Time On My Hands – Rose Murphy
There are not a lot of jukebox shorts that are cringe-worthy, but I have to admit that this is one of them. Still, the backstory
There are not a lot of jukebox shorts that are cringe-worthy, but I have to admit that this is one of them. Still, the backstory
This is not a particularly good Soundie, and in many ways is a quite offensive one. But like every release in the Soundies oeuvre, there
The image of an African American, eyes wide, trembling, fleeing from the scene because he has seen a ghost, is a familiar one to those
Recently someone asked if I could suggest an example of a “typical Soundie.” I was forced to admit that there was just too much variety
The strike by the American Federation of Musicians in 1942 – usually dubbed the “recording ban” – included Soundies, and it forced producers to turn
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure and Babs Gonzales … all were masters of the jazz style known as “vocalese” in which
Throughout the 1920s-1940s the “all-girl orchestra” was a fascinating combination of novelty, exploitation, and public acceptance of exceptional musicianship. While Ina Ray Hutton was probably
“Get your coat, and grab your hat…” We’re off to Billy Berg’s nightclub in Hollywood. Sadly, it’s not to see Bird and Diz, or Benny
I am a huge fan of the Marx Brothers, to the extent that I even look forward to the instrumental solos by Chico and Harpo.
Seventy-five years after the demise of Soundies, it is perhaps the novelty and “korn” subjects that seem the most dated. At the time, however, these