Here it is mid-may and I have a tale for you. I haven’t spoken much about Covid 19 and the vaccines but I finally have something to say. First let me say that I am pro-vaccine and I certainly encourage everyone to get whatever vaccine they can get. I’m not anti-mask or anti-vaccine and I believe we should all follow all of the safety precautions and do our social distancing and not gather when it’s not safe to do so. This isn’t rocket science folks. Do the right thing! Moving on.
I have been trying to get a vaccine for more than a month now. I live in a rural area but I’m very close to a populated city, Belleville, Ontario and I even work in Belleville. I’m 58 and I’ve been on numerous wait-lists and have signed up through our Health Unit and on a local pharmacy’s website. I was casting my lines but getting no nibbles. On April 27th, I happened to stop into one of the Shopper’s Drug Mart on my way to work to purchase stamps when I thought to stop by the pharmacy section to ask about the vaccine. It was just before 10am and they hadn’t started giving out their daily doses so they asked me if I wanted one then and there. Of course I jumped at it and even convinced them to schedule my wife for later that date. I was just in the right place at the right time.
I was informed that it was the AstraZeneca vaccine but I didn’t care. I know there’s been some people who have died of rare blood clots but the smart people were saying that was extremely rare and to get the first vaccine that is offered. We have to get that herd immunity. Like I said, I didn’t care. I was given the information about the vaccine and agreed to it and got the jab in my left arm. I even texted my wife and children and my employer stating that I was no longer a vaccine virgin. I was happy that I did it.
Jump to later in the day and my left arm is very sorry and I have a slight headache. That evening the headache got worse and I started to feel unwell. I knew this was a possibility and I didn’t worry. I went to bed feeling ill and woke up in the middle of the night with the chills and shaking vigorously. My wife had to share her body heat to keep me warm and to stop the shivering. It wasn’t foreplay. Luckily she only had a slight headache from her vaccine. I eventually got back to sleep and then awoke later in the morning just soaked from sweat. I had to lie in my underwear on top of the blankets to try and cool down. I know, that’s an image you’ll never get out of your head.
I had received my vaccine on a Tuesday and I didn’t have to work the next day. Good thing, too, because I felt like I had been hit by a truck and not the nice kind with an ice-cream cache inside. I still had the headaches but I generally felt like I had the flu. That night, the buzzing in my ears started. The next day I felt a little better and by Friday I was running at about 90% of my old self but still with the ear buzzing and a slight headache. Friday afternoon, on my way home from work, my nose started running strenuously for about 30 minutes then stopped. Then the headache increased with dizziness, blurred vision, and chills and sweats again. The next day, Saturday, I was run over again by the same truck.
In the afternoon on Saturday I thought maybe I should get a Covid test because it was possible I had been infected before my vaccination and the current symptoms were from that. I managed to get into a drive-through Covid testing site and the results were back the next day and they were negative. I was still not feeling well on the Monday, May 2nd so I called the pharmacy that gave me the vaccine and they said to call my Doctor. I called my Doctor and told them I had been sick since getting the vaccine but I also had a Covid test but it was negative. The receptionist at my Doctor’s office said I wasn’t supposed to call her but to call “them.” I said, “who’s them?” She said, “the Covid testing center.” I explained again that I didn’t have Covid but everything had happened since getting the AstraZeneca vaccine. She took a moment to consult with my Doctor and said my Doctor would call me on Thursday afternoon, May 6th.
Meanwhile, I felt awful. I had the never-ending headache, buzzing in the ears, I had no energy and I was tired all the time. There was no fever and no cough. By the time my Doctor called me on Thursday, there had been no improvement. The pharmacy had recommended either Tylenol or Ibuprofen but neither did anything for me. My Doctor listened to me explain my symptoms over the phone and then basically said it was a side-effect of the vaccine and that I would have to tough it out. Five minutes later she called me back and asked for more details about when certain symptoms had started and intensity. She said she would call me back. Five minutes later, her receptionist called me and said the Doctor wanted to see me in her office right away.
I live 30 minutes away from my Doctor’s office so the drive was a little stressful. In fact, I was already dizzy and probably shouldn’t have driven myself. My wife was at work and I texted her but when the Doctor tells you to come to her office when she’s not seeing anyone in person then you don’t delay. By the time I got to her office, my heart was pounding and I was exhausted. I had to sit in an exam room for 10 minutes and I fell asleep.
When my Doctor finally came in she could see I wasn’t well but she asked me why I had come in. Duh, you told me to. She then asked why I had waited until today to report my symptoms. I explained that I had actually called her office on Monday and was told she would call me back Thursday. She was surprised by that and said they had some things to learn in her office…yeah, at my expense. I’ve had this Doctor for almost thirty years. She should know that I don’t usually come in unless I’m really ill. The Doctor then took my blood pressure, temperature, and then had me do some hand-eye coordination tests. She also had me try to walk a straight line with heel to toe but I kept stumbling because I was dizzy. She then told me to sit down because she was going to call the hospital because she wanted me to get to the Emergency department and get blood work and an MRI or Cat Scan if possible. If I wasn’t feeling ill before, that news sent me into a spin.
After five minutes, the Doctor came back and said the Hospital didn’t want to see me. She said they felt it was probably a reaction to the vaccine and that I would have to tough it out. Wasn’t that what she had said on Monday? Why all the tests and causing my anxiety to max out? Apparently the hospital was sure I hadn’t had a stroke and didn’t have a blood clot. This was after no blood work or xrays or even seeing me and they could diagnose me second-hand through my Doctor. I wasn’t impressed. I was drained and the ride home wasn’t much better than the drive in. I was exhausted when I got home and went and lay down for two hours. Sheesh!
The next day, Friday May 7th was no better and I was even worse on the Saturday and had to spend a lot of time in bed. Sunday was Mother’s Day and the sun shone and our son came to visit. I felt better but tired. Monday I had a dentist appointment and rallied enough to attend that. The dizziness and headache were still there. Today is Tuesday and I still have the headache and ear-ringing but I’m toughing it out and came to work. I’m off now until Friday. I’d love to wake up without the headache and ear-ringing but hopefully that will fade too. Yesterday, my local pharmacy notified me that I could come get my AstraZeneca vaccine. I phoned and told them I had it already. I didn’t tell them what they could do with the one they were holding for me.
Nothing is ever simple with me. I kept telling people I was glad I got the vaccine but if I knew I’d have this kind of reaction, I’d have waited for Pfizer or Moderna. It’s been a tough two weeks. I think my Doctor has learned something or I hope she has. Still, there’s talk about discontinuing AstraZeneca in Ontario so I’m wondering what that means for my second shot. There’s also talk about mixing and matching. I didn’t think you’re supposed to do that with medicine. I know you’re not supposed to mix your drinks. Honestly, this is like the magician asking you to pick a card and you hope he guesses right. Again, I’m encouraging everyone to get a vaccine but maybe read my precautionary tale and then put yourself on every list and get the one that you feel the most comfortable receiving. When the magician asks you to take a card and put it back, hide an extra one up your sleeve and screw up the whole trick. Stay home. Stay safe. And get a vaccine…I’m just not going to say which one.
Well it’s the last part of April 2021 and it’s a snow day. That shouldn’t happen. Oh well, it will all melt in a few days. And to think I assembled a porch swing the other day and the next day cut my grass. You have to love Canada weather! If you have read my two previous blahgs, 12 MONTHS – 12 RECORDS – 12 SONGS & 12 MONTHS – 12 MORE RECORDS – 12 MORE SONGS, you would know that I’ve been having fun posting about some of the vinyl LPs I’ve purchased over the past year. I had a lot of fun assembling those two blahgs but I was busy at the same time looking ahead to this blahg.
I’ll mention three other blahgs I wrote last year that helped to inspire this current blahg. My three part Linda Keene series, TRACING LINDA KEENE, PART 1: THE FLORENCE SUTTLE YEARS, TRACING LINDA KEENE, PART 2: THE MOMENT IN MY LIFE,TRACING LINDA KEENE, PART 3: ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD, was very labour intensive. I spent a great deal of time researching Linda Keene and perusing through old newspaper articles to assemble a narrative of Linda Keene’s career. One thing I learned, outside of all of the things I learned about Linda Keene, was that there were many big bands and orchestras in the mid and late 1930s and through the 1940s that we no longer remember. So, I thought I would look at some of those forgotten bands that specifically were associated in some way with Linda Keene. I’ll try to provide some information of these orchestras and some recordings where I can. This blahg will be an assemblage of information and recordings and images from various sources. I’ve done the research and now you get to enjoy reading it.
In part one of my Linda Keene series I detailed how she was born Florence McCrory in December of 1911 and later married Sturgeon Suttle in September of 1931. She performed under her married name of Florence Suttle in the early 1930s and toured with her husband who billed himself as “Frank Suttle.” The first reference I found for the couple performing with any orchestra was from the August 3, 1934 Detroit Times, below, where they were performing at the Oriole Terrace as part of a floor show including Bob Chester and His Music. It is not clear if Florence Suttle performed with Bob Chester and His Orchestra but for the purposes of this blahg, Bob Chester’s band will be the first forgotten band we’ll look at.
With some of the bands I’ve tracked, there is very little information about the orchestra or what might have happened to them. Not so with Bob Chester. There is even a Wikipedia entry for Bob Chester although there isn’t more than really a page of information”
Bob Chester (March 20, 1908 – June 14, 1977) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and tenor saxophonist.
Chester’s stepfather ran General Motors’s Fisher Body Works. He began his career as a sideman under Irving Aaronson, Ben Bernie, and Ben Pollack. He formed his own group in Detroit in 1939, with a Glenn Miller-influenced sound. This band was unsuccessful in local engagements and quickly dissolved. He then put together a new band on the East Coast under the direction of Tommy Dorsey and with arrangements by David Rose. This ensemble fared much better, recording for Bluebird Records.
Chester’s group, billed “The New Sensation of the Nation,” had its own radio show on CBS briefly in the fall of 1939. The twenty-five-minute program aired from the Hotel Van Cleve in Dayton, Ohio late on Thursday nights (actually 12:30 am Friday morning, Eastern Time); the September 21, 1939 edition can be heard on the famous One Day In Radio tapes, archived by Washington D.C. station WJSV.
Chester’s Bluebird records have proved excellent sellers, both for retail dealers and coin phonograph operators such as “From Maine to California”; “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie”; “Madelaine”; and two songs from “Banjo Eyes” – “Not a Care in the World” and “A Nickel to My Name”. His only national hit was “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair” (b/w “I Walk With Music”; Bluebird 10614), which featured Dolores O’Neill on vocals and went to #18 on the charts in April 1940.
Chester’s orchestra included trumpeters Alec Fila, Nick Travis, Lou Mucci, and Conrad Gozzo, saxophonists Herbie Steward and Peanuts Hucko, drummer Irv Kluger, and trombonist Bill Harris. His female singers included Dolores O’Neill, Kathleen Lane, and Betty Bradley; among his male singers were Gene Howard, Bill Darnell, Joe Harris, Stu Brayton, Hall Stewart, Peter Marshall, Bob Haymes, and Al Stuart.
The orchestra disbanded in the mid-1940s, due in part to the shrinking market for big band sound. After a stint as a disc jockey at WKMH radio, Chester assembled another band for a short time in the early 1950s, but after it failed he retired from music and returned to Detroit to work for the rest of his life in auto manufacturing.
Looking at this output from 1939-1942, Bob Chester recorded more than 110 songs onto 78 rpm records. Many of these have not been reissued on CD. Below is a discography, of sorts, of the recordings Bob Chester and his Orchestra made between 1939 and 1942. If you click on any of the images then you will be able to view a larger image of the listings.
This is a fairly significant output for an orchestra that we barely know. For my money, this was a fantastic orchestra with some great recorded songs. Luckily some collectors of original 78rpm records have compiled and posted many of Bob Chester’s early recordings. You can see the list and listen to the recordings here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Bob+Chester+and+his+Orchestra%22. Choosing from the extensive selection is difficult so I’m going to offer up a few different recordings. Here’s their first recording, “Just For A Thrill”:
Next up is their only national hit, “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair.” This time someone has posted the recording on Youtube:
Now for one from their middle years, “The Moon Won’t Talk:”
Here are two tracks from their last listed session of June 30, 1942, “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon” and “He’s My Guy.” Note that “He’s My Guy” is listed in the discography as “Yes My Guy” but “He’s My Guy” was the flip-side of “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon” from the same session.
The discography that I posted above stops at 1942 but from the Wikipedia article we know that “The orchestra disbanded in the mid-1940s…Chester assembled another band for a short time in the early 1950s.” We are lucky that some of the 1950 recordings were also posted on Archive.org. Here’s “Frenzy” and the flip side of that 78, “Mad About Love.” Both songs were recorded in March of 1950.
Before I finish with Bob Chester, I want to post some other exciting material by this band. In one of my Linda Keene blahgs, I wrote about the Soundies she did with Henry Levine and his band. In case you haven’t read that yet, here’s my explanation about Soundies:
“Soundies are three-minute American musical films, produced between 1940 and 1947, each containing a song, dance, and/or band or orchestral number. Produced professionally on 35mm black-and-white film, like theatrical motion pictures, they were printed in the more portable and economical 16mm gauge.
The films were shown in a coin-operated “movie jukebox” called the Panoram, manufactured by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago. Each Panoram housed a 16mm RCA film projector, with eight Soundies films threaded in an endless-loop arrangement. A system of mirrors flashed the image from the lower half of the cabinet onto a front-facing screen in the top half. Each film cost 10 cents to play, and there was no choice of song; the patron saw whatever film was next in the queue. Panorams could be found in public amusement centers, nightclubs, taverns, restaurants, and factory lounges, and the films were changed weekly. The completed Soundies were generally made available within a few weeks of their filming, by the Soundies Distributing Corporation of America.”
We are lucky that Bob Chester and His Orchestra filmed some Soundies. We are also lucky that someone has posted these on Youtube. The first is Bob Chester and the band performing “B-I-BI” which they recorded for Bluebird on September 10, 1941:
The second is a compilation of songs by Bob Chester and his Orchestra, “Octave Jump”, “On The Sunny Side of the Street”, “Deep River”, and “Chesterwoogie.” The orchestra recorded “Octave Jump” on March 4, 1940 but I don’t know if they recorded the other three songs.
Finally, I want to jump back to something else that was referenced in the Wikipedia article:
Chester’s group, billed “The New Sensation of the Nation,” had its own radio show on CBS briefly in the fall of 1939. The twenty-five-minute program aired from the Hotel Van Cleve in Dayton, Ohio late on Thursday nights (actually 12:30 am Friday morning, Eastern Time); the September 21, 1939 edition can be heard on the famous One Day In Radio tapes, archived by Washington D.C. station WJSV.
The reference here is to the “One Day In Radio” which was broadcast by the WJSV radio station. Here’s another Wikipedia explanation:
On September 21, 1939 radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. made an audio recording of its entire 19-hour broadcast day. This undertaking was a collaboration between the station and the National Archives,
Bob Chester and his Orchestra were part of the schedule and a twenty-five minute program of their music was included in the “One Day In Radio” recordings. The entire 19 hours is also available on Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/001WakeUpMusic. Here’s the entire Bob Chester program as broadcast on September 21, 1939:
Moving on, the next major outfit that was associated with Florence Suttle was George Duffy and His Orchestra. Florence Suttle would tour with Duffy from April to December of 1935. Duffy and his band seemed to be a big deal in Ohio in the mid-1930s. Look at this article below from The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio), June 21, 1935 announcing the opening that evening of the George Duffy Orchestra at the Gibson Roof Garden:
It was a a fairly significant advertisement announcing George Duffy and His Orchestra. But what happened to George Duffy? It should be noted that there was also an Irish Show Band, the George Duffy Orchestra in the 1940s but it’s not the same organization. I could find very little about the American Duffy and his Orchestra. There is a website/blog dedicated to Duffy at http://georgeduffyandhisorchestra.blogspot.com/ with some wonderful photos but no real information. Here’s one of the photos of George Duffy and his Orchestra:
Unfortunately there are no other details about the photo or even a date for the image. I could not find a discography for George Duffy and His Orchestra but did find some sheet music images of songs that had been attributed to Duffy:
I could find nothing to suggest that George Duffy even recorded these songs. I scanned through old newspapers and found that Duffy continued to front an orchestra and was busy making public appearances from the mid-1930s to as late as the early 1960s. In fact, Duffy was still performing as late as 1962 as can be attested by this advertisement from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 3, 1962:
George Duffy passed away on March 29th, 1963:
As I have said, I cannot find a discography for George Duffy and His Orchestra but it is possible that the band made at least one recording. I have found images for a 78 rpm record on the Quaker label for George Duffy and His Orchestra. The record features the songs “Love Is Just Around The Corner” backed with “The Ice Cream Song”
Unfortunately I could not find any music files to offer of George Duffy and His Orchestra. I know they also performed a number of live radio remotes but I haven’t come across any of these either. George Duffy and His Orchestra did perform at the Cleveland Auto Show in November of 1935. The Cleveland Automobile Show ran for a week from November 23rd to November 30, 1935 and one of the big attractions was the appearance of George Burns and Gracie Allen in a stage show. Burns and Allen did broadcast from the Cleveland Automobile Show but I haven’t found a radio transcription of the show so I do not know if Duffy made an appearance on the Burns and Allen show.
The next band I wanted to explore was an Orchestra that Florence Suttle appeared with in January of 1936. The following advertisement is from the Cleveland Plain Dealer on January 25, 1936:
The name of the Orchestra is referred to as Pinkey Hunter and his Orchestra. This is another Orchestra that seemed to have roots in Ohio but again very little is known about them. In searching for a discography for Pinkey Hunter and his Orchestra, I could only find reference to Pinkey Hunter as a member of Emerson Gill and His Castle of Paris Orchestra. The following discography section notes Pinkey Hunter as a member of Gill’s Orchestra and that Hunter performed vocals on some of the recordings.
The last credited song for Pinkey Hunter with Gill’s Orchestra was “Ready For The River” from March 27th, 1928. This song is also available on Archive.org.
From the same March 27, 1928 session that produced “Ready For The River”, we have Emerson Gill & His Bamboo Garden Orchestra with “That’s What I Call Keen” with Pinkey Hunter doing vocal:
Someone has posted on Youtube the first Emerson Gill track that credits Pinkey Hunter on vocal. It’s “That’s My Girl ” from the February 17th, 1925 session.
Youtube also brings us two tracks from Emerson Gill’s March 1st, 1926 session that also have Pinkey Hunter vocals. They are “My Bundle of Love” and “The Roses Brought Me You”:
I could find no recordings for Pinkey Hunter and his Orchestra or any information that suggests that Pinkey Hunter recorded with his own Orchestra. One of the last news articles that I could find about Pinkey Hunter was from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 13, 1949 that shows an elderly Hunter:
In 1949 Pinkey Hunter was the program director at WHK in Cleveland, Ohio. I could not find an obituary for him.
Skipping ahead to 1936, we find the next reference to Florence Suttle was that she was appearing at the Mayfair Room of the Book-Cadillac Hotel in Detroit beginning on April 17th, 1936. This time she was with the Sam Jack Kaufman Orchestra. I’ll work backwards in that I found Sam Jack Kaufman’s obituary from the February 11th, 1990 Washington Post:
MUSICIAN S.J. KAUFMAN DIES AT 88
Sam Jack Kaufman, 88, president of the D.C. Federation of Musicians Local 161-710 from 1955 until he retired in 1985, died of cancer Feb. 7 at his home at Leisure World in Silver Spring.
Mr. Kaufman was born in Rochester, N.Y. He was a musician and bandleader in New York, Chicago, Detroit and elsewhere before moving to the Washington area in 1940.
He was the conductor and then the music director at Loew’s Capitol Theater from the time he came here until 1954, when the Capitol discontinued its vaudeville programs. Mr. Kaufman became head of the musicians union the next year.
His wife, Helen Kaufman, died in 1985.
Survivors include two children, Carol Chappelear of Landover and Noel Kaufman of Burke; two grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
So, what we know of Sam Jack Kaufman was that he was a bandleader up to 1940. Here’s a picture of him:
His obituary contains the most detailed information I could find on Sam Jack Kaufman. I could find no discography for the Sam Jack Kaufman Orchestra but Archive.org did offer up a 78 rpm of “Washington” sung by Jimmie Dodd and backed by Sam Jack Kauman and his Capitol Theater Orchestra.
Seeing as the band is billed as “Sam Jack Kaufman and his Capitol Theater Orchestra,” this recording would have to been made after 1940 when Kaufman relocated to Washington. Of course we should also take note of the fact that the song is the “Motorola Song for Washington Contest 1st Prize Winner.” There may be some earlier recordings of Sam Jack Kaufman because I did find the following 78 of “My Confession” backed with “My Love For You”:
I could not find any other information about these recordings nor when they were issued.
The last forgotten band that I want to look at associated with Florence Suttle is Coleman Sachs and his Orchestra. After Florence finished with Sam Jack Kaufman in the Mayfair Room in Detroit, she was next spotted in Birmingham, Alabama on May 22, 1936 at the Club Rex on the same bill with “Coleman Sachs and his 14-Star Band.”
Like Pinkey Hunter, most of the recordings I could find of Coleman Sachs were with another orchestra. In this case it was the Jack Linx Orchestra. There is a website of sorts, https://www.angelfire.com/ga/benningcobbrussel/coleman_sachs_orchestra.html, dedicated to the Coleman Sachs Orchestra but, like the one dedicated to George Duffy, it consists mainly of photos and old articles. This is another case of working backwards. Two of the articles were from later in life when he was retired from the music business. If the images are not very clear then click on them to open a larger and clearer image. The first apparently comes from 1956 because it has a handwritten notation of that year:
So, the big thing we learn is that the orchestra disbanded in 1944 and may not have got around to making any recordings. The second article doesn’t have a date but it references Coleman Sachs as being 74 years old. He died in 1985 at the age of 79 so this next article was either 1979 or 1980:
The only way we get to hear Coleman Sachs play is by listening to early recordings of Jack Linx and his Society Serenaders. This was the band that Sachs took over in 1930 and by 1932 he had hung up his trumpet to concentrate on leading the band. Before I get to the Jack Linx recordings, I want to post some pictures of Coleman Sachs and his Ochestra and one of the Jack Linx orchestra. These come from the website I mentioned earlier dedicated to Coleman Sachs. First, here’s Sachs and his band:
There is no date for that picture but it’s probably early 1930s. Here’s Jack Linx and his Society Serenaders (again no date):
I’ve been able to put together a small discography of Jack Linx recordings. I do not know if this is complete:
The very first recording listed is “How Come You Do Me Like You Do?” from August 28th, 1924 and we are lucky that is available to hear:
Someone has posted on YouTube, the other two tracks from that first session, “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo” & “Doodle Doo Doo””:
A year later in August of 1925, Jack Linx recorded “She’s My Sheba, I’m Her Sheik”:
And finally two songs from the March 13th, 1926 session, “Tie Me To Your Apron Strings” and “Fallen Arches” :
Somewhere in these almost 100 year old tracks is the long gone trumpet of Coleman Sachs. I may not have found any recordings for Coleman Sachs and His Orchestra but the Jack Linx Society Serenaders is essentially the same group of musicians but with Coleman Sachs on trumpet and Jack Linx conducting.
Our story as it relates to bands associated with Florence Suttle ends and then begins anew with a very small notice in the Birmingham News on December 4th, 1937. The article relates to Frank Suttle, her then husband, but there is a mention that his wife “Flo, is singing with Nye Mayhew’s Band in Boston under the name of Linda Keene.” Florence Suttle had finally made the transition to Linda Keene. The next few forgotten bands all came to my attention because of Linda Keene. To be accurate, Linda Keene had been appearing with Nye Mayhew since September 30th of 1937. The article to the left from The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts), September 25th, 1937 states “Nye Mayhew and his orchestra will open at the Hotel Statler, Thursday evening,” which would make the opening on September 30th, 1937.
I wish someone had created a website dedicated to Nye Mayhew. The little that I could find in the way of a biography comes from old newspaper articles and from this excerpt from “”American Big Bands” by William F. Lee:
I know the excerpt is short on details but I found an interview that Mayhew gave in 1956 about his early career and association with Bix Beiderbecke. The article comes from the January 5th, 1956 edition of the Dallas Morning News.
We can piece together from this article and the excerpt from “American Big Bands” that Nye Mayhew started out with Paul Whiteman. In fact I found references of Nye Mayhew recording with the following bands:
–Hale Byers and His Orchestra February 25, 1926
–Paul Whiteman 1927
–Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals October 28, 1927
–Fred Rich and His Hotel Astor Orchestra, May 4, 1928
–The Dorsey Brothers’ Concert Orchestra July 16, 1928
–Carolina Club Orchestra March 27, 1929
Nye Mayhew’s Orchestra has a discography that starts on July 27th, 1933 as Nye Mayhew and his Westchester Biltmore Orchestra:
Note that the September 7th, 1933 session that produced “Thanks” and “The Day You Came Along” were issued under Will Osbourne and His Orchestra but supposedly Osbourne was only the vocalist with the accompaniment actually being Nye Mayhew’s Orchestra. Also, the January 19th, 1934 session produced recordings by Mayhew being issued under another Orchestra’s name.
For this blahg, I’m not going to offer recordings that Mayhew did with earlier orchestras. I want to stick to the above discography because quite a number of his recordings are available on Archive.org and YouTube. Someone has posted to Archive.org thirteen selections of Mayhew’s 78rpm output, https://archive.org/details/NyeMayhewOrchestra78rpmCollection. Mayhew had a nice sound in the 1930s. From the first listed session, July 27, 1933, here are “Blue Roses” and “It Isn’t Fair”:
Blue Roses:
It Isn’t Fair:
From the September 7, 1933 session here are the two recordings that were actually Nye Mayhew and His Orchestra issued as Will Osborne and His Orchestra. Here are “Thanks” and “The Day You Came Along”:
And finally, from the last session on April 9, 1934 here are “This Is Our Last Night Together” with a vocal by Douglas Newman and “Baby, Take A Bow!” which has a Russ Morgan vocal:
Nye Mayhew was still fronting an Orchestra under his name into the late 1950s. I do not know if Mayhew made any other recordings after his April 9th, 1934 session. There were some radio remotes of his Orchestra over the years which might have included Linda Keene as well but I have not come across any remotes by Mayhew. I could not find an obituary for Mayhew but I found references to him leading an orchestra well into the late 1950s.
I’m skipping ahead a little bit with Linda Keene’s association with big bands. In 1938 she had a short stint with Glenn Miller’s Orchestra and then Bobby Hackett’s Dixieland Orchestra. Seeing as these are relatively known bands, I want to stick to the forgotten orchestras that had some association with Linda Keene. Just before Christmas in 1938 Linda Keene landed in Bermuda for a stint at the Silver Grill, in the Hotel Bermudiana. The band she was appearing with was Scott Fisher and His Orchestra.
Here’s another band for which there is very little information. I had to really search for any information on Scott Fisher and His Orchestra. The following information comes from the website https://jazzagemusic.blogspot.com/2020_06_15_archive.html:
1905
‘Bud’ Fisher, Leader
aka: “Scott Fisher and his Orch.”
b. New York, NY, USA
York, NY, USA.
d. August 2, 1972, Flemington, NJ, USA
Winfield Scott (“Bud”) Fisher was born in the Bronx, New York on June 16, 1905. He moved to Bogota, Bergen County, New Jersey at age 13. He and younger brother William Hardy “Billy” Fisher, known in 1923 as “The Musical Fishers,” made one of their earliest appearances at “The Sphinx Club” in New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel on the same bill with the legendary Will Rogers. Scott was only 17, while Billy was just 9.
Using a foundation of himself on piano and kid brother Billy on sax and clarinet (and later handling orchestrations), Scott organized his first band as a teenager. Eventually, they became known in the New York/New Jersey area as “Bud Fisher & His Commodores.”
Into the early 1930s, Scott’s orchestra became known throughout New York and New Jersey, playing numerous dates on area radio stations like WABC, WEAF, WAAT, WJZ, and WADA. Scott, Billy, and company also performed at New Jersey’s legendary “Rustic Cabin” for two years, among their numerous other club appearances. “Bud Fisher & His Commodores” were regulars on Cunard Line cruise ships, performing on runs to Cuba and Bermuda, and were winter mainstays at Bermuda’s “Bermudiana Hotel.” The band also recorded several commercial pressings, and performed at the famous Coconut Grove Room at New York’s Park Central Hotel.
Around 1935, the band went on several two-month tours, only to return to the New York area without a gig. As a result, the orchestra split up. Had they been able to survive that period, the Fisher band may well have become one of the top names in the business as the movement of individual band members shortly after the breakup illustrates:
Harold Mooney, the piano player, went on to arrange for Hal Kemp; Gordon Griffin found a place for his horn with Benny Goodman; “Toots” Camarata became Jimmy Dorsey’s arranger; the third trumpet player (name unknown) joined up with Casa Loma; while Billy Fisher became sax/clarinet man and arranger for Russ Morgan. (Billy later filled a similar role for Al Donahue, before becoming Ray Bloch’s “right-hand man” for roughly 35 years, the bandleader for whom he arranged the music of “The Ed Sullivan Show” for all 24 seasons.)
Scott Fisher later became Head Copiest for Ray Bloch. He also worked in this capacity for numerous Broadway shows including “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “Golden Boy,” “The Apple Tree,” “My Fair Lady,” and “The Music Man,” mostly under the direction of Elliot Lawrence. He died on August 2, 1972 in Flemington, New Jersey at age 67. Billy Fisher died in Greenwich, Connecticut on April 24, 1972.
I was able to find a small discography for the 1935 Scott Fisher and His Orchestra:
I apologize for the image above but it was presented that way at the source although I was able to enhance the January 10, 1935 session. A handful of the Scott Fisher and His Orchestra recordings are available on Archive.org at https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Scott+Fisher+and+his+Orchestra%22. What is noteworthy about the Archive.org available recordings is that some are from the 1935 sessions and there are later ones from 1949. I cannot find a discography for Scott Fisher in 1949 but we can assume this is the same Scott Fisher from 1935 but probably fronting a new orchestra.
Now, I’ll offer the remaining tracks from the January 10, 1935 session. Here we have “In A Blue And Pensive Mood”, “Just A Fair-Weather Friend”, and “Haunting Me”. The vocals on the three songs are all performed by Lee Johnson. These tracks also come from the Soundcloud.com source.
The 1949 tracks of Scott Fisher and His Orchestra are also available on Archive.org. Of course, by 1949 the sound of the Scott Fisher Orchestra is quite different.
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Again, I have no proof that the 1949 Scott Fisher and His Orchestra is the same as the 1935 band. Here’s another mystery to add to the Scott Fisher Orchestra from the later years. Betty Clooney, sister of Rosemary Clooney, apparently recorded the song “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening” with Scott Fisher and His Orchestra, also for the Hi-Tone label in 1953
Unfortunately I was not able to find a source from which to download or listen to this track.
Here is Scott Fisher’s obituary from August 2nd, 1972:
After leaving Scott Fisher and His Orchestra in Bermuda, Linda Keene returned to America to do some recordings and touring with Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra. Teagarden and his band are famous enough that I don’t need to include them here. Linda Keene was with Teagarden from May to July 1939 but by August she had moved on to touring with Willie Farmer and His Orchestra.
Like some of the other bands detailed in this blahg, I had never heard of Willie Farmer and His Orchestra until I started researching Linda Keene. I will again start with the obituary to try and provide some information about Willie Farmer. This is from the April 7th, 1990 edition of The Morning Call out of Lehigh Valley and Allentown, Pennsylvania
WILLIAM FARMER, 84; HAD 65-YEAR MUSICAL CAREER THE MORNING CALL
William “Willie” Farmer, 84, formerly of 1622 Liberty St., Allentown, a musician for more than 65 years, died Thursday at the Leader Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Bethlehem. He was the husband of Hilda (Solomon) Farmer. They observed their 60th wedding anniversary last October.
Farmer began his career at the age of 13 as a drummer with the Carl Fenton Orchestra. He later played with many of the big bands, including Glen Gray and the Casa Luma Band, Red Nichols and Tommy Dorsey. In 1932 he took over the Larry Siry Band at the Simplon Club, New York City, and the band was known thereafter as Willie Farmer and the Farmer-in-the-Dell Orchestra.
Born in New York City, he was a son of the late Abraham and Celia (Dorsky) Farberman.
During the 1930s, Farmer’s orchestra toured throughout the East and Midwest and made more than 30 recordings, mainly for the Bluebird/Victor label. The band was well-known in New York night spots, including The El Murrocco, Tavern-on-the Green and Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center.
They also played locally at the former Castle Gardens at Dorney Park, the former Mealey’s Auditorium, Allentown, and Flagstaff, Jim Thorpe. The band also performed for many early radio broadcasts of the era.
Farmer moved to Florida in 1975 and continued to work as a musician until retiring in 1985.
He was a past board member of Associated Musicians Local 802.
Survivors: Wife; son, Dr. H. Stephen of Princeton, N.J.; daughter Judith, wife of Morton Miller of Allentown, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Graveside services: 2 p.m. Sunday, Beth Israel Cemetery, U.S. 1, Woodbridge, N.J. Arrangements, David J. Boyko Funeral Home, Macungie.
The takeaway information from the obituary is that Farmer’s orchestra “made more than 30 recordings” and that “the band also performed for many early radio broadcasts of the era.” Unfortunately I cannot find any live remotes for Willie Farmer and His Orchestra but from two different sources I was able to assemble the following discography:
I apologize again for some of the images for the 1937 and 1938 discography as they were cropped at the source. Note that in 1933 the Orchestra was known as Willie Farmer and His Simplon Club Orchestra. We are indebted again to people who have posted some of the 78 rpm records of Willie Farmer to Archive.org. You can listen to many of them through this link: https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Willie+Farmer+and+his+Orchestra%22. Willie Farmer and His Orchestra also had a nice sound on their recordings. None of the 1933 tracks are available on Archive.org so we will have to rely on YouTube. Here are two songs from that first session, “Love Is Love, Anywhere” and “Let’s Fall In Love”
Love Is Love, Anywhere
Let’s Fall In Love
From the Archive.org postings are two tracks from the June 11, 1937 session, “Stop! You’re Breaking My Heart” and “Scattin’ At The Kit-Kat”:
The following selections are simply because I like the titles. From September 9, 1937 comes “Midnight In The Madhouse” followed by “Tarzan” from July 15, 1938.
I’ll finish off with this band’s 1930s output by offering two tracks from their last session on September 1st, 1938. Here are “A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow” and “Yes Ma’am I’m The Guy”:
As with some other artists, like Scott Fisher, Willie Farmer appeared to have fronted another Orchestra in the 1940s. I have found listings for at least three songs that Willie Farmer and His Orchestra released on Jubilee in 1947, “I Found Gold”, “Louisa Learned The Roomba From Her Goomba”, and “Why Do They Fall In Fallsburg”. All three songs had vocals by Lee Tully. Luckily, someone has posted the last two songs on Archive.org:
In 2016 a digital album of Willie Farmer and His Orchestra, “Perfect Jazz For Dancing” was released to digital platforms. None of the tracks match the 1930s discography so we have to assume these might have been from the late 1940s or later or quite possibly this is some other Willie Farmer and His Orchestra.
At last, we come to the final Forgotten Band for this blahg. After Willie Farmer and his Orchestra, Linda Keene was next spotted with Lennie Hayton and His Orchestra. At some point in November 1939, Linda took up with Lennie Hayton and his Orchestra and was appearing with him at Loew’s State theatre in New York starting November 24th. Billboard magazine reviewed Hayton at Loew’s State on November 24th and ran their review in the December 2, 1939 issue.
Now, I know some might say that Lennie Hayton is a very recognizable name. That is true. He has a good entry on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennie_Hayton. He started out with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra and then joined the Charles Previn Orchestra for a time. Hayton in his history as a band leader recorded two numbers as a leader in 1928 and then led a big band that recorded from 1937-40. When the band broke up in 1940, Hayton settled in Hollywood, where he worked for MGM as an arranger, conductor and musical director. He married the singer Lena Horne in 1947 and thereafter served as her pianist, arranger and musical director. Between 1937 and 1940, the Hayton band, booked by Mills Artists Incorporated, toured coast-to-coast, playing one-nighters and extended stay locations with a lineup that ranged from 12 to as many as 20 musicians.
As mentioned, Lennie Hayton’s Orchestra recorded 24 tracks between 1937 and 1940. None of these tracks have been reissued on CD to my knowledge. It is that forgotten band that I want to focus on here. Here is the discography for the 1937-1940 Lennie Hayton and His Orchestra:
Carelessly (Chas. & Nick Kenny ‑ Norman Ellis). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1248‑A (62144‑A). NY, 4/22/1937. E. Sid Stoneburn, clarinet solo. 3:10
It Looks Like Rain In Cherry Blossom Lane (Edgar Leslie‑Joe Burke). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1248‑B (62145‑A). NY, 4/22/1937. E. 3:13
The Lady Who Couldn’t Be Kissed (from the Warner Bros. production “The Singing Marine”) (Harry Warren‑Al Dubin). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1268‑B (62146‑A). NY, 4/22/1937.(Seems as if Hayton recorded practically the entire score of “The Singing Marine”, a musical that starred Kenny Baker. I’ve seen it on TCM). E+ 3:05
Night Over Shanghai (from the Warner Bros. production “The Singing Marine”) (Harry Warren‑Johnny Mercer). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1268‑A (62147‑A). NY, 4/22/1937. E+. 3:19
I Know Now (from the Warner Bros. production “The Singing Marine”) (Harry Warren‑Al Dubin). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1267‑A (62148‑A). NY, 4/22/1937. E+. 3:12
You Can’t Run Away From Love Tonight (from the Warner Bros. Production “The Singing Marine”) (Harry Warren‑Al Dubin). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1267‑B (62149‑A). NY, 4/22/1937. E. 3:03
Gone With the Wind (Allie Wrubel‑Herb Magidson). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1341‑A (62320‑A). NY, 7/1/1937. E. 3:05
What A Beautiful Beginning (from the 20th Century‑Fox production “Sing And Be Happy”) (Harry Akst‑Sidney Clare). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1341‑B (62321‑A). NY, 7/1/1937. Looks rough, plays E (especially after restoration). 2:38
Can I Forget You (from the Paramount picture “High, Wide And Handsome”) (Jerome Kern- Oscar Hammerstein II). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1348‑A (62324‑A). NY, 7/1/1937. N‑. 3:13
The Folks Who Live On the Hill (from the Paramount picture “High, Wide And Handsome”) (Jerome Kern‑Oscar Hammerstein II). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1348‑B (62325‑B). NY, 7/1/1937. E+ to N‑. 3:05
That Old Feeling (from the Walter Wanger production “Vogues of 1938”) (Lew Brown‑Sammy Fain). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1354‑A (62326‑A). NY, 7/1/1937. Superb side; solos from Sid Stoneburn‑clarinet, and either Ralph Muzzilo or Red Hymie‑trumpet. E to E+. 2:54
Lovely One (from the Walter Wanger production “Vogues of 1938”) (Manning Sherwin‑Frank Loesser). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1354‑B (62327‑A). NY, 7/1/1937. E+ 3:06
Once In A While (Michael Edwards‑Bud Green). Vocal by Paul Barry. (American) Decca 1443‑A (62582‑A). NY, 9/8/1937. E. 3:00
Once In A While (Edwards‑Green). Vocal by Paul Barry. (Canadian) Decca 1443‑A (62582‑B). NY, 9/8/1937. This record looks E‑ to E, but has rim chip 2 grooves in (ends before music starts) and 1 1/2″ hairline crack. It has excellent quality shellac, so all defects are unnoticeable after restoration. E . 3:02
15. The Morning After (Dorsey‑Jaffe‑Boland). Vocal by Paul Barry. (American) Decca 1443‑B (62583‑B; an”X” has been stamped through take “A”, with the “B” take stamped next to it !!). NY, 9/8/1937. E. 3:01
So Many Memories (Harry Woods). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1437‑B (62584‑A). NY, 9/8/1937. E+. Sid Stoneburn‑clarinet; ? Ralph Muzzilo‑trumpet. 3:07
Make A Wish (from the Principal Production “Make A Wish”) (Straus‑Alter‑Webster). Vocal by Paul Barry. Decca 1437‑A (62585‑A). NY, 9/8/1937. E+. 2:45
At the Balalaika (from “Balalaika”). Vocal by Linda Keene. Varsity 8125 (US‑1130‑1) NY, c. 12/7/1939. E. 3:15
The Starlit Hour (Parish‑DeRose). Vocal by Linda Keene. Varsity 8125 (US‑1131‑1; as above). NY, c. 12/7/1939. E (slight scuff removed by restoration). 2:53
Peg O’ My Heart (Bryan‑Fisher). Varsity 8134 (US‑1132‑2). NY, c. 12/7/1939. Slats Long ‑ clarinet. N-. 3:00
As Long As I Live (Koehler‑Arlen). Varsity 8134 (US‑1133‑2). NY, c. 12/7/1939. N‑. 3:20
I Love You Much Too Much (Olshey‑Raye‑Towber). Vocal by Linda Keene. Vocalion 5421 (W‑26541‑A). NY, 2/20/1940. E. 3:00
Times Square Scuttle (Hayton). Vocalion 5471 (W‑26542‑A). NY, 2/20/1940. That trumpet sounds like Yank Lawson to me, but wasn’t he still with Crosby at this time??? or not??? N‑. 2:32
One Cigarette For Two (Metzger‑Dougherty‑Ryan). Vocal by Linda Keene. Vocalion 5421 (W‑26543‑A). NY, 2/20/1940. E. 2:56
Note that 13 and 14 are the same song but it appears that number 14, a Canadian issue of “Once In A While” appears to be an alternate take. Not all of the 24 songs are available on Archive.org. Certainly, the Canadian issue of “One In A While” is not there and remains a rarity but the American release is available. The four tracks that had vocals by Linda Keene from late 1939 and early 1940 are also not there. Those I have included in a previous blahg, TRACING LINDA KEENE, PART 2: THE MOMENT IN MY LIFE. Of the remaining tracks, I was unable to find a listening source for “Peg O’ My Heart” and “As Long As I Live”. One of his last recordings, “Times Square Scuttle” will be presented as a YouTube post.
From the April 27th, 1937 session, here are “Carelessly” and “You Can’t Run Away From Love Tonight” with vocals by Paul Barry:
From July 1st, 1937 are two songs that I’ve particularly enjoyed by other artists as well, “The Folks Who Live On The Hill” and “That Old Feeling” with Paul Barry again providing the vocals:
Here are two tracks from the September 8, 1937 session, the aforementioned American release of “Once In A While” and “Make A Wish” with Paul Barry vocals:
I won’t present anything from the December 7th, 1939 session because “Peg O’ My Heart” and “As Long As I Live”are not available and I have already posted “At The Balalaika” and “The Starlit Hour” in my previous blahg, TRACING LINDA KEENE, PART 2: THE MOMENT IN MY LIFE so you can head over there to listen to those two songs. I am going to present three tracks from the last session on February 20th, 1940. Linda Keene also did vocals at that session and I will repost one of those tracks because I think it’s one of the most haunting vocals that she performed with Hayton. Here are “AC-DC Current”, which the Angelfire website claimed was a Magnificent side, probably Hayton’s best! Following that is Linda Keene doing the vocal on “I Love You Much Too Much” and a Youtube post of “Times Square Scuttle.”
That’s it. I hope you’ve enjoyed these Forgotten Bands. There’s some good music here and I hope you take some time to follow the links and listen to some of the other recordings by these bands that are almost lost to time.
Well it’s April and we’re in another lockdown/stay at home situation here in Ontario. I’m not complaining. Covid-19 cases are on the rise again and we need to do this to bring the case numbers down. What a perfect time to enjoy some more music that I’ve collected over the past year. In my previous blahg, 12 MONTHS – 12 RECORDS – 12 SONGS, I offered up samples from some albums I had purchased over the past 12 months either at local thrift stores or purchased over the Internet. I’m talking about LPs. Vinyl! The good stuff! I have another batch of 12 albums that I purchased over the past month so I’m basically doing a part two with these new to me albums. Sit back and enjoy some good music
As I’ve said before, many of these records have not had CD releases so they’re a bit on the rare side. I’ve done another good job of scanning the covers so if you click on the rear covers then you get full images with all of the great jacket notes. I’ve tried to clean the audio and remove any clicks and crackle sounds. I think you might just find something interesting this time around. Wait, I didn’t mean the last batch of 12 records were not any good but I’m just saying I’m continuing with the vinyl and there’s bound to be something here that’s enjoyable. There was only one album in the batch that wasn’t as good as the rest. You’ll have to read on to find out more.
The first up is an album called “Vic Lewis Featuring Tubby Hayes – In Concert.” This was released in 1978 on the Hep Records label.
There’s an interesting documentary about Tubby Hayes from 2015. I haven’t seen it yet but here’s the official trailer:
From the album “Vic Lewis Featuring Tubby Hayes – In Concert, here’s “Moonlight In Vermont”:
Next up is another album by The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band. In my last blahg, I featured a track from the 1965 album “Now Hear Our Meanin’ ” by the same group. This time the album is “Live At Ronnie’s, Album 2, Rue Chaptal” by The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band on the Polydor label from 1969. This is a gate-fold album so the middle two pictures are what you see when you open up the album jacket.
The interesting track here is “The Girl & The Turk”:
The next album is probably my most recent purchase before stores shut down again this spring due to the pandemic. I had never heard of Bernadine Read but the first track that caught my eye was “Rhode Island Is Famous For You.” I knew this song from the late great Blossom Dearie but did not know anyone else had recorded a version. The album is “Bernadine” on the Epic label from 1958
Here’s Bernadine Read’s version of “Rhode Island Is Famous For You”:
I think the following album was another thrift store find from earlier this year. It’s the great Lionel Hampton and “Hamp’s Big Band.” This is on the Audio Fidelity label from 1959
This album really swings and it was tough to choose just one track. Some of the tracks are quite lengthy so I chose one of the shorter ones coming in at 3:37. It’s Hamp and the band with “Red Top”
The selections up to now in this blahg were thrift store purchases but I confess that the next album was ordered after I downloaded and listened to the second album by this group. I read online somewhere about a jazz album with a very interesting cover, “Music To Lure Pigeons By” by the Night Pastor And Seven Friends. Luckily someone had posted the whole album on Youtube:
I think I came across it because I was researching Dave Remmington. In my previous blahg I had offered a selection from “Dixie On The Rocks” by Dave Remington and The Dixie Six. Dave Remmington was also a member of the Night Pastor’s Seven Friends. After hearing “Music To Lure Pigeons By”, I had to order the first album which is “The Night Pastor And Seven Friends Play Chicago Jazz.”
The track I have selected here is the first track on side one because the Night Pastor does a spoken intro and explains a little about himself and a little about the album. The song is “Beale St. Blues.”
The next album was just another whim purchase from a thrift store. The album is “TV Action Jazz!” by Mundell Lowe and His All Stars. It’s on the RCA Camden label from 1959.
My selection from this album is one of the most iconic instrumental theme songs to any TV show. It’s Mundell Lowe and His All Stars with their interpretation of “Peter Gunn”:
I think this next album might have been another thrift store purchase as well. When you see a compilation album with the title “Jazz Hall Of Fame, Volume II” then you know you’re getting something good. Of course, it’s a sampler album and you get tracks by bands led by Charlie Shavers, Jack Teagarden, Charles Mingus, Al Haig, Osie Johnson, Josh White, Ralph Burns, Django Reinhardt, and Big Bill Broonzy. This is on the Design label from 1959.
The track I have selected is “Osie’s Oasis” by Osie Johnson And His Orchestra.
Now we get back to another vocal performance. This is another female vocalist (I swear I also listen to males) with the same initials as Bernadine Read. This time it’s Betty Reilly and her “The Explosive Betty Reilly” album on the Golden Tone label from 1960. Neither the front cover nor the rear cover are very exciting…unless the cannon goes off.
I had mixed emotions about this album. The first track was “The Saga Of Elvis Presley” which almost turned me off to the album. I think Betty Reilly performs best when she sticks to the standards, so I’ve chosen an old chestnut, “When The World Was Young”
Returning to Dixieland Jazz, it’s Phil Napoleon’s Emperors of Jazz with their Emarcy label 1955 album “Dixieland Classics Volume 1”
Give a listen to a great version of “Never Be The Same.”
It’s time for another Dixieland sampler. This time it’s “Jubilee Dixieland Sampler” on the Jubilee label. I couldn’t find a release year but the album features such great bands as the Salt City Five, Conrad Janis And His Tailgate Jazz Band, Stan Rubin And His Tigertown Five, David Bee, The Spring Street Stompers, and the College All Stars.
There were lots of great artists and tracks to choose from but I think I purchased this album because I’m a huge fan of the Salt City Five. The band later became the Salt City Six. There’s a great website dedicated to the group where you can listen to some of their material and live performances: http://www.saltcity56.com/. I decided to offer up “Baby, Won’t You Come Home” by the Salt City Five.
The next album intrigued me because I’m a fan of the musical “My Fair Lady.” The late great Nat King Cole put out an album with his take on the songs from the musical so I thought this next album would be another delight. I wasn’t disappointed. The album is “Modern Jazz Performances Of Songs From My Fair Lady ” by Shelly Manne & His Friends. To be clear, the friends consist of Andre Previn on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and of course Shelly Manne on drums. Shelly Manne and friends also put out albums of music from “L’il Abner” and “The Bells Are Ringing”
Here’s Shelly Manne & His Friends with their version of “Get Me To The Church On Time”:
Would you believe I have another Jazz Sampler to offer up? Believe it! This time it’s a live album featuring Billy Butterfield and his band. I bought “College Jazz Sampler” at a local DVD store that also sells used records. It contains live performances from the colleges listed on the cover. On the REO label from 1956, this album turned me on to Billy Butterfield and I’ve been listening to a lot of his music over the past year.
To close out the last of the 12 albums I selected “Willow Weep For Me”. Listen to that Butterfield horn!
Before I close this blahg, I want to offer up a bonus. To prove that I don’t always buy Jazz or Vocal albums, I recently picked up the following at a thrift store:
This album has the original voice talent from the cartoon. I really like Quick Draw McGraw and have the funko pop figures of Quick Draw and Baba Looey and the Vnyl two pack figures. They look like this:
I also have the Funko release of Quick Draw’s secret identity El Kabong:
I have a couple of plush Quick Draw figures as well but I won’t post those here. I don’t want to come across as a fanatic. I was going to post the audio here but I found that someone had posted it to Youtube. Here it is:
That’s it for this time. I hope you have enjoyed some of these selections. I have a few more but I’ll save those for another time. Stay safe and stay home and listen to the music.
This is the blahg that I intended to publish last time. I got a little side-tracked with my mental health and trying to be upbeat. Mental health is a big thing and for me, music is very important. I don’t play any instruments but listening to good music is a great tonic. Over the past 12 months we’ve have a couple of different lock-downs with this pandemic and I’ve spent a great deal of time working from home. When stores were open I usually hit up local thrift shops and scanned through the record section. This blahg is devoted to some of my acquisitions over the past year. Most of these came from thrift stores with the odd one ordered online or picked up at a local DVD store that also sells some used records.
Many of the albums mentioned in this blahg have not had CD releases so many will be new to you as they were to me. Album covers usually attract my attention first and I thought it would be important to include those covers here. More important, is the back covers because you can usually find out more information about the artists by reading the liner notes. I’ve included good sized photos of the back covers where you can make out full details of the information on the rear covers. Click on each photo to view larger sized images.
The first up is an album called “Clarinet Gumbo” by Barney Bigard And His Orchestra. This was released in 1976 on the RCA label
Here’s the title track, “Clarinet Gumbo”:
Next up is the album “Dixie On The Rocks” by Dave Remington and The Dixie Six. This album came out on the Vee Jay label in 1960. The group looked like they were having a lot of fun so I decided to purchase the album
The fun track here is “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”:
The previous two albums were thrift store finds and here’s another one from one of the same stores. It’s The Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big Band with their 1965 album “Now Hear Our Meanin’ ” released in North America on the Columbia Label.
This track is a real swinger. It’s “Johnny One Note”:
I think I acquired most of these records at the same time as I remember the following record was purchased at the same time and location as the above albums. This album is a 1962 reissue on the Trip Jazz label of the 1959 original release of “Buddy Johnson Wails”. The original issue had been on the Mercury label.
The track I chose from this album is “Please Mr. Johnson”. From the album jacket, “His sister, Ella, another unaffected singer, was always a major attraction, and she was responsible for several of the band’s biggest hits, among them “Please Mr. Johnson”, which she recorded for the first time at the age of fourteen while still in high school…”Please Mr. Johnson” is recreated here, with sister Ella on hand to sing it.”
Here’s a real oddity. This is the 1977 album “The Pucker And Valve Society Band”. This album is like listening to the best of or strange songs by a marching band. It’s fun nonetheless.
The track I have selected here is “I Was Kaiser Bill’s Bat Man”.
In a previous blahg, THE RAMBLE UNPACKED, I wrote about an album I picked up before Christmas by Jonah Jones, with the title “and now in person Jonah Jones.” That was a live album but many months before purchasing that album, I picked up “Jumpin’ With Jonah” by the same artist.
The song I have selected from this album is the first track on side one of the album. The song is “No Moon At All” which is a song I’ve enjoyed by singers such as Doris Day and Mel Torme.
I cannot for the life of me remember what inspired me to purchase the following album. I know I had to order it from a reseller on the www.discogs.com website but it’s enjoyable. This album, “Fireworks” was released by the Weatherbird Jazzband in 1982.
The track I have selected is the title track “Fireworks.”
Now we get back to a vocal performance. This is from an artist I did not know but when I saw the album I thought I would give the album a chance. The artist is Betty Roché and the album is “Singin’ & Swingin’ ” from 1961.
There are quite a few standards on this album so the selection to offer here was a tough choice. I decided to go with a song that I have enjoyed by Frank Sinatra from his “L.A. Is My Lady” album. The song is “Until The Real Thing Comes Along” but it’s all Betty Roché.
The next group is a Canadian band. In fact this album was recorded live, November 14, 1975 at Olivet United Church, in Hamilton, Ontario. The band is The Washingtons and the album is “50 Years Together”.
The album had quite a few scuffs and skipped in a couple of places but I was able to clean it and get a nice recording from it. Again, here’s another title track with The Washingtons performing “Fifty Years Together”.
It’s time for another vocal selection. Here we have the great and talented Pat Suzuki. The album is “Pat Suzuki’s Broadway ’59”
Again, the selection was tough. Pat Suzuki performs song great tunes from such great Broadway shows as Flower Drum Song, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Bells Are Ringing, and The Music Man. I decided to go with a song from a Broadway show with which I wasn’t familiar. The Broadway show is “First Impressions” and the song is “I Feel Sorry For The Boy”
It’s back to the jazz again with another thrift store purchase. I didn’t know this artist either but I seem to have good luck taking a chance on these purchases. The album is “The Don Elliott Quintet” by The Don Elliott Quintet from 1954. I know the album title isn’t very original.
There were some nice tracks to choose from but I selected the second track this time from the first side. Here’s the The Don Elliott Quintet with “Five O’Clock Whistle”:
The last album is one I really enjoy. It’s got a nice swing to it and the artist was again unknown to me. The artist is Harold Betters and the album is “Out Of Sight & Sound”
I chose the song “Sweetheart” from this album because right from the get-go it grabbed me. Another great thrift store find.
That’s the twelve records for this time. Do yourself a favour and seek out some of these artists or take a chance on some unknown artists when you find their records in a thrift store bin. You might just be surprised! Stay tuned. I have another batch of records from the past year featuring some more great artists. Lucky you. Lucky me.
This blahg is not the blahg I intended to publish this week. I had another blahg all mapped out in my mind with lots of audio recordings. I won’t spoil it by giving anything away. That blahg will be coming in the next month. Part of the problem in the delay was that I lost my motivation and began to suffer some depression last week. When you’re feeling low, everything you want to accomplish either gets pushed aside or seems unaccomplishable. That’s a real word. Look it up!
A few things happened this week to take me out of my funk and inspired this blahg. I haven’t talked much lately about my mental health or even wanted to talk about mental health in general. I’ve been hearing and reading all the news about mental health and the current pandemic and I just didn’t want to tackle that topic. I wasn’t planning on avoiding it but I like my blahgs to be uplifting, inspiring, or at least entertaining. Depression to me was like something from the Seniors’ menu at a restaurant where you skip over it because it doesn’t apply to you. Me, I like to order from the kids’ menu and get that hotdog that they won’t let us adults order. Why are restaurants hiding the hotdogs? Cut it out!
My recent bout of depression was brought on by some detractors who don’t want me to fill in on a job contract for a colleague who is expecting a baby in June. I haven’t done anything wrong but sometimes the peanut gallery gets it in their mind that they think they know something or heard something and never thought to check to see if any of it is true. That’s enough of that. I should know better than to listen to the voices of the detractors but I’m human and you just want to yell “DAMN IT, I’M LIKEABLE”. I didn’t do that and so it was hard to get out of my own head and stop flailing myself with the “POOR ME.”
Last week I had an encounter with my colleague who is expecting. She had been in a virtual meeting which I had not attended but where my name was being put forth as a replacement for her while she is away on maternity leave. I was trying to feel her out on how that went without directly asking what people thought of me as her replacement. She didn’t really elaborate but I got a sense she was trying to protect me from some of the negativity. I had it confirmed later from another colleague but I began to feel guilty later that I had put my female colleague on the spot. No, it really wasn’t guilt about that as much as it was that I didn’t even ask her how she was feeling or how the pregnancy was going. Later, I went back and apologized to her and said I shouldn’t have tried to pry information from her and that I was even more sorry that I didn’t ask her how she was doing. She seemed to appreciate that and I was determined that in future encounters I was going to make sure I focused more on her.
So, this is where this blahg begins. A few days ago I saw my colleague again and made it a point of asking her how she was doing. We chatted briefly about the pregnancy and I asked casually if she had any cravings. Her answer was surprising. She said she hadn’t had any cravings but everything she ate recently seemed to her to be the best of that particular things she had ever had. She gave this example of snacking on M&M candies in the evening. She said she’s always had a bowl that she snacks on in the evening but eating them recently made her feel that these M&Ms were the best M&Ms she’s ever tasted. I commented that wouldn’t it be great if you could keep that feeling all the time and that no matter what you were eating or viewing or hearing or experiencing at any given moment was the best. It would be the ultimate ‘living in the moment’ experience you could ever have. After that, I didn’t give that notion much thought.
On my way home that afternoon after discovering this new philosophy, I stopped to gas up my vehicle and I bought a PLINKO instant scratch ticket. This ticket had instant prizes but if one of your lucky numbers matched one of the scratched and uncovered numbers with the corresponding word “CHIP” then you could take it into your local retailer to reveal your prize. I learned that a video would play at the retailer and I could win up to $10,000 instantly or a “PLINKO” chip that I could play on the real board for a minimum of $100,000 up to a maximum of $500,000. The big board is of course at the Ontario Lottery offices in Toronto and is similar to the PLINKO game we’ve all seen on the game show “The Price Is Right.” I was excited. It took me two days before I got back to the retailer and I had convinced myself that I was going to get that “PLINKO” chip for the big board. I knew the odds were against me and ultimately they were with me only winning $10 which doubled my money from the $5 I had paid for the scratch ticket. It was a disappointment but for those two days I lived that fantasy and dreamed big.
This morning, while shaving, something else happened that reminded me of that “best of something ever had” idea. I don’t know what it is but I always get great ideas while I’m shaving. Some of my short story ideas occurred while I was shaving and so did ideas for my blahgs. I probably should concentrate more on what I’m doing if I don’t want to cut myself. Usually when I’m shaving I have my I-pod playing my music on shuffle. I have such a wide range of music on there that I never know what I’m going to hear. This morning I heard “When I Am King” by Great Big Sea. The lyrics really struck me. Here they are:
Wake up
Without a care
Your head’s not heavy, your conscience clear
Sins are all forgiven here
Yours and mine
Fear is gone without a trace
It’s the perfect time in the perfect place
Nothing’s hurting, nothing’s sore
No one suffers anymore
The doctor found a simple cure
Just in time
All these things if I were king
Would all appear around me
The world will sing when I am king
The world will sing when I am king
Oh, she walks right in
She don’t even knock
It’s the girl you lost to the high school jock
She shuts the door, turns the lock
And she takes your hand
She says she always felt a fool
For picking the captain over you
She wonders if you missed her
Said she always told her sister
Oh, that you’re the best damn kisser
That she’s ever had
All these things if I were king
Would appear around me
The world will sing when I am king
The world will sing when I am king
Daylight waits to shine until the moment you awaken
So you never miss the dawn
No question now, you know which road you’re taking
Lights all green, the radio plays just the perfect song
Well, the war’s been won
All the fights are fought
You find yourself in just the spot
It’s a place where everybody’s got a song to sing
Just like the final movie scene
The prince will find his perfect queen
The hero always saves the world
The villains get what they deserve
The boy will always get the girl
When I am king
By the way, Great Big Sea was an awesome Canadian band. Below is a video of them singing “When I Am King.” It turns out the video is from a concert that was held at the Empire Theatre in Belleville, Ontario in 2006. I live south of Belleville but I work there. I’ve been to concerts at the Empire but sadly I missed this one.
As I said, the lyrics struck me. They’re about everything being great but unfortunately they depend up the singer becoming king. Immediately the lyrics struck me as the best of everything and reminded me of the conversation I had had a few days earlier with my colleague. It also reminded me of that PLINKO fantasy I had lived in for two days.
Shortly after hearing this song, I was getting ready to go into Belleville to work and I couldn’t shake the “best of everything” thought. I asked my Google speaker to play “When I Am King” again. It was at that moment that all of these puzzle fragments of thought slammed together into a clearer picture for this blahg. I was going to ask Google to play me another song in particular by Great Big Sea but then the speaker launched into “Consequence Free” by the band. Here’s another song with poignant lyrics:
Na na na, na na na na na!
Na na na, na na na na na!
Wouldn’t it be great,
If no one ever got offended?
Wouldn’t it be great,
To say what’s really on your mind?
I’ve always said,
All the rules are made for bending.
And if I let my hair down,
Would that be such a crime?
I wanna be consequence free!
I wanna be where nothing needs to matter.
I wanna be consequence free!
Just say: Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!
I could really use,
To lose my Catholic conscience.
Cause I’m getting sick,
Of feeling guilty all the time.
I won’t abuse it,
Yeah I’ve got the best intentions.
For a little bit of anarchy,
But not the hurting kind.
I wanna be consequence free!
I wanna be where nothing needs to matter.
I wanna be consequence free!
Just say: Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! I couldn’t sleep at all last night,
Cause I had so much on my mind.
I’d like to leave it all behind,
But you know it’s not that easy.
Oh! But for just one night,
Wouldn’t it be great,
If the band just never ended?
We could stay out late,
And we would never hear last call.
Wouldn’t need to worry about approval or permission.
We could slip off the edge,
And never worry about the fall.
I wanna be consequence free!
I wanna be where nothing means to matter.
I wanna be consequence free!
Just say: Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!
There’s a theme here of “wouldn’t it be great” and of course, living “consequence free.” Here’s the video for that song:
It was coming together. Great Big Sea was selling me on writing this blahg. I drove to work humming the songs I had heard. I also started to write part of this blahg over lunch. As if that wasn’t enough, on my way home, CBC radio played excerpts from a March of 2009 concert that Great Big Sea played at the Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland. They of course played “Consequence Free” but they also played the song that I hadn’t had a chance to ask my Google speaker to play earlier in the day. The song is “Ordinary Day”:
I’ve got a smile on my face and I’ve got four walls around me
I’ve got the sun in the sky, all the water surround me
Oh you know, yeah I win now and sometimes I lose
I’ve been battered, but I never bruise
It’s not so bad
And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
And it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day
You’ve just got to say it’s all right
Gina sings on the corner, what keeps her from dying
Let them say what they want, she won’t stop trying
Oh, you know
She might stumble, they push her ’round
She might fall, but she’ll never lie down
It’s not so bad
And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
And it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day
You’ve just got to say it’s all right
It’s all right, it’s all right
It’s all right
In this beautiful life there’s always some sorrow
And It’s a double-edged knife, but there’s always tomorrow
Oh, you know
It’s up to you now if you sink or swim
Just keep the faith that your ship will come in
It’s not so bad
And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
And it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day
You’ve just got to say
I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
And it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day
You’ve just got to say it’s all right
It’s all right, it’s all right
‘Cause I’ve got a smile on my face, and I’ve got four walls around me
Here’s the video for that song:
Finally, the theme was clear. It’s all a state of mind and it’s just an ordinary day and it’s all right.
The point I want to hammer home is also that it can be more than just all right. Okay is just okay but what if moments could be the best of whatever it is we are experiencing? That’s what it’s all about. Find a moment or take a moment and say this moment is the best. It might not be the best that’s ever been or will ever be but it’s the best right now and that’s all right. I’m no philosopher and I struggle to even call myself a poet but experiencing the moment like my colleague does, sounds pretty good to me.
I had started off 2021 on a good note. There was that Ramble video from my blahg, THE FALSE DUCKS VIDEO BLAHG #4: OH, DIDN’T I RAMBLE and the subsequent explanation of that video in the follow-up blahg THE RAMBLE UNPACKED that explained what I wanted to accomplish this year. So far, I have fixed the cuckoo clock, listened to all of the records, started reading “Roses Are Difficult Here” by W.O. Mitchell, and averaged two blahgs a month with the goal of reaching 100 blahgs over the past ten years. The motivation was with me and I was living the moments by enjoying what I was doing. I even re-edited the “The Dead From The Neck Up 25th Anniversary Covid 19 Quarantine Special” that I posted last December. By the way, if you haven’t listened to the “The Dead From The Neck Up 25th Anniversary Covid 19 Quarantine Special” then check out this video below containing the remastered version of our special. It’s just the audio from our program set to images of my Christmas display this past Christmas.
When we recorded the special last December and when I was editing it in December and remastering it in January, I felt this was the best work we had ever done. Of course it probably isn’t but I enjoyed it so much that I continue to listen to it at least 2 to 3 times a week while I’m driving to work. It makes me feel happy and each time I hear it, I think “that’s the best we’ve ever done.” I’ll hold onto that thought for a while. We hope to record a new special later this year and it’ll probably be the best…at least in my mind.
When thinking about the theme for this blahg and ultimately the title, “The Best of Everything”, I was reminded of another blahg I had written in late January MY FATHER’S VOICE where I talked about needing to find a cassette that contained my late Father’s voice. It was a tape of speeches from my wedding in 1987. What I didn’t detail in that blahg was that my double cassette deck was found to be non-functioning so I decided to purchase another one off Ebay. I received that tape deck last month and immediately began to locate all of the cassettes I used to enjoy over the years. I remember that I practically wore out three of my favourite tapes once upon a time. The first was “Graceland” by Paul Simon. The second was “Cloud Nine” by George Harrison. And the last was the 1984 release of “L.A. Is My Lady” by Frank Sinatra. The Sinatra cassette was the first of the three that I had purchased and I still think it’s a great album. It seems like I might have gone off topic but really it all connects. One of the great songs on “L.A. Is M Lady” is “The Best of Everything”. I know, I’m brilliant. Still, if you want to understand everything, read some of the lyrics:
The best of everything – that’s (that is) what I wish you all
The best of everything – a Rembrandt (hanging) on your (the) wall
A yacht that wins you cups
Skateboards with style and speed
Show dogs or loving pups
The pride of the pound or the pedigreed
I hope you win that prize – pass that blue ribbon test
I hope your good keeps getting better – ’til your better’s best
The best of everything – that’s (that is) what I wish you all
The best of everything – a Rembrandt (hanging) on your (the) wall
A yacht that wins you cups
Skateboards with style and speed
Show dogs or loving pups
The pride of the pound or the pedigreed
I hope you win that prize – pass that blue ribbon test
I hope your good keeps getting better – ’til your better’s best
If you haven’t heard the song then do yourself a favour and check out this audio/video:
See? It all came together. This is the song that wishes us “The Best Of Everything”. The truth really is, though, that we already have the best of everything…we just have to realize it in the moment. I think that’s the best mental health advice I can offer in this moment.
This blahg will probably not make any sense unless you have seen/read my previous blahgTHE FALSE DUCKS VIDEO BLAHG #4: OH, DIDN’T I RAMBLE. In that blahg, I rambled about a number of things that I wanted to talk about this year. This blahg will unpack some of those topics and will show how I’m doing this year with some of my projects. There will be images, videos, and music, so I’d stick around if I were you. That wasn’t meant to be a threat but hey, what are you going to do about it? No, not you, I’m talking to the person standing behind you. Made you look!
In case you skipped reading the aforementioned blahg, here’s the video so you can see what I’m talking about:
At one point in that video I show the cuckoo clock that my mother gave me about five or six years ago which means it’s probably closer to 7 years ago. It has been in a box by my desk since then and I decided to finally tackle the project of restoring the clock. Here’s a front image of the clock before I began working on it:
Notice that the door is missing at the top, the wooden balcony is missing below the dancers, and the Fraulein on the right at the bottom is also missing. I had all of those parts but they still needed to be attached. Here’s a shot of the inside of the clock:
The picture of the inside was taken after I had removed the inside mechanism and cleaned it up and then replaced everything. I had not removed the bellows but you can see that the top parts of the bellows are missing. Below are some pictures of one of the bellows removed, the clockworks after it had been removed, as well as a shot of the clock housing when the mechanism was removed:
These were the only photos I took of the restoration. Luckily, I did video document the repairs and you can see in the video below the complete restoration.
In the video, I mention two companies where I purchased parts for the clock. If you want to purchase parts in Canada, try: https://perrinwatchparts.com and in the United States try https://www.clockworks.com/. There are some very good videos about cuckoo clock repair and one in particular that I found helpful was the one below:
Moving on…In my ramble I also mentioned some books that I want to read. I detailed how I had ordered a book called “How To Be Topp.” Let me back up a bit and detail something else that I explained in the video. Every Christmas I read from a book called “Happy Christmas.” It is a book compiled by William Kean Seymour and John Smith. From the dust-jacket: “The contents have been drawn from English prose and poetry, from Elizabethan times to the present day.” The “present day” being 1968 when it was first printed or 1978 when it was reprinted. I would check out this book every year from the Picton library until one year my wife found it in the school library where she was working. Either they were getting rid of it or she liberated it. Regardless, I’m glad to own it.
There are several stories and poems that I enjoy reading from the collection and some are excerpts from books that I’ve never read or never known existed. One of the entries that always intrigued me was “Ding-Dong Farely Merily For Xmas” from Geoffrey Willans’ “How to be Topp.” The excerpt on the right, which will enlarge if you click on it, is the first page of the teaser. The teaser being that the short excerpt is only three pages. I’ve always wondered what the entire book would be like. This year, I decided to steam full ahead and ordered a paperback copy of “How to be Topp.” Both the hardcover and paperback are out of print but the a used copy of the book was a lot less than the hardcover and easier to obtain. The images below are of the front cover and explanations on the inside from the editor and the author:
I haven’t got around to reading it yet but it’s on my list to read after the current book I am reading which was also mentioned in my ramble.
Back in 1990 I started reading a short story published in either Canadian Author and Bookman or Canadian Forum. I don’t know if I ever finished reading the story but because it was a library copy, and I couldn’t check it out, they allowed me to photocopy the pages. I have kept those pages and over the years thought often about trying to find the novel from which the story was an excerpt. Somewhere along the way, I lost one of the pages of the story and this past Christmas I decided to pull out what I had in an effort to track down the original novel. Below are images of the two pages I photocopied back in December of 1990. Again, click on each for a larger image.
I finally ordered a hardcover copy of the book “Roses Are Difficult Here” by W.O. Mitchell.
It’s the story of a small prairie town in Canada through the eyes of the editor of the local paper. I’m about 100 pages in, without having encountered the excerpts from above, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the book. It’s well written with small town humour and quirky characters. I highly recommend it even though I haven’t finished it yet.
Next up I want to go back to some of the albums I mentioned in my ramble video. Over this past year it has been a treat to get out to thrift shops when they’ve been open. I find myself always pouring through their used records and I’ve picked up quite a few jazz albums over the past year. I’ll have to create another blahg just to talk about some of those acquisitions but right now I’m just going to address those featured in the ramble.
“Lance (Easton) Harrison, saxophonist, clarinetist, banjoist, singer, entertainer (born 23 June 1915 in Vancouver, BC; died 26 November 2000 in Langley, BC).
Lance (Easton) Harrison, saxophonist, clarinetist, banjoist, singer, entertainer (born 23 June 1915 in Vancouver, BC; died 26 November 2000 in Langley, BC). At first a banjoist and guitarist, Harrison switched to saxophone in his teens and played in the Vancouver dance bands of Trevor Page, Sandy DeSantis, and Dal Richards. After service during World War II in RCAF dance and show bands, he was a sideman for over 20 years in Vancouver pit, dance, and hotel orchestras.
In 1950 he also began leading his own dixieland band, which was heard on the CBC, both in variety series – eg, ‘Hotel Downbeat’ (radio), ‘The Twenties Roar’ (radio), ‘Some of Those Days’ (TV, summers 1961-6) – and on jazz programs. It also performed in Vancouver clubs (eg, Pillar and Post), on the Vancouver Island ferries, and, during the 1980s, at Troller’s Pub, Horseshoe Bay. Members of the band included the trumpeters Stew Barnett or Don Clark, the trombonist Jack Fulton, the pianist Bud Henderson, and the bassist Stan Johnson. It made several CBC broadcast recordings, including The Lance Harrison Dixieland Band (1965, RCI 263), as well as two commercial LPs, The Vancouver Scene (1965, RCA PCS-1043) and Happy Jazz (1972, Water St 1636).
Harrison was a convincing exponent of the dixieland and swing styles; his tenor saxophone style reflected the particular influence of Eddie Miller. Although Harrison rarely performed outside the Vancouver area, he was featured in the CBC TV special ‘A Visit to New Orleans,’ filmed during a trip to the birthplace of jazz in 1971, and he appeared with the US cornetist ‘Wild Bill’ Davison during club engagements made in Toronto and Ottawa in 1983. His band performed occasionally during the 1990s, and Harrison in 1994 joined the ensemble Red Beans and Rice, with Rice Honeywell, with whom he recorded the CD Runnin’ Wild in 1996. Harrison was a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.”
Here’s a partial scan of the back cover:
If you click on the image you will get a much larger scan of the cover and can read the cover notes and the track listings. I don’t mind posting a couple of tracks here because this album is not on CD and this gives you a chance to sample the LP in case you’re thinking about tracking it down. First up is “Ya Gotta Know How To Love”:
I believe that’s Lance Harrison on vocals on “Ya Gotta Know How To Love”. Regarding the song, Lance Harrison mentions in the jacket notes that he first heard that song performed by the Denza Dance Band and that he still owns the Gene Austin 78rpm record of that song. For the record, sorry about that pun, here’s a Youtube video/audio of Gene Austin’s version from 1926
The second track I’ll present from “The Vancouver Scene” is a swinging version of “At The Jazz Band Ball”:
If anyone is interested in hearing more tracks from this fabulous album then let me know and I’ll post some tracks.
The second album that I mention in my ramble video is “and now in person Jonah Jones.” This album is from 1966 and was “Recorded Live at the Crescendo On Hollywood’s Fabulous Sunset Strip” This is another LP that I don’t believe has had a CD release. Jonah Jones and his Quartet swing some great songs on this album with Jonah doing some vocals. Here’s a scan of the back cover. Remember to click on the image to see a larger scan.
The first track I have chosen from the album is “From This Moment On”. The band is really swinging on this one.
I really like Jonah Jones and his quartet. I have a couple of their other albums that I’ll have to dig out. Finishing, up with this album, I’ve chosen another track from the first side of the album. This time it’s the old chestnut “I Can’t Get Started.”
The third album that I mention in the video is “Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – B Sides and Bonus Songs”. Here are shots of the front and back covers:
I haven’t listened to this album yet but I wouldn’t post tracks here because this is a new album and I don’t want to violate any copyrights. I did get to see Nathaniel Rateliff in concert in Toronto last year with my son and NR was great. He appeared this past weekend, February 13th as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live so I’ll link to two videos of his performances. The first is the song “Redemption” which is a new song featured in the film “Palmer”:
The second is “A Little Honey” and it’s Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats:
“A Little Honey” is off the 2018 album “Tearing At The Seams”. Check out everything you can by Nathaniel Rateliff. He’s a talented artist and his solo album from 2020 “And It’s Still Alright” is a gem I particularly enjoy the song “Rush On” from that album. Here’s the video for “Rush On”:
Stepping back to jazz, I’m going to talk about an album that I didn’t mention in my ramble. This album was either one I had ordered and was expecting in the mail or was ordered after I recorded my ramble video. I’m a fan of another jazz trumpeter, Billy Butterfield. Back in December of 1978 Billy Butterfield appeared at the Manassas Jazz Festival in Manassas, Virginia. The label, Fat Cat’s Jazz, released an album called “Swinging At The Elks’, Billy Butterfield and his World Class Jazz Band”. I received the album a couple of weeks ago and was very excited to listen to it. Here’s a scan of the back cover:
Researching a little further, I found that there was another Youtube video from the Manassas Jazz Festival on December 3rd, 1978 featuring the songs SOMEDAY SWEETHEART / STARDUST / COTTON TAIL / & SINGIN’ THE BLUES. Here’s that video:
So where did that leave me with the album “Swinging At The Elks'”? Well, if you read the back cover, there is one song on the album from December 2nd, 1978 with the following musicians: Billy Butterfield, Mason Thomas (clt), Spencer Clark (bass sax), Bill Allred (tbn), Larry Eanet (piano), Paul Langosch (str. bass), Cliff Leeman (drs). That song is “Carolina In The Morning”:
I don’t know if Billy Butterfield played any other songs on December 2nd, 1978 at the Manassas Jazz Festival but with the two videos above and the one track from the album, we are treated to 11 songs from Billy Butterfield at the Festival. I guess the album purchase was worth it for that one song from December 2nd, 1978.
Before I conclude this blahg, I want to comment on one of the Blu-Rays featured in the ramble and one that was not. I won’t comment on “Fedora” directed by Billy Wilder. I haven’t watched it yet but friend Bryan has and he really enjoyed it. I want to, however, comment on two ClassicFlix releases. The one featured in my ramble video was the Blu-Ray release of “Africa Screams” with Abbott and Costello. This film has never looked so good and the extras include some sketches from their appearances on the Colgate Comedy Hour as well a radio show from May 5, 1948 with Bela Lugosi, and an Abbott and Costello 3-D comic (on screen) and a pair of 3D glasses. There are other nice extras but you’ll have to purchase it to find out more.
ClassicFlix also released another film on DVD and Blu-Ray that I did not mention in my ramble. For a long time I have had a gap in my Laurel and Hardy collection and my Harry Langdon collection. That one film is Zenobia from 1939. For what it’s worth, here’s the information from Wikipedia:
Zenobia is one of the few films after the teaming of Laurel and Hardy that features Hardy without Stan Laurel, the result of a contract dispute between Laurel and producer Hal Roach, who maintained separate contracts for each performer, rather than a team contract, which would have offered them more control over their careers. Zenobia was Roach’s attempt to create a new comedic pair without Laurel, and a series of films with Hardy and Langdon was planned. The dispute was short-lived, however, and Laurel and Hardy were reunited shortly thereafter.
The film was issued in 1997 by Video Treasures on VHS as part of the Laurel & Hardy Classic Collection. I owned all of the Laurel & Hardy VHS issues in that series and gradually disposed of them one by one as they became released on DVD. The exception was, of course, Zenobia, which I held onto until ClassicFlix released the film on DVD & Blu-Ray in November of last year. I had ordered it and forgot about it until it arrived after my ramble video. The only extras on the film are a Restoration Comparison and some other ClassicFlix trailers. The film itself is the gem here. I have never seen it look so good and it’s a cute little film with both stars. I highly recommend it.
Finally, I want to give another shout out to the people who restored “Africa Screams.” I mention in my ramble video that they’re working on restoring “Jack and the Beanstalk” with Abbott and Costello. I’ve already donated to it but if you really want to support a worthwhile project, check out their Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3dfilmarchive/help-restore-abbott-and-costellos-jack-and-the-beanstalk. They’ve already reached their goal but with extra money they can always include extra content. “Jack and the Beanstalk” has been in public domain with so many bad image DVD releases. This is the chance to see this film restored to how those two great comics would have wanted us to see it.
So there’s the ramble unpacked. I’ve addressed most of everything I mentioned in the video as well as a few other things. I think I’ve also rambled enough for this blahg. Until next time…Scott out.
Here it is February 3, 2021 and I’m posting a new blahg. This isn’t going to be a long blahg but I accomplished something today that I want to share with everyone. Blahgs don’t have to be long and this will count towards that 100 blahgs mark I want to reach this year.
I usually write a short Christmas story every year and end up posting it in one of my blahgs. Most of them are fictional but 2019’s entry “MEATS AND CHEESES AND BABY JESUS” was a Christmas Entertainment based on real events. In 2020, I was so busy writing and recording for the “The Dead From The Neck Up 25th Anniversary Covid 19 Quarantine Special” that I didn’t get around to writing a new story. I guess writing the fictional Christmas themed comedy sketches counts but it isn’t exactly the same.
By the way, if you haven’t listened to the “The Dead From The Neck Up 25th Anniversary Covid 19 Quarantine Special” then check out this video below containing the remastered version of our special. It’s just the audio from our program set to images of my Christmas display this past Christmas.
After Christmas, I got thinking about the idea of someone having a Christmas by stealing everything they needed for the holiday. It was inspired by all of the news stories of stealing parcels off people’s porches over the holiday season. This of course, has inspired the term “Porch Pirates.” I’m not condoning the practise but the thought did spark the germ of an idea for a short story. The result is the story below “A Stolen Christmas.”
It took me more than a month to complete the story. Procrastination was my best friend and motivation was my enemy. I usually write from start to finish and then edit. I think this is the only story where I wrote a snip of a beginning, part of the middle, and part of the end. Today I went back and finished the ending, went back and fleshed out the beginning, and then completed the connecting pieces in the middle. Am I happy with it? I think I am. Writing a story is like getting a gift. Until you’re finished it, you never know what you’re going to end up with. So here’s a late for 2020 or early for 2021 Christmas story. I hope you enjoy it.
The Stolen Christmas
by
Scott Henderson
It was nearing the end of November before Brad realized it was almost Christmas again.
“Do you realize it’s almost Christmas again?” he hollered out to Carla.
Carla was in the bedroom that also doubled as her home office. Brad’s home office was in the spare bedroom. He and Carla both were able to work from home during the pandemic. She was part of a team who developed online advertising and Brad did coding for video games. It sometimes made for tight quarters but if staying home and staying safe were necessary then they would make it work.
“It seems to steal up on us earlier every year,” she shouted back.
“What’s that?” Brad inquired, leaning into their bedroom.
“You asked me if I realized it’s almost Christmas again and I replied it seems to steal up on us earlier every year. Say, aren’t you supposed to be working.”
“I’m on a break,” he replied. “It’s one of the perks of working from home.”
“I could use a break, too,” she offered in return.
“Coffee run?” Brad asked as he stretched in the doorway.
“Hot Licks it is,” she replied.
Hot Licks, was the neighbourhood ice-cream and coffee shop. It was one of the few businesses offering curbside pickup. Brad and Carla could have just as easily made coffee at home but one of the perks of working from home certainly was not seeing the same walls day in and day out. Both made it a point to go out for a walk at least once a day to get exercise and a change of scenery.
It had been challenging this past year working from home. Oh, having home work stations was easily accomplished and their Internet was fast enough to handle their needs. It was the social aspect that was the most difficult. In the past few weeks, it had just been the two of them and not getting on each other’s nerves was a conscious effort for both of them. They took walks together, yes, but they also took walks alone or made excuses to run errands without the other. Carla enjoyed going to the grocery store alone and Brad had taken to early evening coffee runs on his own.
“What was that you said about stealing Christmas,” he asked of Carla when they were down on the street.
“I didn’t say anything about stealing Christmas, silly. I said Christmas seems to steal up on us earlier every year.”
“Oh,” Brad replied. “Still…”, he said trailing off and looking at some of the houses on their way to Hot Licks. “Still,” he began again. “I wonder if it could be done?”
“If what could be done?” Carla inquired. He was making no sense.
Brad stopped and pointed to the porch of a bungalow. “Look at that package sitting there. Obviously some courier left it when he realized no one was home. Anyone could just walk up and steal it.” Brad seemed overly excited about the notion.
“What are you going on about? “ Carla asked. “You’re not thinking about stealing that package?” She tugged at his arm to try to remove him from the temptation.
“No,” Brad said, resisting her efforts to pull him along. “I’m thinking bigger. I was wondering if it were possible to steal Christmas.”
Carla stared at him. What was he saying?
“What are you saying?” Carla asked, speaking her thoughts aloud.
“Well,” Brad began. “Every year we have a pretty good Christmas and I have no complaints but there’s no challenge in it. We spend what we spend and we get each other what we get each other. Maybe it’s the whole pandemic but I want things to be different.”
“Things are different. There’s a pandemic and we’re in a lockdown,” Carla said, stating the obvious.
“I know,” Brad began again. “But what if we stole our Christmas? Nothing store bought or ordered. Everything has to be stolen. No ordering online either. It can be done. Just look at that package on that porch, for example. It would be so easy and every gift is a surprise box.”
Carla couldn’t believe what he was saying. Was he really serious about this?
“I’m serious about this,” Brad continued. “Let’s do it. I’ll take care of the tree and decorations and you take care of the Christmas dinner menu.”
“We can’t,” Carla answered in reply. Still, she didn’t have a rational reason why they couldn’t. A moral reason yes but Brad seemed so intent on the idea. Could she really go along with this? The idea was insane but Brad was right, it was a challenge and they had so few of those other than those imposed by the pandemic and the lockdown.
“Just say you’ll think about it,” Brad implored. He was squeezing her hand now.
“You won’t get a PlayStation 5 for Christmas, then,” was all she could think to say.
“Neither will you, unless one of the mystery porch presents contains one. I know you want a PS5 just as badly as I do.”
“What about that coffee?” she asked pulling at his arm again. “I have work to do and so do you.” She hoped that removing him from the sight of the porch parcel would eventually aid in him forgetting about his stealing Christmas idea.
They eventually made it to Hot Licks and back home again. Nothing more was said that day about the crazy idea.
————
Nothing more had been said about the Christmas stealing for almost a week until one evening Brad came in with a Christmas Tree. It had obviously been a struggle to get it in the elevator let alone the building. It was fully lighted and decorated with ornaments.
“How do you like that!” Brad declared.
Carla was taken aback. There was Brad standing there with a seven foot artificial Christmas Tree and a grin almost as big. It wasn’t the fact that he was standing there with this tree but that she recognized it. The tree was the one outside of Hot Licks. It still had some of the coffee themed ornaments adorning its limbs. She recognized the star on top and even the red metal stand. Brad had thought of everything.
“Don’t tell me you don’t like it?” Brad began. “Do you know what it took to get it up here? The stares alone were enough to stop me in my tracks but I was committed. Someone once said ‘don’t steal anything small’.”
“Oh yeah who was that?” Carla decided it would be best to play along.
“I don’t know, but somebody did,” Brad replied.
“Hey Google,” Carla shouted out to their Google Nest Hub. “Who said, Never Steal Anything Small?” It not only controlled lights and electrical devices in their home, but through its connection to the Internet, it was a wealth of information.
“James Cagney,” Google replied. “Never steal anything small marked the last time James Cagney sang and danced on screen.”
“There you go,” Brad remarked triumphantly. “Never steal anything small. Do you want to me sing and dance?
“No thanks,” Carla replied, “I’ve seen you sing and dance. I’d rather watch the tree.”
Brad took that as his cue. He went to the kitchen and rifled through a drawer and came up with an extension cord. He plugged it into a spare outlet and then connected the tree. Immediately the apartment was ablaze with the glow of the coloured lights.
“Hey Google, turn off all of the apartment lights,” Brad shouted.
The result was stunning. The glow from the tree was breathtaking.
“Will you look at that,” Brad exclaimed.
Carla was. She was looking at the tree…a tree that should have been outside Hot Licks. He was right, though, it was a sight to behold…certainly better than watching Brad dance. Of course, Brad had set up the tree in the middle of their living area but she could adjust that later. Right now, she would let him have this moment.
That night, Carla lay in bed thinking about the tree. This stealing business was now a thing and it was getting serious. The tree outside of Hot Licks was a source of pride in the neighbourhood. What would people say when they noticed it gone? Should Carla say something to Brad? How could she? Brad had been so proud of himself. Did this mean she was now committed to the stealing Christmas scheme? Could she really do it? Brad had made the first move. Now it was up to her.
The next day during her lunch break, Carla made an excuse about having to get some air. She made sure that on her walk, she passed by Hot Licks. She was right, the tree was gone. On the door there was a sign that read: ‘Merry Christmas everyone, closed until further notice.’
Carla was taken aback. What did this mean? The store had been open yesterday. She had bought coffee there for her and Brad. Did this single act of theft bring about the closure of the store? Had the owners taken it that hard? Maybe it was a sense of betrayal to them.
Carla felt sick. She stepped into an alley and threw up.
When she returned to the apartment she was very pale. Brad was still working. Carla went back to work. She was still feeling nauseous. Later, it passed. She said nothing to Brad.
————
The gifts began to appear beneath the tree. There were small things at first and then Brad had placed a larger gift under the tree. It was a square box shape and had some heft to it. Carla couldn’t help herself. She stopped short of shaking it or tearing off a small piece of the wrapping to get an idea of what might be inside.
Was this one of those porch parcels? She didn’t know when Brad had acquired it. It just showed up beneath the tree one day. Did this make Brad a Porch Pirate? The phrase was all over the media. When she thought about it, she really didn’t want to know. The uneasiness was back in her stomach again.
A few days later, there was a large Christmas gift for Brad underneath the tree. He too, had tested the weight of the present. It was heavy enough and it set his mind wondering what it was. He also wondered where Carla had picked it up. Had she picked it up…off someone’s porch maybe? Brad didn’t want to think about it. Christmas was going to be very interesting this year.
————
Brad began to notice a change in Carla. It had started after he had brought home the Christmas Tree. It was subtle things. She was quieter. She didn’t like to take as many walks as she once did. Maybe it was Christmas. Maybe it was the pandemic. Brad didn’t push her on it.
If it was Christmas, Carla didn’t say anything about it. The whole idea of stealing Christmas was an insane idea but Carla seemed to be taking it in stride.
It started with the canned goods. One day after one of her infrequent walks, the kitchen counter displayed cans of pumpkin, cranberry sauce, water chestnuts, and mushrooms.
“I understand the cranberry sauce and the pumpkin but what’s with the chestnuts and mushrooms?” Brad asked. It was safer asking her these types of questions. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about personal issues.
“It’s a new stuffing recipe I want to try,” was all that Carla would say.
“Don’t you need a turkey for that?” Brad asked.
“Just you wait,” Carla answered.
Brad didn’t have to wait long. A few days later, there was a frozen turkey in the refrigerator.
“How…” Brad couldn’t finish the question. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. But he did know. She had gone out in sweats and then there was the turkey.
“No one questions a pregnant lady at the grocery store,” Carla casually replied.
Brad conjured up the image. Shoplifting was becoming an art with her. Should he be concerned? He had started all of this. A stolen Christmas. Wasn’t that his suggestion after all?
Brad looked at her. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. He’d have to let this thing play out.
————
Christmas day came with many revelations.
It started with the gifts.
“Go ahead, open it,” Brad said after placing the large gift at Carla’s feet. There was that big grin like the one he had sported after he had brought home the Christmas Tree.
“I can’t imagine what it is. I suppose it will be something totally useless,” Carla began as she tore into the wrapping. “Porch presents never are all that good. People always order the stupidest of things that they don’t really…” Her voice trailed off. Her removal of the wrapping revealed a PlayStation 5.
“Surprised, hunh?” Brad asked.
He wasn’t wrong. She was surprised. She couldn’t believe it. This was too much. The Christmas Tree was one thing but stealing a PlayStation 5 was too much. This was a Christmas present meant for someone else and not for her. There was no way this came from somebody’s porch. There was no way that Brad could have known that someone had ordered a PS5. But where else could he have gotten it?
Carla had so many questions but she felt if she asked them then it would ruin everything for Brad. Instead, she gently set aside the PS5 and quietly grabbed up the large bag and handed it to Brad.
“Oh boy, I just love Christmas. I know I’m just a big kid but…” Brad’s voice had trailed off too after he had opened his gift. Inside was another PlayStation 5. The grin from Brad’s face faded and was replaced by a look of confusion.
“Merry Christmas,” Carla offered up in a quiet crackling voice. The time had come for the truth.
“I don’t understand,” Brad began before being interrupted by Carla.
“Okay, okay. I bought it.” Carla watched Brad’s face. Was he unhappy with her for not stealing it? She couldn’t tell. The look of confusion on his face grew more intent.
“There’s no way. It was sold out everywhere.” If Brad was disappointed that it wasn’t stolen, he didn’t show it.
“Remember last month when I went to visit my sister?” Carla asked?
“Yeah, you told me she was going through something and you went as moral support.”
“The truth is I was in line at Gamer Station. They’re one of my clients. They tweeted out that they had received some stock. I was the second in line. I had to wait all night.“ Carla was still expecting that look of disappointment from Brad. “I’m sorry I just couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t steal Christmas.”
Brad’s face brightened and the grin returned. “Neither could I.”
“I don’t understand.” The look of confusion was now on Carla’s face.
“Compare your PS5 to the one you gave me,” Brad replied.
Carla set both gifts side by side and then she saw it. Brad’s gift to her was a PS5 bundled with “Grim Reaper Redux.”
“It’s your game! I mean it’s that game you used to play. But that game was more than ten years ago.” Carla was even more confused.
“That’s what I was working on earlier this year,“ Brad offered. “It’s the old game remastered with better graphics and more levels. Sony decided to do a special bundle of the game with the release of the PS5. I received a free console for my work.”
“So you didn’t steal yours either then?” Carla pointed out.
“Like you, I couldn’t steal Christmas either.”
“But what about the tree?” Carla queried.
“Oh, Nico gave me that.” Nico was the owner of Hot Licks. “Or rather he sold it to me for a dollar.”
Carla was relieved. But why did Hot Licks close? “But why did Hot Licks close?” she shot back.
“Nico thought it was safer to close over the holidays. He didn’t want to put any of his staff or customers at risk. I saw him putting up the notice one evening and we got to chatting. I asked him what he was going to do with the tree. He told me to take it and hoped it would make my Christmas brighter. I told him I couldn’t just take the tree for nothing so I offered him a dollar. That way I could claim it was a real steal.” Brad seemed very pleased with himself.
“And the other gifts under the tree?” Carla inquired.
“Ordered online. It turns out I’m no thief.”
“Same here,” Carla responded.
The rest of the presents weren’t as extravagant as the PlayStations. There were clothes and the requisite socks and underwear, as well as books and DVDs and other items ordered online and not stolen. Carla laughed to herself thinking about someone possibly stealing someone else’s underwear.
The day was perfect. They had found out what type of people they really were and amazed themselves at the same quality in their partner.
“No one questions a pregnant lady at the grocery store,” Brad said with a laugh later that day over Christmas dinner. “Here I was imagining you with a turkey stuffed in your clothing.
“Oh, that part’s true,” Carla casually replied.
“What!?” Brad exclaimed. “I thought you said you didn’t steal anything?”
“I didn’t. I said the part about no one questioning a pregnant lady at the grocery store was true.”
“I don’t get it,” Brad replied. It took him a few seconds but Carla’s smile explained everything.
“You mean..?” Brad uttered awkwardly.
“Merry Christmas Daddy,” Carla said through her huge smile.
Carla had known for a few weeks but she waited until Christmas to give Brad the news. She had suspected the pregnancy after that day she had vomited in the alley near Hot Licks. The morning sickness had continued after that and a home pregnancy kit had confirmed it. Blood work requested by her Doctor revealed the same. The most difficult thing had not been the morning sickness but keeping the secret from Brad.
Brad was quiet for a moment with the thought of it all. It was a perfect Christmas and nothing had been stolen. Brad decided that the appropriate reply to Carla’s revelation was to reach over to her and steal a kiss. He didn’t think she would mind that he’d stolen something after all.
Today is January 27th, 2021 and for the second time, in a long time, in a single month, I’m going to put up another blahg. Twice in one month is a record I haven’t accomplished that often but if I’m going to make that 100 blahgs goal this year, then I’ll have to continue to double down.
As readers of this blahg know, I lost my Father, George Henderson, on January 19th, 2019. It’s not a date I choose to celebrate. My friend Bryan reminded me that we shouldn’t remember the death but rather the life. I agree with that but an odd thing happened on January 19th this year. I had gone over to visit my Mother on that date and she asked me if I remembered what was significant about the day? I initially replied that I didn’t know, thinking I had forgotten something I promised to do for her on that day. Then I caught myself and realized that two years previous, Dad had passed away. I felt embarrassed because I had forgotten.
I realized that after Dad died that there would come a time when his memory wouldn’t be something that filled my every day. The first year was busy enough mourning him and dealing with his estate. Last year there was less to do with his final taxes having to be filed and then having to meet with a lawyer and remove Dad’s name from the title of the house. That last deed, of removing Dad from the Deed, hadn’t even occurred to me in the first year. It wasn’t until we tried to renew my Mother’s small mortgage left on the house that we were informed by the bank that it couldn’t be done until the house was solely in her name. That was finally accomplished last fall and what with the Covid 19 pandemic, Christmas, and daily life, I didn’t realize that Dad’s memory was no longer in the forefront of my mind.
I won’t go on and on about the process of letting go of the memory of a loved one. It’s not a choice you make, it just happens. It doesn’t mean you forget that person but maybe it’s not a daily remembrance. There are days when you think about that person and then you wonder why you hadn’t thought about that person for a while. When I came home on January 19th, I reminded my wife that it had been two years since my Father had passed. She too was surprised that we hadn’t thought of it. It was no big deal. It wasn’t deliberate and, again, I didn’t want to celebrate the day we lost my Father. We went about our evening and we went to bed. I don’t even think we talked further about Dad that night.
Sometime that night, I guess it would have been early January 20th, I awoke with a start. I had been dreaming some unimportant dream and it didn’t even involve my Father. But suddenly, and clearly, I heard my Father call out my name. It was loud and clear and just the once. I sat up quickly in bed and then sat for a few minutes on the side of the bed. I was so startled. I have heard of these things happening to others and didn’t really believe in them. In my family, I have relatives who swear they have been visited by the spirits of departed loved ones. I thought it was bunk. Even one of my brothers maintains that he was visited by a vision of Dad. I dismissed his claim. But here was this event that shook me to my core. My wife woke up and asked me if I was okay. I told her I wasn’t. I told her what happened and I began to cry. I was ashamed that I had forgotten my Father. She held me and assured me that I hadn’t forgotten him or let him go. She was right, I hadn’t forgotten him but it was his voice that had left me.
When my Father died in 2019, it took me two weeks before I wrote a blahg about it, THE PASSING OF GEORGE ARTHUR HENDERSON. In that blahg I posted a handful of photos of my Father over the years. One of those photos was the one taken below of my parents at my wedding to Jeanette on May 30, 1987.
My Father had turned 50 on May 24th, 1987, just six days before my wedding. To be fair to my wife’s parents, here’s a photo from my wedding of Jeanette and I with hers and my parents:
I have lots of photos of my Father that I can cull from different sources. That isn’t the point of this blahg. Waking up in the middle of the night and hearing my Father call my name reminded me that one of the things that goes first is the sound of a person’s voice. It has been more than two years since I’ve heard my Father’s voice. The last memory of him speaking to me was in the hospital when I told him that the Doctor stated that there was no quality of life for him and that she recommend we let him go. I asked him if he was ready for that and he said “yes.” That is not the vocal memory I want to recall of my Dad.
I lay awake after hearing my Father call my name in the wee hours of January 20th of this year. I was trying to hold onto my Father’s voice. It got me thinking about what I had that might have recorded my Father. There were no videos of my wedding but I remembered that I had provided my brother Dan with a small tape recorder to record the service and the speeches at my wedding in 1987. That meant there was an audio cassette but I couldn’t remember when I last saw the tape. I searched for a couple of days for the tape before asking my wife about it. She pointed me to a drawer I had forgotten about that contained an odd assortment of burned Sinatra CDs that I had received from other collectors as well as a loose collection of cassettes. In that drawer was a loose cassette labelled “Our Wedding”. Here’s an image of that tape:
It’s not only a collector’s item for Our Wedding but we haven’t had a Kmart here in Canada in more than 20 years.
From that tape sprang to life my Father’s voice from more than 33 years ago. I want to present it here. It’s not easy to understand everything he said in his speech so I’m presenting a transcript below.
“I want to thank everyone for coming and Mr and Mrs Ploegman for making this all happen. Unfortunately Scott doesn’t realize it but I do know where he is tonight because the hotel call me to make sure he had his reservations all right.
When Scott was a school boy I thought I could teach him something. When he was six years old we had an awful battle when he went to school, he wouldn’t come home. He kept staying at school and I swore every noon hour I ran home and I thought after he got a good enough licking he wouldn’t stay at school again. But what’s he do? He wants to be a teacher and he’s marrying a teacher and he’s going to be in school all the way.
I really appreciate you Jeanette for coming to our family because we need another daughter. Boys, we’ve got five of them. So that’s about all I’ve got to say and thank you all very much for coming.”
Mr and Mrs Ploegman that my Father mentions in his speech are my in-laws Florence and Peter.
From over the years, my Father spoke to me again. It was a precious memory finding that cassette and being able to post it here. I started to think of what other medium might hold a recording of my Father’s voice. I’ve owned video cameras over the years but never remembered recording my Father. One memory I did recall was my Father’s voice on a video recording of my son Noah’s first Birthday. He was off camera but I remember him talking in the background. Here’s a clip of my son’s Birthday with my Father’s voice in the background:
My wife Jeanette is working the camera and my daughter Emily, then 4 years old, is seated next to him. Across the table are my niece Keri and my nephew Christopher. I had cats at home at the time, and for the record, I did not cook up one of the cats.
It was funny that when recalling this video I could remember exactly what my Father had said in the background about cooking up one of the cats. Again, another nice memory and another way for me to hear my Father’s voice. In that video were three generations of male Hendersons: Noah, myself (Scott) and my Father George. My son Noah will be 27 this year and he carries on the Henderson name passed from my Father to me to Noah.
I haven’t found any other videos or audio recordings but if I do I might just keep them to myself. This, after all, was to help me remember my Father’s voice. I heard him call my name about a week ago and I wanted him to know I heard him.
Today is January 16th, 2021 and this is my first official blahg for the year. I have actually filmed two videos this year and they are going to be the bulk of this blahg. I mention some Dvds and books, and records in the actual False Ducks Video Blahg #4 but I’m not going to detail that information here. I’m going to save all of that for another blahg. That way I get two blahgs out of the same information. Clever and frugal!
The first video I shot this year was actually shot by my wife. It’s of my daughter Abbie and I doing the Polar Dip at North Beach in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada on New Year’s Day, January 1st, this year 2021:
The next video I made was actually a remastering of the video I made to accompany the audio of “The Dead From The Neck Up 25th Anniversary, Covid 19, Quarantine Special.” I should have added the word “Christmas” somewhere in there because it was a Christmas comedy special. I wasn’t totally happy with the mix on our special and I fixed a couple of flubs I made and punched up the sound effects on one sketch and normalized the audio on others. I’ve left up the old version on Youtube which you can view in my last blahg, CHRISTMAS IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT. Here’s the remastered version:
Finally, we come to the official “THE FALSE DUCKS VIDEO BLAHG #4: OH, DIDN’T I RAMBLE”. I think it speaks for itself or I speak for myself…oh you know what I mean:
Now, one last thing I will add is a song to go along with the title of this blahg. There is a great jazz standard called “Oh, Didn’t He Ramble”. My title is a riff on that song title. Of course “riff” is also a music term of you’re in the know like hep cats like me. Give a listen to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and their version of “Oh, Didn’t He Ramble”:
Well, it’s the day before Christmas and, as usual, I’m cutting it close to finish this Christmas blahg.Today is December 24th, 2020 and I haven’t written a new blahg since my last one, TRACING LINDA KEENE, PART 3: ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD, way back in September. Frankly, that blahg series tired me out and I’ve had other things to keep me busy. Living in the time of a world wide pandemic, Covid 19, hasn’t helped and it’s part of the theme of this blahg. Christmas is a little different this year and we’ll have to make the most of it; any way we can.
Last year’s Christmas blahg, MEATS AND CHEESES AND BABY JESUS, detailed how I had to change some of the plans I normally have for this time of year. I had to miss the live Nativity in Bloomfield last year and had to find a new place to cut down our real Christmas Tree. This year, we’ve had to adapt to doing things differently. Emmanuel Baptist Church in Bloomfield, Ontario still had their Nativity this year but it was a drive-through experience. We waited an hour to drive by all of the stations from the announcement from the angel to Mary about her impending birth, through Joseph’s visit from the angel, to the shepherds, on to the magi, and onward to Bethlehem. There were ten stations in all and at the beginning we were give a CD with 10 tracks to play; one at each station. We were also given a bag of cookies and either hot chocolate or hot cider. I’m glad I didn’t have to miss it and that Emmanuel Baptist found a way to make this season a little bit more enjoyable with us all keeping our social distance.
The hunt for this year’s Christmas tree was also very different. Carol’s Christmas Tree Farm in Napanee, where we cut our tree last year, was closed this season due to the pandemic. That left me no other options than to pursue a tree at a local nursery. My daughter Abbie came home from University on December 9th and I waited until she was home before turning to the tree issue. My wife had suggested Lockyer’s Country Gardens in Picton. I remember years ago, probably close to 20 years ago, I bought one there and paid $30 back then which I thought was pricey. Still, my options were limited so Abbie and I set out on Friday, December 11th and headed to Lockyer’s. We were surprised when we saw no trees outside and even more surprised when we found no trees inside. I asked a young guy who worked there where they kept their Christmas trees. He didn’t laugh but he apologized and said they were all sold out. He also said the local firemen who sold trees by the fire-hall were also sold out. I asked where we might find one in the County, being Prince Edward County where I live and where Picton is relatively in the center. He said he didn’t believe I could find one in the County but there might be a tree farm north of Belleville. I doubted any tree farm would be open during this pandemic and I certainly didn’t want to drive the hour it would take to find the farm he was suggesting.
Abbie and I were a little disappointed but were still determined. Lockyer’s was on the outskirts of Picton so we drove into Picton proper to scout around. The first place we passed was the Metro grocery store and there were about 10 trees stacked against the front door of various sizes. The price at Metro was $45. There were a couple that were over six feet and we thought they might be suitable. We decided to drive around to the other grocery store and by the fire-hall in case the fellow at Lockyer’s had been wrong about the firemen. There were no other trees to be found in Picton. Driving in from Lockyer’s we had passed the No Frills grocery store and Canadian Tire but we could see from the road that they had no trees for sale. As we drove into Picton, we saw some nice ones growing on people’s lawns that looked suitable but I didn’t have an axe nor the inclination to ruin the Christmas of someone else. We settled on a purchase from Metro. When we drove back to the store, we saw someone carting off one of the trees. Luckily, it was not one of the larger ones.
We were able to easily fit the tree inside our Hyundai Sana Fe with the back seats folded down. Carrying in the tree and setting it up was a breeze. It was only after we had it seated in the stand when I cut the twine that was bound around the tree. The tree did not unfold. It probably had been tied so long that it was going to hold its bound shape unless I did something. I searched the Internet about “how to relax a Christmas tree.” I thought about getting it drunk to see if it would relax but someone else suggested “just stick your arms in and push down on the branches. Go around the tree doing that and it should open up.” I still thought that getting it drunk would lessen the tree’s inhibitions. After all, it was more uptight that depressed. I did, however, like one person’s suggestion about trying to make the tree depressed. “If you tell the tree that it’s a very bad tree and it’s mother was a balsam fir so it will never amount to anything the tree will become depressed and it’s limbs will sag.” I opted for the method of massaging the tree. Someone also suggested adding ginger-ale to the tree’s water because their tree seemed to like it. Back to getting the tree drunk again but I don’t drink so the tree just had the ginger-ale water mix. Eventually after the massage and a night sitting in the ginger-ale solution, the tree looked much better. I think the image below speaks for itself:
Here are some pictures of some of our other decorations both outside and inside (click on the pictures for a larger image):
To add to your Christmas delight I’m going to post here something very special. I have mentioned before that from 1993 to 1995 my friend Stephen Dafoe and I, along with our producer and good friend Bryan Dawkins, had a radio show in the Belleville area called “Dead From The Neck Up.” The last show that aired was a Christmas show in 1995. You can check out the 1993, 1994, and 1995 Christmas specials here at http://www.falseducks.com/dead/readdead.html. We were all getting too busy back in 1995 and our lives took different directions. Stephen ended up moving to Alberta in the early 2000s and I wouldn’t reconnect with him until about five years ago. Bryan and I have remained in the Belleville region and keep in touch. So, I’ve been listening to some of our old shows to keep myself amused during this pandemic. A few weeks back I realized that it’s been exactly 25 years since our last show and I got to toying with the idea of a 25th anniversary reunion show. So, I emailed Stephen and he thought it would be fun. I wrote all of the sketches, had him record his parts and emailed them to me and then I contacted Bryan over the Internet and recorded his vocals over Facetime on my Ipad. The result is The Dead From The Neck Up 25th Anniversary Covid 19 Quarantine Special. Of course it’s a Christmas show and I just thought I would share this as it’s amazing with today’s technology what we were able to accomplish and now the Dead From The Neck Up cast is in their late 50s with a good laugh for this holiday season.
I also created Youtube video with some old images of Dafoe, Dawkins, and myself along with some of my Christmas light display.
One thing I should add is a sad note. My daughter Emily and her husband Charlie were set to come down for Christmas but because Charlie is battling a lingering cough, which is not Covid 19 related, they decided to stay in Toronto and not take any chances. This is the first time that Emily has not been home for Christmas. She is thirty now and we’ll just have to do a video chat. We picked up my son yesterday to have him home with Abbie and his mother and I and we went over to Emily and Charlie’s and met them in the parking lot of their building, socially distanced, and dropped off their gifts. They’ll still have to wait until Christmas morning to open them virtually with the rest of us. That’s how we’re making Christmas work for us.
It’s different times and we all have to roll with the punches. Christmas will come again next year and we’ll have a vaccine and hopefully we’ll gather again. Stay safe, stay home and hug those you can. Send virtual hugs to those you can’t and remember to listen to the “The Dead From The Neck Up 25th Anniversary Covid 19 Quarantine Christmas Special”.
Merry Christmas, and I’ll catch you back here in the New Year!
I haven’t spoken much about Covid 19 and the vaccines but I finally have something to say. First let me say that I am pro-vaccine and I certainly encourage everyone to get whatever vaccine they can get. I’m not anti-mask or anti-vaccine and I believe we should all follow all of the safety precautions and do our social distancing and not gather when it’s not safe to do so. This isn’t rocket science folks. Do the right thing! Moving on. 
We have to get that herd immunity. Like I said, I didn’t care. I was given the information about the vaccine and agreed to it and got the jab in my left arm. I even texted my wife and children and my employer stating that I was no longer a vaccine virgin. I was happy that I did it. 
Good thing, too, because I felt like I had been hit by a truck and not the nice kind with an ice-cream cache inside. I still had the headaches but I generally felt like I had the flu. That night, the buzzing in my ears started. The next day I felt a little better and by Friday I was running at about 90% of my old self but still with the ear buzzing and a slight headache. Friday afternoon, on my way home from work, my nose started running strenuously for about 30 minutes then stopped. Then the headache increased with dizziness, blurred vision, and chills and sweats again. The next day, Saturday, I was run over again by the same truck. 
In fact, I was already dizzy and probably shouldn’t have driven myself. My wife was at work and I texted her but when the Doctor tells you to come to her office when she’s not seeing anyone in person then you don’t delay. By the time I got to her office, my heart was pounding and I was exhausted. I had to sit in an exam room for 10 minutes and I fell asleep. 
I didn’t think you’re supposed to do that with medicine. I know you’re not supposed to mix your drinks. Honestly, this is like the magician asking you to pick a card and you hope he guesses right. Again, I’m encouraging everyone to get a vaccine but maybe read my precautionary tale and then put yourself on every list and get the one that you feel the most comfortable receiving. When the magician asks you to take a card and put it back, hide an extra one up your sleeve and screw up the whole trick. Stay home. Stay safe. And get a vaccine…I’m just not going to say which one.
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which I held onto until ClassicFlix released the film on DVD & Blu-Ray in November of last year. I had ordered it and forgot about it until it arrived after my ramble video. The only extras on the film are a Restoration Comparison and some other ClassicFlix trailers. The film itself is the gem here. I have never seen it look so good and it’s a cute little film with both stars. I highly recommend it. 
Today is December 24th, 2020 and I haven’t written a new blahg since my last one, 
