Phantom Dancer :: 12:00pm 17th Nov 2020

Bob Crosby is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist, in broadcasts from 1937 – 41. See the play list below.

On a side note, 2SER FM reception was cut during the first hour of last week’s The Phantom Dancer to install a new antenna. For those of you who missed out, the music set from the first hour of last week’s show will be replayed in the second set of this week’s show.

Bob Crosby is an unusual figure in the history of show business. While he had a brother, Bing, who was one of the biggest names in the business, (the first multimedia star, leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1930 to 1954), Bob was both similar enough and different enough not to be overshadowed. They could even work together sharing the same self-effacing and laid-back wit.

Hear how Bob and Bing’s voices and personalities blend in this 1950 aircheck of ‘Let’s Do It Again’…

Hear all Phantom Dancers with Greg Poppleton, Tuesdays 12:04-2pm and Saturdays 5-5:56pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney and online at 2ser.com

BAND

Bob Crosby started singing in the early 1930s with the Rhythm Boys, which included vocalist Ray Hendricks and guitarist Bill Pollard, and with Anson Weeks (1931–34) and the Dorsey Brothers (1934–35).

He led his first band in 1935 when the former members of Ben Pollack‘s band elected him leader.

Crosby’s “band-within-the-band,” the Bob-Cats, was a dixieland octet with soloists from the larger orchestra, many from New Orleans.

The Bob-Cats included at various times Ray BauducYank LawsonBilly ButterfieldCharlie SpivakMuggsy SpanierIrving FazolaNappy LamareJack SperlingJoe SullivanJess StacyBob Haggart and Bob Zurke.

In the spring of 1940, during a performance in Chicago, teenager Doris Day was hired as the band’s vocalist.

For its theme song, the band chose George Gershwin‘s song “Summertime.” The band’s hits included “South Rampart Street Parade”, “March of the Bob Cats”, “In a Little Gypsy Tea Room”, “Whispers in the Dark”, “Day In, Day Out”, “Down Argentine Way”, “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby“, “Dolores”, and “New San Antonio Rose” . A bass-and-drums duet between Haggart and Bauduc, “Big Noise from Winnetka“, became a hit in 1938–39.

RADIO

During World War II, Bob Crosby spent 18 months in the Marines touring with bands in the Pacific. His radio variety series, The Bob Crosby Show, aired on NBC and CBS in different runs from 1943 – 1950. This was followed by Club Fifteen on CBS from 1947 -49, then 1950 – 53. A half-hour CBS daytime series, The Bob Crosby Show, followed from 1953 to 1957. Bob introduced the Canadian singer Gisele MacKenzie to American audiences and subsequently guest-starred in 1957 on her NBC television seriesThe Gisele MacKenzie Show.

In 1952, Bob replaced Phil Harris as the bandleader on The Jack Benny Program, remaining until Benny retired the radio show in 1955 after 23 years.

TV

Bob Crosby starred in his own afternoon variety show, The Bob Crosby show, that aired from 1953 to 1957. He also fronted a TV program in Australia in the 1960s. He was one of two featured singers (himself and Dennis Day) in mid-1950s episodes of The Jack Benny Program.

17 NOVEMBER PLAY LIST

Play List – The Phantom Dancer
107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream
Community Radio Network Show CRN #441

107.3 2SER Tuesday 17 November 2020
12:04 – 2:00pm (+11 hours GMT) and Saturdays 5 – 5:55pm
National Program 
5GTR Mt Gambier Monday 2:30 – 3:30am
3MBR Murrayville Monday 3 – 4am
4NAG Keppel FM Monday 3 – 4am
2SEA Eden Monday 3 – 4am
2MIA Griffith Monday 3 – 4pm
2BAR Edge FM Bega Monday 3 – 4pm
3VKV Alpine Radio Monday 6 – 7pm
7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 – 9pm 
1ART ArtsoundFM Canberra Friday 10 – 11am
2ARM Armidale Friday 12 – 1pm
5LCM Lofty FM Adelaide Friday 1 – 2pm
7LTN Launceston Sunday 5 – 6am
3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 – 6am
6GME Radio Goolarri Broome Sunday 5 – 6am
3BBR West Gippsland Sunday 5 – 6pm

Set 1
Anson Weeks 1932 Radio  
Let’s Dance + Pic-a-Rib
Anson Weeks Orchestra (voc) Bill Moreling
Radio Transcription
San Francisco
1932
Medley
Anson Weeks Orchestra
Radio Transcription
San Francisco
1932
Who’s Your Little Who Zis?
Anson Weeks Orchestra (voc) Bill Moreling
Radio Transcription
San Francisco
1932
Set 2
Duke Ellington 1952 Radio  
Theme + Bensonality
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Blue Note
WMAQ NBC Chicago
30 Jul 1952
All of Me + Bakiff
Duke Ellington Orchestra (voc) Bette Roche
Blue Note
WMAQ NBC Chicago
30 Jul 1952
Set 3
Early Cab Calloway Records  
Jitterbug
Cab Calloway Orchestra (voc) CC
Comm Rec
NYC
22 Jan 1934
Lady With a Fan
Cab Calloway Orchestra (voc) CC
Comm Rec
NYC
1933
Doin’ The Rhumba
Cab Calloway Orchestra (voc) CC
Comm Rec
NYC
3 Mar 1931
Set 4
Bob Crosby  
Theme + Boogie Woogie Maxixe
Bob Crosby Orchestra
Blackhawk
WGN Mutual Chicago
29 Apr 1940
Theme + In A Minor Mood + Dogtown Blues
Bob Crosby Orchestra
Swing Concert
Congress Hotel
WMAQ NBC red Chicago
18 May 1937
It’s You, You, Darling
Bob Crosby Orchestra (voc) Marian Mann
Terrace Room
Hotel New Yorker
WOR Mutual NY
25 Mar 1940
Smokey Mary + Close
Bob Crosby Orchestra
Aircheck
23 May 1942
Set 5
African Rhythms  
Field Recordings
Various
‘Biography in Rhythm’
WRCA NBC NY
Jun 1955
Afro-Cuban Suite
Machito and his Afro-Cuban Band
‘Biography in Rhythm’
WRCA NBC NY
Jun 1955
Set 6
Machito  
Theme + Carambola
Machito and his Afro-Cuban Band (voc) Machito & Graziella
‘Symphony Sid Show’
Birdland
WJZ ABC NY
1951
Cao Cao
Machito and his Afro-Cuban Band (voc) Graziella
‘Symphony Sid Show’
Birdland
WJZ ABC NY
1951
Tanga
Machito and his Afro-Cuban Band with Zoot Sims
‘Symphony Sid Show’
Birdland
WJZ ABC NY
1951
Set 7
Leonid Utesov  
Komsommol
Leonid Utesov and the RSFSR Orchestra
Melodia Records
Moscow
1942
Mishka Odesset
Leonid Utesov and the RSFSR Orchestra
Melodia Records
Moscow
1942
Baron von der Pshek
Leonid Utesov and the RSFSR Orchestra
Melodia Records
Moscow
1943
Aosha
Leonid Utesov and daughter and the RSFSR Orchestra
Melodia Records
Moscow
1943
Set 8
1940s Bop Radio  
Low Ceiling
Beryl Booker
‘Jazz Club USA’
Voice of America
1951
I Wished on the Moon
Beryl Booker
‘Jazz Club USA’
Voice of America
1951
Mischevious Lady + The Moors
Melba Liston
‘Jazz Club USA’
Voice of America
1951
I’ve Got The World on a String + Close
Hazel Scott
‘Jazz Club USA’
Voice of America
1951
PLAYLIST

Anson Weeks   You're Blasé

Anson Weeks   I Can't Give You Anything But Love

Anson Weeks   Who's Your Littie Who Zis?

Duke Ellington   Bensonality

Duke Ellington   All of Me

Duke Ellington   Barkiff

Cab Calloway   Jitterbug

Cab Calloway   Lady With a Fan

Cab Calloway   Doin' the Rhumba

Bob Crosby   Boogie Woogie Maxixe

Bob Crosby   Summertime

Bob Crosby   In a Minor Mood

Bob Crosby   Dogtown Blues

Bob Crosby   It's You You Darling

Machito   Afro-Cuban Suite

Machito   Carambola

Machito   Cao Cao

Machito   Tanga

Leonid Utesov   Komsommol

Leonid Utesov   Mishka Odesset

Leonid Utesov   Baron von der Pshek

Leonid Utesov   Aosha

Beryl Booker   Low Ceiling

Beryl Booker   I Wished on the Moon

Melba Liston   Mischevious Lady

Melba Liston   The Moors

Hazel Scott   I've Got The World on a String

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