability to awe. Nearly blind since childhood, his trademark was the rework...

Niccolo Paganini was the Jim Morrison of his day. He partied, drove the ladies wild, and was even rumored to have dabbled in the occult.

Paganini was a violin virtuoso. He could play three octaves across four strings. Ask your local fiddler; that’s all but impossible.

Paganini’s seemingly supernatural talents made him a celebrity, but also inspired rumors that he’d made a pact with the devil. There’s another theory out there, and t...

It’s that age old tale of love and marriage…and money.
You’re listening to the Opening Overture of Franz Lehar’s 1910 operetta Der Graf von Luxemburg. We are often our own harshest critics; before it’s debut, Lehar called the piece ‘Sloppy work, completely useless.’ Despite his opinion, the play ran for 299 straight performances in its original run. The story tells of a bankrupt playboy count, approached by a Russ...

Considered one of the most influential saxophonists in history, Lester “Prez” Young succeeded Coleman Hawkins at the height of the swing era.

You’re on the Sound Beat

He’s backed by his quintet on the piece, as he plays over the standard 12 bar blues. But much like his famous predecessor’s breakthrough recordings, the song lacks a clear lead melody, giving way to improvisational piano, and, of course, that sax.

Young got his ...

Waltzing Matilda is one of Oz’s best loved songs and a common refrain at national sporting events. Peter Dawson is another Aussie favorite; the bass-baritone’s recording career spanned half a century. A Matilda, in this case, is a bag or sack, and to “Waltz Matilda” is to travel the countryside, or the bush, with a bag in tow.

The song involves a hobo, a sheep, and the authorities, though you might have a hard time deciphering the ...

In the 1920s and 30s, boxing was one of the most popular sports in the country.  It and other forms of entertainment provided cheerful moments of respite from the gloom the Depression cast over the nation. In the movies and on radio, the public clamored for heroes like Superman and the Lone Ranger. But in the boxing ring, James Braddock proved himself the real life equivalent. After some inopportune losses and injuries, his career ...

You’re listening to “the Cajun national anthem”, sung and…fiddled…by Harry Choates on a Modern Music 78, and…

You’re on the Sound Beat.

Choates initially recorded “Jole Blon” (translated as “pretty blonde”) in 1946 for Gold Star records. It served as the B side, but when a Houston-area DJ played it instead of the A side, Basile Waltz, the rendition of the much-loved Cajun classic became a big hit. It was the first one for Gold Star...

You’re listening to Edward M. Favor who recorded Mary and the Lamb to cylinder in 1892. But…it wasn’t the first recording of the poem…as a matter of fact, Edison himself used the first couplet as the first test recording on his phonograph invention, in 1877. The famous nursery rhyme was published in 1830, written by New Hampshire schoolteacher Sarah Hale. The inspiration reportedly came from a student who, you guessed it, regularly...

Ledbetter, better known as Leadbelly, was twice convicted: once for trying to kill a man, and once for following through with it.  After the first, he wrote a song of appeal to the governor of Texas, Pat Neff. Neff, incidentally, had vowed never to grant a pardon as governor.  He did though, in 1925, but he might not have bothered. Less than 5 years later, Ledbetter committed his second crime. And, somewhat unbelievably, received a...