 | SOUNDTRACKING Dream Lucky by Roxane Orgill! Soundtracking is a weekly column featuring indie, alternative, and all around amazing music - published by music correspondent Laura Cushing on Gather.com. Soundtracking includes interviews, CD reviews, band and concert news, music trivia, playlists and much more!
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This week on Soundtracking: Dream Lucky by Roxane Orgill!
Usually we don't cover books here in Soundtracking, but this is a book about music - about radio in 1936-1938; about Count Basie and Benny Goodman. This book is about the time when swing was king, and every household had a radio that was tuned in to the all the things that mattered in the world - good music, sports, news, and fine entertainments such as the Shadow, Burns and Allen, and Amos and Andy. The style in which the book is written is musical in itself - you feel like you can really hear the sounds of swing, the disappointed cries that sound in the streets of Harlem when Joe Lewis loses a fight.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves music and/or history. Not only do we learn about Count Basie and Benny Goodman, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb, but we also learn about the times in which they lived and the people making history within those times- FDR and Eleanor, Amelia Earhart, Joe Lewis, Langston Hughes, Adam Clayton Powell, and Orson Welles all make appearances in this book.
I've put together a music and a video playlist so you can experience some of what is covered in this wonderful book. On the music playlist you will find Basie and Benny, Ella and Billy, Chick and Cab... on the video playlist you'll see Roosevelt giving a fireside chat, the Jack Benny radio show, an Amos and Andy cartoon, mini documentaries on Eleanor Roosevelt and Adam Clayton Powell. You'll hear the powerfully moving voice of Langston Hughes reading and explaining some of his most famous poetry. You can hear some episodes of the Shadow, and watch Joe Lewis in his big fight. There's also some live recordings of swing.
CLICK HERE TO LOAD Dream Lucky Music and Video Playlist - opens in a new window!
About Dream Lucky:
The time: 1936-1938. The mood: Hopeful. It wasn't wartime, not yet. The music: The incomparable Count Basie and Benny Goodman, among others. The setting: Living rooms across America and, most of all, New York City.
Dream Lucky covers politics, race, religion, arts, and sports, but the central focus is the period's soundtrack—specifically big band jazz—and the big-hearted piano player William "Count" Basie. His ascent is the narrative thread of the book—how he made it and what made his music different from the rest. But many other stories weave in and out: Amelia Earhart pursues her dream of flying "around the world at its waistline." Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., stages a boycott on 125th Street. And Mae West shocks radio listeners as a naked Eve tempting the snake.
Browse inside the bookGather articles on Dream Lucky
About Roxane Orgill:
Roxane Orgill is the author of a number of notable books for children and young adults, including the recent Footwork: The Story of Fred and Adele Astaire. She has also been an award-winning music critic whose reviews and articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Billboard. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Connect to Roxane Orgill on Gather
Articles by Roxane Orgill on Gather
Visit Roxane Orgill's website
Dream Lucky live chat with author Roxane Orgill
Join me on Friday, May 30th at 3 pm EST for your chance to chat live with author Roxane Orgill! Ask Roxane your questions here on Gather! More details to be announced later this week!
Have you read Dream Lucky? What is your favorite jazz or swing song? Do you have a favorite old-time radio program? Drop a comment and let us know!
CLICK HERE TO LOAD Dream Lucky Music and Video Playlist - opens in a new window!
VIDEO PLAYLIST!
I'm trying out a new feature by including a video playlist along with the usual music playlist. Please let me know if this feature works for you, and if you'd like to see more of it in future Soundtracking columns.
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Soundtracking
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| Laura Cushing, Music Correspondent - Soundtracking | ||||
Laura's column, 'Soundtracking' is published every Saturday in Gather Essentials:Music. Soundtracking is your guide to indie, alternative, and all-around-amazing music -- featuring musician interviews, CD reviews, MP3 mixes, and discussions. Laura Cushing is a 37 year old writer from the New Jersey Pines. In addition to music journalism, she writes fiction and poetry. Keep up with Laura's music series by joining her network, or subscribing to her content. | ||||
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Comments: 20
Your play list is amazing! Thanks.
Learning about Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb; and also learning about the times in which they lived and the people making history within those times- FDR and Eleanor, Amelia Earhart, Joe Lewis, Langston Hughes, Adam Clayton Powell, and Orson Welles all make this book by Roxane Orgill a MUST READ, as you've so nicely mentioned in this Article Laura.
I know Roxane thanks you for this. WE thank you for sharing this wonderful work with us.
Blessings ~
Rene