The One Day in Radio is actually available to be heard on:
https://archive.org/details/001WakeUpMusic
Scott
From: sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ed O'Brien ("eob101")
Sent: August 9, 2023 1:18 PM
To: Sinatra Fan
Subject: [sinatraphiles] August 8 - THIS DATE IN SINATRA HISTORY
I see that Bob Chester followed James. I discovered Bob Chester a few years
ago and really enjoy a lot of his recordings. He recorded 110 songs, many of
which have not been released on CD. A really nice sound from an orchestra
that’s all but forgotten today.
You can listen to many of his recordings here:
https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Bob+Chester+And+His+Orchestra%22
In the spring of 1939, there were three serious possibilities for Frank
Sinatra catching
on with a band. One was with the fledgling Bob Chester band that was under the
direction
of Tommy Dorsey, the second was with the Red Norvo orchestra with Mildred
Bailey( Red's
wife at the time) and last Harry James.
We will begin in order: In May of 1939, Chester had formed a new band and Mr.
Dorsey
was backing him. Chester was a rich boy from Detroit, whose stepfather ran the
Fisher Body
factory of General Motors. The young man loved the Glenn Miller band and early
on his band
showed that influence. Frustrated by not having any real success, Chester moved
to New York
and formed a new band. At the time Sinatra was singing on WNEW, Frank asked if
he could rehearse with the band. Chester was glad to have him and the trades
mentioned the boy singer working with the new band. One day T.D. stopped in to
hear the band. Frank froze. Was that really
The Man ? Flustered beyond words, Frank badly mauled the lyrics to the song
being rehearsed. The misstep was not fatal and he continued working with the
band during their rehearsals.
Red Norvo and Mildred Bailey were riding high in 39. The previous year
they had two # 1
singles and were in great demand. Red told me they were visiting relatives in
the city, in early
June of 1939. Red and Mildred lived up state and it was a very warm night.
Mildred suggested
they head over into Jersey for a cooler ride home. She spotted a road house
called The
Rustic Cabin. Why not stop for a couple of cold beers. The band was fronted by
a singing
waiter - emcee. Red remembered Mildred turning to him half way through this
skinny kids
first vocal. She whispered "Red, sign this guy before someone else gets him. He
is going
to be a great singer." Greatness recognizing greatness. Red was in but there
were some
things to be worked out. They chatted with the kid and told him they would be
back.
But Louise Tobin, Harry James' wife at the time, sealed Frank's fate. The
James band
was appearing at the Paramount Theater with Jane Froman as the headliner. After
the late
show at the theater, Harry and Louise went to their hotel room in the Paramount
Hotel. Harry
fell on the bed and was sound asleep in seconds. Louise, who was a very fine
singer, started packing her bag for a trip to Boston. She was set to do a week
with the Bobby Hackett band.
Louise liked "Dance Parade" that was broadcast on WNEW. It was aired at 11:30
and
so she switched it on.That night it was coming from the Rustic Cabin. She
stopped and
listened to a very decent vocal by a male singer. Harry was looking for a
vocalist. But should
she wake him up. Louise knew how tired he was. A tough call. But she went into
the bedroom
and got him up. As she was leaving, Louise told him to listen carefully to the
singer. Harry
was most impressed but was unable to catch the guy's name. The next night after
the last
show at the Paramount, Harry James headed out to New Jersey.
Ed
P.S. Chester's group, billed "The New Sensation of the Nation," had its own
radio show on <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS> CBS briefly in the fall of
1939. The twenty-five-minute program aired from the
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hotel_Van_Cleve> Hotel Van Cleve in
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton,_Ohio> Dayton, Ohio late on Thursday
nights (actually 12:30 am Friday morning,
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Time_Zone> Eastern Time); the September
21, 1939 edition can be heard on the
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJSV_broadcast_day> One Day In Radio tapes,
archived by <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_D.C.> Washington D.C.
station <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WFED> WJSV.
From: sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard Cook
Sent: August 8, 2023 3:59 PM
To: sinatraphiles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [sinatraphiles] Re: August 8 - THIS DATE IN SINATRA HISTORY
I've gone through The Atlantic City Press who have detailed adverts for the
Steel Pier daily.
The dancing acts for this period are
* July 20 - Van Alexander
* July 21 - Van Alexander
* July 22 - Gene Krupa
* July 23 - Hal Kemp
* July 24 - Harry James
* July 25 - Harry James
* July 26 - Harry James
* July 27 - Harry James
* July 28 - Harry James
* July 29 - Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard
* July 30 - Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard
* July 31 - Harry James
* August 1 - Harry James
* August 2 - Harry James
* August 3 - Harry James
* August 4 - Harry James
* August 5 - Harry James
* August 6 - Tommy Dorsey
* August 7 - Harry James
* August 8 - Harry James
* August 9 - Harry James
* August 10 - Bob Chester featuring Kitty Lane
* August 11 - Bob Chester featuring Kitty Lane
* August 12 - Glen Gray and The Casa Loma Band
* August 13 - Vincent Lopez
Alex Bartha leds the second band for all days (well technically during Van
Alexander's time, Alex was the top billed band)
Richard
_____
From: sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
on behalf of Ed O'Brien <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 08 August 2023 19:52
To: sinatraphiles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <sinatraphiles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [sinatraphiles] Re: August 8 - THIS DATE IN SINATRA HISTORY
Hi Scott,
No. Richard did some further checking and believes
that information is not correct.
Ed
On Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 02:49:19 PM EDT, Scott Henderson
<scott@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Okay, so now I’m confused. Are we saying Harry James was at Manhattan Beach
August 8, 1939?
Scott
From: sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard Cook
Sent: August 8, 2023 1:24 PM
To: sinatraphiles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [sinatraphiles] Re: August 8 - THIS DATE IN SINATRA HISTORY
I have them at Manhattan Beach on August 8, subbing for Bob Crosby
<https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sinatraology/promos/a/aug/07c49b05-04e4-4500-ae18-396d70ef6738.png>
(The Brooklyn Citizen - August 3, 1939)
Richard
_____
From: sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <sinatraphiles-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
on behalf of Ed O'Brien <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 08 August 2023 16:57
To: sinatraphiles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <sinatraphiles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [sinatraphiles] Re: August 8 - THIS DATE IN SINATRA HISTORY
1939 Roseland Ballroom, New York City
Harry James & His Orchestra
Harry on lead trumpet. Jack Schaeffer, Claude Brown, Jack Palmer
(trumpets).Russell Brown, Truett Jones, Dalton Rizzotto (trombone).Dave
Matthews, Claude Lakey (alto sax).Bill Luther, Drew Page (tenor/baritone sax)
Jack Gardner (piano).Red Kent (guitar).Thurman Teague (bass).Mickey Scrima
(drums).Connie Haines, Frank Sinatra (vocals)
Hi Scott,
Wondering where you got this info.
Billboard had Frank opening at Roseland on
8/11. Then it was moved up to 8/10. Band
was there through 8/18. They opened at
the Fountain Lake Bandshell on 8/19 (World's
Fair).
There was a lot of misinformation regarding
this engagement: some claim the band was
there in the afternoon and at Roseland at
night. Truth is they did jam sessions every
night from 8/19 thru 9/1. Most started at
either 7 or 7:30 and ran five hours. NYT
has the schedule for all 14 days. I'll post
times if you like. Backing up to the opening
at the Steel Pier on 7/27. I found three mentions
of a two week engagement. That fits perfectly
with a closing night of 8/8. And the hour radio
broadcast is the same exit as Roseland on 7/22.
Rest of them were half-hour shows. I did find
one on WJZ.
Ed
