Sunday, April 5, 2015

Lost in 1939 and it's Eastertime too

April 1939 would have probably driven me slightly crazy as I waited to the New York World's Fair to open at the end of the month. Not that I would have gotten there opening day, but... come on, it's the World of Tomorrow. It was so futuristic that the opening was going to be covered on that newfangled television thing.

 
 
 

 

 
I could go on and on about that Fair. I'm a fan of such things. My father went to the '39 Fair. I suspect it was the only thing about New York that he ever liked. When I was a kid, I found his old picture puzzle displaying a map of the fair. Sadly, it was missing a few pieces. Dad didn't spend time talking about the past, and said he didn't remember much about it. He would have been 14 at the time. I went to the 1964 - 65 New York World's Fair on two different occasions. I was 13 and 14 at the time. Well, that is, as they say, another story. The main thing here is that it was Eastertime, 1939, and the World of Tomorrow was waiting. Well, okay, it always is, but the clouds on the horizon that time were getting very dark.

 


























 
This week's radio show played a few for April, Spring, Easter, and gave a nod to Passover with a sequence devoted to Yiddish swing. The old Philco tuned in a few clips from Eastertime 1939 before settling down to listen to Benny Goodman's Orchestra, joined by Martha Tilton and Johnny Mercer on the Camel Caravan originally broadcast on April the 4th, 1939. As it was on opposite Fibber McGee and Molly, anyone whose folks chose Fibber can finally catch up.
 
 
 


As always, I hope any listeners enjoy the show!