During the mid-thirties, a new kind of music burst onto the scene. Swing was born! Like rock and roll in the fifties, swing was the anthem for the youth of pre-world war II America. Glen Gray, Benny Goodman, Bunny Berigan, Duke Ellington and a host of others had the kids "dancing in the aisles" in theatres all over America. In 1936, the Columbia Broadcasting System began broadcasting "The Saturday Night Swing Club," a thirty minute program that showcased the talents of practically every jazz and swing great. Many were skeptical about this "new" music and practiced that it was just another passing fancy.
On June 12, 1937, the first anniversary of The Saturday Night Swing Club aired at midnight and was expanded to ninety minutes. The roster of entertainment was awesome by any standard. In honor of the grand event a short wave broadcast featuring Stephane Grappelly and Django Reinhardt was beamed from Montmartre, Paris, to the studios in New York City, with commentary by the legendary Edward R. Murrow. No stops were pulled, no expenses were spared to give all the swing club fans an evening to remember.
What you hold in your hands is the entire uncut broadcast of that historic event. Now without further adieu: "This session of the Saturday Night Swing Club has come to order."
