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Save the Date! Soundies on TCM, Wednesday, September 21

Co-Hosting the 2nd Program of Soundies on TCM (Turner Classic Movies)

 

“Good-Nite All,” 1943, one of the Soundies I’ll introduce in the “Swing Music and Dance” program on September 21

Two weeks after our first set of Soundies programs on September 7 (see entry below), Dave Karger and I are back on Wednesday, September 21 with another night of Soundies paired with feature films.

At 8 p.m. Eastern time, we’ll start with “Soundies — Swing Music and Dance,” featuring classic Soundies by Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, the Charioteers, and more—including one of my favorites, “Good-Nite All,” followed by Jordan in “Reet, Petite and Gone” (1947).

At 9:30 p.m. Eastern, it’s “Soundies — Battle of the Band Leaders, Part Two,” with Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and yes, Lawrence Welk! Followed by “Cabin in the Sky” (1943).

At 11:30 p.m. Eastern, we’ll close with “Soundies — Joining the War Effort,” featuring Soundies by Doris Day, Louis Jordan, and some wonderful discoveries–including Toni Lane, who turns in a terrific performance on “When Hitler Kicks the Bucket.”

I hope you’ll mark your calendar and tune in for both evenings. For details, check the TCM monthly calendar in September. 

“Good-Nite All” (1943)
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Soundies Book Shortlisted for Leading Award in African American History & Culture

 

I’m thrilled to report that Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time has made the shortlist for the 2022 MAAH Stone Book Award.

Sponsored by the Museum of African American History Boston/Nantucket and the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation, the award “encourages scholarship and writing within the field of African American history and culture.” Now in its 5th year, it has quickly become the leading award in this subject area.

Chosen from 111 submissions, the shortlist includes 16 outstanding titles.  I’m honored that the Soundies book is among them.

The award winner and two finalists will be announced in October.

Soundies bookcover

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Live Screening & Presentation: Film Forum NYC

“Soundies: Glamour, Gender and A Little More Libido”

Ed Coleman of Day, Dawn, and Dusk in “Faust”

In celebration of Pride Month, on Monday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m., I’ll be at Film Forum with another program pulled from the full Soundies catalog—this one featuring films that play with and push back on stereotypes of women and the exclusionary, emphatically heterosexual culture of the World War II era. 

 

Along with early-career glimpses of Dorothy Dandridge, dancer Cyd Charisse, and Fantasy Island star Ricardo Montalban, the program spotlights Soundies performers who reflect a looser, more expansive vision of 1940s America—including vocal trio Day, Dawn, and Dusk, the fabulous De Castro Sisters, and “dance impersonator” Arica Wild.  Monday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Monday, JUNE 20 6:30pm
$9.00 Member
$15.00 Regular

BUY TICKETS

Film Forum

209 West Houston St. west of 6th Ave.
Map and Directions
Box Office: 212-727-8110