[78-L] Artie Shaw Radio Performances—Part 2

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

Artie Shaw on the Burns & Allen Show, NBC July 1, 1940 to March 24, 1941
(The show’s format called for the Artie Shaw Orchestra to perform one 
number and to accompany the vocal group The Smoothies on a second 
number. Simosko does not list the vocal numbers, even though the Shaw 
band accompanies the group. On some broadcasts, Gracie Allen replaces 
The Smoothies vocal number. The show was sponsored by Spam and a few of 
the program’s musical jingles are cited below.)

Broadcast July 1, 1940
Down by the Old Heigh-O (The Smoothies)
Frenesi

Broadcast, July 8, 1940
The Woodpecker’s Song (The Smoothies)
Alice Blue Gown

Broadcast, July 29, 1940
Opening Theme
Temptation
You’ve Got Me This Way (The Smoothies)

August 5, 1940
Sweet Sue
Mister Meadowbrook (The Smoothies)

August 12, 1940
Alabamy Bound (The Smoothies)
Frenesi

August 19, 1940
Madame La Zonga (The Smoothies)
King for a Day

August 26, 1940
Ciribiribin (The Smoothies)
Out of Nowhere

September 2, 1940
Pretty Baby (The Smoothies)
Jungle Drums

September 9, 1940
I’ll Never Smile Again (The Smoothies)
Begin the Beguine
Commercial: Spam jingle
(another version) Who’s Excited into Spam Commercial, then “Begin the 
Beguine” into
	broadcast close

September 16, 1940
Trade Winds (The Smoothies)
Rose Room

September 23, 1940
That’s for Me (The Smoothies)
Mama, She’s Making Eyes for Me (vocal Senor Lee)
My Romance

September 29, 1940 (not shown in Simosko)
Shaw guests on Fitch Bandwagon. NBC files in the Library of Congress do 
not list program’s content.

September 30, 1940
My Heart Stood Still
I Got Rhythm (The Smoothies)

October 6, 1940 (not shown in Simosko)
Shaw guests on Fitch Bandwagon. NBC files in the Library of Congress do 
not list program’s content.

October 7, 1940
Ferryboat Serenade (The Smoothies)
Through the Years

October 14, 1940
Stardust
Rhythm on the River (The Smoothies)

October 21, 1940
I Know That You Know (The Smoothies)
Temptation

October 28, 1940
Moonlight on the Ganges (The Smoothies)
Love of My Life (vocal Anita Boyer)

November 4, 1940
The Blues (from William Grant Still’s “Lenox Avenue Suite.”)
Trade Winds (The Smoothies)

November 11, 1940
Prelude in “C” Major

November 18, 1940
Beat Me Daddy (The Smoothies)
Sugar
Commercial jingle

November 25, 1940
Whispering (The Smoothies)
What is There to Say

December 2, 1940
Down Argentina Way (The Smoothies)
Diga Diga Do

December 9, 1940
Yesterdays
You’ve Got Me This way (The Smoothies)

December 16, 1940
This is Gracie (vocal chorus by Cast)
Dancing in the Dark

December 23, 1940
Frenesi
Jingle Bells (The Smoothies plus Cast)

December 30, 1940
Whispers in the Dark (vocal Anita Boyer)

January 6, 1941
Just a Song at Twilight (The Smoothies)
Prelude in “C” Major (noisy)

January 13, 1941
There’ll Be Some Changes Made (The Smoothies)
Nobody Knows the Troubles I’ve Seen

January 20, 1941
Jungle Drums
Accidentally on Purpose (vocal Gracie Allen)

January 27, 1941
Sweet and Low (The Smoothies)
Rockin’ Chair

February 3, 1941
Darling Nellie Gray (The Smoothies)
Georgia on My Mind

February 10, 1941
(Note: Simosko shows “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” unissued but this 
is incorrect)
Georgia on My Mind
Whatcha Thinking of (The Smoothies)

February 17, 1941
It All Comes Back to Me Now (The Smoothies)
Deep River
Commercial jingle

February 24, 1941
Just a Song at Twilight (The Smoothies)
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child

March 3, 1941
When You and I Were Young Maggie (The Smoothies)
Little Gate Special (Ray Coniff’s arrangement of composition recorded 
by Bunny Berigan)

March 10, 1941
(Note: Simosko shows “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” but that is incorrect 
for this date.
	See March 17.)
Old Black Joe (incomplete, approximately 60 seconds)

March 17, 1941
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Let’s Get Away from it All (vocal Gracie Allen)

March 24, 1941
Sugar Pie (vocal Gracie Allen)
To a Broadway Rose plus closing announcement and theme

August 24, 1941 (not shown in Simosko)
Shaw appears on NBC’s Star Spangled Theatre. NBC files do not show 
program’s contents.

January 30, 1942
Artie Shaw Navy Band 501 America Salutes the President over NBC Network 
Radio
Naval Air Base, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu Hawaii. Note: Seaman First 
Class, Artie Shaw, was taken from his duties on minesweepers and net 
patrols, promoted to Band Master, and given the opportunity to recruit 
a professional band, providing each man would come in as an apprentice 
seaman, go through the Bluejackets manual like any one else, and be a 
“strictly Navy outfit.” The band under Shaw’s leadership was organized 
in November 1942 and was at Pearl Harbor for three months. A photo in 
the author’s possession shows Shaw in full uniform standing in front of 
a map of The Pacific Ocean pointing to the islands of Hawaii. In 1943, 
the band then made a tour of naval bases and islands throughout the 
Southwest Pacific and to Brisbane, Australia, covering a total of 
68,000 miles. The band returned to the States in December 1943, landing 
at San Francisco, its original port of embarkation. Shaw was given a 
discharge and reedman, Sam Donahue was appointed the new leader. (Down 
Beat, March 15, 1945, page 19)

Theme (Nightmare)
Begin the Beguine
(Note: Simosko shows this as an unissued air check but the two 
selections were issued on Side A
Track 1 of Big Band Gems BBG 092 Spotlite on Shaw. The author’s copy is 
strange. The
front cover of the jacket lists the selections, venues, and dates, and 
features a photograph of the
Shaw band. The back cover is blank. The white labels on both sides of 
the record are totally blank, except for Side 1, which has “Side 1” 
handwritten in ink. The selections included on this LP are:

Side A
Begin the Beguine
My heart Stood Still (Spotlite, Fort Ord, Calif, September 19, 1945)
There’s No Business Like Show Business—vocal by Mel Torme and the 
Mel-Tones
	(Musicraft, April 30, 1946) not listed in discography
Night and Day (Fitch Bandwagon, November 1945) Simosko shows November 
6, 1945
Can’t You Read Between the Lines (Spotlite, Hoff General Hospital, 
Santa Barbara, Calif.,
	October 10, 1945)

Side B
Tabu (Spotlite, Naval Hospital, San Diego, Calif. September 12, 1945
Lucky Number (Spotlite, Naval Hospital, San Diego, Calif. September 12, 
1945
Blue Skies (Spotlite, Camp Luis Obispo, Calif., September 26, 1945)
Sunny Side of the Street (Spotlite, Camp Luis Obispo, Calif., September 
26, 1945)
Jumping on the Merry-Go-Round (Spotlite, Camp Luis Obispo, Calif., 
September 26, 1945)
Let’s Walk (Fitch Bandwagon, November 1945) Simosko shows November 7, 
1945
Copenhagen and Theme (partial) Ritz Carlton Ballroom, Boston, August 
1939
(Note: Simosko shows this as “unissued” from a broadcast emanating from 
the Summer Terrace
of Boston’s Ritz Carlton, August 31, 1939. “Lucky Number” was an 
expression used by announcers on the Coca-Cola Victory Parade of 
Spotlite Bands to indicate the “lucky number seven” tune on the program 
playlist.)

September 30, 1944 (per Simosko)
All Star Group
AFRS Command Performance, Hollywood

Honeysuckle Rose

Announcer Ken Carpenter says this performance comes from Roseland (New 
York City) but the applause, the announcement, and the music sound like 
they have been patched together from three different sources. Author’s 
copy: dub of a tape dub made directly from an AFRS disc. As identified 
by Carpenter, personnel on this JATP-style wailer is: Sgt. Ziggy Elman, 
trumpet; Tommy Dorsey, trombone; Artie Shaw, clarinet; Illinois 
Jacquet, tenor saxophone; Lionel Hampton, vibraphone; Count Basie, 
piano; Les Paul, electric guitar; Sgt. Ed McKinney, bass; and Buddy 
Rich, drums. Note: During his solo, Basie several times repeats the 
notes that comprise the introduction to “Salt Peanuts.” This and other 
performances that incorporate this pattern suggest it was floating 
around the music world as a riff, much as Sy Oliver’s December 1939 
composition, “Losers Weepers” consists of a series of common riffs 
pieced together.