One of the classic Depression-era musical cartoons created by Max and Dave Fleischer. Satchmo's soundtrack obviously inspires the artists - even if the visuals aren't in any way "politically correct" 70-plus years later.
Filmed during "Hollywood Hotel," this unusual medley combines the mighty Goodman band of 1937 ("I've Got a Heartful of Music" and "House Hop") with the BG Quartet ("Avalon"). The young Harry James takes solos on "Heartful" and "Hop," while Rudy Vallee serves as the on-camera emcee.
With some minor alterations, this is essentially the same arrangement of "Stardust" that Sinatra recorded with the Tommy Dorsey band in 1941. Here, Frank is accompanied by his cohorts from "Your Hit Parade," including conductor Mark Warnow. This public domain footage comes from the "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco" promotional film (full movie available at www.archive.org).
The camera catches the jumping 10-piece group Goodman led from 1959-1961 (built around the Red Norvo Quintet), but in this clip, the spotlight stays firmly on Benny and Red. "The World is Waiting For the Sunrise" was an early Goodman showcase in 1934, and was memorably re-recorded by BG with Mel Powell in 1942 (for Commodore). Benny was still playing this number brilliantly in the 1980s!
The final 4:30 of this Sennett short, titled after Bing's famous radio theme. Franklin Pangborn is the hapless suitor spurned by Babe Kane in this "mistaken identity" saga. Crosby would keep the in-joke about Jack Smith (one of his replacements with Paul Whiteman and a lightweight rival in the 1930s singstakes) alive on his radio shows well into the '50s!
In all its 2-strip Technicolor glory, here's the original trailer for the mega-musical that captured Paul Whiteman's finest band for posterity (although Universal's inability to get its act together resulted in the lost opportunity to film the full Whiteman troupe with Bix Beiderbecke still on board).
From "Artie Shaw's Class in Swing," it's the powerhouse Shaw unit of 1939 - propelled by the 21-year old Buddy Rich on drums. Tune your ears past the dated voiceover and enjoy one of the landmark big bands of the entire Swing Era!
The opening sequences from Crosby's final Mack Sennett short, with two songs Bing never recorded for Brunswick or Decca - "Auf Wiedersehen" and (under the opening credits) a truncated version of "My Silent Love." Look carefully and you'll spot Bing's loyal friend, guitar virtuoso Eddie Lang, in the on-camera band.
