Ben Bernie was born May 30, 1891 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He introduced himself as "The Old Maestro" - which was lampooned by the Radio Imps as "The Old Microbe". He took up the violin as a youngster and was teaching violin by the age of 15. He appeared with Phil Baker as Baker and Bernie, on the vaudeville stage, and for the Victor label, waxed "Goodbye Alexander" and "Waters of Venice" in 1918. Forming his own band by 1924, he featured pianist Oscar Levant, heard on many of the recordings on this disc. With Maurice Chevalier, he toured in Europe. This disc includes acoustical recordings for Vocalion, and electricals on the Brunswick label. 1925 saw the first recording of Sweet Georgia Brown, played by his band. Bernie was the co-composer (with Kenneth Casey) of what would become a jazz standard, and is best known as the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters. With his characteristic genial wit, he was popular on musical variety radio shows through the 1930s, and was heard on radio as early as 1923, broadcasting on WJZ and the NBC Blue Network in 1930, switching to CBS in 1931 sponsored by Pabst Beer, although during Prohibition, they sold malt syrup instead, the main ingredient in home brew. On NBC from 1932 - 35 he was heard every Tuesday. Back on the Blue Network from 1935 to 1937, sponsored by the American Can Company, he returnied to CBS in 1938, sponsored by U.S. Rubber, later with sponsorship by Half-&-Half Tobacco, a musical quiz program ran until 1940. Back on the Blue Network, from 1940-41, Bromo-Seltzer was his sponsor. The Ben Bernie War Workers' Program (1941–43) was sponsored by Wrigley's Gum. He appeared in two feature films, "Shoot the Works" (1934) and "Stolen Harmony" with George Raft in 1935, featuring a really funky bus/bar on wheels - I've included a picture with this CD. His vocalists included Buddy Clark, Little Jackie Heller, Scrappy Lambert, Billy Hillpot, Pat Kennedy, Jane Pickens, Dinah Shore and Mary Small. Walter Winchell and Bernie, good friends, staged a comedic rivalry which improved their ratings becoming a running feud on their radio appearances and in two films in which they portrayed themselves: Wake Up and Live (1937) and Love and Hisses (1937). They are also caricatured in the Warner Bros. cartoons The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos (1937) as "Ben Birdie" and "Walter Finchell" and The Coo-Coo Nut Grove (1936) as "Ben Birdie" and "Walter Windpipe". His themes, 'It's a Lonesome Old Town' and his closing 'Au Revoir, Pleasant Dreams'conclude this disc. . His phrase "yowsah, yowsah, yowsah" was used by a character in the film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Richie Cunningham in a 1976 episode of Happy Days, "They Shoot Fonzies, Don't They?" (1976), and by "Chic" in their hit "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (1977)
JUNE NIGHT VOC 14878 08/31/24 13644 BAER-FRIEND
DOODLE DOO DOO VOC 14878 08/31/24 13640 KASSEL & STITZEL
ARE YOU SORRY? VOC 15036 05/13/25 792 AGER-DAVIS
ISN'T SHE THE SWEETEST THING VOC 15036 05/13/25 796 KAHN-DONALDSON
YES SIR! THAT'S MY BABY VOC 15080 08/10/25 1092 KAHN-DONALDSON
COLLEGIATE IRVING KAUFMAN-JACK KAUFMAN-LESTER O'KEEFE VOC 15080 08/10/25 1090 JAFFE-BONX
SLEEPY TIME GAL ARTHUR FIELDS BR 2992 12/07/25 17062 ALDEN-EGAN-LORENZO-WHITIN
LITTLE BIT BAD ARTHUR FIELDS BR 2992 12/07/25 17057 DAVIS-CONLEY-ELDRIDGE
BELL HOPPIN' BLUES BR 3082 01/29/26 17746 SISSON-NESS
ROSES BROUGHT ME YOU ARTHUR FIELDS BR 3082 01/29/26 17749 MURPHY-SHERMAN
I'D LOVE TO MEET THAT OLD SWEETHEART OF MINE V BR 3303 09/03/26 20024 DAVIS-BURKE
WHY DO YA ROLL THOSE EYES? SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3303 09/03/26 20022 RYSKIND-CHARIG
MUDDY WATER FRANK MUNN BR 3414 12/28/26 21076 TRENT-DE ROSE-RICHMAN
HELLO,SWANEE,HELLO BR 3414 12/28/26 21083 COSLOW-BRITT
I'M LOOKING OVER A FOUR LEAF CLOVER SCRAPPY LAMBERT BR 3444 01/28/27 21352 DIXON-WOODS
AIN'T SHE SWEET? SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3444 01/28/27 21355 AGER-YELLEN
UNDERNEATH THE WEEPING WILLOW SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3464 02/17/27 21528 FORD BREAU
IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3464 02/17/27 21525 DE SYLVA-BROWN-HENDERSON
FOLLOWING YOU AROUND SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3496 03/14/27 21865 DUBIN-KAHN
I'M IN LOVE AGAIN BEN BERNIE-SCRAPPY LAMBERT-BILLY HILLPOT BR 3496 03/14/27 21868 COLE PORTER
ROSY CHEEKS SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3528 04/08/27 22308 SIMONS-WHITING
THAT LITTLE SOMETHING SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3528 04/08/27 22312 KALMAR-RUBY-KERN
YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3531 04/11/27 22336 BURKE-MORSE
ONE O'CLOCK BABY SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3531 04/11/27 22339 DE SYLVA-BROWN-HENDERSON
THERE MUST BE SOMEBODY ELSE SCRAPPY LAMBERT & BILLY HILLPOT BR 3716 11/10/27 25126 GOTTLER-CLARE-PINKARD
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Compact Disc: Ship
