The Neon Beat on Mixcloud - 12.27.21

 On the Neon Beat Show 68R6:  The great Tony Bennett opens up this hour with one of his fine standards, “If I Ruled the World”.  Next in the lineup is Dean Martin for a touch of “Mambo Italiano” followed by the song “Purple Shades” from the Max Floyd collection sung by a Chicago beauty named Joni James.  We'll team up two greats as we gather round and hear “The Preacher” with Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby.  Enjoy the Marvelous Marilyn Maye with her lively rendition of “Make Your Own Kind Of Music.”  Listen to a fine instrumental lineup this hour with Raymond Lefevre's Orchestra doing a song from “Godspell,” some great big band with Benny Goodman as we make that “Down South Camp Meetin'”, Capitol Record's own Al De Lory tinkles the ivories with his hit version of the theme from MASH and the Bob Crewe Generation with some “Music to Watch Girls By.”  We'll spin some Elvis with a hit song based on the old Italian melody of “O Sole mio.”  The Mills Brothers are next with the song “Cab Driver”, and then we remember the year 1959 culminating in a fun memory with Dodie Stevens singing “Pink Shoelaces”.  Hear Nat King Cole with his lush rendition of “Sweet Lorraine” and The Lettermen with “Going Out of my Head.”  More with Tom Jones and a soulful signature standard for Etta James.  Crank em' up.  Enjoy.  It's free!   

https://www.mixcloud.com/john-christopher10/the-neon-beat-show-68r6/?fbclid=IwAR2p1oO9Ae7mGFQeTPjiWnezZnd_2lGp-PoQkEGui5EXNY_SnR0AkZHcu5w

The Neon Beat - 12.20.21

On The Neon Beat Show 67R6:  Gather round the radio as we open this session with a rouser from “Gypsy” sung by the Four Lads.  “Together Wherever We Go”.  Next we'll track, what was, the biggest stateside hit for the British Gentleman. Listen to Matt Monro with his 1961 hit song, “My Kind of Girl.”  Then catch some fine Burt Bacharach/Hal David as Dionne Warwick sings, “This Girl's in Love with You”.  We'll spin more records by the great period gals like, Peggy Lee, Dusty Springfield, Ella Fitzgerald, and Annette Funicello singing a Disney film song with The Beach Boys.  “The Monkey's Uncle”.  We'll do an Italian set starting with Al Martino's rendition of “Spanish Eyes” followed with the Sinatras. Daughter Nancy takes it first with her 1966 hit song “Sugar Town” followed with Dad doin' “Pennies From Heaven”.  Listen to Ray Charles with his “Raylettes” performing his signature hit song, “Hit the Road Jack”.  Dusty Springfield takes it next from her Memphis session album with “Son of a Preacher Man” followed up with a pairing of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney for “Come to the Mardis Gras”.  Enjoy a little dixieland with the Village Stompers as we track the tune “Washington Square”.  More fine songs with Bobby Vinton, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams and Louis Armstrong's “The Dummy Song”.  Crank and dig kids.    

https://www.mixcloud.com/john.../the-neon-beat-show-67r6/

The Neon Beat - 11.26.21

On the Neon Beat (Show 66R6)  Andy Williams opens this hour with a finger snapper from 1957 while he was still with the “Cadence” label, “Butterfly”.  Then listen to a Broadway favorite sung by Ed Ames from 1967, “My Cup Runneth Over”.  Hear more film and stage music with Frank Sinatra singing one from “Finians' Rainbow”, Dean Martin doing one from a Martin and Lewis film from 1955 called “Artists and Models,” Percy Faith with the theme from “A Summer Place”, and a beautiful rendition of a song from the musical “All American” sung by Tony Bennett.  You'll hear Vikki Carr perform her biggest hit song, “It Must Be Him” followed up with a Kai Winding hit instrumental from a 1963 “Mondo Carne” film.  Listen to Dionne Warwick's rendition of some fine Burt Bacharach/Hal David music called “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” followed with Ray Charles singing “I Can't Stop Loving You”.  We'll spin Petula Clark's “I Know a Place”, Al Martino with “Volare”, and Nat King Cole with the sentimental, “That Sunday That Summer” with the Ralph Carmichael Chorus.  More with Brenda Lee, Dinah Shore and Raymond LeFevre's hit 1967 instrumental “Soul Coaxing”.  

Crank er' up and enjoy the memories.  https://www.mixcloud.com/john.../the-neon-beat-show-66r6/

The Neon Beat - 11.17.21

On the Neon Beat (show 65r6)  Dean Martin teams up with four “most happy fellas” (The Four Lads) to open the show with the Frank Loesser song “Standing on the Corner”.  Then Peggy Lee grabs the mic next for “Alright, Ok, You Win” followed up with a song by The Mills Brothers.  Then enjoy the horn of Al Hirt for the song, “Tansy”.  Our fine song offerings by the great period groups include a big band Tommy Dorsey standard sung by the Ames Brothers, and a snappy treatment of the song, “Love Walked In” by Dot Records', The Hilltoppers.  Turn up a little rock n' roll with Fats Domino's treatment of “My Blue Heaven.”  Listen to some film standards by Patti Page from “Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte”, and Andre Previn with a lush piano and orchestra treatment of the film theme from “Laura”.  Crank up some period hit singles with Nat King Cole, Doris Day, and Eddie Fisher.  Lift your glasses on high at Louie's Lunch for the Yale College standard sung by Bing Crosby and Fred Waring's Pennsyvanians, “The Whiffenpoof Song”.  And we'll track a big sky western set with Gogi Grant's “The Wayward Wind” followed with “The Theme from the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” by Hugo Montenegro, culminating with a western tale from the Ponderosa called “Ringo” by Lorne Green.  More with Roger Whittaker and Sarah Vaughan.  Enjoy! 

Go to:  https://www.mixcloud.com/john-christopher10/the-neon-beat-show-65r6/

The Neon Beat - 10.30.21

On the Neon Beat (show 64r6)   We open this hour with the go-to song I used as a kid to remember how to spell the name of Ol' Man River.  Kay Starr launches this set with a jazzy version of the song “Mississippi”.  Next, catch an old movie song by ol' blue eyes as Frank Sinatra performs a song from “The Yellow Rolls Royce”.  Hear more stage and theatre music with Vic Damone singing one from “My Fair Lady,” Marilyn Maye from the play “Sherry,” Perry Como with a selection from “The King and I,” Tony Bennett with a swing version of a song from “Cabin in the Sky,” and actress Debbie Reynolds from the film “Tammy and the Bachelor.”  We'll inject a little salsa with Rosemary Clooney backed with Perez Prado's Orchestra with the song “Sway.”  Turn up some big band with Billy May's Orchestra with “Pompton Turnpike”, and Brit composer Reg Owen with “The Manhattan Spiritual.”  We'll spin some more great instrumental content with jazz pianist David Benoit playing a tribute to Vince Guaraldi with the “Linus and Lucy” theme.  (It rocks!)  Sample the great period groups with the Rooftop Singers singing “Walk Right In,” the Sandpipers with the romantic “Guantanamera,” and the Kingston Trio with “The Everglades.: More with Ricky Nelson, Johnny Mathis, Engelbert Humperdinck, and a cameo with a popular period diva singing a song from “Popeye.”  (I'm a bad boy)  Crank and enjoy kids.  (Humperdinck.  Engage spell check) 

Listen today at: https://www.mixcloud.com/john.../the-neon-beat-show-64r6/

The Neon Beat - 10.17.21

On the Neon Beat (show 63R6)  Lena Horne opens the hour with an old Cotton Club standard written by Harold Arlen.  A performance that would go on to be signature for the woman.  Next we “blow through there” as the “Music Goes Round and Round”, and it comes out here.  Louis Prima and the band do that great jazz standard.  Another great horn selection follows with Louis Armstrong singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me”.  We'll track a Grammy Award winning song for Jack Jones, “Wives and Lovers” followed with Jo Stafford and her 1951 hit single, “Shrimp Boats”.  Then listen to Frank Sinatra accompanied by a flourish of strings from the Nelson Riddle Orchestra for the song “Young at Heart”.  Enjoy some good period folk in this session with Trini Lopez, The Kingston Trio, Patti Page, and Judy Collins.  Listen to a fine Johnny Mercer song sung by The Mills Brothers, “The Glow Worm” followed up with the song “Unchain My Heart” by Ray Charles.  Hear Glen Campbell with the theme from the Paramount film, “True Grit” and the lovely “Beyond the Sunset” sung by Pat Boone.  Instrumental offerings include Booker T. and the MG's, Walter Wanderley on the Hammond B3, and a panoramic composition by John Barry from the film “Dances with Wolves”.  Enjoy!  

Go to: https://www.mixcloud.com/john-christopher10/the-neon-beat-show-63r6/

The Neon Beat - 10.2.21

On the Neon Beat (Show 62R6)  Mel Carter sings our first fine offering as we open with his 1965 hit single “Hold Me Thrill Me”.  We follow with a standard from 1964 as we “Sing in the Sunshine” with a beauty from Auckland, New Zealand: Gale Zoe Garnett.   A couple of blue numbers follow with Dean Martin doing a smooth alfredo version of “Blue Moon” followed with Leroy Anderson's “Blue Tango”.  Besides Leroy, enjoy more fine period instrumentals with Ferrante and Teicher, Henry Mancini, and Herb Alpert.  Hear great show tunes with Vic Damone with a number from “West Side Story”, Robert Goulet with a song from “Porgy and Bess”, and Ella Fitzgerald with some playful Cole Porter music from “Gypsy”.  We'll team up Tony Bennett and Michael Buble with a popular Duke Ellington standard followed up with some lush music by Nat King Cole singing a song originally done by actress Judy Garland.  We'll track the song “There's a Kind of Hush” by Herman's Hermits, play a song heard in the film “Pinocchio” sung by Barbra Streisand from her first 1964 album, and listen to Steve Lawrence with his hit version of a Carole King song.  More from Vikki Carr, Eddie Fisher and Carly Simon.  Crank and enjoy.      

https://www.mixcloud.com/john-christopher10/the-neon-beat-show-62r6/?fbclid=IwAR19ZeemePsbL88e3Qz8VvLKDa6BVzSGYYiyCPgeaaFGqG405tYQHENhW18