Movies ‘Til Dawn

Here’s how weirdly tuned-in to each other YouTube and I are. Yesterday I posted a short musical variety film featuring a young Jack Ben...

Behold a very rare and significant MGM short film from 1929 called ‘The Song Writer’s Revue’. The film features a half-dozen songwriting legends–including Gus Edwards, Fred Fisher, Arthur Freed, Fred Ahlert and Nacio Herb Brown–sitting glumly at a clutch of grand pianos. Before playing examples...

Yesterday I posted a 1972 interview with songwriting great Harry Warren. Today let’s look backwards forty years from that time to 1933 and watch a Vitaphone “Pepper Pot...

In 1972, Ian Whitcomb–singer, songwriter, music historian and show-biz gadabout–interviewed the great songwriter Harry Warren. Above is fifteen minutes of that video and it’s a real delight. Warren tells stories in his off-the-cuff, gruff Brooklyn manner and plays and sings a few of his songs. ...

Have you ever heard Ira Gershwin speak? Neither had I. But here he is in 1970 chatting on a pre-recorded radio show, sounding out-of-breath and not exactly happy talking about the past. Still, labored though it is, this interview’s a valuable addition to any Gershwin affiicianado’s (spelling?) ...