Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #425
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 11/3/2002 9:52 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 425
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      What's a Nice Kid Like You; My Music  [ Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed] ]

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    Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 11:45:36 -0500
    From: Charlie Summers <charlie@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  What's a Nice Kid Like You; My Music Mentor

    WHAT'S A NICE KID LIKE [removed]

    by Sandy Singer

     ++++

    My Music Mentor

    I have played piano professionally since age 16.  That, and an idea my
    music teacher and I had, landed me my first staff job in 1949 -- a
    piano-playing disc jockey, mixing live and recorded music, at WEEK in Peoria,
    Illinois.

    In the early '40s, my dad turned me on to a piano player named Jimmy Blade, a
    wonderful musician, who, at one time, arranged for Freddy Martin, an
    orchestra famous for great keyboard players.  Jimmy did a nightly 15-minute
    show on WMAQ.  The first time I did a bit part on Jack Armstrong
    [Blue]I wandered over to NBC Studio A to meet Jimmy.  Our friendship grew
    from idol to teacher--he taught me how to create some amazing things on those
    88's.  Kleve Kirby, NBC staffer was the announcer on the Blade show.  One
    tragic day in the late '40s, Kleve and George Stone, another staffer, were
    riding in Kleve's Caddie convertible when the car went out of control on a
    curve--instantly killing Kleve and putting Stone in the hospital for months.
    Another staffer assumed the announcing duties on the Blade show--his name was
    Hugh Downs.

    Jan August--the 'piano magic' Miserlou sensation, made so by a 2-line plug in
    a Walter Winchell column, came to Chicago in 1947 to work the Sherman Hotel's
    main room, The College Inn.  He was already doing a show for Mutual,
    originating from New York.  When he arrived in Chicago, the show originated
    from the Tribune Tower.  Free-lance announcer Franklyn Ferguson, whom I first
    met on the Tom Mix show, and who became my mentor when Marvin Miller moved to
    Hollywood in 1944, was selected to announce the Chicago feed.  His voice was
    similar to Ken Roberts, who announced the show from New York.

    Jan did a thorough check of the pianos in every studio, before deciding on a
    Mason-Hamlin, and he clued me in on a 'magical' thing he had the piano tuner
    do.  The top 3 octaves were tuned just a tad sharp.  If you remember his
    style, he played the full length of the keyboard on some arrangements.  A
    very young and very pretty Monica Lewis was the vocalist on this show,
    sponsored by the Revere Camera Company.

    In 1950 I met another idol--Gordon Jenkins.  A New York cousin introduced me
    to Manhattan Tower in 1945, and I became an incurable Jenkins Junkie.  Gordy
    was on a promotion tour for Decca, and I happened to be on the air when he
    arrived at our studios. He thought the piano/record idea was the greatest
    thing since sliced bread--it started a really nice relationship, which lasted
    until his death in 1984.  His son, Bruce, a feature sportswriter for the San
    Francisco Chronicle, has just completed writing a book about Gordy, which
    will soon be published.

    I met Sinatra in 1957--Sinatra was not an idol, but, as I have said, I met
    most of the people who influenced my life at a very early age.

    - ------------------
    Sandy Signer's career started at the age of 12, as a child actor in
    Chicago, on radio's kid/adventure shows. His disc jockey work took him
    back to Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Dallas,  etc. He's been in
    broadcasting 59 years, and so, in his own words, "never 'worked' a
    day of my life."

    This article will be archived at:

    [removed]

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    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #425
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