Original air date - Phantom Dancer :: 12:00pm 23rd Jul 2019

FROM OPERA TO SWING

This week's Greg Poppleton Phantom Dancer feature artist is Frances Langford. She trained as an opera singer. Then a tonsillectomy changed her soprano to contralto, so she changed musical styles from opera to swing. Check out this week's Phantom Dancer play list of swing and jazz mixed from live 1920s-60s radio below.

ONLINE

This week's Phantom Dancer will be online right after the 23 July 107.3 2SER Sydney live mix at 2ser.com. Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney

FRANCES ON RADIO

Frances Langford was discovered in 1930 singing at a local dance by a merchant who put her on local radio to sing about his wares. The next year she did a brief stint in the Broadway musical 'Here Goes the Bride'. She then went to Hollywood to start a movie career, appearing on Louella Parsons' radio show 'Hollywood Hotel'. Rudy Vallee heard her singing on the show and invited her to become a regular on his radio show. From 1935 to 1938 she was also a regular performer on Dick Powell's radio show. From 1946 to 1951, she performed with Don Ameche in the role, Blanche, on The Bickersons radio series.

FRANCES IN FILMS

She introduced what became her theme song, 'I'm in the Mood for Love', in the 1935 film 'Every Night at Eight', which you can see in the Video of the Week below. She appeared frequently on the silver screen in such films as 'Broadway Melody of 1936' in which she sang 'Broadway Rhythm' and 'You Are My Lucky Star', 'Born to Dance' (1936), 'Too Many Girls' (1940) and 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (1942) with James Cagney, in which she sung 'Over There'.

WWII

Langford was a regular singer on Bob Hope's 'Pepsodent Show' when he and the cast held his first military entertainment program at March Field in Riverside, California in 1941. The show was so positive, he continued broadcasting from training bases around the USA and asked Langford to join him. During World War II, she joined Hope, Jerry Colonna, guitarist Tony Romano and other performers on USO tours entertaining thousands of GIs in Europe, North Africa and the South Pacific. Her association with Hope continued up till 1989 when she joined him for a USO tour to entertain troops in the Persian Gulf. During the war, Langford wrote the weekly 'Purple Heart Diary' column for Hearst Newspapers, in which she described her visits to military hospitals to entertain wounded soldiers. She used the weekly column as a means of allowing the recovering troops to voice their complaints, and to ask for public support to make sure that wounded troops received all the supplies and comforts they needed.

TV

Frances worked for several years in the late 1940s on 'The Spike Jones Show' and starred in a short-lived DuMont variety show 'Star Time' (1950). She teamed with Don Ameche for the ABC television program, 'The Frances Langford - Don Ameche Show' (1951), a spin-off of their successful radio series 'The Bickersons' in which the duo played a feuding married couple. Langford was also the host of the NBC musical variety program 'Frances Langford Presents' (1959), which lasted one season, as did her 'The Frances Langford Show' (1960). Another notable appearance was in 'The Honeymooners' lost episode 'Christmas Party. which first aired December 19, 1953.

VIDEO

This week's Phantom Dancer video of the week is from 1935 - Frances Langford singing the song that became her theme tune, 'I'm In The Mood For Love'. Wasn't George Raft a cad! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwbgQDPiSuU

23 JULY PLAY LIST

Play List - The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney, Live Stream, Digital Radio Community Radio Network Show CRN #396
107.3 2SER Tuesday 23 July 2019 After the 2SER 12 noon news, 12:04 - 2:00pm (+10 hours GMT) National Program: Edge FM Bega Monday 3 - 4pm 7MID Oatlands Tuesday 8 - 9pm 2ARM Armidale Friday 12 - 1pm 3MGB Mallacoota Sunday 5 - 6am ArtSoundFM Canberra Sunday 7 - 8pm and early morning on 23 other stations.
Set 1	1944 Radio Swing Bands
Open + The Two-Spot Hop	Dean Hudson Orchestra	'One Night Stand' Blue Room Hotel Lincoln NYC AFRS Re-broadcast 11 Nov 1944
Blues Concerto	Jerry Wald Orchestra	'Spotlight Bands' AFRS re-broadcast 28 Oct 1944
I've Got Rhythm + Sound Off	Lenny Conn Orchestra	'One Night Stand' Camp Shanks NY AFRS Re-broadcast 1944
Set 2	Swinging 60s Radio
Theme + Re-stringing the Pearls	Jerry Gray and his Band of Today	Palladium Ballroom KFI NBC Los Angeles 20 Jan 1961
The Price is Right Boogie	Henry Red Allen Trio	London House WBBM CBS Chicago 30 Mar 1962
Cuckoo + Two O'Clock Jump	Harry James Orchestra	Moon Bowl Freedomland WNEW NY 1962
Set 3	Mod 1950s Radio
Open + How High The Moon	Pete Brown Quartet	'Stars in Jazz' Birdland WNBC NBC NY 2 Sep 1952
Madness and Great Ones	Duke Ellington Orchestra	Ravinia Festival WBBM CBS Chicago 1 Jul 1957
I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night	Arthur Prysock	'Stars in Jazz' Birdland WNBC NBC NY 1952
Set 4	Frances Langford
Open + On the Sunny Side of the Street	Frances Langford	'Swingtime' AFRS Hollywood 1944
Open + I Love You	Frances Langford	'Mail Call' AFRS Hollywood 1944
Medley: After The Ball + Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah + Dancing in the Dark + Open The Door, Richard + Let Me Call You Sweetheart + Close	Frances Langford	'Frances Langford Show' KFI NBC LA 21 Aug 1947
Set 5	1944-45 Radio
Open + I'll Walk Alone	Bob Strong Orchestra (voc) Ralph Hillworth	Glen Island Casino New Rochelle NY WOR Mutual NY 2 Sep 1944
Open + Rockin' in Rhythm	Charlie Barnet Orchestra	'Jubilee' AFRS Hollywood Feb 1945
Sleighride in July	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (voc) Bonnie Lou Williams	'Spotlight Bands' Blue Network 29 Jan 1945
Bizet Has His Day + Leap Frog (theme)	Les Brown Orchestra	Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania WABC CBS NY 7 Jul 1944
Set 6	1940s Frank Sinatra
Pistol Packin' Mama	Frank Sinatra	'Your Hit Parade' AFRS Re-broadcast 1943
Sweet Lorraine	Frank Sinatra	'Songs by Sinatra' AFRS Re-broadcast 27 Feb 1946
Speak Low	Frank Sinatra	'Your Hit Parade' AFRS Re-broadcast 18 Dec 1943
All The Things You Are	Frank Sinatra	'Songs by Sinatra' KNX CBS LA 26 Nov 1946
Set 7	Gramercy 5
Summit Ridge Drive	Artie Shaw's Gramercy 5	'Spotlight Bands' AFRS Re-broadcast San Diego Ca 12 Sep 1945
The Sad Sack	Artie Shaw's Gramercy 5	'Spotlight Bands' AFRS Re-broadcast Santa Ana AFB Ca 3 Oct 1945
Hop, Skip and Jump	Artie Shaw's Gramercy 5	'Spotlight Bands' AFRS Re-broadcast San Luis Obispo Ca 26 Sep 1945
Scuttlebutt	Artie Shaw's Gramercy 5	'Spotlight Bands' AFRS Re-broadcast Fort Ord Ca 19 Sep 1945
Set 8	Die Goldene Sieben
Darf ich bitten	Die Goldene Sieben (The Golden Seven)	Comm Rec Berlin Sep 1936
Oh! Aha!	Die Goldene Sieben (The Golden Seven) (voc) Rudi Schuericke Terzette	Comm Rec Berlin Sep 1936
St Louis Blues	Die Goldene Sieben (The Golden Seven)	Comm Rec Berlin 1938
Ein kleines weisses Haus	Die Goldene Sieben (The Golden Seven) (voc) Rudi Schuericke Terzette	Comm Rec Berlin 1939