Count Basie and his Orchestra “Air Mail Special”
The Count Basie orchestra appears in only two SOUNDIES, which is unusual since four film shorts was standard practice for this period. Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder and others all appeared in four-SOUNDIE sessions. Perhaps the band was too expensive to appear in two additional films; the band’s popularity was certainly not an issue, nor was the cost of clearing the two songs, $75, versus a 5 cent per print royalty, pretty much the same for all songs used in SOUNDIES.
Count Basie and his Orchestra featuring Jimmy Rushing “Take Me Back, Baby”
Most of us, I presume, would prefer straight ahead musical presentations on screen: show me the band, give me some close ups of the soloists and vocalist, don’t mess with my music. A SOUNDIES reel, on the other hand, required variety. Unfettered band performances were rare indeed. One of the most common variations in presentation […]