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Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft, and this time around, burlesque.

Welcome to the Atomic Age Cocktail Party featuring music from the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond. A song that even if you don't know it, you know it. That's David Rose and his orchestra and the Stripper, from his 1962 album, The Stripper and Other Fun Songs for the Family. Yeah, that's the title. This song, more than any other, has become the musical shorthand for anything striptease. And this week, the topic is burlesque and the music of striptease. Now this program may not be for everyone. We will be talking in general terms and hearing songs about the history and art of striptease and all that that entails. So consider yourself warned.

Burlesque can trace its roots to English performer Lydia Thompson. And then there was Little Egypt at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. From there, there was the [Follies Bruge] in Paris, the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway, and Minsky's. Sally Rand and her fans were a big hit at the 1933 World's Fair. And then you had the emergence of one who would become the biggest burlesque star of the 20th century, Gypsy Rose Lee. She rubbed elbows with dignitaries and the social elite. In those early days, it was all titillation with glitz and glamour.

By the 1950s and 1960s, burlesque had moved away from the big stages with lavish productions to smaller venues where it focused mostly on the striptease dancers, and the music went from big orchestras to small jazz combos. The job of these smaller groups was to fill up the musical space and keep the action going. They had to not just keep the beat but help enhance and punctuate the motions and movements of the dancers. So a lot of driving drums and wailing saxes and over-the-top musical performances. And along the way, this music from the burlesque houses found its way onto hi-fis in the form of burlesque records. And at the same time, burlesque found its way back on Broadway in a big way with the musical Gypsy, about the aforementioned Gypsy Rose Lee.

So this week, we're looking at the music of burlesque, from the old favorites to those hi-fi records to Broadway and to mainstream films. So let's start with a classic. This is the number Night Train as performed by Alvino Ray, and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

[MUSIC: Night Train - Alvino Ray]

It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft. The music of burlesque is the topic this week. And that was Bald Bill Hagen and his [ruckaddins], and a number titled Bumps and Grinds, referring to the types of motions you could typically see from a burlesque dancer. That's from his 1963 album Music to Strip By: Party Fun Songs from the Golden Age of Burlesque. Yeah, these types of records were either marketed as party records or how-to records, a way to make them easier to sell to mainstream America.

Before that, a tune titled Girdles Away from Gentleman Jim and the Palace Pit Orchestra. This is also from an album titled Music to Strip By, from 1969. We also heard from a Philadelphia quartet known as the Cousins and Blues in the Night, the Harold [Arle] and Johnny Mercer standard, given the big burlesque treatment. And that's from an album titled Music of the Strip from 1961. And we started that set with something a little more mainstream. That was the tune Night Train, written by Jimmy Forrest in 1951. We heard a version from guitar player Alvino Ray mixing those big bumping beats with some stereophonic fun. That's from his release, Swinging Fling, from 1958.

The spotlight this week is on the music of burlesque, and we just heard a tune called Bumps and Grinds. Well, I guess this would be the sequel. It's Sonny Lester and his orchestra and More Bumps and Grinds, and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

[MUSIC: More Bumps and Grinds - Sonny Lester and His Orchestra]

Thanks for tuning in. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. We're looking at the music of burlesque this week and how during the hi-fi era, it moved from burlesque houses to record players to the Broadway stage. An artist by the name of Cy Payne and the Big Strip. This is a bit of production library music that came from the [Chappelle] Recorded Music Library Company out of the UK, showing how this style filtered down to all parts of the musical ecosystem. We also heard a jazz standard that was also a big burlesque standard, Harlem Nocturne, written in 1939 by Earl Hagan. The version we heard was from Bob Freeman and his orchestra. It comes from a really fun collection that came out in 2009 titled Girls, Girls, Girls: The Best of Burlesque and Striptease Music.

And Sonny Lester and his orchestra started that set with the number More Bumps and Grinds. Lester actually recorded a handful of these striptease records, along with some belly dancing records. He did it all in the 1960s, including the one where this tune comes from, which was called [A Coreo] Presents More How to Strip for Your Husband, Volume Two: Music to Make Marriage Merrier. [An Corio] being a famous striptease artist of the day. And on the cover of this record, it promotes a bonus instruction booklet inside.

It's music of burlesque this week, and in 1959, burlesque hit the mainstream with the big Broadway musical Gypsy, based on the life of performer Gypsy Rose Lee. Music by [Jewel Stein] and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It's a musical that you can still see performed all around. It also became a big hit movie. There are lots of numbers in that show that have now become classics, including this great one about how to stand out on the burlesque stage. From the 1962 movie soundtrack, it's You Gotta Have a Gimmick, and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

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[MUSIC: You Gotta Have a Gimmick - Roxanne Arlen, Faith Dane, and Betty Bruce]

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Jason Croft: It's the perfect garnish for your late-night nightcap. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. We're looking at the music of burlesque this week, and that set focused on one of the art form's most well-known performers, Gypsy Rose Lee. And we just heard from the woman herself and a track titled Psychology of a Striptease Dancer, giving you a little insight into what she did. This is from an album that she herself put out in 1958 titled That's Me All Over. It's filled with all sorts of these spoken word, wink and a smile sort of pieces.

Before that, a couple of tunes from the big Broadway musical Gypsy, which was based on her life. We heard Let Me Entertain You, as performed by Sandra Church, who was the original actress who played the role of Gypsy Rose Lee in the 1959 Broadway production, a role that got her nominated for a Tony. What we heard came from her album, also titled Let Me Entertain You, which was released in 1960. And we started that set with a how-to lesson on what it takes to make it big. You Gotta Have a Gimmick was the name of that one, sung by the trio of Roxanne Arlen, Faith Dane, and Betty Bruce. As I mentioned earlier, this comes from the soundtrack to the movie adaptation of the Broadway show, which starred Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, and Karl Malden.

Now, another performer who was associated with that musical Gypsy and its original production was Ethel Merman, who had a big turn as Mama Rose. Well, here she is, along with Dan Daly, and another favorite of many a burlesque review. It's the number A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody, and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

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[MUSIC: A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody - Ethel Merman and Dan Daly]

[00:42:42]
[MUSIC: Big Spender - Shirley Bassey]

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Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft, and we're looking at the music of burlesque this week and how it moved from burlesque houses to the Broadway stage and beyond, all during the hi-fi era. And there, a man I like to call the king of swank, Henry Mancini, and a burlesque-inspired number from the movie soundtrack to Breakfast at Tiffany's from 1961. That's called Hubcaps and Taillights, utilizing all those classic styles of bump and grind music. We also heard from Shirley Bassey and another big Broadway and film musical number, Big Spender, originally from Sweet Charity, which opened on Broadway in 1966 and then hit the big screen in 1969. Music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Shirley Bassey's version came out in 1967 and was a hit for her in the UK. And we started that set with Ethel Merman and Dan Daly, and A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody. The song goes back to [1919] and it was written by the legendary Irving Berlin and was the theme song for the Ziegfeld Follies. What we heard came from another Berlin vehicle. It was from the original soundtrack to the film There's No Business Like Show Business, which was released in 1954.

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 left in our look at the music of burlesque, and some more examples now of how this music made its way into the mainstream. Here's arranger and bandleader Billy May and a number titled Fuzzy Pink Nightgown. And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

[MUSIC: Fuzzy Pink Nightgown - Billy May]

Wrapping up our look at the music of burlesque here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. And there, a fun little mashup of sorts. That was Mel [Hankey], known for his playful musical humor, and the theme to the TV program 77 Sunset Strip, but filtered through a burlesque lens. That was called [77 Sunset Strip Bur]. It's the title track from an album that he released in the early 1960s, which was mostly just a repackaging of his earlier release, [La Doce Hanky]. We also heard from guitarist and bandleader Barney Kessel and Honey Rock, with an uncredited singer adding some sweetness to that track, very much mixing early rock and roll with that burlesque style. This is a wonderful musical gem. It was buried as a B-side to the 1957 45 single of Ricky Nelson's You're My One and Only Love, which Kessel led the orchestra for. And Billy May started us off with a number called Fuzzy Pink Nightgown. This seems like music that Billy May was born to play. This is actually a bit of movie music. It's from a 1957 romantic comedy called The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown, starring Jane Russell. The movie did not do well at all at the box office, and that's made the soundtrack to it rather hard to find. But it features the movie star on the cover wearing said pink nightgown, and also featuring some great tunes there by Mr. Billy May.

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 something modern, influenced by the classic style of burlesque music. It's from [the millionaire], one of the founders of the lounge revival band Combustible Edison. It's from a [2003] compilation titled [Music to Lose Your Knickers By]. This is the number I'll Have What She's Having. Until next time, this is Jason Croft saying, keep swinging.

The Atomic Age Cocktail Party is a production of Illinois Public Media.