Siriusly Monotonous

[LizzieMaine]

We have an XM license at the theatre, and use it for entrance/exit/intermission music -- usually, it's set at Track 4, the 40's station, which actually does a really nice mix of 30s and 40s pop/swing selections. We were using Franks Place for a while last year, but it got to be too talky for our purposes, although personally I rather liked it -- it reminded me a lot of the old WNEW in New York, complete with Jonathan Schwartz! (I wonder where he'll end up now?)

 

[Rafter]

We have an XM license at the theatre, and use it for entrance/exit/intermission music -- usually, it's set at Track 4, the 40's station, which actually does a really nice mix of 30s and 40s pop/swing selections. We were using Franks Place for a while last year, but it got to be too talky for our purposes, although personally I rather liked it -- it reminded me a lot of the old WNEW in New York, complete with Jonathan Schwartz! (I wonder where he'll end up now?)

Jonathan Schwartz DJ'd on WNEW-FM....a Rock Station
WNEW-AM 1130 in New York was the station that played American Popular Standards........one of it's most famous DJ's was Julius Larosa!....He is famous for "Eh Cumpari!"...but his minor hits were better...including "Domani" and "Lipstick and Candy and Rubbersole Shoes"
My Mom and Dad saw him perform at Jack Silverman's Old Romanian in NYC
Here's a review of that performance>
http://www.bigbandsandbignames.com/larosa.html
Here's a rare Larosa performance on the Arthur Godfrey Show>
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6293786448974204443&pr=goog-sl

 

[LizzieMaine]

Jonathan Schwartz DJ'd on WNEW-FM....a Rock Station
WNEW-AM 1130 in New York was the station that played American Popular Standards

Schwartz moved to the AM side in the late '70s/early 80's, which is when I was listening -- he did a late-afternoon weekend shift, and did a show very heavy on Sinatra. He was especially known around this time for his "Sinatra A to Z" holiday specials, which played every existing Sinatra release in alphabetical order, no small feat! (And which was lethally parodied by one of the other WNEW personalities, William B. Williams I think, with "Regis Philbin A to Z.")

Of course, the very best thing about Schwartz's run on that station was that he was one of the very few prominent New Yorkers in those days who was publically known as a Red Sox fan, and frequently mentioned this on the air. *That* was a brave man!

 

[Rafter]

Schwartz moved to the AM side in the late '70s/early 80's, which is when I was listening -- he did a late-afternoon weekend shift, and did a show very heavy on Sinatra. Of course, the very best thing about Schwartz's run on that station was that he was one of the very few prominent New Yorkers in those days who was publically known as a Red Sox fan, and frequently mentioned this on the air. *That* was a brave man!

Didn't know that Schwartz was a Red Sox Fan! I now reside in CT, but was born and raised in the Big Apple....and was always a Red Sox fan....still mad about the Johnny Damn trade to the Yanks!!

So you don't like the great Julius LaRosa!! I sense that with exception to Sinatra, you're not a fan of the Hit Parade (late 40's post WW ll-late 50's pre RocknRoll) genre or era.

Don't you ever yearn for a pair of saddle shoes, poodle skirt?
I yearn for some ...Brylcreem.... "a little dab will do ya." What constitutes "a little dab" is subject to interpretation and desired effect!!.a little dab will do it!

Does Eileen Barton's "If I Knew You Were Coming"...and Red Foley's "Chattanoogie Shoe-Shine Boy"....make your cringe?
....Sinatra did a version of Shoe-Shine Boy, too! lol


I'm a fan of the Hit Paraders...although many of them make me cringe too. My dad is a bigger fan. He grew up watching the original Lucky Strike Hit Parade.
OK it's probably the Eisenhower Years that I yearn for. I'm a child of the 80's and never experienced those days. I have some idea though of what it was like...from viewing "Leave It To Beaver"

So I enjoy listening to George's (Clooney) ...aunt Rosemary, Vic Damone, Sammy Davis Jr., Doris Day, Perry Como, Sara Vaughn, Kay Starr, Dean Martin, Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee, Eddie Fisher, The Hi-Los, Gordon MacRae, Jo Stafford, Nat King Cole, Pat Boone (-he was a good singer w. exception to his chart hits!), Teresa Brewer (who can forget I Love Mickey!....I can forget Choo'n Gum!), Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Mantovani, Perez Prado, The Four Lads...Coins...Suns....Aces....Freshmen (were the best of the "4's"), Crew-Cuts, Ames Bros, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Jane Morgan, Dick Jacobs, Les Baxter, Dave Barbour, The McGuire Sisters, Evelyn Knight, Frankie Laine, Fontane Sisters, The Hilltoppers, Andy Williams, Jaye P. Morgan (this lady was hot and smokin'!), Mel Tormé (& The Meltones!), and of course Patti Page (w. exception to Doggie In The Window!) .

Some of these artists tried to widen their appeal by attempting RockNRoll......with awful results!! Perry Como's "Tina Marie", Eddie Fisher's "Dungaree Doll", ...and Pat Boone's cover of Blueberry Hill come to mind.....these trax are on my iPod....don't tell anybody!!![bad]

Seriously, "Siriusly Sinatra" has a very limited play list and avoids these artists like the plague. I listen to XM's High Standards,.... XM's 40's, 50's, Sinatra Style, Martini Lounge and Jazz Vocalists stations,...where I can here a sample wider selection of these artists.:eusa_clap