麻豆约拍

Much of this week's show is taken up with the 80th anniversary of the demise of one of 20th century music's tragic legends, Bix Beiderbecke, but Russell opens with a review of a new release by songstress Rebecca Kilgore.

Her opening song was written for a man and this leads to a Paul Whiteman recording with Bix at the height of his brief powers, featuring a young Bing Crosby in a song written for a girl! More on Bix, heard not long before his death on a session organised by his pal, songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. Russell then plays Hoagy's most famous song, Stardust, noting the Beiderbecke influence.

A topic from last week, that of songwriter Joe Verges, brings two old tunes in versions by Phil Harris and Dinah Shore and this leads to Verges' fellow New-Orleanian, Nick Clesi and another oldie, resurrected in the 60s by Connie Francis - I'm Sorry I Made You Cry.

More Becky Kilgore, more Bix and the old vaudevillian singer Billy Murray directs us to John McCormack who, unlike Murray, survived the transition from acoustic to electric recording. The Irish connection leads to an Allan Sherman send-up before final thoughts of Bix bring us Sue Raney's When Your Lover Has Gone and Bix's very last recording - Bessie Couldn't Help It.