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Russell Davies

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Russell Davies celebrates the art, craft and inspiration of the popular song

Russell Davies: 26/09/2010

26/09/2010

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Russell Davies, 26/09/2010

Russell Davies celebrates the art, craft and inspiration of the popular song.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the Blitz, Russell plays music from the era, including songs by Dame Vera Lynn and Teddy Grace.

The date of this show prompts much of the music, including the 70th anniversary of the Blitz, which reminds us of Dame Vera Lynn's morale-boosting during the war. We hear one of her signature songs. 

On this day in 1940, singer Teddy Grace made her last recording - we hear it and Russell tells the story, as he does for the next recording, a famous Perry Como one, cut on this day in 1950. As was Ella Fitzgerald's infamous Santa Got Stuck in My Chimney. We don't hear this one but it does lead to a sequence of chimney-related songs from Bob Crosby and Marion Mann, John Sheridan and Rebecca Kilgore, Tommy Dorsey and Jack Leonard and - obliquely - Allan Sherman.

One of the chimney songs (Smoke from a Chimney) was written by Peter De Rose and Billy Hill and Russell explores more of their partnership through a Jim Reeves recording of their Have You Ever Been Lonely. The conflating of Jim Reeves' name with that of the next artist, Vic Damone brings us to comedian Vic Reeves, soon to be starring opposite Victoria Wood in a film about Morecambe and Wise; an excuse for their 'Boom Oo Yata-Ta-Ta'.

Responses to listeners' interest in previous shows provides singing bassist Nicola Farnon, the date, once again, leads back to The Comedian Harmonists and we close with a final further nod to Billy Hill though his The Glory of Love.

Amazing music. Played by an amazing line up.

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26/09/2010

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