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Peach of a Pair

Who does the word “crooner” bring to mind? Sinatra, Bing, Buble? Well, if not for a terrible accident, Columbo might have headed that list.

August 17, 2021
Hymn to Apollo

You’re listening to the Palestrina Choir on a Victor 78 from 1927 And, you’re on the Sound Beat! The choir is singing the Hymn to Apollo, one of the Homeric hymns: a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. It’s thought to have been written in 522 BC. Apollo is the son of Zeus, God ...

August 16, 2021
The Kid Auto Races in Venice

Charlie Chaplin would become the world’s biggest star, but the first emergence of the Little Tramp played second fiddle to…go-karts.

August 13, 2021
The Flying Saucer

War of the Worlds…dj style.

August 12, 2021
Elder Charlie Beck

Where did you go in the 1930s when you wanted some of ground-breaking music that would become rock and roll? Sometimes…you just went to church.

August 11, 2021
Babes In The Wood

Little Einsteins, Mozart for Mommies…we’ve come a long way, babies!

August 10, 2021
The Cruising Crooner

Jack Owens was known as the Cruising Crooner, a name he earned by navigating the crowds…and paying special attention to the ladies

August 9, 2021
“I Owe My Soul to….”

Merle Travis recorded the original 16 tons in 1946…though he did have a little help with its legacy.

August 6, 2021
Classic Soundtracks: As Time Goes By

How a ten year-old song and a three year-old unpublished play combined to make movie history. Herman Hupfeld wrote  As Time Goes By in 1931 for the Broadway show “Everybody’s Welcome”. It’s inextricably linked to the film, as is Dooley Wilson who played “Sam”, and made this recording in 1942. Even the film’s screenplay came from an ...

August 5, 2021
Eleven-Cent Cotton, Forty-Cent Meat

It’s been said that farmers felt the stock market crash of 1929 less than most. For them, the Depression had already started years before.

August 4, 2021