Forgotten Songs from the broom cupboard

This really is it folks! Episode 100, final and last Forgotten Songs from the Broom Cupboard podcast. No Sinatra type returns this time. Hope you enjoy this 90 minute trawl through some old favourites. I'm not abandoning the cause and will be using 78rpm records for a couple of drama type projects. Link below to one. The Brownbread Tapes. He's a man who just might have a bit of a dodgy occupation. Twelve episodes in all, done to various 78 records. Short and hopefully sweet. https://thebrownbreadtapes.libsyn.com Here are the artists in our finale- Bob Skyles, Eddie Peabody, Winifred Atwell, Harry Parry, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Kay Starr, Tenneesse Ernie Ford, Frank and James McCravy, Teresa Brewer, Joe Turner, Jimmie Rodgers, Harry Torrani, Michael Holliday, Billy Banks, Hoagy Carmichel, Michijakko, Bob Hamilton Trio, Bessie Smith, Saunders King, Hot Lips Paige, Lou Ella Robertson, Tiny Bradshaw, Lulu Zeigler and to see us out, Nat King Cole. The utterly marvellous My Flaming Heart. Its been an absolute pleasure. Stay safe, be happy and healthy.

We open with the madness of Irish Mambo from Alma Cogan. The two sides of Nat King Cole. First, pared back with his trio- Nat on piano, Oscar Moore guitar and Bob Miller drums. They give us- I'm lost. Then rich, orchestrated Nat with the Four Knights giving vocal backing- That's all there is to that. Great title. Perry Como with 'Look out your window (Thats me standing in the rain.) Always check the weather forecast before attempting this! Then Catch a falling star. Based on a melody by Brahms apparently and featuring the Ray Charles singers. A massive world wide hit. Absolute 1930s nonsense from Billy Cotton- A Bungalow, a Piccolo and You. Love it. Our Bob Cosby section: Black Zephyr (Decca American Recording label), Fools Rush In(vocals Marion Mann), Speak to me of Love ( Vocals Marion Mann), Down Argentina Way( Vocals Bonny King), Milk Cow Blues( Vocals Nappy Lamare), I'm Nobody's Baby( Vocals Marion Mann), Big Noise from China(Drums Ray Baudec) and the fabulous Sigh no more ladies. Music by Arthur Young, lyrics William Shakespeare! Great vocals by Marion Mann. Mann(1914 to 2004) was discovered by band leader Emerson Gill and sang for him in the early 1930s.She was badly injured in a car crash in 1933 but recovered and sang for Bob Crosby and Jan Garber in the late 30s and early 40s. She seems to have left the business in 1947. Love her voice. We finish with the 'B' side to Catch a Falling Star, Magic Moments. Which reached No1 in Britain in 1958.

Hardly forgotten but Frankie Laine certainly doesn't get the credit he deserve in the history of pop. An astonishing 75 year career. Singer, songwriter and actor. A big powerful voice that succeeded in all genres of music he tackled. Acknowledged as precursor to rock and roll. He happened to be a great guy too. Here he gives us- Some day, Love is such a cheat, The little boy and the old man( duet with Jimmy Boyd.) Your cheatin' heart and, of course, Blowing wild. Eartha Kitt starts us off with Cest si bon. Cherokee Canyon from Tex Beneke, Cherokee from Charlie Barnet. See what I did there. An artist that Frankie Laine admired as a young man was Gene Austin, falsetto crooner and songwriter. We hear him singing- I've grown so lonely thinking of you and then two interperations of Austin- Skilkret's Lonely Road. Jules Bledsoe sings the original song that was used in Showboat. Bledsoe was the first black singer/ actor to regularly appear on Broadway. He was the original Joe in Showboat. Mugsy Spanier takes the song, written in the style of an African, American folk song, and makes it a jazzy, blues classic. Big noise from Winnetka from Bob Haggart and Ray Baudec, two members of Bob Crosby's Bobcats. Legend has it they improvised its composition while the rest of the band were taking a break. A cool track, string bass, drums and whistling. Listen to Baudec play the lower part of the bass with his drum sticks. Marvellous stuff.

Goodbye 2022. A shorter than normal episode to mark the end of the year. Its party time, Its Scottish dance and song with a wee bit of help from across the pond. We start with Sir Harry Lauder and I love a Lassie. He was the first million record selling British artist. Fats Waller with You asked for it, you got it, Duke Ellington- It dont mean a thing( If it ain't got that swing.) Primo Scala- Grinzing. These are the fellas you want at a party to entertain. The Scottish Dance Orchestra- Highland Fling, Bobby MacCleod and his band- Bonnie Annie and McDonald of Sleat. We go out, naturally, with Auld lang Syne. Recorded in June 1910 in London. P.A Hope is the singer. I always find it a poignant song but it seems even more so because this recording comes to us from so long ago. How the world has change in those 112 years. A big thank you to all who have listened throughout the year, from all over the world. Be safe, be happy, be healthy. See you next year. We will back to a weekly schedule, starting on Friday 6th January at 6pm. Miles Tubb- [email protected]

Frankie Vaughan seemed to be constantly present on British Television in 1960s. Mr Moonlight they called him. He had a big voice and a big stage presence, top hat, bow tie and tails. He had many hits during the 1950s and had a brief career in Holywood. Most notably opposite Marilyn Monroe in Lets make Love. Here he gives us The Green door. Lita Rosa- Hernando's Hideaway. Rosa started her stage career at the age of 12. At 24 she was lead female singer with Ted Heath. A strong voice which probably never reached its full potential with the material she was given. Variety is the spice of life on Forgotten Songs. So next up is Tom Wright with Driving into Glasgae in a sour milk cairt. Its billed as traditional on the Beltona label. It's not but was written in 1914 by Tom Johnstone for the comedian J.C macDonald. It's in broad Scots. Two from a F.S favourite, Kay Starr- Too busy and If you love me. Dickie Valentine was a popular crooner in Britain through the 50s. Like many British singers he existed on a diet of American covers. He died in a car crash in 1971. Joan Regan and The Squadronaires give us Ricochet. The Squadronaires were the R.A.F big band. There is some confusion of her birth name and exactly where she was born. Again she did a lot of American covers through the 50s but her U.S recorded version of Don't talk to me of love become a Northern Soul classic. Languishing in the F.S colection has been this piece of US Billbord chart history from Tommy Edwards. It's all in the game was the first number one by an African American in the chart. Released in 1958 it was the biggest hit from this singer- song writer. He sadly died young at 47. Frank Ferera with Beautiful Love. He was a Hawaiian music pioneer. We go all posh with Air on a G string with Norbert Wethmar on violin. The only information I can be certain of about him are two references from The Radio Times in the late 1930s. Two performances with the BBC Orchestra. Florrie Forde was the Australian born grand Dame of British Music hall. Whose career spanned Victorian variety theatre to entertaining the troops in Aberdeen in 1940. She died after the performance, aged 64. Her songs included- Hold out your hand you naughty boy, Down at the old Bull and Bush and I do like to be by the seaside. Here she gives us When we were strolling around town. Maurice Winnick was another Manchester born musical child prodigy. As a teenager he was a band leader on a transatlantic liner. He had a succesful career through the 1930s and 40s. He died in 1960. He plays a lovely version of The Waltz you saved for me. The Platters need no introduction and neither does the song- Smoke gets in your eyes. Okay its not forgotten but how often do you hear it directly from the original 78?