Quebe Sisters Band: "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"

Western swing isn't a style that I feature very often on the blog but here is a nice version of "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" by The Quebe Sisters Band. The sisters; Grace, Sophia and Hulda; plays fiddle and sings in harmony.

"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" was written in 1936 by Billy Mayhew and the most played versions of the song are probably by Fats Waller. I can't find much information about Billy Mayhew, can anyone help me?

Listen to Fats Waller's version.

What do you think of The Quebe Sisters Band? Please comment.

Enoch Light & The Light Brigade: Charleston

Here is a version of the song Charleston performed by Enoch Light & The Light Brigade from the album Big Hits of the 20s from 1971.

Enoch Light was one of the first musicians to really take advantage of stereo recording. He recorded all kinds of music but to me the most interesting music is his recordings of songs written in the 1920s-1940s.

Some of his other recordings are *cough* a bit obscure. Just listen to "I want to be happy cha cha", its very far from how the young Ella Fitzgerald sung it.

Take a look at this site to learn more about Enoch Light.

What do you think about the version of Charleston by Enoch Light? Please comment.

Peggy Lee and Toots Thielemans: Makin'Whoopee

Makin' Whoopee is a song that seems to invite the artists too have fun with it. Here is three examples. Above is a video clip of Peggy Lee and Toots Thielemans playing with Makin' Whoopee. On a musical side note: It's worth mentioning that Toots plays usually play a chromatic harmonica and not a blues harmonica.



The second example of Makin' Whoopee is by Eddie Cantor. Eddie Cantor makes this the eyerolling version of the song, complete with some chorus girls.

I saved the best for last: You can't but smile when you see Shirley Bassey and Henri Salvador singing Makin' Whoopee. There seems to be such affection between them.What do you think of the three version of Makin' Whoopee?

Which one is your favorite? Please comment.

Cats' Corner: Autumn Premiere

Tonight it's autumn season premiere for Cats' corner, the weekly dance that Swingkatten arranges.

This season the dance will take place Tuesdays at the ballroom at Gästrike-Hälsingland nation located at Trädgårdsgatan 9.

Jonas Pettersson will be the swing dj tonight.

Welcome to a night of fabulous dancing!

What do you think of the new location of Cats' Corner? Please comment.

Hey Mr Jesse: September podcast

The September episode of the podcast Hey Mister Jesse is just released. This time the show recorded live at the lindy hop camp Swing Out New Hampshire.

Hey Mr Jesse is a great monthly podcast where the swing djs Jesse Miner and Manu 'Spuds' Smith talk about swingin' music that matters to dancers. Take a look at what is in the show: read the show notes for Hey Mister Jesse September 2008.

Download the September 2008 episode of Hey Mister Jesse. (~50 MB, mp3)

I have some things from the podcast I'd like to comment on:

First of all, Jesse was spot on that the source of the my tip about Calvin Boze in the August episode was from the MP3 blog Be Bop Vino.

Just like Jesse I have mixed feelings about MP3 blogs and I wasn't sure if I should name it as a source so I stayed on the safe(?) side and didn't mention it.

But now that the cat is out of the bag, it's only fair that you, my blog readers, should know about it too: Take a look at the Calvin Boze album: "Havin' A Ball" at Be Bop Vino. Be Bop Vino is a great blog that gives you tips about jazz and blues artists.

Secondly, the September podcast features a good interview with swing dj Rayned Wiles about the photograph "A Great Day in Harlem" by Art Kane. Rayned has prepared a 8 hour (!) show on Yehoodi radio featuring all the jazz musicians in the photograph. I just have to say: wow.

I've had the idea of blogging about that photo since I first started blogging but never got around to do it, so this is a perfect time to at least mention some things about it.

In addition to listening to Rayned's radio show you should see the documentary "A Great Day in Harlem" where you get all kinds of stories about the making of the photograph. You can borrow it at the Uppsala City Library if you like or buy the documentary from Amazon.com.

There are much more in the show but at last I want to mention that Bernard Berkhout and his orchestra has made some video clips available on Youtube. Great stuff. The video clip in the beginning of this post is the song House Hop.

What do you think of the September edition of Hey Mr Jesse? Please comment.

Vintage style shoes for swing dancers - Jigwalk.com

At tonight's dance at Swedish Swing Society I'll have company by a friend and fellow dj from Uppsala: Trina Dobbs, although she will not dj but instead sell shoes.

Trina has started a buisness where she sells stylish vintage style shoes that are good for swing dancing. But you don't have to be a dancer, you can just be fan of the retro style.

Check out Trina Dobbs vintage style shoes at Jigwalk.com.

What kind of shoes do you use for swing dancing? What are your favorite brands? Please comment.

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license or buy it.

Swing djing at Swedish Swing Society in Stockholm tomorrow

Tomorrow, I'm proud to be djing swing at a dance organized by Swedish Swing Society, one of the dance clubs in Stockholm.

The evening starts at 20 with a introduction to the jazz routine Jitterbug stroll. At 21 there will be a Shag performance as a teaser for the coming "Stockholm Collegiate Shag Weekend" and then I'll be djing until midnight.

Join me for a fun night of dancing tomorrow!

Swedish Swing Society is located at Igeldammsgatan 22C (Uppgång 2). Nearest subway station is Fridhemsplan (exit Mariebergsgatan).

Is there any song in particular that you would like to hear tomorrow? Please comment.