21 November 2023
(Until 21 November)Scrappy Lambert, 1920s-30s Best Named Singer
Greg Poppleton's Phantom Dancer swing jazz radio show
Harold ‘Scrappy’ Lambert was not a scrapper nor scrappy. He was a US dance band singer who recorded over 1,500 records between 1926 – 1931 as well as radio transcriptions and musical movie shorts. He is your Phantom Dancer Feature Artist this week.
The Phantom Dancer is your weekly non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV every week.
LISTEN to this week’s Phantom Dancer mix (online after 2pm AEST, Tuesday 21 November) and weeks of Phantom Dancer mixes online at, at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/
SCRAPPY
‘Scrappy’ Lambert sang on thousands of recordings from the 1920s to the 1940s.
At Rutgers University, he was a cheerleader and played piano for a jazz group, the Rutgers Jazz Bandits.
In February 1925, he and fellow student Billy Hillpot (who you’ll aslo hear on this week’s Phantom Dancer) formed a musical duo impersonating the Smith Brothers.
They were discovered in 1926 by band leader, vaudevillian, Ben Bernie, who signed them to perform with his orchestra. Lambert and Hillpot appeared on many recordings with the orchestra and remained under Bernie’s employ until 1928. They also filmed a Vitaphone soundie with the Bernie Orchestra in 1928.
Other bandleaders who employed Lambert include Red Nichols, Frank Britton Wenzel, Fred Rich, and Sam Lanin.
In the 1920s and early 1930s, Lambert was one of the most prolific “band vocalists” (hired to sing the vocal chorus on recordings by both performing orchestras and studio groups). His voice is featured on hundreds of recordings and a series of vocal solo recordings for Brunswick.
In the 1930s, Lambert and Hillpot took their comedy routine to the National Broadcasting Company.
In 1943, MCA offered Lambert a job overseeing their radio department in Beverly Hills, California. This marked the end of his singing career. He worked for MCA until 1948
21 November PLAY LIST
Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney LISTEN ONLINE Community Radio Network Show CRN #628 | ||
107.3 2SER Tuesday 21 November 2023 | ||
Set 1 | Tommy Dorsey | |
I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (theme) + Night And Day | Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | ‘The Tommy Dorsey Show’ KFI NBC LA 14 Jul 1946 |
I Don’t Know Why | Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Vocals – Stuart Foster | ‘The Tommy Dorsey Show’ KFI NBC LA 14 Jul 1946 |
| At The Fat Man’s | Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Vocals – Charlie Shavers | ‘The Tommy Dorsey Show’ KFI NBC LA 14 Jul 1946 |
| Hot Lips | Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Guest – Henry Busse (tp) | ‘The Tommy Dorsey Show’ KFI NBC LA 14 Jul 1946 |
Set 2 | Crazy Hillbillies | |
A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight + Hell on the Wabash | Crazy Hillibillies | ‘Crazy Water Show’ Radio Transcription Ft Worth TX 1933 |
Shake Hands with Mother Again | Crazy Hillibillies | ‘Crazy Water Show’ Radio Transcription Ft Worth TX 1933 |
Listen to the Mockingbird + So You’re Going to Leave the Old Home, Jim | Crazy Hillibillies | ‘Crazy Water Show’ Radio Transcription Ft Worth TX 1933 |
Little Brown Jug + Close | Crazy Hillibillies | ‘Crazy Water Show’ Radio Transcription Ft Worth TX 1933 |
Set 3 | Scrappy Lambert | |
There’s No Depression in Love | Scrappy Lambert (voc) Ben Selvin Orchestra | Comm Rec NYC 1931 |
Come To Me | Scrappy Lambert (voc) Bert Hirsch Orchestra | Hit of the Week Cardboard Record NYC 1931 |
Are You Going to Be Home? | Scrappy Lambert and Billy Hillpot (voc) Ben Bernie Orchestra | ‘Vitaphone Varieties’ Movie Short 1928 |
Just One More Chance | Scrappy Lambert (voc) Bert Hirsch Orchestra | Hit of the Week Cardboard Record NYC 1931 |
The New Yorkers | Scrappy Lambert (voc) Red Nichols Orchestra | Comm Rec NYC 1929 |
I’m Keeping Company Now | Scrappy Lambert (voc) Bert Hirsch Orchestra | Hit of the Week Cardboard Record NYC 1931 |
Set 4 | George Olson | |
Theme + All the Bees Are Buzzing Around My Honey | George Olson Orchestra (voc) Betty Norman | Marine Dining Room Edgewater Beach Hotel WMAQ NBC Chicago 20 Feb 1950 |
Happy Times + If I Knew You Were Coming I’d Have Baked a Cake | George Olson Orchestra | Marine Dining Room Edgewater Beach Hotel WMAQ NBC Chicago 20 Feb 1950 |
The Cactus Polka + Half a Heart | George Olson Orchestra (voc) Betty Norman | Marine Dining Room Edgewater Beach Hotel WMAQ NBC Chicago 20 Feb 1950 |
You’re Daddy’s Little Girl + Sweet Kentucky Baby (theme) | George Olson Orchestra (voc) Marshall Gill | Marine Dining Room Edgewater Beach Hotel WMAQ NBC Chicago 20 Feb 1950 |
Set 5 | Bob Crosby Orchestra | |
Summertime (theme) + Boogie Woogie Maxixie | Bob Crosby Orchestra | Blackhawk Restaurant WGN Mutual Chicago 29 April 1940 |
Fools Rush in | Bob Crosby Orchestra (voc) Marian Mann | Blackhawk Restaurant WGN Mutual Chicago 29 April 1940 |
South Rampart Street Parade | Bob Crosby Orchestra | ‘Swing Concert’ Congress Hotel WMAQ NBC Red Chicago 18 May 1937 |
Gin Mill Blues | Bob Crosby Orchestra | ‘Swing Concert’ Congress Hotel WMAQ NBC Red Chicago 18 May 1937 |
Set 6 | Ozzie Nelson | |
Theme + Baby Don’t Tell on Me | Ozzie Nelson Orchestra | Blackhawk Restaurant WGN Mutual Chicago 30 Mar 1940 |
Riff Interlude | Ozzie Nelson Orchestrar | Blackhawk Restaurant WGN Mutual Chicago 30 Mar 1940 |
I’m Looking for a Guy who Plays Alto and Baritone, Doubles on a Clarinet, and Wears a Size 37 Suit | Ozzie Nelson Orchestra (voc) Rose Ann Stevens | Blackhawk Restaurant WGN Mutual Chicago 30 Mar 1940 |
Do I Love You? | Ozzie Nelson Orchestra | Blackhawk Restaurant WGN Mutual Chicago 30 Mar 1940 |
Set 7 | Duke Ellington Orchestra | |
Laura | Duke Ellington Orchestra | ‘A Date with the Duke’ Paradise Theatre ABC Detroit 19 May 1945 |
In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree | Duke Ellington Orchestra | ‘A Date with the Duke’ Paradise Theatre ABC Detroit 19 May 1945 |
Duke Ellington Orchestra | Duke Ellington Orchestra | ‘A Date with the Duke’ Paradise Theatre ABC Detroit 19 May 1945 |
Set 8 | Trad Jazz | |
| Theme + Maple Leaf Rag | Wild Bill Davison | ‘This is Jazz’ WOR Mutual NYC 19 Apr 1947 |
| Basin Street Blues | George Brunis & Albert Nicholas | ‘This is Jazz’ WOR Mutual NYC 19 Apr 1947 |
| Mahoganny Hall Stomp | Louis Armstrong All-Stars | ‘All-Star Jazz Show’ NBC TV 30 Dec 1957 |
