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I began collecting when I was five years old. My parents would take me to second-hand stores in Columbus, OH where I could buy old 78 records for a nickel apiece; and even though I could barely read the labels, I would take home as many as my weekly allowance could afford and savor them in my basement lair. Admittedly at that age I was hardly a connoisseur, but even then I loved the sounds of those old songs and was captivated by the emotions and ideas and even the vibrations that emanated so magically from that plain black disk. As I grew older and began making music myself I became increasingly curious about where it came from. Who wrote it? How was it notated and arranged and published and recorded? Who were the people who performed it, and what made them so great?
-Michael Feinstein
Michael Feintstein's American Songbook airs October 6, 13 and 20 on PBS.
Feinstein's Collection: Meet Cyd Charisse
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Feinstein's Collection: The Same Hello
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Feinstein's Collection: Curator's Note
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Feinstein's Collection: Moon River Demo
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Feinstein's Collection: Rockin' the Town
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Feinstein's Collection: Bing Crosby Disk
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Feinstein's Collection: My Intuition
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Feinstein's Collection: Gershwin Photo Album
Feinstein's Collection: Gershwin Notebook
“Rockin' The Town” sung by Kate Smith on a 1938 radio program.
Listen:
Michael Feinstein writes:
Perhaps one of the most underestimated singers of the last century might be Kate Smith, who had an extraordinary vocal range and blessed interpretive powers. She was a star for fifty years, making her Broadway debut at the age of 17 in a 1926 musical called "Honeymoon Lane." Her radio career was long and exciting and she was at one time the most popular personality on the air, boasting both a 5 day a week daytime chat show plus her famous evening variety hour. She started the careers of other entertainers (like Abbott and Costello) and introduced many songs on the air, making them instantly popular. Perhaps her most famous radio moment was when she introduced Irving Berlin's “God Bless America” on Armistice Day 1938. “Rockin' The Town” was sung on the air by Kate in 1938 and includes a vocal arrangement by Ted Straeter, her longtime choral conductor. But she didn't introduce this song. The song is from a 1937 Columbia film called "Start Cheering" that featured among others, The Three Stooges and Jimmy Durante. While not a memorable film, the highlight for me is "Rockin' The Town" as performed by its composer Johnny Green and his dance band with Gertrude Niesen vocalizing. Composer/Arranger/Pianist and Bandleader Johnny Green was one of my favorite people and had the most versatile musical career. He wrote many songs worthy of greater recognition. The lyrics are by Ted Koehler (of “Stormy Weather” fame.)
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