The Bad Piano Player

Send us Fan Mail For our first June episode, the Bad Piano Player features jazz violinist, composer and arranger Matt Malneck (1903-1981). New Jersey born songwriter who has long deserved and finally gets his own episode. Tune in, kids, because it is gonna swing.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player goes into his bag of Sam Coslow songs and stories for-- would you believe it-- a third time! Six great songs and fabulous stories to go along with 'em. Mae West, Garbo, Mabel Normand, and some sketchy singing too! How can it miss, when the chorus goes like this! Tune in, my darlings. I'll be at the piano.

Send us Fan Mail This week, Fortnight Tuesday brings two more giants of the American songbook, the team of Irving Kahal, lyricist, and Sammy Fain, composer, both members of the Songwriters' Hall Of Fame, and two men we've featured before, but at last they get the singular honor of their own private, six-song episode. Tune in, my beauties, and be enchanted.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player assays the redoubtable Ralph Rainger; composer, arranger, accompanist, preparer of piano rolls, bandleader, and oh yes, lawyer. Film composer nonpareil in a bright but short career. You may not have heard of him, but you have heard him. Tune in, Raingers!

Send us Fan Mail This week, the bad piano player features violinist, composer, director, screenwriter, and in his time, Da Hardest Workin' Man in Show Bidness. Say hello to Victor Schertzinger, director of 88 films and holder of 146 soundtrack credits. Tune in, kids. It's gonna be epic.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player assays a composer/bandleader/singer you've never heard of. I swear! Radio and recording star of the 1930's Jack Little, who was of course known as Little Jack Little, not to be confused with the vaudeville Little Jack Little, who was only four feet five inches tall. No! Not that guy. The other guy! Tune in, kids. Gonna be epic.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player does his second foray into the incredible career of songwriter Sam Coslow. From New York, Tin Pan Alley, to Hollywood, and finally, Wall Street. As always, with songs! Tune in, kids.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player finds a songbook with old friends Mitchell Parish, Carl Sigman, Frank Loesser, and Harry Warren in it. And we throw in a Mack Gordon for good measure. It's gonna be old timey and old movie as well, so get some popcorn and set a spell. Elroy, get some refreshments for our guests. 

Send us Fan Mail This week, the bad piano player assays the Oklahoma born songwriter Jimmy Webb, born in Elk City 77 years ago. Winning a song of the year Grammy award at age 21 didn't slow this guy down one bit, kids. Tune in for six of the best.

Send us Fan Mail This week, after 130 episodes, the Bad Piano player finally does a Gershwin episode. Six little slices of long intensive rehearsal heaven. We hope you will indulge a bad piano player in his admiration for the King of Rock 'N Rhapsody. Tune in. The mistakes will be AWESOME.

Send us Fan Mail For our first episode of season five the bad piano player will feature Morris Gittler and Harry Glaser, known to their fans as Mack Gordon and Harry Revel, a New York AND Hollywood songwriting team from 1928 to 1939. Please enjoy these songs responsibly.

Send us Fan Mail The Bad Piano Player's season four finale will feature six songs, and the composers of same may surprise you. I'm hoping they will surprise you a lot, so even if they don't, look....ACT SURPRISED, okay? Sheesh. Thanks to all our listeners for a great fourth season! See you In January!

Send us Fan Mail This week, in our fourth season's penultimate episode, we sing some songs about trains. "If they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine....I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line..." We won't be doing that one, but you should tune in anyway. It'll be a fun journey. Get an upper berth.

Send us Fan Mail This week the Bad Piano Player features composer, lyricist, music publisher, & financial analyst Sam Coslow. We've featured him occasionally before, but never for his own episode, so tune in and hear the classics, Sam Coslow-style..

Send us Fan Mail I know that many of my listeners wonder, "Is there a genre The BPP hasn't done? Well there is! And it's today!! And it's sacred music. Lots of hymns and good feelings between people. And no, we won't be doing Norman Greenbaum's 'Spirit In The Sky'. Sheesh. Tune in and pray on.

Send us Fan Mail The Bad Piano Player revisits the home of an old musical friend this week, with six new songs from the remarkable career of New Englander Harry Woods. From New England to New York to Olde England to Hollywood to gentleman farmer, join us for the journey.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player goes back to his roots in comedy and adds some extra, just for you with our Humorous Songs episode! From making fun of the Irish in the early 1900s to making fun of the English 50 years later, and all the way to the 70s with genius Victoria Wood, we go for the funny with melodies. Tune in!

Send us Fan Mail Fortnight Tuesday approaches like a peace train in this wild world. This week, the Bad Piano Player brings tea for the tillerman and steak for the sun with an episode all about Steven Gheorgiou-Cat Stevens-Yusuf Islam. But mostly the middle name. Tune in or Catch bull at four.

Send us Fan Mail The Bad Piano Player features our second James V. Monaco episode this week, and not just because we found six more great songs of his, NO! But more because podcast episode don’t grow on trees, y’know. Tune in, kids!

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player features Irish born lyricist Jimmy Kennedy. From Omagh to London, to New York, to Hollywood and back, in a long and storied career. And we won't be doing any of his really famous songs. Okay, maybe one. Tune in, kids!

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player deep dives into the career of 1930s-40s Native American Jazz singer Mildred Bailey. Known as The Queen Of Swing and The Rockin' Chair Lady. Born on the Coeur D'Alene reservation and the woman who introduced Bing Crosby to the music of Louis Armstrong. It's gonna be epic, kids. Tune in!

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player finds six unbelievably obscure movies from the 1930's and plays you a song from each one. Prepare to be dazzled by story lines you've heard before, a million times, and enjoy the songs that would otherwise be forgotten! Tune in early and often.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player returns to his youthful indiscretions, some of which actually occurred in his youth. We profile the soulful career of Jackson Browne, mostly the early career, with a soupcon of the later period, because hey, it's my podcast. Enjoy, sweethearts, enjoy.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Bad Piano Player features people you may not have heard of, people who've been featured before, and some cool songs you probably don't know in an episode we call "Grab Bag". Open it up and find the surprises inside!

Send us Fan Mail This week the bad piano player looks at six songs from the 1970s. Some one hit wonders, some odd choices, I guess we would call them anomalies. Suffice to say they all bring back high school for your truly. Tune in and travel back there with us.