The Shellac Stack

Shellac Stack No. 174 swelters with some hot music — from the orchestras of George Olsen, Fred Elizalde, and Johnny McGee (no relation to Fibber!), to personalities like Ethel Merman, Jimmy Durante, and Gene Austin. We even hear from the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and the Massed Bands of the Aldershot Command. … Continue reading »

Shellac Stack No. 173 celebrates a brand-new 78 rpm record release (in 2019!) by the Chicago Cellar Boys and dances along with Count Basie, Ross Gorman, Fletcher Henderson, Jack Coleman, Ben Bernie, and others. We hear from Hollywood stars Shirley Temple, Jimmy Stewart, Maurice Chevalier, and more in this fully-packed edition of the Shellac Stack. … Continue reading »

Shellac Stack No. 172 visits again with our friend JiHoon Suk for a selection of jazz, pop, and blues records from his collection. We hear some rare recordings by Bix Beiderbecke and Annette Hanshaw, as well as classics by King Oliver, Paul Whiteman, Isham Jones, Django Reinhardt, and more. Join us!

Shellac Stack No. 171 joins Lew Lehr at the fair — the 1939 Worlds Fair, that is! We also hear from Lud Gluskin, Joe Shelton, Charlie Ackerson, Chick Bullock, Wee Bonnie Baker, the New Dixie Demons, and more in this musical variety hour.

Shellac Stack No. 170 visits for an hour with a notable musical Friend. We hear from the California Humming Birds, Gene Austin, Ted Weems, Sherman Hayes, George Olsen, Art Landry, and many more.

Shellac Stack No. 169 claps hands because the tamale man cometh! We hear from Doc Cook’s Dreamland Orchestra, Isham Jones, Irving Aaronson, Johnny Marvin, Smith Ballew, the All Star Trio, Billy Butterfield, and more in a pleasing mix of records sweet and hot!

Shellac Stack No. 168 jumps with Cab Calloway, parades with Paul Whiteman, and cakewalks with Hazel Gertrude Kinscella. We hear records by the Korn Kobblers, Ben Berlin, Nat Shilkret, Ted Weems, Leroy Montesanto, Olive Kline, and even a full-length “Junior Operetta” from c. 1923 in this musical children’s hour.

Shellac Stack No. 167 just rolls along (having its ups and downs) with “Hula Lou” and “Sioux City Sue!” We hear songs about Joe and enjoy a cheerful earful with Roy Smeck. We’ve also got records by Jimmie Lunceford, the Carolina Tar Heels, Nat Shilkret, Hum and Strum, and the Aaron Sisters.

Shellac Stack No. 166 digs in with Dexter Gordon, Leo Watson, Flip Phillips, Frankie Laine, Tom Gerun, Anson Weeks, Bill Snyder, the Buffalodians and many others. Oh yeah — and Charley Drew tells us about the biggest kanakas in Hawaii…

Shellac Stack No. 165 swings with the goons and crazy people! We hear from Rosalind Paige, Bunk Johnson, Charlie Thompson, Teddy Wilson, Dick Robertson, Tex Beneke, Helen Ward, Ted Weems, Eubie Blake, Peter Wyper, and many more in this musical variety hour!

Shellac Stack No. 164 shakes off the blues with a little help from bandleaders Billy James, Sam Lanin, Bob Haring, Cass Hagan, Fletcher Henderson, Art Landry and others. We enjoy novelty vocals from the Happiness Boys and Wendell Hall as well as hot jazz from the Georgia Melodians, the OM5 (that’s the Original Memphis Five), … Continue reading »

Shellac Stack No. 163 takes a road trip to visit with JiHoon Suk, who shares rare and interesting classical and operatic gems from his collection. From Alfred Dubois and Antonina Neshdanova to Enrico Caruso, Walter Gieseking, Meta Seinemeyer, Gregor Piatigorsky and more, it’s another entertaining variety hour!

Shellac Stack No. 162 charts a course for the Isle of Sweethearts with Sam Moore and Horace Davis. We hear from Paul Whiteman, Johnny Dodds, Ray Starita, Bing Crosby, Dick Mine, Tex Williams, and many others in this tuneful hour.

Shellac Stack No. 161 gets some fun out of life with Dick Robertson, the Georgia Melodians, Jimmie Noone, Johnny Johnson, and Jay Wilbur’s Orchestra, even as our thoughts drift to Paris with the monks of the Saint-Pierre de Solesmes Abbey. Add Art Fowler (the Wizard of the Uke), Errol Garner, and Freddy Martin to the … Continue reading »

Shellac Stack No. 160 leads off with the King of Swing before turning to Jelly Roll Morton, Art Tatum, the Revelers, Archie Bleyer, Aileen Stanley, Seger Ellis, Jean Goldkette, the Bar-Trio, and more. Not bad!

Shellac Stack No. 159 lays a few eggs with Ted Weems and Parker Gibbs. We hear a Stephen Foster song as recycled in a 1902 Broadway show; dance with Gene Kardos, Johnny Hamp, and Tom Timothy’s Frivolity Club Orchestra; and enjoy fine keyboard work by Billy Mayerl and Sister Slocum. Let the Shellac Stack serve … Continue reading »

Shellac Stack No. 158 ventures from April showers to the sunny side of the street, stopping to smell the flowers on the way. We hear from Al Jolson, the Tietge Sisters, Earl Fuller’s Rector Novelty Orchestra, Alec Wilder, Will Bradley, Sam Lanin, and many more in this vintage music variety hour.

Shellac Stack No. 157 pays homage to Debussy, Previn, and the fighting men of WWI. Along the way, we hear from Helen Kane, George Olsen, Mario Perry, Arthur Fields, the Tailgate Jazz Band, Mel Powell, and even the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Shellac Stack No. 156 travels the world with Odeon! From New York to Buenos Aires; from Copenhagen to Berlin, we hear a variety of performances by jazz and dance bands (The Santa Paula Serenaders, Frankie Trumbauer, Joseph Samuels, etc.); vocalists Yves Montand and Vaughn De Leath; and swinging piano by Manuel Salsamendi and Lothar Perl. … Continue reading »

Shellac Stack No. 155 tents down in Tennessee with the Ipana Troubadours, asks why with Ben Light, and finds itself “in wrong in Hong Kong”! Join us for records by Jane Green, Bing, Eddie Peabody, Russ Morgan, Freddy Martin, Jack Payne, Doc Evans, and many more.

Shellac Stack No. 154 whips cream with banjoist Fred Van Eps and grooves high with Dizzy Gillespie. Along the way, we hear from the dance bands of Fred Rich, Paul Specht, and Tal Henry, relax with the Hilo Hawaiian Orchestra, and sample a few hot jazz records by McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and Johnny Dodds.

Shellac Stack No. 153 bids Mr. Henry to stomp, stomp, stomp! We’ve got the big band stylings of Eddie Miller, Henry Jerome, and Jimmie Lunceford; a charming Renaissance madrigal by the English Singers, a visit with NBC’s Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, and lots more!

Shellac Stack No. 152 bids wild women good-bye in anticipation of Prohibition! We hear from singers Arthur Fields, Billy Murray, Roy Madison, Layton and Johnstone; dance with Paul Whiteman, Phil Romano, John Firman, and Glenn Miller; and hear some phenomenal piano pyrotechnics from Pauline Alpert.

Shellac Stack No. 151 steps in society with a program of early Viva-Tonal electric recordings. From the New Orleans Owls to Van and Schenck; from Donald Lindley to Earl Gresh; from Ben Selvin to Blossom Seeley, we’ve got an hour of “joys” on this edition of the Shellac Stack.

Shellac Stack No. 150 hops, jumps, and stomps! We play that barbershop chord with Judy Garland, visit the toy department with Irving Riskin, make eyes with the Ferko String Band, and enjoy a “rhythm cocktail” with Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy. Lots more too!