News

Ted Fio Rito band leader, composer and pianist, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist in a 1934 Cocoanut Grove radio transcription. Read story, play list, watch Cocoanut Grove videos and listen to show here.

Leith Stevens is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Leith Stevens was a composer and music director. He worked on 1930s radio series like ‘Saturday Night Swing Club’,  film scores like the 1953 Brando classic, ‘The Wild Ones’, and 1960s TV including ‘Mission Impossible’. Read his story, watch videos, see playlist and listen to show here…

Charlie Parker is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Charlie Parker was an influential alto sax soloist and key in the development of bebop. He said that he spent three to four years practicing up to 15 hours a day in the mid-1930s. And it was while practicing and experimenting on his alto sax in 1939 that he created his unique sound. Read his story, watch videos, see playlist and listen to show here…

Mabel King, r’n’b singer, actor in film, TV and Broadway is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read her story, watch videos, see playlist and listen to show here…

The Rivoli is an immersive dance hall meets dance theatre performance with The Dancemakers’ Collective and the Greg Poppleton 1920s-30s Trio

21st birthday wishes to XX who has booked Greg Poppleton, 1920s-30s singer and jazz band to play for their 21st birthday party today.

Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor, influential 1940s jump and 1950s rock tenor saxophonist, is this week’s Phantom Dancer non-stop swing jazz feature artist. You’ll hear him from two 1956 Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party broadcasts on this week’s mix.

1920s-30s singer Greg Poppleton returned for the 2022 Great Art Deco Ball, an all-dancing 1920s party!

The Ahad Duo, 1920s-30s Sydney Hawaiian Duo, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read their story, watch videos, see playlist and listen to show here…

Jazz at The Pines, the much-loved monthly jazz picnic, returns to Dural after being put on pause due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Ticket prices are still the same as they were in 2018! Jazz at the Pines in October features Greg Poppleton’s 1920s-30s Music.

Bob Crosby is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Also hear Cab Calloway, Afro-Cuban Machito, Women in Jazz and WW2 Russian swing. Read his story, watch videos, see playlist and listen to show here…

Teddy Powell (Teodoro Paolella) is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. For a few weeks in 1939 he lead one of the most popular big bands in swing. Read his story, watch videos, see playlist and listen to show here…

Buddy Clark, 1930s singer and plane enthusiast who died in a plane crash on an LA street is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read his story, watch videos, see playlist and listen to show here…

Margaret Whiting, singer and cabaret coach is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read her story, watch videos, see playlist & listen to show here…

Rare 1920s radio is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read the story of these radio experiments, watch videos, see the play list and listen to the show here…

Women jazz and swing musicians, radio announcers and singers from live 1930s-50s radio are this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artists for International Women’s Day. Read their story, watch videos, see the play list and listen to the show here…

We’re in this year’s Zelda, the annual glossy about what matters in Vintage Nouveau in the USA. Get your copy for only $US7.50 here…

One hour concert of 1920s-30s songs, Wayside Chapel, Bondi, Wednesday 18 May. Free, but bookings are essential!

Rosemary Clooney, 1950s pop star and post 60s jazz singer had an incredible voice despite heavy smoking which finally made the end of her life painful before killing her.

Shuffle Rhythm is featured on this week’s Phantom Dancer with 1944-45 broadcasts by Henry Busse and Jan Savitt

The Rivoli 10th April with The Dancemakers’ Collective and the Greg Poppleton Trio (Greg Poppleton 1920s vocals, Grahame Conlon guitar and banjo, Cazzbo Johns sousaphone), a hit of the 2020 Sydney Festival, comes to beautifully restored Art Deco Malachi Gilmore Hall in Oberon.

The Rivoli 9th April with The Dancemakers’ Collective and the Greg Poppleton Trio (Greg Poppleton 1920s vocals, Grahame Conlon guitar and banjo, Cazzbo Johns sousaphone), a hit of the 2020 Sydney Festival, comes to beautifully restored Art Deco Malachi Gilmore Hall in Oberon.

Les Paul and Mary Ford are this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artists. Les was a jazz guitarist. Mary was a country guitarist. Together, they pioneered multitracking and had a string of hits in the 1950s. Read their story, watch videos, see the play list and listen to the show here…

Clifford Brown is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. Clifford Brown was an outstanding jazz trumpeter who in a career spanning only a few years became a jazz sensation. See playlist, story, watch Clifford Brown videos, hear show here

Don Redman is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Don Redman was a U.S jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer. The inventor of swing. Hear him in a rare, static-filled 1933 home radio disc recording. Read his story, watch videos, see the play list and listen to the show here…

Dinah Washington, The Queen of the Blues, the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. Read the story and play list, see videos, hear the radio show here

Meredith Willson, this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist, was a piccolo and flute virtuoso who played in John Philip Sousa’s band, the New York Philharmonic under Arturo Toscanini, composed popular music and 3 Broadway shows including ‘The Music Man’, was a two time Academy Award nominee, wrote three books and conducted the Armed Forces Radio Service Orchestra during WW2. Read his story, watch videos, see the play list and listen to the show here…

Med School dropout Eddy Howard, singer, band leader and composer of ‘Careless’ (his theme song), ‘If I Knew Then’, ‘My Last Goodbye’, and ‘A Million Years Ago’, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read his story, watch videos, see the play list and listen to the show here…

Cocoanut Grove 1934 radio features on this week’s Phantom Dancer with band leader Ted Fio Rito. Read the Cocoanut Grove story, play list, watch Cocoanut Grove videos and listen to show here.

Yao Lee, Hong Kong’s Patti Page is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Her most famous song opens this week’s Phantom Dancer. The first hour for the national show then continues with a mix of swing by Harry James, vocals by Giselle McKenzie, Rhythm and Blues from a 1951 radio aircheck, and live radio hard bop by Miles Davis and John Coltrane aired in 1958.

1920s 1930s Jazz Swing Songs by Greg Poppleton. Enjoy this 53 minute YouTube mix of 1920s – 1930s jazz swing songs. It’s mixed from six albums by Australian 1920s-30s singer, Greg Poppleton.

1958 New Years radio and TV features in the first (nationally networked) part of this week’s Phantom Dancer. See 1958 New Year videos from NY, London and Bucharest. Listen to the show here…

Christmas songs and Christmas themed 1930s-50s radio features in the first (nationally networked) part of this week’s Phantom Dancer. Listen to the show here…

Little Jack Little is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Born John Leonard
in London, he was a British-born American composer, singer, pianist, actor and songwriter. Read his story, see videos and play list, and listen to the show here…

Honoured to have been invited to be part of this international Christmas song with high profile singers from around the world.

Gogo DeLys, Canadian band singer in the US and actor, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Read her story, see videos and play list, and listen to the show here…

Hotel Astor in New York City, the source of many a big band broadcast on The Phantom Dancer is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. Starting in the 1910s, the Astor Bar acquired a reputation as a gay meeting place, where gay patrons were both accepted and extorted. Read the story, see videos and play list, and hear show here…

Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. It was a collective that was the top swing band before Benny Goodman. Loved for its complex, danceable arrangements, Coleman Hawkins named it as his favourite band. Read their story, see videos and play list, and hear show here…

Ray Miller, popular 1920s band leader and tromobonist, whose jazz band was the first to play at the White House (in 1924) is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. See story, videos, play list and show here.

Garwood Van, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. Songwriter of ‘Time to Dream’ and dance band leader from 1936, Garwood Van also was an actor in ‘Love on Tap’ (1939).. Read his story, see videos and play list, and hear show here…

Coon-Sanders Nightwaks from 1929 radio is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. Read the story, see videos, read play list and hear show here…

2SER is the place where so many amazing things happen! It’s the place where we share incredible music. Subscribe to 2SER and be in the draw for major prizes on Week 2 of the 2SER radiothon…

2SER is the place where so many amazing things happen! It’s the place where we share incredible music. Subscribe to 2SER and be in the draw for major prizes on this week’s 2SER radiothon…

Steel Guitar in 1930s-40s German Pop music, off radio and recordings, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. Read the story, see videos, read play list and hear show here…

Southern Louisiana music, off the radio is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. You’ll hear Cajun and New Orleans jazz from 1950s and 60 radio. Read the story, see Hal Kemp videos, read play list and hear show here…

Dinah Washington, The Queen of the Blues, the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. Read the story and play list, see videos, hear the radio show here

Clifford Brown is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature. Clifford Brown was an outstanding jazz trumpeter who in a career spanning only a few years became a jazz sensation. See playlist, story, watch Clifford Brown videos, hear show here

Shuffle Rhythm is featured on this week’s Phantom Dancer with 1944-45 broadcasts by Henry Busse and Jan Savitt