Blast To The Past

Mr. Sandman

2012-01-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

FYI - Glenn Miller Movies

2012-01-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

If you are a fan of the "Glenn Miller Orchestra." They made two movies. 1941- "Sun Valley Serenade" and 1942 - "Orchestra Wives." A third movie was planned to be filmed but never went into production due to Glenn Miller going into the U.S. Army. Both of the movies that were released were produced by Twentieth Century Fox. They are Fox Classics films that can be found at Amazon.com:

Orchestra Wives (DVD) - Sun Valley Serenade(VHS)

These links could change over time. So you can always do a new search in Amazon if they do not show up. Since I am a big "Glenn Miller Orchestra" fan, I wanted to share this information with you.

Happy Holidays from Blast to the Past

2011-12-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to you from

"Blast to the Past"

May you have a Merry Merry Christmas!

Ozzie and Harriet - Busy Christmas

2011-12-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

Ozzie and Harriot
Busy Christmas

(1956)

Malice in the Palace (1949)

2011-11-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

Malice in the Palace (1949)

Starring the Three Stooges

The Three Stooges in Three Little Beers

2011-11-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

The Three Stooges in Three Little Beers

Mush and Milk - Little Rascals

2011-11-19T18:40:00.000-08:00

Mush and Milk - Little Rascals

Description: When Capâs back pension finally comes, he treats the kids of Bleak Hill Boarding School to a day at the local amusement park

Wonderful White World Of Winter - Bing Crosby

2011-11-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

Wonderful White World Of Winter - Bing Crosby

Ray Conniff - "Ring Christmas Bells" (1963)

2011-11-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ray Coniff Version of "Carol of the Bells" from the Album, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Ray Conniff - Winter Wonderland

2011-11-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

Another wonderful Conniff arrangement of a modern carol, one that makes you want to dance in the snow with your sweetheart! As heard on the album "Christmas With Conniff". Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Ray Conniff - Silver Bells

2011-11-06T05:23:00.000-08:00

Starting off the Holiday Season with some "Silver Bells: by Ray Conniff. In November, I usually like to start preparing for Christmas. It is my favorite time of the year. This comes from the Album, "Christmas with Conniff," Enjoy!

Ray Conniff Biography

2011-10-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Biography

Conniff was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book.^[1] After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II (where he worked under Walter Schumann), he joined the Artie Shaw big band and wrote many arrangements for him. After his stint with Shaw he was then hired by Mitch Miller, then head of A&R at Columbia Records, as their home arranger, working with several artists including Rosemary Clooney, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Johnnie Ray. He wrote a top 10 arrangement for Don Cherry's "Band of Gold" in 1955, a single that sold more than a million copies.
Among the hit singles he backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a male chorus) were "Yes Tonight Josephine" and "Just Walkin' in the Rain" by Johnnie Ray; "Chances Are" and "It's Not for Me to Say" by Johnny Mathis; "A White Sport Coat" and "The Hanging Tree" by Marty Robbins; "Moonlight Gambler" by Frankie Laine; "Up Above My Head," a duet by Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray; and "Pet Me, Poppa" by Rosemary Clooney. He also backed up the albums Tony by Tony Bennett, Blue Swing by Eileen Rodgers, Swingin' for Two by Don Cherry, and half the tracks of The Big Beat by Johnnie Ray.
In these early years he also produced similar-sounding records for Columbia's Epic label under the name of Jay Raye (which stands for "Joseph Raymond") amongst them a backing album and singles with Somethin' Smith and the Redheads, an American male vocal group.
Between 1957 and 1968, Conniff had 28 albums in the American Top 40, the most famous one being Somewhere My Love (1966). He topped the album list in Britain in 1969 with His Orchestra, His Chorus, His Singers, His Sound, an album which was originally published to promote his European tour (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) in 1969. He also was the first American popular artist to record in Russia—in 1974 he recorded Ray Conniff in Moscow with the help of a local choir. His later albums like Exclusivamente Latino, Amor Amor and Latinisimo made him very popular in Latin-American countries, even more so after performing in the Viña del Mar International Song Festival. In Brazil and Chile he was treated like a young pop superstar in the 1980s and 1990s when he was in his 70s and 80s. He even played live with his orchestra and eight-person chorus in large football stadiums as well as in Viña del Mar.

Wiki Source

Ray Conniff Singers were also very popular back then especially for their Christmas Songs.

Perry Como - Papa Loves Mambo

2011-10-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Artist: Perry Como with Mitch Ayres and his Orchestra and The Ray Charles Chorus
Title: "Papa Loves Mambo"

Label: RCA Victor
Cat No: 20-5857-A
Release Year: 1954

"My Time is Your Time" (Rudy Vallee, 1929)

2011-10-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

"My Time is Your Time" (Rudy Vallee, 1929)

Rudy Vallee's second radio theme song, composed by Eric Little and Leo Dance...replacing "Heigh-Ho, Everybody!" for his national broadcasts on the Fleischmann's Yeast Hour.

MY TIME IS YOUR TIME

My partner, my partner,
it's dancing time.
The clock says ten--
won't you say when?

I'm ready, go steady
when we begin--
The time is right,
I think we might,
just chance it and dance it
away tonight...

My time is your time,
Your time is my time,
We just seem to synchronize
and sympathize,
we're harmonizing...

One steps and two steps,
Old steps and new steps,
There's no time like our time
and no one like you!

There's no time like our time and no one like you...

Here's Rudy's entry from the Farlex Web Dictionary:

Vallee, Rudy Hubert Prior (1901-1986)

US singer, actor, and bandleader. Establishing a clean-cut, college-boy image, he became one of the most popular crooners (indicating a smooth, intimate style) of the 1920s. He formed his band the Connecticut Yankees 1928 and hosted a radio programme with the theme song 'My Time Is Your Time' (recorded 1929). From 1929 he appeared in films and stage musicals.

Vallee was born in Island Pond, Vermont, and raised in Maine. After studying at the University of Maine and Yale, he travelled widely, making appearances in England and throughout the USA. In the 1920s he sang through a megaphone, which became a trademark. He served in World War I and in the Coast Guard in World War II. Vallee started as a saxophone player and toured with local bands throughout his teenage years. On leaving college he became a singer, making records like 'The Vagabond Lover' (1929) and 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' (1932). In Hollywood and on Broadway he began as a romantic lead but turned to comedy in the 1940s; his films include George White's Scandals (1934), Palm Beach Story (1942), and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1966). His performing career lasted into the 1980s.

Hercules (1958)

2011-10-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

Stars:

Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina and Fabrizio Mioni

Director: Pietro Francisci
Production Company: Galatea Film
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: Adventure; pdmovies

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Every Sunday 1936 Judy Garland

2011-10-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday (1936)

Judy Garland's first appearence before an MGM camera with Deanna Durbin.

Impact (1949)

2011-09-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

"Wealthy businessman survives attempt by wife to have him killed, makes it look like she succeeded and starts a new life in small town as auto mechanic. Variation on idea elevated to noir importance by The Killers (1946), where victim of femme fatale tries to abandon the city and his past identity." - noir expert Spencer Selby

This movie is part of the collection: Film Noir

Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Keywords: pdmovies

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Till The Clouds Roll By (1946)

2011-09-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Till The Clouds Roll By (1946)

Musical biopic on the career of pioneering Hollywood composer Jerome Kern.

Starring June Allyson, Robert Walker, Lucille Bremer, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra

This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Director: Richard Whorf
Producer: Arthur Freed
Sponsor: MGM
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: musical; biopic; Jerome Kern; June Allyson; Robert Walker; Lucille Bremer; Judy Garland; Lena Horne; Frank Sinatra

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Casper The Friendly Ghost in There's Good Boos Tonight (1948)

2011-09-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

Casper The Friendly Ghost in There's Good Boos Tonight (1948)

Director: I. Sparber
Production Company: Paramount Pictures & Famous Studios Productions
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: casper; ghost; cartoon

Heading for Heaven (1947)

2011-09-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

Stu Erwin is convinced he will die soon so crooks can buy his property. With Glenda Farrell.
You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page.

This movie is part of the collection: Comedy Films

Director: Lewis D. Collins
Producer: George Moskov
Production Company: Eagle-Lion Films Inc.
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Road to Bali (1952)

2011-09-21T05:03:00.000-07:00

Starring: Bob Hope, Bing Crosby,
Dorothy Lamour
"Road" picture set in the South Seas.

This movie is part of the collection: Comedy Films

Director: Hal Walker
Producer: Daniel Dare
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: Musical; Comedy; pdmovies

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Spooks Run Wild (1941)

2011-09-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

Spooks Run Wild (1941)

Starring: Bela Lugosi

The boys are sent to a mountain camp. Stranded in a small rural town, they hear about a "monster killer" roaming the countryside. At night, they sneak out. Peewee is shot by a grave-digger, and they are forced to seek aid at an old mansion. The owner of the mansion (Lugosi), insists that the boys spend the night. After seeing PeeWee walk around the house in a trance, the boys decide that the man turned him into a zombie. They gang up on him and tie him up. The nurse at the boys camp (Dorothy Short) sets out to find the missing boys with Von Grosch (Dennis Moore), who has come to rid the town of the killer- or has he?

Our Gang War Feathers 1926

2011-09-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

Feature Comedy Short

Our Gang War Feathers 1926

While on a cross-country train trip, the Our Gang kids drive the rest of the passengers crazy with a never-ending game of cowboys and Indians. During a stopover in the sleepy town of Red Dog, the kids disembark in hopes of savoring a taste of genuine Western life. They get more than they bargained for when a trio of bandits rides into town for a showdown with the local sheriff. Meanwhile, black youngster Allen "Farina" Hoskins tries to pass himself off as an Indian, but the members of a local tribe aren't amused. The silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy War Feathers was originally released on November 21, 1926~ Hal Erickson

Abe Lyman - Buy, Buy For Baby, 1928

2011-09-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 - October 23, 1957) was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including Your Hit Parade.
His name at birth was Abraham Simon Lymon. Abe and his brother Mike changed their last name to Lyman because they both thought it sounded better. Abe learned to play the drums when he was young, and at the age of 14 he had a job as a drummer in a Chicago café. Around 1919, Abe was regularly playing music with two other notable future big band leaders, Henry Halstead and Gus Arnheim in California.
In Los Angeles Mike opened the Sunset, a night club popular with such film stars as Mary Pickford, Norma Talmadge, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. When Abe’s nine-piece band first played at the Sunset, it was a success, but the club closed after celebrities signed contracts stating they were not to be seen at clubs.
For an engagement at the Cocoanut Grove in The Ambassador Hotel on April 1, 1922, Abe added a violinist and saxophonist. Opening night drew a large crowd of 1500 guests in the Cocoanut Grove, plus another 500 more outside.
After the band cut their first record under the local label Nordskog Records, they moved a year later to Brunswick Records where they made many recordings. The Lyman Orchestra toured Europe in 1929, appearing at the Kit Cat Club and the Palladium in London and at the Moulin Rouge and the Perroquet in Paris. Abe Lyman and his orchestra were featured in a number of early talkies, including Hold Everything (1930), Paramount on Parade (1930), Good News (1930) and Madam Satan (1930). In 1931, Abe Lyman and his orchestra recorded a number of soundtracks for the Merrie Melodies cartoon series.
Notable musicians in the Lyman Orchestra included Ray Lopez, Gussie Mueller, and Orlando "Slim" Martin.
During the 1930s, the Lyman Orchestra was heard regularly on such shows as Accordiana and Waltz Time. Lyman and his orchestra sat in for Phil Harris on the Jack Benny program in 1943 when Harris served in the Merchant Marines.
When Lyman was 50 years old, he left the music industry and went into the restaurant management business. He died in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 60.

Reference Source

Artie Shaw - Stardust

2011-09-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

STARDUST ARTIE SHAW

Artie Shaw - King of the Clarinet

Arthur Jacob Arshawsky (May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004), better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings.
Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists,"^[1] Shaw led one of America's most popular big bands of the late 1930s and early '40s. Their signature song, a 1938 version of Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine," was a wildly successful single and one of the era's defining recordings. Musically restless, Shaw was also an early proponent of Third Stream, which blended classical and jazz, and recorded some small-group sessions that flirted with be-bop before retiring from music in 1954.

Quote Source