The Importance Big Band Music

Some years ago I was a radio announcer on an easy listening station. Our music was soft music from artists like Henry Mancini, Ray Coniff, Perry Como, etc. I came up with the idea to make my mid morning show, ( Nine AM to Noon ), all big band music, and play it one day a week on Wednesdays. The show, which I called ' The Big Bandwagon ' , took off. In three weeks the ratings had climbed way up for Wednesday mornings. So management asked if I would play Big Band all week long. Suddenly, I was flooded with phone calls and letters as to why a baby boomer like big band music. I decided to answer that question on the air. The following was my response:
People have called and asked me why did I like big band music and Here is my answer. I remember growing up on our farm where the only source of entertainment we had in our house was our big Zenith console radio. Mom would do her housework, keep an eye on me while listening to this music, and the old red head, Arthur Godfrey; and I remember listening to shows like, ' Sky King, The Lone Ranger, and Captain midnight '.
When we got our first television and I finally got to see those heroes I'd listened to on the radio and then I was seeing on that black and white screen, disappointed me. Not one of them were as I had imagined. The magic was gone. That was my first experience with progress. Everybody over forty can talk about the good old days and I'm no different in that respect. Back then, I was too young to understand all the problems my parents faced. I do remember several good things, like, we never locked our doors, or took the keys out of our cars; and when we moved into town, I could wander all over the neighborhood with my friends without worry about being abducted or eaten alive by somebody's guard dog. Holidays were special then too. At Christmas time caroler came to our door, young kids from Sunday school. And on Halloween night every kid big enough to carry a grocery sack was out knocking on doors. Our parents weren't concerned about our safety. They knew our neighbors would look out for us.
Courtesy was present then too, because I remember going into stores and purchasing items and having the clerk count the change back and thanking me for my business. Or, while riding in a funeral procession, having total strangers pull over, get out of their cars, and take off their hats as we passed by.
Oh, I know today's world offers so much of everything. Why in medicine and Communications alone the progress is absolutely amazing. But, I remember when Doctors came to your house; sometimes in the middle of the night, bringing that little black bag with medicine to make you feel better. And I remember telephones that didn't have dials or a touch pad. When you picked up the receiver there was a real live operator on the other end to place your call.
Okay, I know I'm harping on something long gone and I'll never see again but for all the advances in technology it doesn't half amount to what we've lost. Yes, our world is shrinking, and we've grown apart in order to attain it. We've become so sophisticated and preoccupied with ourselves that we can come home, turn on the six O'clock news and learn about a neighbor living just down the street, facing a crisis and hearing it from a stranger on a TV screen. That's progress.
So what does all this have to do with the music I play? Nothing; and everything. I hope I'm never too old to remember my parents grew up in a terrible depression, with many of their generation dying in a world war. But, aside from all the problems their generation faced, there was a commitment, everyone was in it together, and it was big band music I like to think helped pull them through.
What I'm saying is all those old songs bring back so many memories, to so many people and if it brings a little happiness then I've accomplished what I've set out to do.