This week’s 18 February Phantom Dancer mix of swing of jazz feature artist from live 1920s-60s radio, on radio and online, is composer, band leader, violinist, and magician, Richard Himber.

Richard Himber was a gimmicks man. He had the first vanity phone number back in 1932, R-HIMBER, and he came up with the idea of bands playing on the back of flatbed trucks for promotions. Hear him on 1936-38 radio on this week’s Phantom Dancer with Greg Poppleton.

The Phantom Dancer with actor and 1920s-30s singer Greg Poppleton can be heard online now at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

The last hour is all vinyl.

From his Wiki entry…

Richard Himber Orchestra

TUCKER

He was born as Herbert Richard Imber in Newark, New Jersey to the owner of a chain of meat stores. His parents gave him violin lessons but when they found him performing in a seedy Newark dive, they took the instrument away from him and sent him to military school. In 1915, he stole away into New York City, where Sophie Tucker heard him play and hired him as a novelty act to play with her and the Five Kings of Syncopation where Himber was the highlight of the cabaret act.

He worked his way through Vaudeville and down Tin Pan Alley. He managed Rudy Vallee’s orchestra service, which sent out bands for private parties and society functions. A suave salesman and irrepressible idea man, he soon had his own band booking agency. In 1932, he acquired the first known “vanity” telephone number, R-HIMBER, answered 24 hours a day. Later that year, Himber finally formed an orchestra of his own, parlaying a gig at New York’s Essex House Hotel into national NBC radio exposure. Among the top-notch professionals in its ranks were Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw and many other future stars of the music world.

CAREER

In 1933 Richard Himber made his first records, for Vocalion under the name “Dick Himber,” which intimates always called him. Among the selections was his own theme song, “It Isn’t Fair,” a song he wrote which became a hit. In 1934 after a single session for Victor’s budget label Bluebird, he began recording for the full-priced Victor label until 1939. He led one of the most sophisticated “sweet” dance bands of the era, featuring Joey Nash as his vocalist (1933–1935), who was replaced by Stuart Allen (1935–1939). We hear Stuart Allen on this week’s Phantom Dancer.

Himber was also a skilled magician, and invented many magic tricks including “The Himber Wallet,” “The Himber Ring,” and the “Himber Milk Pitcher.” In later years, his band act often included an interlude of magic and he conjured on many television shows as well.

An amazing Richard Himber magic trick – with comedy patter!

Himber was the publisher of the R-H Log, a weekly survey of the most popular tunes on radio and television. To the annoyance of most music publishers, he refused to accept payola. He once ordered his secretary to phone every major publisher and tell them he had a stroke, to which many of them joyfully replied, “It’s about time.”

Other popular tunes that Himber composed were “Moments in the Moonlight,” “After the Rain,” “Monday in Manhattan,” “Haunting Memories,” “Time Will Tell,” “Am I Asking Too Much,” and “I’m Getting Nowhere Fast with You.” In 1957 he wrote a TV theme for NBC’s Tonight! America After Dark when Jack Lescoulie was the interim host—before Jack Paar took over.

In the late 1930s Himber’s band was featured in short-subject films produced in New York by Paramount Pictures and Himber was also the maestro for New York’s annual Harvest Moon Ball.

FLATBED TRUCK

Among Himber’s novel promotions was a traveling bandstand on a flatbed truck, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. The orchestra used it for free outdoor concerts in the New York City area in the 1960s. It was during one of these concerts in 1966 that Himber suffered a heart attack, dying several hours later.

VIDEO

Here is The Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, the Richard Himber 1937 soundie, ‘Richard Himber Plays For You’.

Make sure you come back to this blog, Greg Poppleton’s Radio Lounge, every Tuesday, for the newest Phantom Dancer play list and Video of the Week!

18 FEBRUARY PLAY LIST