Liner NotesOf course big bands and cars go together. The first car radio was offered by Chevrolet in 1922. As the medium became more popular and more practical for use in a vehicle, it was more than likely large jazz orchestras filling those airwaves. This album is a...

Liner NotesFor our last stop during World Tour November we head to a region of the world known for its Beaches and Casinos. To where the rich have played for centuries. Three different country’s musical styles are included on this record; Spain, France, and Italy. In...

Liner NotesNext stop on our World Tour November is also a stop back to the 19th century. Back to one of the music centers of the world at the time. Budapest. Home of the Danube River and a beautiful opera house. All of that and more made it a popular tourist stop for...

Liner NotesWe continue World Tour November with music about a location I’ve actually been to. It’s on the list as being one of the seven natural wonders of the world. If you’ve ever visited that big hole in the ground in the southwestern United States, sometimes words...

Liner NotesWe begin a month of travel-related music in what I am calling World Tour November. And what better way to begin that month than with a tour of the world all in one album. This episode will serve as the month’s Overture, so to speak. The movie, based on a...

Liner NotesWell, here’s a milestone for you. I can’t believe that I have reached 200 shows with no intent of stopping. While I’ve played over 12 hundred songs on this show over those more than three and a three quarter years, I have several that have stuck in my brain...

Liner NotesMost of the albums so far in my father’s collection were of popular artists from the US. This record is the first of four my dad had from an orchestra leader who reportedly was from England, featuring a trumpet player, who reportedly has the same name as...

Liner NotesHere’s an album filled with some of the biggest big band jazz orchestra leaders there ever were. And they’re the songs that each leader was most identified by. It’s also a special promotional copy with a Cleveland area connection, which is probably why it’s...

Liner NotesBack to one of my father’s favorite trumpet players. This time, a little later in his career. It’s as if the years have slightly mellowed his sound, and he blends in more with the band. But there’s almost never any trouble recognizing when this musician is...

Liner NotesToday, the day this episode drops, would have been my mom’s 87th birthday. Earlier today, I dropped ten roses on her gravestone to signify how many of those birthdays we have had without her. I’ve said this before, that my mom’s spirit is within this album...

Liner NotesThis is truly an interesting find in my dad’s collection. We know by now my dad’s love for the Dixieland style of music. So it’s not surprising I found this record in the stacks. But what was surprising is that this recording was made by seven musicians...

Liner NotesI’m not sure why, but the episodes that feature Ray Conniff music have been among the most popular…by far. Maybe because his music is so enjoyable. Maybe because his music is laid back and brings back memories of better times, or what are assumed to be...

Liner NotesWe slide now quite nicely into the second record of a two album set of popular New York City Jazz musicians taking their music around the U.S. In fact, according to the album back cover, they performed in front of 200 thousand fans during 37 concerts in 25...

Liner NotesHere is the first of two from Doris my dad had. And it's just some downright pretty music. She's got a soft, delicate voice. I can see why Colonel Potter fell in love with her. But that's a story for later in the episode. A car accident cut her budding...

Liner NotesThis album is the epitome of extended music. These melodies had been recorded before, but the technology of the 78 RPM kept them limited in length. Once the opportunity to put more music on one disk became available with the new Long Playing technology of...

Liner NotesHere’s an artist dwelling in my father’s collection we haven’t heard from yet. We’ll be hearing selections from the first of three Billy Vaughn records he had. This record isn't just filled with the pop hits Vaughn would arrange and record for orchestra to...

Liner NotesThe four letter album title in large yellow font along with the same color silhouette of a pair of hands playing a trumpet over a black background immediately sets the tone for this LP. It’s familiar music played a little more sparsely than you are used to...

Liner NotesLet’s get back to some of the big band and early swing my dad listened to a lot. And this record is a real find because of the two main musicians. One played a brass instrument, one played reeds. One ended up just a little more famous than the other. But...

Liner NotesLike I’ve mentioned before, my dad liked his cowboy music too. So, we’ll go back to a box set where we’ll pull out the fourth of its seven records. The title of each of these sides is Deep in the Heart of Texas and Western Landscapes, hence the mashup title...

Liner NotesWe're going to take a little side road along our musical journey for this episode. It's not something I often do, especially in my youth, but I'm going to make a big deal out of my birthday this year, since it actually falls on a day I publish my episodes....

Liner NotesLet’s jump back into one of my favorite box sets from my dad’s collection. We will listen to selections from both sides of the second to last record in this six-disk set. I have often said I would have loved to have been around in the early days of radio....

Liner NotesAlmost everybody likes to show off their singing skills whether they have some or not. Karaoke bars have made a killing off that theory for decades. Back in the 1950s and 60s, there were a couple of TV shows that got viewers to sing along with them. Of...

Liner NotesLet's finish the first half of the year by turning up the speed. Let’s make it a 78 RPM Sunday. What better voice to do that with than one who sold over 100 million records during a six-decade-long career. She topped the Hot 100 FOUR times and had several...

Liner NotesMy dad had plenty of records featuring large orchestras playing classical music on both 33 ⅓ RPM vinyl LPs and 78 RPM Shellac records. The Reader’s Digest liner notes for this seven record box set starts off…quote…the nineteenth century was just opening in...

Liner NotesSo, Dad…your last fathers day was 2019. You died that December. In those four and a half years since, you have been dearly missed, thought of often and always toasted at family get-togethers. I still use a lot of your tools. But no…I still don’t know where...

Liner NotesWhen it came to how popular a band’s music was, it was the charts that told you. It was the charts that determined radio station song lists and how often they changed. While maybe not quite all of the songs on this record made the charts, even though that’s...

Liner NotesI’m not sure the person who gathered the music for this record understood what the assignment was. This is not at all what I expected the music to sound like after seeing the name of the album and the text on the cover. I mean, who hasn’t enjoyed that Latin...

Liner NotesHere’s an album I came across while looking for a specific artist for an earlier episode. I wasn’t familiar with some of the musicians and most of the music on this record. But it represents an interesting time frame in music. Sort of between bebop and rock...

Liner NotesHere’s the second record of a two disk set that spent as much time among my own records as it did my dad’s. There was a point where neither one of us remembered whose collection it actually belonged in. Like I’ve said in the past, my dad and I had similar...

Liner NotesSo, mom...your last mother's day was in 2015 just three weeks before you died. In those nine years since, you have been dearly missed, thought of often and always toasted at family get-togethers. I still use your recipes and even some of your kitchen tools...

When you think of bebop and other improvisational jazz, your mind usually hears a trumpet or saxophone as the lead. We rarely think about that instrument with the long slide that makes some pretty funny sounds as taking on any serious solo work, because, the thinking...

One of the box sets that goes almost ignored is on the bottom row of my dad’s collection. It has a somewhat misleading title, but it includes some of the most classic standards in music. Once again, we have no record of the musicians, the arrangers, the conductor or...

This is the second of the three main Rat Pack members we will hear from here in season four of this show. This crooner is the one we DIDN’T get to see in concert with the other two back in March of 1988 at the Richfield Coliseum. He’s a singer, actor, and comedian....

One hundred twelve years ago today, on April 14, 1912, while on its maiden voyage from England to New York, the unsinkable RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic… then the next day did the unthinkable…it sunk. In 1960, Meredith Willson followed up his...

Talk about your comeback albums. This release became the Chairman of the Board’s most commercially successful album. My dad’s favorite voice was finding it hard to sell records during the early days of rock and roll. And he wasn’t finding the top of charts as often....

We finish up a month of celebration for what would have been Glenn Miller’s 120th birthday March first. And we finish by getting back to the man himself. We’re not ending this memorial month with just any album in my dad’s collection. I refer to it with the same name...

Week four of celebrating what would have been Glenn Miller’s 120th birthday March first, brings us to another album from a different orchestra playing music made famous by Miller. A couple of weeks ago I played an album by Bobby Hackett. THAT Bobby actually played...

We continue Glenn Miller month in celebration of what would have been his 120th birthday on March 1. My dad was obviously a big Glenn Miller fan or we wouldn’t have been able to do this month-long celebration of his music. He owned 12 33 ⅓ RPM Vinyl records of Glenn...

I think this record might go down as my favorite from the five records we are playing in the month of March to celebrate what would have been Glenn Miller’s 120th birthday on March first. The featured trumpet player on this album has such a soft sound that really fits...

My dad really loved his big bands. And what bigger big band than the Glenn Miller Orchestra. March first, Glenn Miller would have been 120 years old. So we are going to celebrate his birthday all month with his music and musical style. My dad had a ton of Miller...

Time to pull out the 14th of the 24 records from the six box set from the Franklin Mint. And I’ve been having so much fun listening to this one. In fact, I’m going to play a few more tunes than my normal six that I like to keep these episodes to because, quite...

It’s another Valentine's special. And time for another romantic voice. Joining me once again is my girlfriend Karen. I rarely recognize the song titles or the artist names of the music Frank picks, but I recognized this one. While my parents didn’t listen to the same...

One hundred years ago tomorrow, February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City, Paul Whiteman's band played the first public performance of Rhapsody in Blue with composer Gorge Gershwin playing the piano. It was orchestrated by Whiteman's arranger Ferdie Grofé....

Here’s someone I mention often when I tell you who wrote a song. In fact, he’s one of the most popular songwriters of all time. He even sang on a few recordings too. Many of the songs you will hear on this episode you may recognize as being sung by a popular female...

The latin beat was all the rage when my dad was a teenager and young adult. You can tell he fell for it in a big way with all the Mambos, Cha Chas, Rhumbas, and Salsas he has in his collection. And like I’ve said before, it’s hard not to dance when the bongos, congas,...

We pull out the second of four records my dad has from this singer. While he never had a number one hit, he did sell over 45 million records, and was viewed regularly by many million more TV viewers on his show. He got his start with his brothers singing for film...

"The program you are about to see…well hear… is All in the Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show — in a mature fashion — just how absurd they are." That was the...

Here’s a great compilation disk to kick off the new year and season. It’s one of my dad’s favorite trumpet players who is famous for playing my dad’s favorite kind of music. Dixieland. In fact, Al is known as the king. But he also played some straightforward...

Happy New Year's Eve! When some of us think about our earliest memories of watching New Year’s Eve on TV, we’ll remember long before Ryan Seacrest and even before Dick Clark. This Guy, who brought the New York City ballroom celebration into our living rooms every...

Here's a disk that was in the record player stack every December. It was definitely played during Christmas eve and day...a lot! You can tell by the shape it's in. This is one of 12 records by this artist and one of a large list of Christmas Recordings from my dad’s...

Even though he was mostly into early jazz and pop, my dad liked his cowboy music too. And he bought a great collection in a 7-record box set. We’ve already featured two of those records in previous episodes. This record features a lot of music you have probably heard...

Here’s another great compilation album from my father’s collection. It’s filled with music from some pretty big names in the music world. And every tune swings…hard. There is some serious 1950s grooving going on within these recordings. And it was put together to...

Here’s a fun find from my father’s LPs and an artist that we have not gotten to yet despite my dad having a couple records from him. He’s a piano player you might not have heard of, but you’ve probably heard in many famous recordings, including Elvis’ Heartbreak...

Normally when I see that an album has been released by the Longines Symphonette Society, I’m a little leary about what’s actually on it. I’ve been burned before. For example, the Longines album in episode 30 with Bing Crosby featured on the front cover was just some...

It was 60 years ago today, at 12:30 PM local Dallas Time that those terrible shots rang out. I was only 16 months old when it happened. Welcome to a special extra episode of Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl. My dad’s collection is known for its extensive and eclectic mix of...

We slide now quite nicely into the first record of a two album set of popular New York City Jazz musicians taking their music around the U.S. In fact, according to the album back cover, they performed in front of 200 thousand fans during 37 concerts in 25 cities. This...

This is a special milestone episode. It's November 2023. Four years since my dad said, “here, have all my records to do with them what you want,” and four years minus a month since he died. It was a couple of months after that when I came up with the idea for this...

My dad did try to connect us to all sorts of music through his record collection. I have a separate pile of records filled with just music for children. I've mentioned the Teddy Bears Picnic album in a previous show. But my parents made sure we weren't only listening...

It’s a 78 RPM Sunday. Once again we reach into my dad’s stack of shellac records where we pull out another big name among the early record labels…Decca. It’s a label that saw its share of some of the biggest names in the recording industry. Several you have heard on...

Music has always been important and supported in the region where I grew up. The local county community college has been the focus of many concerts, both that I’ve observed and participated in, over the years. And their musical legacy goes back a long way. This album...

This is a great compilation album of jazz artists who all recorded for Roost Records. These are some major stars that appeared on a minor label. And once I try to figure out what the characters are doing on the album cover, I’ll try to explain it to you. So get ready...

One of the unique aspects of my dad’s collection is how many historically significant records he has in it. In this episode, we feature an example of this. This comedian, and this album, were the first to win a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance - Spoken, when...

This is a special edition. Its timing only has a little to do with the fact that it’s the beginning of Halloween season around here. The musicians you will hear have all been heard in previous episodes of this show. A few of them might have played together at one time...

Of course my dad loved his opera. What music collection in any Italian household was without some of the world’s finest music. Several of the songs on this album had special meaning for my parents. It’s music from a singer they saw at least once in concert. He held a...

Here’s another gem of a find from my dad’s collection. Not only is the album cover attention grabbing with five stuffed TIGERS playing various instruments. But how they’re the wrong animals according to the album title. Faulty album cover aside, this is true roots of...

This is the third of eight records my dad had of this orchestra leader. He was an innovator who used the voice as an instrument, not as a vocalist. The previous episode we featured Ray on is my most viewed on YouTube…by a lot! Let’s hope this one gets past the...

Here’s another album in my dad’s collection that featured a group of jazz musicians recording an album before playing the same music on live TV days later. This time, the live TV show was a drama about a jazz trumpet player in the 1920s. Several of the musicians...

While my dad had a handful of polka records, I had at least heard of the songs and musicians on them. Not this one. In fact, I’ll have to use the album cover to…uh…cover the info I usually do on each episode. The internet not only had no idea who the band leader was,...

Latin jazz, especially Cuban music, was wildly popular in the 1950s and my dad’s collection has plenty of examples of that. That popularity is partly because of the artist you are about to hear. He’s really known for his mambo recordings. This style of music is just a...

We pull out the second of five records my dad has from this artist. His career started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. So get ready for him to meander through...

Here’s an album I used to steal so much from my dad’s collection I thought it actually might be mine when I went through his records. This entertainer had an unmistakable voice, an unmistakable style, AND unmistakable cool. He seemed to always sing the most...

The team of Rodgers and Hammerstein was a multiple award-winning and highly influential Broadway show writing duo. They also weren't afraid of touching on controversial subjects in their shows. The show we will be hearing music from started as a book, became a highly...

After this episode we will be two thirds of the way through a great Jack Benny hosted box set from my dad’s collection. The six records of the set had Benny reminiscing about the era when most families were crowded around their radios instead of their television sets...

We break out another of my dad's favorite musicians, but he's not a trumpet player. He does however play the style of music that is a big portion of my dad's collection...Dixieland. While this album was released 57 years ago, all of the music on it was written over...

Here’s an interesting combination from my dad’s shellac disks from RCA Victor Records. He had several albums made FOR children and several that seem like they were made BY children. Four sides you’ll hear is a familiar story of encouragement, determination and pride....

They were television shows filled with suspense, intrigue, and excitement, and their theme songs had to represent that feeling. Some of those tunes became top 40 radio hits, which meant we heard them more than once a week. So get ready for music that may have had you...

This crooner is the most successful charting music artist in history. He was in films and on TV and radio. He helped finance the development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, during which time...

My dad had 10 different Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass records, several with duplicates. After this episode, we’ll have featured half of them. I guess you could say he was crazy about TJB. He played them enough that I became crazy about TJB. So, get ready for one of...

Even though both my dad and I played trumpet in our respective high school bands, we had way more percussionists in the family. My brother Mike was a drummer as were all three of his sons. My sister Michelle’s son minors in percussion at Baldwin Wallace University and...

This June 6th would have been my parents’ 64th wedding anniversary. I’ve often said my family had its own D-day. And as I’ve mentioned before on this show, even though none of us spoke a lick of Italian, that didn’t mean we didn’t listen to the music from that...

Here’s a trumpeter we heard before on this show back in the first season. He’s a lesser known musician from that era, mostly because of some of the big names he played around. But he still had what’s considered a very successful career. So get ready to hear music...

We actually heard this band leader’s orchestra in the last episode. I guess I wasn’t paying attention when I scheduled them. But this time, there is no famous lead singer fronting these musicians. It’s all instrumental, and it’s from a popular movie musical. So get...

This is the third of five albums in my dad’s collection from one of the greatest and most recognizable voices of all time. While this is my dad’s collection, Sinatra was often heard in the house while my mom was in control of the stereo. So, get ready for music only...

We pull out the first of five albums my dad has of this popular pianist. His first hit is still the greatest selling piano instrumental recording of all time. He played for presidents and performed an annual marathon of requests. So get ready to hear plenty of...

Back to the distinct album from my dad’s collection that sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s slightly broader than normal LP records and the cover is a soft padding that holds a small booklet and five records in a spiral binding, inside a perfect binding. So get ready...

Here’s an interesting album in my dad’s collection. It is filled with stars of the jazz era. It’s from a special recording session for a TV show that went live a couple days later. As we’ll find out, that show was groundbreaking. So get ready to hear an all-star list...

Of all the musicians in the Franklin Mint Greatest Jazz Recordings of All Time multi-box collection, only one has his own box all to himself. Composer, pianist, influencer, band leader and legend, Ellington composed thousands of scores over his 50-year career. So get...

We once again have a musician claiming he's top trumpet. Or at least his recording label is saying that. I can see why my dad liked this album. This is a high-flying trumpet player surrounded by more than just the other five or six musicians he’s used to. So get ready...

Gather around the radio, kids, it's story time. My first radio job was on a historical frequency in the Cleveland market, 1260 AM. I learned from some radio legends. During that time, the station put out an album of big band music from a local group. So get ready for...

Welcome to a 78 RPM Sunday. Yes, I know 78 RPM records were made from shellac, not vinyl. But I wasn’t going to completely ignore the more than 100 of the original record format - disks in his collection. I even played them back for the digitizing process using a...

Back to one of my favorite voices in my dad’s collection. He was a singer I was supposed to see, however he got sick before the show, which included Sammy and Frank. He’s often referred to as the King of Cool. So get ready to hear the stereo copy of the two my dad had...

My dad’s record collection is filled with plenty of albums of previously released music from various artists that were put into a set for various reasons. This record was released to sell toothpaste. So get ready to hear a cross section of hits from the late 1950s...

Here’s a beautiful voice we have not heard yet although we did hear a tune she wrote. And even better, this recording is in a live setting. She sings softly with feeling because of her nightclub experience. So get ready for the Queen of American pop music in Volume...

We return to a box set and a record filled with music from my dad’s favorite trumpet player, and we’re going to hear him sing every song. It comes from the first of 12 box sets in the Franklin Mint collection, the greatest jazz recordings of all time. And this...

OK…a few months since episode 24 has turned into almost two years. But we are finally going to finish the great story about how early recording devices became the music machines of the 1950s. So get ready to hear some great tunes while we learn about how we got the...

You couldn’t help but feel the love in my parents’ house, especially when there was Italian music playing. My mom was very fond of this album. She often requested that I put this on the record player for her as she was preparing dinner. So, get ready to snuggle up...

Back out west we go. To a simpler time in this country. Before the technology that has invaded our daily lives. When cowboys gathered to play guitar and sing. So get ready to hear what is technically Tumbling Tumbleweeds Part 2 with Volume 110: Around the Campfire....

This was an episode I was looking forward to since I digitized the record. And one I knew I would have a tough time picking just 6 tunes. I couldn't stop chair dancing...I was working from home that day. This music just makes you move. So, get ready for the King of...

This was an interesting find in my dad’s collection. When I saw the word Tango I think I immediately flashed back to one Bond film or another thinking about the precise movements and the long stemmed rose in the woman’s teeth. So get ready to learn that if you can...

We now return to one of my favorite composers. He wrote scores of movie and TV soundtracks, with some of them still being used to this day. And his music has a definite sound to let you know just who that composer/arranger was. So get ready to hear jazz arranged by a...

We once again feature a trumpet player with an unmistakable sound. He is among one of the fastest trumpet players I’ve encountered. A common joke was that if a fly landed on his written music, James would play it. He also wrote a good portion of the music on this...

My dad has several albums from the “Guy” we let enter our living rooms every new years eve and they still play his version of the song he made famous as the ball hits the bottom of the pole. So, get ready to flash back to what a new years eve on TV sounded like in the...

No matter what your thoughts are on this holiday, even I have to admit whether it be secular or not, this season has brought about some of the most beautifully written and joyous music there is. So, gather around the fire and get ready to hear about Vaccariello...

In the immortal words of Monty Python and the Flying Circus, now for something completely different. This record was an unexpected find in my dad’s collection, but it’s obvious he played it frequently, telling by its condition. So get ready to head out to the middle...

Just shouting we’re number one doesn’t necessarily make it so. But when year after year, your peers say you are number one at what you do, everyone should listen. So get ready for a musician whose style was as unique as his visage and the horn he played with Volume...

Here’s another great compilation of million sellers put out by Columbia Records. It’s also another great example of the kind of fun music my dad loved to collect. So, get ready for a bunch of Gold Records recorded from 1939 through 1954 with Volume 101: Remember How...

I’m going to nickname this episode Frank’s earworms because these were the songs that stuck in my head sometimes for weeks after recording a show. They may not be the most popular of the songs I’ve played or even among my favorites all the time, but they had a catchy...

It was the dance of a generation and well beyond. It was the dance of my parents’ youth and one they continued to do for decades. It is the Jitterbug. So get ready for Fred Astaire Dance Studio approved numbers in Volume 99: Time To Dance.Video IntroListen here or on...

This is probably the most played album in my dad's collection and not just because of the woman on the front cover wearing a pile of dessert topping like a dress. It fully represents the fun, trumpet-led pop jazz music that filled the house on a regular basis. So get...

During this singer’s half century career, he hosted and performed on television. He recorded 22 albums and 147 singles. He was famous for his relaxed vocals, cardigan sweaters and television Christmas specials. So get ready for the singer who Bing Crosby said was “the...

It’s a 78 RPM Sunday, the last one for the year. This is one of the longer symphony performances in my dad’s collection. It was written by someone who remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music conducted by a long-tenured Russian turned...

While we have heard recordings where this trumpet player was part of the group, we have never played music where he is the featured instrumentalist. Plus we really take the tempo of the music you are used to listening to on this show down a notch or three. So get...

We once again will reach into one of my favorite collections that my dad had. Not only because of the great big band music on it, but because of the album cover itself. So get ready to hear from a bandleader who has been called the father of modern military music from...

We turn our ears to yet another singer who gained popularity during the big band era. A star in radio, recording, film, and TV. So get ready for the journey that started in Winchester Tennessee and ended up in Beverly Hills with Volume 93: Dinah Indeed.Video...

It’s been a while since we’ve pulled out this collection. We are going to hear some memorable comedians and some historical moments from just one of the six records in this Jack Benny hosted box set. So get ready for a severe contrast as we hear about our country at...

Finishing up unofficial Franklin Mint Month we come across another influential cornet player. In fact, he influenced my dad’s favorite cornet player. So get ready for the musician and bandleader who helped make Dixieland music popular outside of Dixie in Volume 91:...

Moving on with unofficial Franklin Mint Month we come across another extremely talented and influential saxophone player. His tragic life may have mirrored another sax player featured in a past episode, but Lester’s playing was all his own. So get ready to hear the...

We continue with my unofficial naming of September as Franklin Mint Month since there is so much good music in this collection, The Greatest Jazz Recordings of All Time. And back to the keyboards we go for a talent whose technical ability was regarded by fellow...

We now enter the unofficial Franklin Mint Month. Unofficial, because I just made it up in order to get through all of the records that make up this special section of my Dad’s collection. So, get ready for some sweet vocal performances in Volume 88: Greatest Jazz...

It’s a 78 RPM Sunday. This time we head to Cuba and get treated to the Latin beat that was so popular in the first half to middle of the 20th century and a rhythm that still rules some of the best music in the world. So, get ready to hear both sides of all four...

My dad’s taste seemed to refine over the years. Many were the days late in his life when I would catch him listening to opera when he wasn’t listening to old country or one of the members of the rat pack. But it wasn’t just any old opera. So, get ready for one of the...

The voice you will hear on this episode probably best represents what the music in our family was all about. Fun and funny…with an Italian twist. And this album is filled with all of that. So get ready for our Sunday dinner tour d'Italia taken from music played around...

Back to Dixieland, but this time the music has a more laid-back, sophisticated style. And while I may have mentioned this trumpet player in a past episode, Red Nichols has not been featured on one of my dad’s records so far. So get ready for an entree that’s always on...

It’s a 78 RPM Sunday and back to the time of Shakespeare we go. The music was conceived due to the composer’s love of an actress. The orchestra recorded here was assembled to lure the conductor out of Italy. So, get ready to hear excerpts from one of the most famous...

I’m not sure there are enough superlatives available when describing the career of Bob Newhart. From early comedy and TV, through movie voiceovers and more TV, to being one of the most memorable regulars on a recent popular show. So get ready to hear The most...

I’ve been familiar with Bobby Darin ever since I heard Splish Splash for the first time. I’ve been familiar with Johnny Mercer because he’s written at least a couple dozen of the songs we’ve heard on this show so far. So get ready for a couple singer songwriters who...

The voice you will hear is someone I’ve been a big fan of for years. The violinist you will hear is someone I’ve never heard of. But they’re on the same album compiled from songs recorded in 1935. So get ready to hear a couple of amazing jazz clowns in Volume 80:...

Back to the birthplace of jazz we go. To a concert that took place about 60 years ago in some unidentified club on some unidentified date. It featured a lot of great Dixieland musicians, but none more famous than one of the greatest jazz clarinet players there ever...

It's a 78 RPM Sunday. This 5-record album of 10 inch shellac disks has some of the great Irving Berlin music re-recorded for a 1946 movie, which starred a couple of characters. So get ready for Vaudeville partners vying for the same beautiful woman on Volume 78:...

It’s Fathers Day…I miss my dad very much. He’s been gone two and half years now leaving us with this magnificent record collection. The trumpet was the biggest musical connection I had with my dad. And I know this is the kind of record he probably pulled out very...

I think the Ray Conniff Singers were exactly what Ray Hamm had in mind for the sound when he invented the Music of Your Life Radio Format in the late 1970s. Soft luxurious arrangements of popular hits. So, get ready to hear plenty of chart-topping movie music from a...

I think he had Rat Pack Company Badge number 2. He was always so smooth whether delivering a tune or a punchline, still never spilling his drink. He tied his wagon to a goofy comedian, and put out hit after hit. So, get ready to hear from the King of Cool in Volume...

It’s a 78RPM Sunday. So far, when we've played these extra old records, they've come in an album with several records tied around one theme. But my dad had a ton of shellac records with no covers just lying around in stacks. After sorting them by record label, I...

Yes, my parents loved their musicals and got to see many shows. Mostly at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, but they saw their share in New York City. This popular musical tells the tale of 1912 River City, Iowa in a Tony AND Grammy-winning musical from 1957. So, get...

Back to one of my favorite composers/arrangers/conductors, Henry Mancini. And this recording has him boiling the music down to the essence of jazz. So, get ready for an interesting take on some classic tunes with Volume 72: Blues and the Beat. Here's the link to the...

It’s mothers day…and I miss my mom very much. She’s been gone for almost seven years now. But I know that this is one of those albums that she would have chosen to be on the stereo. She was a poodle skirt-wearing bobby soxer when Old Blue eyes was really hot in the...

You would think that polka music would be out of place in an Italian household. But not ours. It was one of the dances my parents loved to do and one I would even attempt at the right wedding. It was the music my grandmother and one of her sisters loved to play on the...

As Jazz appreciation month draws to a close, we need to get a trumpet player in there. It’s even a musician I have not introduced you to yet. His playing is so effortless especially for the speed he plays. So get ready to hear the graceful and uptempo style from the...

Moving on with Jazz appreciation month we come to a particular type of jazz from a particular type of city…New Orleans. There were many great and memorable musicians that came out of that town, and we’ve already featured several of them on this show. But when the...

Man, I wish I had kept the notes for the upper division History of Jazz class I took at Kent State University. Because Duke Ellington was on Professor Chaz Baker’s Mount Rushmore of Jazz. In fact, Duke’s music is so important he warranted a FULL box set from this...

Welcome to Jazz appreciation month and what better way to celebrate than with the greatest jazz recordings of all time collection from the Franklin Mint. We will start the month with the versatile saxophone. And we will feature one of the true innovators on the...

It’s a 78 RPM Sunday. On this show, we’ve had music sung in the language of my birth, English, and the language of my heritage, Italian, and the rhythmic beat of the language of Latin America, Spanish. We turn now to another language I’m going to butcher, German. So...

For many decades, selling a million records meant you had recorded something special. While the songs you’ll hear on this episode were all million sellers, Andy was not the original singer when any of them hit a million in sales. So let’s get ready to hear me say a...

We now turn to music from the country where my mom’s parents and dad’s grandparents were born. Italia! And we hear it from one of the chart-topping female singers of the 1950s and 60s from around the world. So get ready for great music in TWO languages with Volume 63:...

Back to the big screen we go. But this time the tunes are provided by just a trio of musicians instead of the orchestra full you are used to. And every one is an Oscar winner. So time to go groovin' at the movies with extra butter for Volume 62: Popcorn and Soul. The...

It’s a 78 RPM Sunday. Since it’s still February, we might have a little leftover love on our mind. And since so many great tunes over the years have been titled with women’s names, this piano player made a list of his favorites….well back in 1944. So get ready for the...

How fitting that this episode is number 60. Because something very important happened 60 years ago on the day this episode drops. While I might have just been a tiny bump in my mom’s belly at the time, the world had its eyes on the US Space Race. So, get ready for...

(My girlfriend Karen joins me on this episode)When it comes to love songs, one of the voices I often think of first is Nat King Cole. His effortless style, smooth voice and crystal clear lyrics have set the background for many romantic encounters over the years. So...

The Boob Tube. The idiot Box. TV will only be a fad. No matter how badly that living room screen has been disparaged, there has been some great music from some great shows over the years. So get ready to run some memories through those old brain tubes of yours for...

Welcome to the first 78 RPM Sunday. My earliest memories of listening to and playing music in my parents’ house involved this collection. It was created to teach children the instruments in the orchestra, but definitely not be boring about it…well for 1949. So get...

He was often billed as the "greatest living entertainer in the world". In fact I watched him blow a slightly even more famous entertainer off the stage in 1988. His nickname was "Mr. Show Business,” and he held a grudge against JFK. So get ready for Rat Pack Style...

From Laugh In to Grace and Frankie, with many movies and a stop off for the Magic School Bus, Lily Tomlin has been a part of my entertainment life for parts of six decades. There are so many faces and voices that belong to her. But there's one, three-word line that...

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass was never far from the stereo in my parents’ living room. The TJB easily has the highest number of records represented in my dad’s collection with 12. The second highest is Henry Mancini with 7. And, of course, it’s the ultimate...

If you are anywhere near my age and older, you’ll remember those many new years eves tuned to your TV to watch the ball drop in Times Square. And usually, you were tuned into a CBS broadcast of Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians live from the Waldorf Astoria in New...

I’m sure I’ve already mentioned a couple of times how when I was cataloging both my dad’s and my record collections I kept finding his records in my collection and vica versa. Well, THIS album was part of my collection for most of the last four decades. So let’s jazz...

This is a fun little album with some music you may recognize even though it was first recorded nearly three quarters of a century ago. So prepare to do the Choro, the Cha Cha, and the Mambo in Volume 51: Molina's Latin Touch. SHOW NOTE:I keep saying the monthly 78 RPM...

Ah, my mom and dad with their love of music from the movies. We’ve already heard a few tunes from the big screen this year on this show, like the Mancini episode of Academy Award winning music. Only a couple of the tunes you are about to hear earned an oscar, and even...

Here’s another collection of albums released by the Longines Symphonette Society. One of 12 my dad has in his collection. You’ve already heard from a couple. This is a three record set and we’ll be listening to selections from record one. So get ready for music from a...

What? Another trumpet player we haven't played yet? What? More Dixieland? From my dad's collection? Well of course. And this is just one of four albums from this trumpet master in my dad’s collection. So get ready to take a trip back to New Orleans for some happy...

This is a cool collection. Benny Goodman performed a famous concert in 1938 at Carnegie Hall, which happened to be recorded and released 12 years later. However, this album was culled from CBS radio broadcasts from the previous year and not released until 1956. So get...

You’ve heard some great Oscar-winning music from the big screen in previous episodes. Now it’s time to hear some great music from a Tony-winner. So prepare to hear English Americans haven’t used in years with Volume 46: My Fair Lady.Video IntroListen here or on my...

Here’s a trumpet player I was not familiar with. Although I did mention him in the Dizzy Gillespie episode. And it seems to be a reissue from another band. So let’s get ready for some jazz in its simplest form with Volume 45: Jonah's Trumpet on Tour.Video IntroListen...

Back to dance music….from the first half the 20th century, give or take a few years. In fact, most of the music recorded by this orchestra leader was recorded on 78 RPM records. And according to discogs he had 88 of them to his name. So let’s get ready to get this...

Did I mention my parent’s loved the music of Hollywood? This is only the second time we’ve heard music from the silver screen. There will be plenty more. And this is the first of eight records by this composer, arranger and orchestra director. Get ready to hear...

In this episode, we turn to the waltz. Despite my dad’s real love of Dixieland, other jazz music and all things Rat Pack, I think he really collected beautiful music like this so he could dance with my mom. So let’s do the dance done in three four time in Volume 42:...

Here’s one of those collections I didn’t know my dad had. But I’m not surprised it’s in there. This is some old country western music, from some of the original recording stars. So get ready to get along little doggie for Volume 41: Tumbling Tumbleweeds Part 1Video...

Hot damn! Another trumpet player. One I saw with my parents at the State Theater in Cleveland in the mid 1990s. One you saw almost every night on your living room TV...or bedroom TV where many people watched Johnnie Carson. So get ready for some soft dixieland from a...

On this episode, we get to hear another record from a great collection of one of the best known big bands ever. Plus I always think of my parents as they floated across the dance floor to music like this. So, let’s get ready to once again hear from the king of the...

It’s been over a month since I’ve featured a trumpet player, so I’m having withdrawals. I was very glad to see this album in my dad’s collection. I have long been a fan of this jazz icon. So let’s get ready for some hot jazz with some hot tempos in Volume 38: Dizzy...

Both my parents seemed to enjoy music from movies, whether it be original soundtracks or variations arranged and recorded by other artists. My dad also owned eight records by the orchestra leader Ray Conniff who was popular for arranging and performing other...

While I am very familiar with some of this artist’s music, I was completely unfamiliar with the music on this record. The tunes are played with a really interesting juxtaposition between written music and improvisation using the musical theme of the first song on the...

I grew up just east of Cleveland. My dad took me to my first Browns game when I was ten in 1972 and I still watch games at the new stadium. I’ve been going to Indians and Cavaliers games for almost as long. There’s another Cleveland institution that brings back great...

This is not an album that was played often in the house. In fact, this is one of those albums I don’t remember my dad having at all. But after listening to it, I could understand why my dad had it in his collection. It’s that happy music that I talk about so much. So...

For the second time we turn to a Herb Alpert record. One of 12 my dad had in his collection. This album is filled with many familiar TJB tunes, including one that was used on a game show. So get ready for the upbeat and very cool sound that used to fill our home in...

We are returning to the Smithsonian collection the Greatest Jazz recordings of all time. This episode is record one of a four-record box set that features a piano player on each disc. So get ready for one of the original cutters in Volume 32: Jazz Keyboard Master Fats...

Pictures at an Exhibition is a suite of ten pieces - plus a recurring, varied Promenade - composed for piano by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The suite is Mussorgsky's most famous piano composition, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists. It...

The title of this collection is a little deceiving. Yes, you will hear Bing Crosby singing, but you will hear several selections of the Longines Symphonette without him singing. I don’t have a problem with that, so let’s listen to some beautiful music and a beautiful...

We are once again featuring a non-music record from my dad’s collection. In fact, this is the second dive into this collection of six records. My previous life in radio made me really appreciate the history we are hearing on this collection. AND I get to share a...

It was a movie for the ages. Cinematic history in how it was filmed and how many extras were required. The 1959 epic had the largest budget, over $15 million, as well as the largest sets built, of any film produced at the time. And the score was just as large. So get...

While I am familiar with this band leader’s music, I was not familiar with the main piece of music on this record. It’s not really his style. So we’ll hear the story of why Perez Prado wrote it and we’ll listen to all three movements in Volume 26: Voodoo Suite.Video...

If you haven’t noticed, my dad’s vinyl collection is filled with Dixieland jazz musicians. But there aren’t many musicians who were as famous as this artist born in New Orleans, stayed there for most of their career and died there. So, let’s lick that licorice stick...

We’re going to do something a little different in this episode I’m not only interested in the music itself, but I’ve always loved the more technical side of recordings as well. What equipment was used to record and play back music has always fascinated me. And I...

To commemorate what would have been my parents’ 62nd anniversary, we’ll pull out a record filled with the type of Italian music you would hear in a festive restaurant. This episode drops on June 6. My parents’ wedding anniversary. Even though Italian was not spoken...

Yes...I knew he had this album. Yes...I listened to it every once in a while. Yes...there is an extra special connection to my father. Not because of this album. But because of how important the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was to me and my brothers growing up. And how...

If you’re a regular listener to the show, you’ll know how eclectic my dad’s collection is. And sometimes just one album is eclectic. So get ready for the 1960s looking back at the previous three decades in Volume 21: Remember How Great?Video IntroListen here or on my...

My dad’s collection is filled with Dixieland jazz. You’ve already heard a couple in previous episodes. This album has an all-star cast that was pulled together in the wee hours of the morning. But they definitely were not ready to stop swinging yet. So get ready to...

The voice you will hear on this episode is from a hugely important singer...in history...and in my parents’ lives. His music fills up many of the tracks in my dad’s collection and would fill the air when I went to visit him late in his life. Not just vinyl, but...

It is one of the greatest movies of all time. It has been talked about, joked about, satirized and it propelled a few careers into stardom. It has been imitated, but never duplicated. In fact, we won’t even be hearing from the original soundtrack in this episode, so...

I grew up listening to some of the greatest musicians in jazz because of my dad’s collection. This album has several huge name talents playing together. Time to get inducted into the avante garde with Volume 17: Modern Jazz Hall of FameVideo IntroListen here or on my...

Yes, my parents did have a serious side when it came to music. My parents had all the biggies, You know...real toe-tappers. Vivaldi, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich. And THIS very nice record with two composers who were on the cusp between the classical and romantic...

I’m often surprised at how many albums we found in my parents house after my dad died. While I may have listened to a ton of these albums I didn’t know about the presence of many of them. This is one of those albums. And I know I would have worn this one out.  You...

Benny Goodman is known as the king of swing. He entertained millions around the world and sold millions of albums...even long after he died. In this episode we get to hear selections from special live performances from 1958. So Let’s swing into Volume 14: Benny at the...

The voice, the style, the Memorex commercials, all unmistakable Ella Fitzgerald. She is known more for her uptempo swing and her scatting skills. But this album is all about the tender ballads. So let’s hear from The First Lady Of Song in Volume 13: Ella Hello...

I always wished I would have kept taking piano lessons from my grandmother when I was young. It’s still an instrument that eludes me. So I used to pull this album out when I wanted to hear some fancy fingering. So, let’s get ready for fast and furious tickling of the...

My dad has more than just trumpet players, jazz music and Italian songs in his collection. He and my mom loved broadway music. You’ll hear many of the greats throughout this podcast, but there was one that was head and shoulders above the rest. From The Sound of Music...

I’m pretty sure my dad’s favorite trumpet player was Louis Armstrong. The song you hear open and close each episode was his favorite tune and it’s being played by Satchmo, which was my dad’s favorite version. Louis is probably the most influential musician, band...

This episode will have some of the funnest music you will hear from my dad’s collection. Everybody in my family enjoyed this album, and its condition will prove it. Even my younger brother was waiting for this episode. So get ready for plenty of Italian fun songs in...

This is going to be a very different episode. My usual format will be thrown out the window, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. This is one of several albums my father had made up of speeches from famous people. Since tomorrow is the original date of Presidents’...

My mom especially was very fond of this album. She often requested that I put this on the record player for her as she was preparing dinner. Some of these songs aren’t exactly what you would consider love songs...or the versions that were chosen for this album. But it...

This is the first of many episodes where we will feature one of my dad’s favorite trumpet players. I already told you in a previous episode how both my dad and I played the same trumpet in our high school bands. My dad ended up with a dozen Tijuana Brass records and a...

As someone who spent over a decade and a half in radio, I was particularly interested in this collection of golden moments in radio when I found it. In this episode, you will hear from some of the trailblazers in not only radio, but those who made very successful...

The trumpet was the main interest my dad and I had in common when it came to music. My dad played trumpet in high school. I played that same trumpet in high school and college. In fact I still play it every year in my high school alumni marching band. So it was only...

It's one of the most known melodies the world over. It was used for United Airway commercials for decades. But have you ever heard it with only piano, played by the guy who wrote it, recorded from a piano roll? Look what I found. In this episode we will learn about...

One of things I used to love watching my parents do...was dance. These two were so graceful on the dance floor. They made it look as if it was only the two of them in the entire hall. And almost like they were floating on air. They really were a joy to watch. So in...

To get this new podcast off to a rip-roaring start, we’re going to combine my family’s love of football and my dad’s love of Dixieland with Pee Wee Hunt’s Dixieland Kickoff. Plus the only college fight song I know the words to is one of the choices. This album...

My dad left us in 2019. He left ME with nearly 500 vinyl records. What better way to remember him than to create a podcast listening to this unique album collection. The collection is extensive and eclectic and was gathered from the 1940s through the 1970s. We will...