[78-L] Artie Shaw Radio Performances 1936 to 1941—Part 1

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

Note: This was originally e-mailed as one piece at 12:34 P.M. EDT but 
did not show up on the List, so I am giving it a second try as two 
parts.


Artie Shaw 1936 to 1941
(Plus selections from 1942, 1945, and 1946)
The following addresses specific discographic details in the text of 
Artie Shaw A Musical Biography and Discography by Vladimir Simosko, 
published by Scarecrow Press Inc., Lanham, MD 2000 as Studies in Jazz 
No. 39. Series editor is Dan Morgenstern, Director of the Institute of 
Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, New Jersey. With 32 pages of photos 
and 142 pages of biography, this is the first in-depth work on the 
day-to-day career and accomplishments of clarinetist/bandleader, Artie 
Shaw. Since it is likely to remain the definitive work on Shaw for 
years to come, it is important to correct errors and elaborate on 
details or contexts that may not otherwise be clear to the reader. The 
following addresses only discographic details for radio performances 
during the years 1936 to 1941, plus specific recordings from 1942, 
1945, and 1946. Comments regarding Old Gold, Blue Room, and Burns and 
Allen broadcasts are based on reel-to-reel and DAT tapes dubbed from 
original acetates in the late 1990s, plus accompanying documentation. 
Additions, corrections, and refinements welcome.

Sunday, November 1, 1936 CBS Broadcast from the French Casino, New York 
City
(Note: These recordings made on aluminum discs remain unissued. Sound 
quality is clear but not bright. This is Shaw’s band with strings. Each 
number is announced by title only. After the second tune, the announcer 
says the music is “coming to you from the French Casino on the Great 
White Way…”)

Take Another Guess (vocal Tony Pastor, PT: 2:19) studio recording 
issued on Br 7771
There’s Something in the Air (vocal Peg LaCentra, PT 3:01) studio 
recording issued on Br 7778
Skeleton in the Closet (instrumental, PT 2:28) studio recording issued 
on Br 7778
There’s Frost on the Moon (vocal Peg LaCentra, PT 2:32) studio 
recording issued on Br 7771
Note: On “Skeleton…” Tony Pastor (tenor sax) and a Berigan-like Lee 
Castle (trumpet) trade pairs of eights, followed by Shaw on clarinet. 
[These four selections were issued in 2007 as tracks 1 through 4 on 
Soundcraft CD SC-8004: Artie Shaw & His Orchestra 1936 to 1940 
Broadcasts. Produced by Ed Burke, this series of eight CDs are the last 
Mr. Burke will produce, per a phone conversation July 17, 2007.]

Note: Shaw recorded these four selections on Friday, October 30, 1936 
for Brunswick Record Corp. The bridge in the arrangement for 
“Skeleton…” was later expanded into what became Artie Shaw’s theme, 
“Nightmare.”

Recording Session for Brunswick July 22, 1937
Afraid to Dream (vocal Peg LaCentra) unissued take 21423-2 (Simosko 
does not list)
Sweet Adeline (vocal Tony Pastor) unissued take 21425-6 (Simosko does 
not list)
Source: tape dubbed at 15 ips from 16-inch studio acetates.

Old Gold Broadcasts “Melody and Madness” (with Artie Shaw and His 
Orchestra, vocalist Dick Todd, and “that man who taught America how to 
sleep—Robert Benchley”). The show aired Sunday nights at 10:00 P.M. 
over CBS. The program originated from the studios of WABC. James Forbes 
and Del Sharbutt announced. “M and M” first aired Sunday, November 20, 
1938. The last broadcast in the series was Tuesday, November 14, 1939. 
Acetate discs from CBS and NBC document Shaw features beginning with a 
November 18, 1938 rehearsal through the broadcast of Tuesday, June 27, 
1939. Because of illness, Shaw was absent from several programs, 
including April 23 and May 7, 1939. Lud Gluskin substituted on at least 
three shows as conductor (source: John Dunning’s The Encyclopedia of 
Old-Time Radio).

Rehearsal November 18, 1938
(At several points, smattering of applause; Robert Benchley ad-libs 
before “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise.” Shaw plays brief uptempo 
“chaser.” Fragment sounds like what would be introduced on the March 
12, 1939 program as “Double Mellow,” Shaw’s arrangement of “Oh, Lady Be 
Good” without Gershwin’s melody. Program introduction: “Will somebody 
please wake up Benchley!…”; eight bars of theme “Crazy Rhythm.” Each 
selection announced.

The Yam
Two Sleepy People (vocal Dick Todd)
Begin the Beguine
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise (Announcer mis-titles this selection 
twice with “Artie Shaw calls the cats out of the wigwam to introduce 
his own version of ‘Indian Love Call’” before the band starts into the 
number. Shaw’s voice and conversation in background before number 
starts.)

Broadcast November 20, 1938
The Yam (Taken at a slower tempo than at rehearsal. Shaw’s solo totally 
different; trumpeter Bernie Privin’s similar; after his solo, 
trombonist George Arus makes a one-note fluff in ensemble passage.)

Two Sleepy People (vocal Dick Todd) announcer’s intro different from 
rehearsal
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
Non-Stop Flight (substituted for “Begin the Beguine”)
Close

Rehearsal November 25, 1938
Opening
Begin the Beguine
When I Go a-Dreamin’ (vocal Dick Todd)
Who Blew Out the Flame (vocal Helen Forest)
Shoot the Rhythm to Me, John Boy (This is Shaw’s composition “Shoot the 
Likker to Me, John Boy.” The tune was also featured in the 1939 
Paramount film short Class in Swing.)
Close

Undated; perhaps from this rehearsal as an alternate number.
Back Bay Shuffle
Close

November 25, 1938
While appearing weekly on Melody and Madness, Shaw begins a series of 
sustained broadcasts over NBC network from the Blue Room of the Hotel 
Lincoln, New York City. Broadcasts typically last 30 minutes and are 
broken into two parts for the benefit of NBC affiliates that only want 
to carry 15 minutes of the program. Why would NBC broadcast a half-hour 
of unsponsored airtime with a swing band? The Shaw broadcasts may have 
been NBC’s answer to Benny Goodman’s Camel Caravan programs over 
network rival CBS. Both bands appealed to the same young audience. 
Simosko lists programs through December 30, 1938 [pages 177-180]. The 
contents match what is on the author’s tapes. The personnel on 
broadcasts for December 27, 29, and 30, 1938 are, however in question. 
Drummer Buddy Rich is said to have joined the Shaw band by December 25, 
but George Wettling is clearly the drummer on the December 27 and 
December 30 broadcasts. Either Rich had not yet joined the band and 
Wettling was still the drummer; Rich was out on the December 27 and 30 
broadcasts and Wettling subbed for him; or the broadcasts have been 
incorrectly dated. Clarence C. Hintze’s discography in “Mister I Am the 
Band! Buddy Rich His Life and Travels” [page 149] repeats the same 
information for the December 30 broadcast (the December 27 broadcast is 
not listed) but notes Rich does not appear on a performance of “I Cover 
the Waterfront” issued on Hindsight HSR-176 Vol. 5 from the December 29 
broadcast. By contrast, “Jeepers Creepers,” the only other issued 
performance dated from that broadcast is said to have Rich on drums 
[see booklet in RCA Victor LPT-6000]. The author has not heard the 
complete broadcast as listed in Simosko. This raises the issue of 
whether material from some NBC Shaw broadcasts has been incorrectly 
dated.

Old Gold Broadcast November 27, 1938
Opening
Begin The Beguine
When I Go A-Dreamin’ (vocal Dick Todd)
Who Blew Out the Flame (vocal Helen Forest)
Shoot the Rhythm to Me, John Boy
Close

Old Gold Rehearsal December 2, 1938
Yesterdays
What is This Thing Called Love
Have You Forgotten (vocal Dick Todd)
Copenhagen

Old Gold Broadcast December 11, 1938
Opening
It Had to Be You
Simple and Sweet
I’m Madly in Love with You (vocal Dick Todd)
Rockin’ the State (a..k.a “In the Bottom” and “Leapin’ at the Lincoln.” 
The latter is not Charlie Barnet’s tune of the same title. “The State” 
possibly refers to the State Theatre in Hartford, Conn. Arrangement is 
based partly on Benny Goodman’s June 25, 1935 recording of “Get Rhythm 
in Your Feet” [Vi 25081], with vocal by Helen Ward.)

Old Gold Rehearsal (Simosko dates as December 16, 1938, but otherwise 
undated)
My Reverie (vocal Dick Todd)
Just You, Just Me

Old Gold Broadcast December 18, 1938
Opening
You Got Me
My Reverie (vocal Dick Todd)
In the Mood (rehearsal, not broadcast)

Sunday, December 25, 1938. “Art Shaw” performs in concert at Carnegie 
Hall as guest soloist with Paul Whiteman and his 50-piece orchestra. It 
is Whiteman’s eighth “experimental” concert. The first was the landmark 
Aeolian Hall concert in 1924 that introduced Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in 
Blue.” This 1938 concert closes with “Rhapsody…” featuring pianist Roy 
Bargy. Other guest artists and featured composers include: Louis 
Armstrong, Bert Shafter, the late George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, 
Walter Gross, Morton Gould, Nathan Van Cleve, Rosa Linda, Richard 
Regas, Raymond Scott, Ferde Grofe, Fred Van Epps, and Jack Teagarden 
from the Whiteman Orchestra. Shaw’s astounding 12-minute performance is 
generically titled “The Blues.” Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” is a 
recurring theme throughout. In his text, Simosko quotes Deems Taylor as 
saying “You just can’t DO that on a B-flat clarinet” after Shaw’s 
performance but it is Paul Whiteman who makes the remark. Simosko also 
states on page 67 that “part of the program was broadcast” and 
“fortunately, Shaw’s blues performance was among the broadcast items.” 
Not so. An advertisement in the Drama-Screen-Music-Dance-Art-Radio 
section of The New York Times, Sunday, December 18, 1938 announced this 
Christmas Night concert for 8:30 P.M., featuring “Paul Whiteman and his 
All-American Band, An Experiment in Modern American Music,” with Deems 
Taylor, commentator. “This Concert Will Not Be Broadcast,” the ad 
emphasizes. A check of Times Radio Logs for the night of Sunday, 
December 25, confirms this. The entire concert was privately recorded 
on a single set of 16-inch 33-1/3 aluminum-base acetates. These were 
given to Whiteman a day or two later. Written in pencil on one of the 
sleeves is the notation: “Please deliver to Mr. Whiteman at (his New 
York address).” The acetates are now in private hands. The recorded 
sound is excellent. The drummer for the concert was George Wettling, 
who had been working with the Shaw band but was unavailable for the 
following broadcast because the concert continued past the time of the 
broadcast. According to Mister, I Am the Band: Buddy Rich, His Life and 
Travels by Doug Meriwether and the discography by Clarence C. Hintze 
[page 149], Buddy Rich is the drummer on the December 25 Old Gold 
Broadcast and on the December 29, broadcast from the Hotel Lincoln Blue 
Room of “Jeepers Creepers” issued on Victor set LPT-6000. Wettling had 
a distinctive style and was an excellent, experienced big-band drummer.

Old Gold Broadcast December 25, 1938
Opening and lead–in to Shine on Harvest Moon
Deep in a Dream (vocal Dick Todd)
Jeepers Creepers (vocal Tony Pastor)
Hold Your Hat

Old Gold Broadcast January 1, 1939
Opening and lead-in to I’ve Been Saving Myself
They Say (vocal Dick Todd)
Indian Love Call (vocal Tony Pastor)
Time Out (written and arranged by Eddie Durham, this selection is 
incorrectly announced as “an original Artie Shaw composition…”)

Old Gold Broadcast January 8, 1939
Opening lead-in to Serenade to a Savage
My Reverie (vocal Dick Todd)
Downbeat Award Presented to Artie Shaw
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
Diga Diga Do

Old Gold Broadcast January 15, 1939
Opening and lead-in to Begin the Beguine
A Room with a View (vocal Dick Todd)
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Prosschai (vocal Tony Pastor)

Old Gold Broadcast January 22, 1939
Simosko cites Jazz Hour JHCD 1050 as his source for this listing:
Rose Room
My Reverie (vocal Dick Todd)
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
Oh, Lady Be Good
Note: With the exception of “Rose Room” and “Oh Lady Be Good,” this is 
the same lineup as the January 8th broadcast, which makes this listing 
problematic. Not having a broadcast acetate or dub available for 
January 22nd, the author can neither confirm nor refute this listing. 
“Rose Room” may have been taken from the January 29th broadcast, which 
follows. “Oh Lady Be Good” was not recorded commercially until August 
27, 1939. The arrangement may have been scored earlier in the year but 
this performance may be dated prematurely. It also does not appear in 
the lineup of any other Old Gold broadcast. The Jazz Hour issue may 
come from another source. “

Old Gold Broadcast January 29, 1939
Opening
Rose Room
This Can’t Be Love (Dick Todd)
My Own (Helen Forest)
At Sundown

Old Gold Broadcast February 5, 1939
Opening
Zigeuner
Good for Nothing But Love (vocal Dick Todd)
I Have Eyes (vocal Helen Forest)
Carioca

Old Gold Broadcast February 12, 1939
Opening
My Heart Stood Still (complete, recording quality excellent)
I’m Coming Virginia (complete)

Old Gold Broadcast (Assigned to February 12, 1939 by Simosko but 
material otherwise undated)
Alone Together
This is It (vocal Helen Forest)

Old Gold Broadcast February 19, 1939
Opening
Diga Diga Do
Deep Purple (vocal Helen Forest)
You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby (vocal Dick Todd)
Shot the Rhythm to Me John Boy

Old Gold Broadcast February 26, 1939
Opening
Together
This Can’t Be Love
I Cried for You (vocal Helen Forest)
Back Bay Shuffle

Old Gold Broadcast March 5, 1939
Rosalie (vocal Tony Pastor)
Jungle Drums
I Want My Share of Love (vocal Helen Forest)
Non-Stop Flight

Old Gold Broadcast March 12, 1939
Opening
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
The Chant
Double Mellow [Essentially the extended riff section employed in the 
arrangement of “Oh, Lady Be Good” but without a statement of the 
melody.]

Old Gold Broadcast March 19, 1939 (incomplete)
Better Than Average Girl (vocal Tony Pastor)

Old Gold Broadcast March 26, 1939
Gangbusters
Pastel Blue
It’s All Yours
Prosschai (vocal Tony Pastor)

Old Gold Broadcast April 2, 1939
Opening
One Foot in the Groove
Nightmare
I’m in Love with the Honorable Mr. So and So (vocal Helen Forest)
I’m Coming Virginia

Old Gold Broadcast April 23, 1939
(Artie Shaw ill; Jerry Gray directs)
Opening
Rosalie
Serenade to a Savage
You’re So Indifferent (vocal Helen Forest)
Copenhagen

Old Gold Broadcast May 7, 1939
Opening
At Sundown
Suppertime (vocal Helen Forest)
Snug as a Bug in a Rug (vocal Tony Pastor)
Diga Diga Do

Old Gold May 14, 1939 (only half of show available)
I’m Coming Virginia
Prosschai (vocal Tony Pastor)

Old Gold Broadcast May 23, 1939 (Old Gold Show switches to NBC; Dick 
Todd leaves show)
Opening
Begin the Beguine
Shoot the Rhythm to Me John Boy
Carioca

Old Gold Broadcast May 30, 1939 (only half of show available)
It Had to Be You
Traffic Jam

Old Gold Broadcast June 6, 1939
Blue Skies
Octoroon
Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me (vocal Helen Forest)

Old Gold Broadcast June 13, 1939
Ziegeuner
Comes Love (vocal Helen Forest)
When Winter Comes (vocal Tony Pastor)
One Night Stand

Old Gold Broadcast June 20, 1939
Opening
Together
I Didn’t Care (vocal Helen Forest)
Show Your Linen Miss Richardson
Non-Stop Flight

Old Gold Broadcast June 27, 1939 (incomplete)
I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak (vocal Helen Forest)
Robert Benchley makes Radio Guide presentation to Shaw, then into 
“Copenhagen.”