Weekly Swing Radio Show – Phantom Dancer 21 Jan 2020

The Tuesday 21 January Phantom Dancer on radio and online – your two hour non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio with Greg Poppleton – opens with Larry Clinton as feature artist from live 1930s-40s radio.

You can hear The Phantom Dancer online now at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

The last hour is all vinyl.

LARRY

The Phantom Dancer kicks off with 1930s-40s airchecks by The Dipsy Doodler, swing band leader Larry Clinton.

Larry Clinton was a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader and arranger in the late 1930s

He also played trombone and clarinet. In his twenties, he became a prolific arranger for the dance orchestras of Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Glen Gray, Louis Armstrong and Bunny Berigan.

His first stint as a bandleader was from 1937 to 1941, and he recorded a string of hits for Victor Records while broadcasting on air for such Clinton feature RCA Victor NBC programs as ‘Larry Clinton’s Campus Club’.

CLINTON

The Clinton band’s repertoire included pop tunes of the day and ambitious instrumentals penned by Clinton (the most popular, “A Study in Brown,” spawned four sequels in different colours).

His swing adaptations of classical compositions swept the industry, and orchestras everywhere were “swinging the classics” by adding pop lyrics to melodies by Debussy and Tchaikovsky. His version of Debussy’s “Reverie”, with vocalist Bea Wain, was particularly popular. Entitled “My Reverie”, his version peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Record Buying Guide in 1938.

SOUNDIES

Clinton’s band was predominantly a recording group that also played college proms and hotel ballrooms. On the strength of Clinton’s record hit “The Dipsy Doodle,” Vitaphone and Paramount Pictures signed the band to star in three 10-minute theatrical films. All were filmed in New York.

In 1941 Clinton and his band appeared in six short musical films designed for then-popular “movie jukeboxes.” (The films were ultimately released as Soundies in 1943.) This was one of his last jobs as a bandleader.

AIR FORCE

He quit the music business on the outbreak of World War II and joined the United States Army Air Forces. A rated pilot, he rose to the rank of captain, was stationed with the Air Transport Command in Calcutta and China during Hump airlift, and was a flight instructor with the 1343rd Base Unit.

He resumed his musical career and enjoyed new success as a bandleader from 1948 to 1950. He remained active in the music business – often leading a studio band for pop singers like Barry Frank – until 1961.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Larry Clinton and the Orchestra with Bea Wain singing the aforementioned ‘My Reverie’ in a 1941 ‘soundie’. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5owxl0Qq80

Make sure you come back to this blog, Greg Poppleton’s Radio Lounge, every Tuesday, for the newest Phantom Dancer play list and Video of the Week!

Thank you.

21 JANUARY PLAY LIST