Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft, and this week we say make it an old fashioned. Welcome to the Atomic Age Cocktail Party featuring music from the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond. Some good old-timey piano there from Joe "Fingers" Carr and "Alexander's Ragtime Band," a composition from Irving Berlin from 1911.

Now, our piano-playing Carr was actually arranger, composer and conductor Lou Bush, who had success under his own name, but found more fame with his piano-playing alter ego. What we heard was from the 1956 release, "Mr. Ragtime."

And in the spirit of that old-timey music that we just heard, well, that's where we get this week's theme. We're calling the show Make It an Old Fashioned, as in old-fashioned music. We're talking about those popular songs from the early part of the 20th century. Music of Tin Pan Alley, of Broadway, ragtime, and other old sentimental favorites. Songs that measured success just as much in sheet music sales as in record sales. It was music that artists of the hi-fi era grew up hearing. It was American music of an earlier generation.

But what a lot of hi-fi artists did was take these old chestnuts and give them new stereophonic life. On the way, Esquivel is feeling melancholy, Mel Tormé walks the Big Apple, and Peggy Lee is having fun. Right now, the swinging sounds of Bobby Darin and the Dixieland [band from — **FLAGGED FOR HUMAN REVIEW**: transcript reads "2002," likely an error; possible intended text is "Dixieland band" or similar] — it's "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home." And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

[00:13:22]
Jason Croft: So glad you've tuned in. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft. Make It an Old Fashioned is the title of our program this week. A look at how artists of the hi-fi era approach songs that were considered golden oldies even back then.

The Three Suns there and a song that was a big hit for them, ["Peg o' My Heart"]. The number itself goes back to the 1913 musical Ziegfeld Follies. The Three Suns themselves first released their version of the number in 1947. What we heard was a recording they did many years later during their renewed popularity during the stereophonic era. It comes from their 1960 release, "Twilight Memories."

Before that, a man I like to call the king of space-age bachelor pad music, Mr. Juan García Esquivel, and "My Melancholy Baby." It's another song that goes back to the [1910s]. And the best bit of trivia about this song is that the first person to perform it publicly was William Frawley — a.k.a. Fred Mertz from "I Love Lucy" fame. Esquivel's take on the tune came out in 1968, 42 years after the song's debut.

Guitarist Alvino Rey also in that set with "After You've Gone." This is from his great ping-ponging stereophonic record titled, appropriately enough, "Ping Pong" from 1960. The song was originally written in 1918, and if you listen closely to the chorus, the first few notes are the exact same as those in "Peg o' My Heart". Fun, huh?

And we started that set with the big swinging sounds of Bobby Darin asking that musical question, "Bill Bailey, won't you please come home?" It's also known as "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey." It's a song that goes back to 1902 but here given a whole lot of that swinging Vegas atomic-age hipness there in the hands of Mr. Bobby Darin. He released it as a single in 1960.

We're looking at songs from the early part of the 20th century as performed by artists of the hi-fi era this week. Songs that were well-established oldies even in the atomic age. Here now, the kooky quartet known as the Kirby Stone Four, and their take on the 1918 tune, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles." And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

[00:23:24]
Jason Croft: It's the ultimate transistorized stereophonic high-fidelity fun. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. Old-timey music as played by artists of the hi-fi era is our show this week. Make It an Old Fashioned is what we've titled it.

And there, trombone player and bandleader Buddy Morrow and "Some of These Days" from 1957. Morrow, a man who kept that big band style going all throughout his career. He was a man who started playing with Jimmy Dorsey early on, and then later led the band created by Jimmy's brother, Tommy Dorsey. "Some of These Days" itself was written in 1910 by Shelton Brooks, and early on was mostly associated with the great singer Sophie Tucker.

And speaking of great singers, we also had the lovely Miss Julie London in there with "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Wanna Do It)." A nice torchy take on that tune, done only as Julie London could. This comes from later in her career. It's from her 1967 release, "Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast." The song itself was written in 1913 and introduced by Al Jolson in another Broadway [revue], "The Honeymoon Express." Yeah, Broadway back then was a very good way for a song to become popular.

And we kicked off that set with the Kirby Stone [Four] and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles." Now, if you know the group, the Kirby Stone Four and their catalog, they purposely reuse the core of their arrangement of "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads" for this number. It's a nice nod to their previous work. This song — yeah, another Broadway tune — it's from "The Passing Show" from 1918. The Kirby Stone Four's version is from their 1959 album,  The Go Sound.

Make It an Old Fashioned is our show this time around. Standards from the first decades of the 20th century, reimagined and reinterpreted by artists of the hi-fi era. Right now, it's the wonderful Keely Smith from one of her comeback albums from the early 2000s. From 2002's "Keely Swings Basie Style with Strings," it's "Saint Louis Blues," and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

[00:34:09]
Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. Make It an Old Fashioned is the title of this week's program. Songs that to those of the hi-fi era were already considered golden oldies. Peggy Lee and "Ain't We Got Fun" — that's from her album "Jump for Joy" from 1958, with an unmistakable arrangement from Nelson Riddle. This is an old vaudeville number first written in 1920, and in the hi-fi era, other artists did their takes on it, including Doris Day, Gordon MaCrae and June Hutton and Alma Cogan.

Before that, another trombone bandleader — our second for this week. That would be Si Zentner and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," a tune that borrows from the work of classical composer Frédéric Chopin. The original version was published in 1917, and then [was] part of the 1918 Broadway show "Oh Look!" here giving it that big band feel — that's from his album "The Swinging Eye," from 1960.

And we started with some 21st-century Keely Smith going back to 1914 for the W.C. Handy number "Saint Louis Blues." An early jazz tune that was made famous by Bessie Smith in the 1920s, a number that was a huge hit in the big band era with all the biggies covering it. And here, another Smith — Keely Smith — had it on her 2002 release, "Keely Swings Basie Style with Strings," one of three albums she did in the early 2000s to mark her modern-day comeback.

Early 20th-century popular standards as performed by hi-fi artists is what we're spotlighting this time around. And now, the Velvet Fog himself, Mel Tormé, and "The Sidewalks of New York." And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.


[00:45:21]
Jason Croft: Some summertime guitar-time fun here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. Make It an Old Fashioned is our show this week, as in old-fashioned music. Standards from the early part of the 20th century that were still popular during the hi-fi era.

Les Paul and Mary Ford right there and "In the Good Old Summer Time." The original number was published in 1902. The version we heard was released 50 years later in 1952. And there's something that sounds so old-fashioned about this take — almost gospel music in their approach, but also very quirky and very hi-fi modern with that great guitar sound courtesy of Les Paul.

Another great guitarist before that — Al Caiola — and his version of the Scott Joplin tune "Maple Leaf Rag." Really having some space-age pop fun with that one. "Music for Space Squirrels" is the album that this comes from, released in 1958. And rags — yeah, another style that hi-fi artists would go back to again and again, especially for the lively and fun quality of the music. It worked really, really well in the stereophonic era.

Dave Pell and his octet also in that set with "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider." That's from the recording "The Old South Wales" from 1961, arrangement by Marty Paich. This tune was originally a Tin Pan Alley number from 1903 that was a hit for singer Eddie Cantor.

And we started with the swinging sounds of Mel Tormé and "The Sidewalks of New York." That's from his album, "Mel Tormé Sings 'Sunday in New York' and Other Songs About New York" from 1964. It's his musical love letter to the Big Apple. And what a great audio snapshot there of life in New York. The song itself dates back to 1894 — yes, 70 years before Tormé's recording.

Well, you're listening to the Atomic Age Cocktail Party, celebrating the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond. If you like what you're listening to, don't forget to stop by our website at atomicagecocktailparty.com for playlists, show archives, and a lot more. If you have any show ideas or comments, you can get a hold of us there as well. Atomicagecocktailparty.com.

One more set of music left in our Make It an Old Fashioned program. And for you now, trumpeter "Al, he's the King Hurt," and another number that got its start on Broadway. It was originally from the 1912  musical "The Big Show." It's the tune "Poor Butterfly," and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.


[00:56:03]
Jason Croft: Wrapping up our Make It an Old Fashioned program here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party, a look at tunes that for artists of the hi-fi era would have been classics from the previous generation.

And what a wonderful and soulful take of "Down by the Old Mill Stream" by the legendary Lena Horne. The song was originally written in 1910 by Tell Taylor, and sold 4 million copies of its sheet music, which at the time was a very impressive feat. Move ahead to the year 1966, and Horne and her very modern take on it, modifying the lyrics to her own needs. It was from her album "Soul."

Before that, a couple of swinging trumpeters. We had Jonah Jones and a nice slow and strutting, bluesy version of "Ballin' the Jack." It's a song that dates back to 1913. What we heard from Jonah Jones was from his album, "Jonah Jumps Again" from 1959. And Al Hirt started that set with "Poor Butterfly," with that great wah-wah muted trumpet sound. Add in some easy-listening strings and you have some real hi-fi goodness there. This is from his album, "Trumpet and Strings" from 1962, with Marty Paich— who we name-dropped earlier — doing the arranging and conducting.

Well, that just about does it for our show this week. Make sure you're here again for more fun from the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond. Gonna leave you with one more. It's from a really fun record that Nancy Sinatra did in 1967, filled with lots of these old-timey numbers. The record was called "Sugar," and from that, here's a number that was originally from 1911. It's "Oh, You Beautiful Doll." Until next time, this is Jason Croft saying, keep swinging.

[00:58:56]
Jason Croft: The Atomic Age Cocktail Party is a production of Illinois Public Media.