This was the music I chose for my 5:30-10 a.m. shift on this day 20 years ago:
1. A Sleepin' Bee (Live)-Phil Woods
(A classy, uptempo version, with Woods taking the lead on sax. If you prefer a vocal rendition, Johnny Hartman's cover should do the trick.)
2. In The Blue Of Evening-Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra
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3. In The Still Of The Night-The Five Satins
4. Unchained Melody-The Righteous Brothers
5. I'm Old-Fashioned-Fred Astaire
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6. Moonlight In Vermont-Billy Butterfield and his orchestra
7. Moonlight Becomes You-Mary Cleere Haran
(Some segues almost program themselves.)
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8. Star Eyes-Charlie Parker
(One of Parker's best uptempo sax melodies, in my opinion.)
9. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To-Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster
10. Only 'Cause I Don't Have You-Harry Connick, Jr.
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11. Autumn Leaves-Roger Williams
12. Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me-Nat King Cole Trio
(Pure elegance. Vocals are seldom smoother or classier than Cole's are on this tune.)
13. You Stepped Out Of A Dream-Johnny Mathis/Henry Mancini
(Also recommended: John Pizzarelli's version.)
14. This Magic Moment-Jay & The Americans
(This hit is from 1969, although it sounds as though it would have been at home on the charts during the mid to late '50s.)
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15. Classical Gas-Mason Williams
16. Winchester Cathedral-New Vaudeville Band
17. Johnny's Theme ("The Tonight Show" Theme)-The Tonight Show Band/Doc Severinsen
(One of the safest big band choices for a mainstream audience.)
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18. Samantha-Sammy Nestico
(I played bass on this beautiful ballad with my high school jazz band. Although I was glad to provide rhythmic support on the piece, it was one of those times when I also wished I played the saxophone.)
19. Count Every Star-Ray Anthony and his orchestra
20. It's A Big, Wide, Wonderful World-Buddy Clark
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21. Do You Know The Way To San Jose?-Dionne Warwick
(Tales about leaps of faith are rarely this tuneful, and they rarely sound this pleasant.)
22. Everybody's Boppin'-Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
(As impressive as the trio's fast-as-humanly-possible enunciating is, it would be ill-advised to set a metronome for this tempo. It might well break after clicking out a tune this brisk.)
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23. Just A Sittin' And A Rockin'-Scott Hamilton
24. Rockin' In Rhythm-Duke Ellington
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25. All The Way-Lena Horne
26. Mack The Knife-Ella Fitzgerald
(Bobby Darin takes the edge off of the tune's ominous lyrics; so does Fitzgerald.)
27. You Send Me-Sam Cooke
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28. Our Day Will Come-Ruby & The Romantics
(I always thought this was always an appealing vocal choice for WEW. Does anyone else hear the quirky segue potential with Miss Li's "Bourgeois Shangri-La" that I hear?)
29. Midnight Blue-Melissa Manchester
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30. There Goes That Song Again-Russ Morgan and his orchestra
31. I'm Sitting On Top Of The World-Les Paul & Mary Ford
32. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy-Bette Midler
(Not a track I'd choose for listening on my own time, but I remembered how well the girls in my high school's swing choir sang it. I imagined a large percentage of the audience knew the tune, as well, so it deserved the air time.)
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33. Paradise-Nat King Cole (*)
34. Someone To Watch Over Me-Linda Ronstadt & The Nelson Riddle Orchestra
(I'm certain that I could have chosen any Ronstadt interpretation of any great American songbook tune, without even hearing it first, and it would have segued gracefully with whatever I'd played before it.)
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35. What A Wonderful World-Louis Armstrong
36. Comes Love-Billie Holiday
37. Turn Around, Look At Me-The Vogues
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38. I Think I Got It-Nat Adderley Septet
(This tune, and this ensemble, should be better known. Talk about a synchronicity between players...)
39. I Wonder Why-Louis Bellson
40. Whipped Cream-Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
41. Goin' Out Of My Head-Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
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42. Harlem Nocture-Les Brown
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43. C'est La Vie-Sarah Vaughan
44. Love Won't Let Me Wait-Nancy Wilson
45. Skating-Vince Guaraldi Trio
(Out of season, admittedly, but still a beautiful piano melody that one can't hear too often.)
46. Promises, Promises-The Jazz Crusaders
(This would be a fun rendition for a trombonist to tackle.)
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47. Tuxedo Junction-The Manhattan Transfer
48. Sophisticated Swing-Michael Feinstein
49. Angel Eyes-The Four Freshmen with The Stan Kenton Orchestra
50. Busted-Ray Charles
(This tune isn't usually played on the air today, but its melody stays with you.)
51. 26 Miles (Santa Catalina)-The 4 Preps
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52. Beyond The Sea-Bobby Darin
53. Sleepy Time Gal-Glen Gray (*)
54. On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)-Robert Goulet
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55. They Can't Take That Away From Me-Tony Bennett
56. (CLOSING THEME) Closing Time-Tom Waits
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(*) indicates a listener's request.
--- indicates a short break for a slogan and time check or a longer break for back announcing the music.
