Friday nights at 9 & Saturday nights at 11 on WILL-FM
The show, simply put, is a celebration of the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond! It's American popular music from the 1950s and 1960s with a few modern numbers thrown in for good measure.
This week, we spotlight some of the great vibraphone players of the hi-fi era as well as those modern lounge vibes players who are keeping the tradition going. We’ll hear from the likes of Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Cal Tjader, Arthur Lyman, Terry Gibbs, Roland Remington, and more.
Coming up, on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, the first installment in our Great Arrangers series. This time, focused on the man who was the go-to arranger of the hi-fi era, Nelson Riddle. We’ll hear his collaborations with folks like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Oscar Peterson, Linda Ronstadt, and many more.
This week, on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, we take to the skies, ride the rails, and hit the open road. It’s a show filled with songs about Planes, Trains, and Automobiles! We’ll hear from Jeri Southern, Jack Sheldon, Louis Jordan, Bobby Troup, and more!
This time, on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, we ring in the new year with a hi-fi dance party! Lots of great tunes to keep you moving until the stroke of midnight. We’ll hear from Quincy Jones, King Curtis, Baja Marimba Band, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, and many more.
Hang up your stockings for this week’s The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, because we’re celebrating the holiday season with a Hi-Fi Christmas! Tons of fun…and unusual…Christmas tunes from hi-fi era. We’ll hear from Kay Starr, Eddie Dunstedter, The Three Suns, Allan Sherman, and more.
On the show this time, we’re enjoy the winter weather! Songs about wintery outdoor activities, the snow, and cold temperatures as well as tunes about keeping warm when winter winds blow. We’ll hear from Lena Horne, Connie Russell, Esquivel, Bing Crosby, and more!
This week, we’ve got a Lot of Livin’ To Do! A look at songs about life and living. The good life, the easy life, and the life lived to its fullest. We’ll hear from Bobby Darin, Sam Cooke, Ada Lee, Sarah Vaughan, and more.
This time around, it's Music for Your Tiki Bar. A selection of exotica, old and new just perfect to listen to while sipping a tropical cocktail. We’re hear from Webley Edwards, Combustible Edison, Waitiki, Frank Hunter, and more.
We step into the spotlight this week on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party because we’re Live On Stage! It’s a selection of live performances from some of the biggest stars of the hi-fi era. We’ll have music from Frank Sinatra, Julie London, The Mills Brothers, Anita O'Day, Nat King Cole, and more!
We're all about musical questions this time on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party. Songs from the hi-fi era that ponder questions large and small. We’ll hear from Johnny Hartman, Donna Hightower, Jackie Gleason, Erroll Garner, and more.
This week, things are going to get spooky! It’s a Hi-Fi Halloween! A musical trick or treat featuring fun and kooky vintage Halloween music. We’ll hear from Kay Starr, The Five Blobs, Allan Sherman, Spike Jones and many more!
On this episode, we're some soft sounds. It’s hi-fi music with a light touch. Featuring selections from Buddy Collette, Kenny Burrell, Dolores Gray, Julie London, Ethel Ennis, and many more.
On the program this time, we’re At the Movies! We have famous, and not so famous, themes from films of the Atomic Age. We have music from comedies, spy flicks, film noir, and even some exploitation and B-movies.
It's an Atomic Mixer! We have a sampling of all the great music we bring you week after week. We’ll hear from Blossom Dearie, Yma Sumac, Tony Bennett, The Martini Kings, and many more.
This time around, we're "Strangers in the Night." It's look at all those great nighttime-themed songs of the hi-fi era. We’ll hear from The Randy Heller Percussionists, Carmen McRae, David Rose & His Orchestra, Jackie Davis, and more!
It's a celebration of Big Band music during the hi-fi era, this time on the program. On this bill, music from Anita O’Day, Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and many more!
This time on the show, we look up at the skies for songs from the hi-fi era inspired by the moon. We’ll have selections from Esquivel, Dinah Washington, Buddy Greco, The Out-Islanders, and many more.
Get on your dancing shoes on because this time we’re looking at the samba, rhumba, and the cha-cha-cha. We’ll get a sampling of some of the fun and sometimes strange records that came out highlighting these musical styles. We'll hear from Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Xavier Cugat, Art Mooney, and many more.
On the show this week, it’s a Group Project. A look at duos, trio, quartets and other combos during the lounge era. We’ve got the Hi-Lo's, Al Hirt & Ann-Margaret, The Brass Ring, Baja Marimba Band, Ferrante & Teicher, and many more.
On program this time, Just One Word! Popular songs of the lounge era that only needed one word in their titles. We’ll hear from Eddie Fisher, Martin Denny, Rosemary Clooney, Jo Stafford, and more.
This time on the show, it's Music for Nightcaps. An hour of wonderful and lush sounds for end-of-the-evening cocktails featuring selections from Jackie Gleason, the 101 Strings, Paul Weston, The Norman Luboff Choir, George Shearing, and many more.
This time around, we’re going Hollywood! It’s stars of the big and small screens, who weren’t normally singers, trying their hands at making music. We’ll hear from Yvonne De Carlo, Robert Conrad, Maureen O'Hara, Sophia Loren, and many more!
On the show this week, It’s A Blue World. A look at how lounge music approached "The Blues." We’ll hear from Eartha Kitt, Chet Baker, Sammy Davis Jr., and a rare recording of songwriter Harold Arlen singing one of his biggest numbers.
We put the spotlight on the cool and swank sounds of Henry Mancini. We’ll hear from the man himself, as well as see how others of the hi-fi era interpreted his music.
This time on the program, we celebrate the season with a show featuring Summertime songs. Buddy Greco gets things hot, Jack Jones makes some promises, Percy Faith visits his Summer Place, plus many other summer-themed tunes.
It's an hour of songs about food! We’ll share some BBQ with Jonah Jones, The Andrews Sisters talk about their favorite dish, Peggy Lee gives us some sugar, plus a whole lot more.
We’re playing it cool this time on the program. It's look at the notion of what it meant to be “cool” during the hi-fi era. Music from Neal Hefti, Del Close and John Brent, King Curtis, Cy Coleman, and many more.
We’re all about Grooving Guitars this time on the program. We feature some of the players and innovators of the hi-fi era including Les Paul, Al Caiola, Wes Montgomery, Howard Roberts, Tony Mottola, and many more.
On the show this week, it’s time to Count ‘Em Up! Songs about numbers: One Note Sambas, Two Sleepy People, Three Coins in the Fountain, and a whole lot of guys named Moe. Featuring music from Bobby Troup, Xavier Cugat, Esquivel, Louis Jordan, and many more.
This time on the program, we've got the beat. And the boom. And the pow. it's an hour of hi-fi percussion from folks including Don Ralke, The Frank Barber Percussion, Augie Colon, Les Baxter and more!
We’re Broadway Bound this time on the program! Tons of swinging hi-fi versions of tunes from the Great White Way from shows like Guys and Dolls, The Pajama Game, Kiss Me Kate, Bye Bye Birdie, and a lot more.
On the program this week, we're feeling the bossa nova heat! We have lots of tunes from the greats like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz & João Gilberto, and Walter Wanderley. Plus many other who were part of the bossa nova craze.
This time around, we’re enjoying a little TV Time. It's great television themes from the Atomic Age. We’ll visit detective shows like Peter Gunn, The M Squad, and Perry Mason, plus spy shows, and a few other surprises.
We're all about crooners this time on the program. A look at some of our favorite male singers of the lounge era. We'll hear from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Mel Tormé, Vic Damone, Nat King Cole, and more.
This week on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, it’s a show that featurs lots of exotica escapism. We have slices of musical paradise from Arthur Lyman, Robert Drasnin, Jeri Southern, Eden Ahbez and more.
We're putting the spotlight on the songs of Cole Porter this time on the program. In particular, a look at how hi-fi artists interpretated his music. We hear from Bob Thompson and His Orchestra, Sarah Vaughan, David Rose, and even Stan Freberg.
This time on the program, we look at all the great artists keeping the lounge flame alive in the 21st century! Music from Michael Bublé, Ricki Derek,The Martini Kings, Don Tiki, The Tikiyaki Orchestra, and more!
In honor of WILL's 100th anniversary, it's a show called Time After Time featuring songs about the passage of time. We have tunes about minutes, hours, days, years, and more!
This time on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, it’s Musical Colors, featuring songs that cover all the colors in the rainbow. Deep Purples, Yellow Days, Green Eyes, Blue Skies, and so much more!
This time, we focus on the "space" part of Space Age Bachelor Pad Music! We'll have cosmic selections from Baxter, David Rose & His Orchestra, Ferrante & Teicher, Louis Prima, and more!
On The Atomic Age Cocktail Party this time around, it's Outrageous Organs! It's a swinging look at all the wild and cool organ music of the hi-fi era.
This week on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, we feature some of our favorite female singers of the lounge era. We include the big names as well as some hidden gems.
On The Atomic Age Cocktail Party this week, we're giving your hi-fi...and your ears...a workout with all sort of stereophonic action! Music from RCA’s Stereo Action series, Command Records, and a spotlight on Esquivel!
This time on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, it's Mambo Mania! We look at the mambo craze of the 1950s. We start with the mambo kings of the era and then work our way to some of the stranger mambo records that came out.
In honor of Valentine’s day, this edition of The Atomic Age Cocktail Party featured songs with the word "love" or some version of that in their titles.
On The Atomic Age Cocktail Party this time, all the great spy music of the 1960s. There will be tons of James Bond music as well as other fun secret agent music from then and now!
This time on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, we're naming names. Songs with names in their titles.
This time on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, we explore all the great lyrics of Johnny Mercer. His words are part of so many great songs of the hi-fi era.
On The Atomic Age Cocktail Party this week, those big big bongo beats! A celebration of all our favorite bongo records and bongo players.
Songs about cocktails and drinking this time around on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party!
Songs about jet setting and traveling, this week on The Atomic Age Cocktail Party!
When I say, "Music from the Golden Age of the Hi-Fi," what does it mean? Here are few thoughts, as show host, about how I program The Atomic Age Cocktail Party.
The Atomic Age Cocktail Party, simply put, is a celebration of the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond! Premiering January 1, 2021, each hour-long show will be a mix of vocal and instrumental music and will be loosely focused around a theme.
Jason Croft has been collecting, enjoying, and programming lounge, easy-listening, and other music of the Atomic Age for over two decades. Now he is sharing this genre with you every Saturday and Sunday night with the Atomic Age Cocktail Party on WILL-FM. When he’s not knee-deep in his record collection, he’s the Technical Director for The 21st, local host for Here and Now, and one of the voices of AM580 on the weekends.
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