The music I played on WEW 770 AM from 6 to 10 a.m. 20 years ago today:
1. Three Little Words-Nat King Cole
2. The Trolley Song-The Pied Pipers
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3. Dream A Little Dream Of Me-Dean Martin
4. I'll Buy That Dream-Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
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5. What A Wonderful World-Louis Armstrong
(Two former co-workers used to break into the first verse of this at unexpected intervals. Hearing the tune that way brought home how difficult it is to sing with Armstrong's sincerity.)
6. I'm In The Mood For Love-Erroll Garner
7. Here's That Rainy Day-Tony Bennett
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8. Samantha-Sammy Nestico
9. Jessica-Dave Evans
(I was determined to find a place for this on the air, as it's one of the most beautiful guitar instrumentals I've ever heard. Of all the tunes I brought in from home for WEW, this is possibly my favorite. It sounds as though it should be played by an out-of-the-way brook in a park...)
10. Frangenti-Nashville Mandolin Ensemble
(...and it segues seamlessly with this tempo and instrumentation.)
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11. Maybe You'll Be There-Gordon Jenkins and his orchestra
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12. My Foolish Heart-Charlie Watts Quintet with Bernard Fowler
(If you like this, you might also enjoy this combo's version of "Bewitched.")
13. Love Walked In-Diane Schuur
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14. Sentimental Journey-Les Brown and his orchestra with Doris Day
(Almost any version of this is a safe choice for this format.)
15. Because You're Mine-Kitty Kallen
16. How Deep Is The Ocean?-Michele Shaheen
(Shaheen was one of the most obscure artists in the station's CD library. Considering her vocal talents, her work should have a wider audience.)
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17. So Near And Yet So Far-Mary Cleere Haran
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18. Save The Last Dance For Me-The Drifters
19. For All We Know-Dexter Gordon
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20. Jingle Jangle Jingle-Kay Kyser and his orchestra
21. Speak Low-Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
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22. Moonlight In Vermont-Billy Butterfield and his orchestra with Margaret Whiting
(As with "Sentimental Journey," just about any version of this is a safe choice for this format.)
23. I'll Be Seeing You-Johnny Mathis
(As with "Sentimental Journey" and "Moonlight In Vermont...")
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24. All The Way-Keely Smith
25. Them There Eyes-Anita O'Day
26. Chicago-Count Basie & Tony Bennett
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27. Stop Me Leading Me On-Joey DeFrancesco
28. Moondance-Michael Feinstein
29. Ray's Rockhouse (Live)-The Manhattan Transfer
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30. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea-Stan Kenton
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31. Release Me-Engelbert Humperdinck (*)
32. Melody Of Love-Billy Vaughn and his orchestra
33. Chiquita-Richard Clayderman
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34. Body And Soul-Coleman Hawkins and his orchestra
(As with "Sentimental Journey," "Moonlight In Vermont," and "I'll Be Seeing You...")
35. Moon River-Vince Guaraldi Trio
(As with "Sentimental Journey," "Moonlight In Vermont," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "Body And Soul...")
36. They Can't Take That Away From Me-John Pizzarelli
37. Blue Light, Red Light-Harry Connick, Jr.
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38. In My Life-The Beatles
(It was a pleasure to pair a song about appreciating life...)
39. The House You Live In-Gordon Lightfoot
(...with a song about how to live.)
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40. Jitterbug Waltz-Renee Rosnes Trio with string orchestra
(For an especially elegant jitterbug...)
41. Romance A La Mode-Fats Waller
42. Ebb Tide-Frank Sinatra
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43. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis-Ray McKinley
(One of the catchiest tunes from the '40s I ever played on WEW and a cool way to kick off a dance set.)
44. Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha-Sam Cooke
(The more I hear this, the more I'm convinced that it would segue with Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want.")
45. Blue Tango-Leroy Anderson
46. Begin The Beguine-Les Brown
47. Summer Samba-Walter Wanderley
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48. Rose Room-Ray Anthony
49. Skyliner-Doc Severinsen & The Tonight Show Band
50. And The Angels Sing-Barry Manilow
51. The Gypsy In My Soul-Melissa Manchester
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52. The Very Thought Of You-Natalie Cole
53. (CLOSING THEME) Closing Time-Tom Waits
(For me, "Closing Time" was especially appropriate on this day in 1996. It was my last day on WEW before going full-time at my other job. I thoroughly enjoyed choosing music for my on-air shifts, so in retrospect, I wish I'd stayed around. Nevertheless, I'm thankful for the time I had at WEW and all other radio stations where I've worked.)
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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.
