Liner Notes

King of Bourbon Street

Here’s a trumpet player we’ve heard from before. He was a favorite of my dad’s. He’s also a favorite of mine. He’s loud and powerful. He plays at just below a blatting level, but keeps in control with some of the most intricate music.

He performed at halftime of the first Super Bowl and owned his own New Orleans jazz club.

So get ready to hear a musician who could shift gears to play many styles of music, even being critiqued for that skill, in Volume 226: Hirt’s Dixieland Horn.

Video Intro

Listen here or on my PodBean Podcast Episode page:

You can check out the video version here or on YouTube:

Go Directly to Any Song or Break on YouTube:

00:00 – Season’s Show Intro
00:49 – Episode Introduction
01:41 – Darktown Strutters Ball
04:46 – First Break: Why I chose this record for this episode
05:39 – Stumblin’
08:39 – Second Break: More information about the record, its marketplace value and what condition my dad’s vinyl is in.
11:40 – Wang Wang Blues
15:52 – Third Break: Artist Bio
18:43 – I Can’t Get Started With You
22:25 – Fourth Break: this episode’s Interesting Side Note.
24:46 – Just A Closer Walk With Thee
29:46 – Fifth Break: Final Words
31:50 – Chicago
35:17 – Close

Credits and Copyrights:

See information from the Discogs.com page here

Al Hirt – The Best Of Dixieland Jazz
Label: Longines Symphonette Society – LWCP 1, Longines Symphonette Society – LWS 332
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Promo
Released: 1968
Genre: Jazz
Style: Dixieland

We’ll hear 6 of the 10 songs on this album.

Darktown Strutters Ball
Written by Shelton Brooks

Stumblin’
Written by Zez Confrey

Wang Wang Blues
Written by Henry Busse

I Can’t Get Started With You
Written by Vernon Duke

Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Traditional

Chicago
Written by Fred Fisher

I do not own the rights to this music. ASCAP, BMI licenses provided by third-party platforms for music that is not under Public Domain.

#alhirt #dixielandmusic #trumpetsrule #musichistory #vinylrecordcollecting #vinylrecords

Here is the Episode Script!

Thanks sweetie and thank YOU for tuning into episode 226 of Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl.

Here’s a trumpet player we’ve heard from before. He was a favorite of my dad’s. He’s also a favorite of mine. He’s loud and powerful. He plays at just below a blatting level, but keeps in control with some of the most intricate music.

He performed at halftime of the first superbowl and owned his own New Orleans jazz club.

So get ready to hear a musician who could shift gears to play many styles of music, even being critiqued for that skill, in Volume 226: Hirt’s Dixieland Horn.

[Music: Darktown Strutters Ball]

Al Hirt with Darktown Strutters Ball
Written by Shelton Brooks

Ok…Why this record for this episode?

This is the fourth of four albums that my dad owned featuring this great trumpet player.

Hirt was one of my favorite musicians to listen to many years ago in our basement, where my dad had kept a majority of his 45 RPM singles. He had several with Al’s music: Alley Cat, Fancy Pants, and others.

As I grew older, I found his music to be uplifting and representative of good times from my youth. I’ve really enjoyed diving deeper into the music from this super star as I’ve grown older.
Honest, I didn’t just come “STUMBLING” along his music.

[Music: Stumblin’]

Stumblin’
Written by Zez Confrey

Now let me tell you about my dad’s vinyl I am spinning for this episode.

Al Hirt – The Best Of Dixieland Jazz
Label: Longines Symphonette Society – LWCP 1,
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Promo
Released: 1968
Genre: Jazz
Style: Dixieland

We’ll hear 6 of the 10 songs on this album.

The liner notes are interesting. They have nothing to do with the songs or the musician on the album. It’s sort of a self-serving promotion for the Longines Symphonette. Hey, it’s Longines. We’re lucky we know who any of the musicians are on this recording.

I’ll pick out a couple of paragraphs.

Beautiful music is the common language of Brotherly love. and when the virtuoso musicians of the Longines symphonette blend their many musical voices there arises a magnificent chorus of understanding that transcends National boundaries.

Only the finest recordings, pressed from the purest virgin vinyl, can capture the sheer exaltation of the world’s most beautiful music…can pass along to a listener the inner message every fine composer expresses through the language of Melody.

The Longines symphonette society, and Educational Service of the Longines Wittnauer watch company, famed for quality for almost a century, is unlike any other organization in the world! devoted totally to service and quality on one hand, with honest value the criteria on the other, the Longines symphonette is proud to number you among its thousands of friends.

Let’s see what prices this record is being sold at on discogs dot com.

$4.99 High
$0.57 Low

$1.90 Average
$1.84 Median

Last sold on Mar 12, 2025 for one pound 19 or $1.35 US.

My dad’s record is in pretty good condition. Not much hissing or crackling between the tracks and only a little popping here and there.

The surface is really clean. Among the fewest blemishes on any of my dad’s records.

The cover is in pretty good condition too. Slight wear along the edges. Only the back shows any record outline. And the word posted is stamped there above a green magic marker streak. There is no address label on the front.

So I’ll value my dad’s vinyl at a buck fifty.

Next up is a song that was first recorded in 1920 by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.

[Music: Wang Wang Blues]

Wang Wang Blues
Written by Henry Busse

We’ve already talked in great detail about this legendary performer, so I’ll try to summarize his life here.

Alois Maxwell “Al” Hirt was born on November 7, 1922, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of a local police officer. His father purchased his first trumpet from a pawnshop when Al was just six years old, setting him on a lifelong path in music. Hirt’s early musical experiences included playing in the Junior Police Band alongside childhood friend Roy Fernandez and performing at the local racetrack while still in high school. After studying at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music under Dr. Frank Simon, who served with John Phillip Sousa, Hirt served as a bugler in the Army Air Corps during World War II, before joining the big bands of Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and others.

Renowned for his technical virtuosity, powerful tone, and genial stage presence, Hirt became one of the most successful instrumental recording artists of the 1960s. His breakthrough came with the million-selling single “Java” and the album *Honey in the Horn* (1963), which earned him a Grammy Award in 1964. Hirt’s fame extended beyond the recording studio: he performed for six U.S. presidents, played at President Kennedy’s inaugural ball, and was the featured halftime performer at the first Super Bowl in 1967. He was also a frequent guest on television, even hosting his own show, “Fanfare,” in 1965.

Despite his national and international success, Al Hirt remained deeply committed to New Orleans jazz and its traditions. He opened his own nightclub on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in 1961, where he performed regularly and helped foster the city’s jazz scene. Hirt’s club became a local institution, with pianist Ellis Marsalis serving as house pianist for six years and Hirt famously giving Wynton Marsalis his first trumpet. Known as the “King of Bourbon Street,” Hirt’s influence and larger-than-life personality helped keep New Orleans jazz vibrant and visible, ensuring its legacy for future generations.

He died April 27, 1999. Al Hirt was 76 years old.

The next song is one of those that trumpet players like to try to sing. Al does NOT do that here.

[Music: I Can’t Get Started With You]

I Can’t Get Started With You
Written by Vernon Duke

Time now for this episode’s interesting side note and it has to do with the collaboration with another Dixieland musician that kept the music alive.

Al Hirt and Pete Fountain shared a deep professional friendship rooted in their mutual love for New Orleans jazz. Both musicians were born and raised in the vibrant musical culture of New Orleans, and their paths often crossed in the city’s bustling jazz scene. Despite their different instruments—Hirt on the trumpet and Fountain on the clarinet—their styles complemented each other beautifully, creating a harmonious blend of Dixieland jazz that resonated with audiences. Their camaraderie extended beyond the stage, as they shared a genuine respect for each other’s talent and a commitment to preserving the legacy of New Orleans jazz.

One of the most notable collaborations between Hirt and Fountain was their performance at the 1975 Super Bowl IX halftime show in New Orleans. This rare opportunity to showcase jazz on such a grand stage highlighted their ability to captivate audiences with their dynamic interplay and infectious energy. That same week, they recorded the double album *Super Jazz* at the Fairmont Hotel, which featured both individual performances and joint numbers. Tracks like “Perdido” and “Basin Street Blues” exemplified their synergy, with each musician pushing the other to new heights of creativity and expression.

Their partnership also extended to their roles as club owners in New Orleans, where they nurtured local talent and kept the spirit of Dixieland jazz alive. While their joint recordings were relatively few, their influence on the genre was profound. Hirt and Fountain’s collaborations not only celebrated the rich musical heritage of New Orleans but also introduced its unique sound to a broader audience, ensuring that the city’s jazz legacy would endure for generations to come.

Next up is one of Al’s most popular tunes.

[Music: Just A Closer Walk With Thee]

Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Traditional

Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.

This trumpet player brings back so many great memories of growing up and discovering music outside the top-40 I was being exposed to from CKLW out of Windsor Detroit. Since the 45 RPM singles were in the basement along with our own record player there, I would often pull Hirt out. As a young trumpet player I listened to what I was SUPPOSED to sound like. Never got there. That’s why I got into radio.

I don’t think I remember this album cover specifically from my growing up days in the house.
But there are several Al Hirt album covers with similar images, so I might not be able to distinguish them.

As usual with Longine Symphonette Society Album covers, it’s sparse. There’s a photo of Hirt on a white background leaning into playing his horn. He’s only taking up a small portion of the cover. There’s a narrow blue bar along the top with “The Longines Symphonette Society Presents” in italicized serif font.

Al Hirt appears in large red letters, with America’s Greatest Trumpet Artist in black, The best of Dixieland Jazz in green and some info about the label in the corner. All those colors must have been a design artists nightmare.

The back cover tells you nothing about what is inside it. There is more than what I read on the left side of the cover. In a box on the right is the Longines Symphonette Board of advisors with their headshots and quick bio.

There’s a line drawing image of their new national headquarters along the bottom. A subject for a future Interesting Side Note.

OK, let’s head off to a toddling town to finish this episode.

[Music: Chicago]

Chicago
Written by Fred Fisher

And there you have selections from a compilation album from one of the most popular Dixieland trumpet players to ever record.

So thanks for tuning into Volume 226: Hirt’s Dixieland Horn

however you did. If you want more information about this SHOW, head over to spinning my dad’s vinyl dot com.

I’ll be back next week with all my skips, scratches, and pops

FOR Volume 227: Beethoven’s 4th & 5th

Until then,
Go with the flow my friends.