On his website, slide the timecode to 64:19 for the start of the interview, which runs roughly 40 minutes.
It was great to talk Soundies with Mike, who’s a smart, lively interviewer and a terrific editor. The conversation is dotted with audio excerpts from a variety of Soundies, all of them spot on for the topic at hand.
Our interview closes out NitrateVille’s 100th episode. Congratulations to Mike, and thanks for making Soundies part of that milestone.
Co-Hosting Soundies on TCM (Turner Classic Movies)
John Shadrack Horace and Johnny Moore’s 3 Blazers in “Along the Navajo Trail” (1945), one of the Soundies I’ll introduce on TCM on Wednesday night, September 7
Mark your calendar and save the date! On Wednesday, September 7, I’ll join Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger to introduce 3 programs of Soundies, paired with 3 different feature films.
At 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, we’ll talk about “Soundies–Before They Were Stars,” featuring Dorothy Dandridge, Ricardo Montalban, a teenage Doris Day, and others, followed by Day’s big breakthrough movie, “Romance on the High Seas” (1948).
At 11:30 p.m. Eastern time, it’s “Soundies–Battle of the Band Leaders, Part One,” with classic Soundies by Gene Krupa, Cab Calloway, Stan Kenton, and others, leading into “Orchestra Wives” (1942).
Closing the night at 1:30 a.m. Eastern (10:30 p.m. for the West Coast crowd), “Soundies–Country Classics” features a terrific duet by Carolina Cotton and Merle Travis, and a rare Soundies find: “Along the Navajo Trail, starring John Shadrack Horace and Johnny Moore’s 3 Blazers, followed by “Your Cheatin’ Heart” (1964).
Two weeks later, Dave and I will be back with another Soundies night on September 21.
Co-Hosting the 2nd Program of Soundies on TCM (Turner Classic Movies)
“Good-Nite All,” 1943, one of the Soundies I’ll introduce in the “Swing Music and Dance” program on September 21
Two weeks after our first set of Soundies programs on September 7 (see entry below), Dave Karger and I are back on Wednesday, September 21 with another night of Soundies paired with feature films.
At 8 p.m. Eastern time, we’ll start with “Soundies — Swing Music and Dance,” featuring classic Soundies by Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, the Charioteers, and more—including one of my favorites, “Good-Nite All,” followed by Jordan in “Reet, Petite and Gone” (1947).
At 9:30 p.m. Eastern, it’s “Soundies — Battle of the Band Leaders, Part Two,” with Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and yes, Lawrence Welk! Followed by “Cabin in the Sky” (1943).
At 11:30 p.m. Eastern, we’ll close with “Soundies — Joining the War Effort,” featuring Soundies by Doris Day, Louis Jordan, and some wonderful discoveries–including Toni Lane, who turns in a terrific performance on “When Hitler Kicks the Bucket.”
I hope you’ll mark your calendar and tune in for both evenings. For details, check the TCM monthly calendar in September.
“Soundies: Glamour, Gender and A Little More Libido”
Ed Coleman of Day, Dawn, and Dusk in “Faust”
In celebration of Pride Month, on Monday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m., I’ll be at Film Forum with another program pulled from the full Soundies catalog—this one featuring films that play with and push back on stereotypes of women and the exclusionary, emphatically heterosexual culture of the World War II era.
Along with early-career glimpses of Dorothy Dandridge, dancer Cyd Charisse, and Fantasy Island star Ricardo Montalban, the program spotlights Soundies performers who reflect a looser, more expansive vision of 1940s America—including vocal trio Day, Dawn, and Dusk, the fabulous De Castro Sisters, and “dance impersonator” Arica Wild. Monday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m.
