The Neon Beat on Radio George - 11.23.15

On The Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 1: Petula Clark kicks off this set with a hit song she begged her producer not to release. She said, “It’s wrong for me.” Twas a huge 1966 hit. “My Love.” Buddy Greco takes the Vegas stage next for his version of “Around the World.” (I LIKE it!) Bill Murray channeled this fellow for his singing lounge act schtick for Saturday Night Live.” Then we’ll track a great Harold Arlen song performed live in Paris by Diana Krall. Hear some fine film music as Vic Damone sings the theme from “Gigi.” Enjoy some period chart hits sung by The Four Preps, Simon and Garfunkel, The Dixie Cups and The Classics 4. Hear Frankie Laine and the EZ Riders perform a 1950’s favorite, “Love is a Golden Ring. “ Hear the 1968 instrumental song that finally kicked Percy Faith’s “Summer Place” out of the number one position as the top instrumental hit of all time. Hear Nat King Cole with Les Baxter’s Orchestra as Nat sings, “To the Ends of the Earth.” Frank Sinatra does a swingin’ version of “When You’re Smiling.” Hear Peghttp://www.radiogeorge.com/neonbeat/
gy Lee’s biggest pop chart hit single, “Fever.” Listen to songs with Jimmie Rogers, Johnny Mathis and more. Listen at:

On The Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 2: The Henry Mancini Orchestra opens this hour with a hit song written by Paul Anka for The Tonight Show. Then we’ll hop aboard a rocket ship, “Destination Moon” with Dinah Washington. Listen to the Marvelous Marilyn Maye with her rousing take on a great Dave Brubeck standard, “Take Five.” Hear Robert Goulet croon a lovely version of the Bob Lund hit, “Mamselle” followed up “Just in Time” with Dean Martin. We’ll go to the back of the rack for a Brit Hit with Peter Asher and Gordon Waller singing, “Lady Godiva.” We’ll spin some great Big Band with Harry James’ “Cherry” and Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra doing a swinging Tommy Dorsey song, “Opus One.” Bobby Darin takes the microphone for one of his late 1950’s charting hits, “Dream Lover.” Then we’ll just “Dream” a bit with The Pied Pipers and Jo Stafford. Sit back and enjoy one of Don Mclean’s most beautiful songs that he composed about artist Vincent Van Gogh. Listen to Sergio Mendez, Patti Page and more. See the lists and leave comments at: http://theneonbeat.blogspot.com/

On The Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 3: Sarah Vaughan launches this hour with a jazz standard, “How High the Moon” performed here by one of the most distinctive voices of the era, Sarah Vaughan. Tony Bennett is next with the Count Basie Orchestra singing a song about that Windy City. Connie Francis sings a hit song composed by a woman from the KC area, Betty Blasco: “My Happiness.” (thank u Phil) We’ll team up Frank and his daughter Nancy for their 1966 hit song, “Something Stupid.” Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sam Butera take the Vegas stage for “Jump Jive and Wail” followed by an easy goin’ tune called “A Doodling Song” by Peggy Lee. Get your kicks on “Route 66” with Nat King Cole. Listen to a “workin’ song” with The Vogues and they sing, “Five O’Clock World” followed with a great Australian group called The Seekers doing, “A World of Our Own.” Glen Campbell sings a song voted by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the top 500 songs of all time composed by Jimmy Webb. We’ll spin records by Joni James, Al Martino, Lawrence Welk and more. Listen at: http://www.radiogeorge.com/neonbeat/

The Neon Beat on Radio George - 11.16.15

On The Neon Beat this week Jukebox 1: Dean Martin launches this hour with “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On.” (postage paid plz) Then listen to KC’s Marvelous Marilyn Maye with her wonderful rendition of, “Cabaret.” Listen to a lovely 1953 hit based on an old German folk song sung by the Ames Brothers with Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestra. Annette Funicello picks up the tempo with a song from the island beaches, “Pineapple Princess.” Bobby Darin performs a jazzy version of a 1930’s British standard, “A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square.” We’ll track great instrumentals by Al Hirt, (Java) Sounds Orchestral (Cast Your Fate to the Wind) and Henry Mancini’s Orchestra. (Charade) Enjoy an award winning record for the Gordon Jenkins Orchestra and Frank Sinatra, “It Was a Very Good Year.” Listen to a period track sung by jazz diva Dianne Reeves from the film, “Good Night and Good Luck.” Hits by The Lettermen, Art Mooney, Jim Reeves and more. Listen at: http://www.radiogeorge.com/neonbeat/

On The Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 2: Engelbert Humperdinck opens this set with his latter 1970’s comeback hit, “After the Lovin.” Sammy Davis Jr takes the stage next with The Mike Curb Congregation for a hit song you can taste. Then an amorous “noir” little song of lonely nights “Black Coffee” and cigarettes with bombshell Julie London. Listen to a song from “Man of La Mancha” performed by Ed Ames, “Dream the Impossible Dream.” Petula Clark sings one of her many 1960’s chart hits, “Kiss Me Goodbye.” Nat King Cole performs a Fred Astaire film number from a recording live at the Sands in Vegas, “The Continental.” Hear instrumentals by Roger Williams, (Born Free) Aker Bilk, (Stranger on the Shore) Nelson Riddle’s “Lisbon Antigua” and one by Herb Alpert and the TJB. We’ll team up Lee Hazelwood with Nancy Sinatra with a country hit called, “Jackson” followed by a song by BJ Thomas, “Everybody’s Outta Town.” Hear Burl Ives, Joni James and more. Leave comments, see the playlists at: http://theneonbeat.blogspot.com/

On The Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 3: The first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald, gets this hour underway with a neat scat interp of the song “Blue Skies.” Then listen to the great Mario Lanza with his signature hit from the film “The Great Caruso.” Hear the Percy Faith instrumental that set the standard for EZ listening music, “The Theme from “A Summer Place.” Nat King Cole sings a sentimental hit song with the Ralph Carmichael Chorus, “All Over the World” followed up with a lovely rendition of “You Belong to Me” sung by Jo Stafford. We’ll do a little Rat Packin’ starting with a fun little tit o’ tate between Frank and Sammy called “Me and My Shadow” followed by Dean Martin singing a great Frank Loesser hit with the Four Lads. We’ll get our ‘shooby do lang langs” on with the Carpenters remembering “Yesterday Once More.” Henry Mancini plays a hit song from a period John Wayne film called, “Hatari.” Hear Canadian Michael Buble, Guy Mitchell, Cathy Carr, Elvis and more. Listen at: http://www.radiogeorge.com/neonbeat/

The Neon Beat on Radio George - 11.9.15

On the Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 1: The Ray Charles Singers kick off another great set with their 1960 hit, “Love Me With All Your Heart.” Then Peggy Lee steams on stage with a romping version of “Come Back to Me.” Following Peg, Frank Sinatra takes it “Nice N’ Easy” with Nelson Riddle’s Orchestra. Listen to a smooth interpretation of an old Beatles hit performed by Tony Bennett. Linda Ronstadt sings a lovely standard with Nelson Riddle, “I’ve Got a Crush on You.” Hear some great big band with Glen Gray’s Casa Loma Orchestra playing, “The Song of India.” More instrumentals by Al Hirt, and a skating rink standard by Bent Fabric. Enjoy a couple of “campy” numbers with Buddy Greco and The Hi Lo’s. We’ll spin a song that Rosemary Clooney used as an opening theme to her TV show, sung here by Nat King Cole: “Tenderly.” Enjoy some classic Ray Charles rememberin’ what it’s like to be dead broke, ala, “Busted.” Hear hits by Les Baxter, Roger Miller, and more.

On The Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 2: Petula Clark starts off this hour with one of her biggest charting hits, “Don’t Sleep In the Subway Darlin’” Then, listen to a lush arrangement of an award winning song for Gordon Jenkins Orchestra backing Frank Sinatra for the lovely song, “All the Way.” We’ll track some classic Etta James with, “It’s Too Soon to Know.” Dean Martin sings one of his chart toppers, “You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You.” Listen to Kay Starr sing a hit, the title of which became the name for a popular TV game show. Hear some great theatre music with Margaret Whiting with a song from “South Pacific”, followed by a song from the 1945 film “State Fair” sung by Andy Williams. Enjoy some country picking with Sonny James singing, “Young Love.” Then hear some 1950’s pop with the Everly Brothers singing “Walk Right Back.” Here some Elvis with “Crying in the Chapel.” Hits by Ben E. King and Doris Day. Much more. Leave comments see the lists at: http://theneonbeat.blogspot.com/

On the Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 3: Robert Goulet slams into this set with his 1963 hit, “Happy Summer Sounds.” The McGuire Sisters are next with their signature hit, “Sugartime.” We’ll track a tender island ballad by Harry Belefonte called “Jamaica Farewell.” Hear a signature standard for Lena Horne as she performs the song, “Stormy Weather” followed up with Brook Benton holding the gospel gun for the song, “Shadrach.” Hear one of three 1969 chart toppers for the jazz/rock group, “Blood Sweat and Tears” performing, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy.” We’ll track some fine period instrumentals by Leroy Anderson, some film music by Herb Alpert, Les Baxter, and another movie selection by Henry Mancini from “The Great Race.” Listen to Dionne Warwick with one of the many hit songs penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Harry Nilsson sings a song from the film “Midnight Cowboy.” We’ll spin hits by Peter, Paul and Mary, Sergio Mendez and more. Listen at: http://www.radiogeorge.com/neonbeat/

The Neon Beat on Radio George - 11.2.15

On the Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 1: Frank Sinatra kicks off another line up of great music as we go “South of the Border” in this first segment. We follow it up with Herb Alpert and the TJB with his first chart hit, “The Lonely Bull.” Patti Page tracks next with “All Her Love” and the Kingston Trio with “El Matador.” Barbra Streisand sings a song that she calls “one of her favorites” in part, written by author Truman Capote. We’ll team up Tony Bennett and Canadian jazz diva Diana Krall for “The Best is yet to Come.” We’ll bring back Frank with Rosemary Clooney for a fun little romp called, “Cherry Pies Outta Be You.” Petula Clark performs a Charlie Chaplin song used in the film, “A Countess from Hong Kong.” Enjoy a fun one hit wonder memory from the land down under, sung by Rolf Harris. Listen to a smooth version of a great Gershwin selectittp://www.radiogeorge.com/neonbeat/
on heard in “An American in Paris” sung by Nat King Cole. We’ll track hits by Brook Benton, Dean Martin, Michael Buble and more. Listen at: h

On the Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 2: Ella Fitzgerald takes off with a song from the TV series “Pan Am.” A brilliant scat interp of the song, “Blue Skies.” Next is a great 1960 TV theme called, “Mr. Lucky” performed by Henry Mancini and his Orchestra, followed by a hit maker from the KC area named Jerry Wallace as he does his 1959 hit, “Primrose Lane.” Doris Day sings a 1958 toe tapper, one of her last charting hits as her film career was taking off. Doris sings, “Everybody Loves a Lover.” Perry Como sings a lovely standard from the film, “South Pacific.” Hear a smooth 1956 song by Oklahoman, Patti Page performing, “Allegheny Moon.” Mel Carter takes the mic for his signature recording, “Hold Me, Thrill Me.” We’ll play a track from the “Swingin’ Session” album with Nelson Riddle’s Orchestra and Frank Sinatra singing, “S’posin.” Sing along with Mitch Miller and the gang doing the “Yellow “Rose of Texas.” Marty Robbins, The Mills Brothers and more. See the lists leave comments at: http://theneonbeat.blogspot.com/

On the Neon Beat this week, Jukebox 3: Nat King Cole and the Ralph Carmichael Chorus launch this hour as we recall “Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer.” Tony Bennett takes the stage next with a great song from the film, “The Sound of Music.” Connie Francis sings her comeback hit, “Among My Souvenirs.” We’ll take a rocket trip with the Ames Brothers, “Destination Moon.” Then rocket out further into space and do a fly-by “Venus’ with Johnny Mathis.” Judy Garland performs some great film music from the golden days of MGM, “The Trolley Song.” Hear some great big band with The Glenn Miller Orchestra and Benny Goodman’s “Let’s Dance!” We’ll spin Louis Armstrong’s great rendition of the Broadway hit song, “Hello Dolly.” Frank Sinatra croons a song to take the years off. Old Blue Eyes sings “Young at Heart.” Rosemary Clooney sings a song from the play, “The Pajama Game.” Hear hits by Frankie Laine, the McGuire Sisters, Jo Stafford and more. Listen now at: http://www.radiogeorge.com/neonbeat/