Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl

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 guy who was once with Glenn Miller-Tex Beneke with Volume 107: Big Band Mancini. Credits and copyrights Henry Mancini And His Orches...

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 record. So get ready for a musician who played and arranged for Benny Goodman, and discovered old Blue Eyes in Volume 106: Harry's Favor...

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 1960s and 70 with Volume 105: Guy's New Year Tradition. Promised link: http://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2014/ Credits and copyrights...

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 Christmases past while listening to several talented northeast Ohio high school choirs in Volume 104: A Cleveland Christmas. Give it a spi...

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 of the Pacific Ocean for some quiet meditation at my favorite time of day with Volume 103: Hawaiian Sunset. Credits and copyrights Po...

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 102: The Greatest Trumpet. Credits and copyrights The Dizzy Gillespie Octet Featuring Benny Golson – The Greatest Trumpet Of Them All...

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 Great Part 2. Credits and copyrights Various – Remember How Great...? Volume 2 Label: Columbia Record Productions – none Format: Viny...

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 melody or rhythm that I couldn’t get out of my head. So get ready for an episode with a lot more music and a lot less of me talking...

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. Credits and copyrights Various – Perfect For Dancing Jitterbug Or Lindy Label: RCA Victor – LPM-1071, RCA Victor – LPM 1071 Series: Perfect For Dancing Format:...

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 ready for a record the Vaccariello household heard on a weekly basis for years with Volume 98: Whipped Alpert. Promised link: https:...

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 man who invented casual” in Volume 97: Como By Request. Promised link: https://www.colorado.edu/amrc/perry-como-local-barber-legend...

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 American director. So get ready for Sergei conducting Ludwig in Beantown with Volume 96: Beethoven From Boston. Credits and copyrigh...

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 ready for the relaxed, easy-going sound of a horn player you may never have heard of in Volume 95: Bobby Gets Mellow. The promised link:...

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 an album I used to trip over as a kid in Volume 94: Glenn Miller Collection Part 3. Credits and copyrights Glenn Miller And His Orc...

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. Credits and copyrights Dinah Shore – Dinah, Yes Indeed! Label: Capitol Records – T-1247, Capitol Records – T 1247 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Countr...

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 war and the comedians who kept us laughing during it with Volume 92: Golden Memories of Radio Part 3. Credits and copyrights Jack Ben...

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: Oliver is King. Credits and copyrights Jelly Roll Morton / King Oliver / Sidney Bechet – Kings Of New Orleans Jazz Label: The Franklin...

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 musician Billie Holiday nicknamed Prez in Volume 90: Sax Master Young. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/apr/08/billie-holiday-an...

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 musicians as extraordinary. So get ready for the greatest piano virtuoso Jazz has known in Volume 89 : Tatum on Keys. Credits and copyrigh...

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 Singers Part 1. Credits and copyrights Taken from the Franklin Mint Box Set Various – The Jazz Singers Label: The Franklin Mint Record S...

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 records in Volume 87: Rumba Rhapsody. Credits and copyrights Caney – Rumba Rhapsody Cuarteto Caney - Rumba Rhapsody album cover More image...

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 most popular contemporary vocal performers in the world with Volume 86: Pavarotti's Greatest Part 1. Credits and copyrights Luciano...

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 the world with Volume 85: Monte's Bull. Credits and copyrights Lou Monte – The Mixed Up Bull From Palermo Label: Reprise Records –...

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 my dad’s menu with Volume 84: Dixieland for Dinner. Credits and copyrights Red Nichols And The Five Pennies – Dixieland Dinner Danc...

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 love stories in history with Volume 83: Toscanini Conducts Berlioz. Credits and copyrights NBC Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Arturo...