Watch video from “Time Machines”
Copyright Hudson West Productions

Season 2
Time Machines

Cabaret legend Bobby Short in an early appearance on Hugh Hefner's "Playboy's Penthouse" series in 1960, when he was 35 years old.

Cabaret legend Bobby Short in an early appearance on Hugh Hefner’s “Playboy’s Penthouse” series in 1960, when he was 35 years old.
source: Playboy Enterprises Productions

Al Bowly, the British crooner who is Hugh Hefner's favorite singer.

Al Bowly, the British crooner who is Hugh Hefner’s favorite singer.
source: UMKC Libraries,
Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde,
Dept. of Special Collections

“Time Machines” explores how technology has preserved—and altered—the way we think about the great songs and singers of the past. On a coast to coast tour that stops in New York, Palm Springs, Kansas City, upstate New York, and even the storied Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, Michael Feinstein introduces viewers to Soundies (the original music videos,) the historic Kansas City building where “jam sessions” were born (which still hosts after-hours gigs,) and an eclectic array of performers and collectors who help keep the music alive, including the avid collector and music lover Hugh Hefner, who shares rare footage of cabaret legend Bobby Short, and the British crooner Al Bowlly.
by Amber Edwards

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