Beat the Band

Beat the Band

"Beat the Band" was a musical quiz show heard on NBC radio from 1940 to 1944 in two distinctly different series. The program popularized the show business catch phrase, "Give me a little traveling music," often uttered on TV a decade later by Jackie Gleason.

In the first series, broadcast on Sundays at 6:30pm from Chicago, emcee Garry Moore read music-related questions submitted by listeners to band members in the 14-piece Ted Weems Orchestra. Listeners who stumped the band received cash prizes. Questions were often posed in the form of puns or riddles. such as, "Suppose a small fur-bearing animal gets so angry he explodes. What song title is suggested?" The answer from comedian-violinist Red Ingle, "Pop Goes the Weasel." [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=SsBkAAAAMAAJ&q=%22beat+the+band%22&dq=%22beat+the+band%22&lr=&num=100&as_brr=0&pgis=1 DeLong, Thomas A. "Quiz Craze: America's Infatuation with Game Shows". Praeger, 1991] ]

The program's vocalists were Perry Como, Parker Gibbs and Marvel Maxwell. Other cast members included Country Washburne and Elmo Tanner, the Whistling Troubador. This series aired from January 28, 1940 to February 23, 1941.

Relocating to New York as a summer replacement for "The Red Skelton Show", the program began anew on June 15, 1943 with Raleigh Cigarettes as the sponsor (until June 1944). Music was supplied by the Harry Sosnik band. The first host of the second series was Hildegarde. After June 1944, the host was Eddie Mayehoff. The program came to an end on September 6, 1944.

Announcers were Marvin Miller and Tom Shirley. The program's theme music was "Out of the Night," composed by Harry Sosnik; and Walter Hirsch. The first version of this theme was by Weems and Hildegarde. The second version was performed by Sosnik.

Music was the basis for several quiz shows, such as "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge". [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=7PlkAAAAMAAJ&q=%22beat+the+band%22&dq=%22beat+the+band%22&lr=&num=100&as_brr=0&pgis=1 Buxton, Frank and Bill Owen. "The Big Broadcast, 1920-1950". Viking Press, 1972.] ]

References

Listen to

* [http://ia311338.us.archive.org/0/items/Hildegarde-LiliMarlene1944/Hildegarde-LiliMarlene1944_64kb.mp3 "Lili Marlene," Hildegarde (1944)]

External links

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=q0_sWHQoVG8C&pg=RA1-PA171&dq=weems+%22beat+the+band%22&lr=&num=100&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U158Ap6ve7qT5REia11ikm2vthnCg "That Toddlin' Town" by Charles A. Sengstock (2004)]


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  • beat the band — (informal) To be the best (esp in the phrase to beat the band so as to beat everything) • • • Main Entry: ↑band …   Useful english dictionary

  • beat the band — {adv. phr.}, {informal} At great speed; with much noise or commotion. Used after to . * /The fire engines were going down the road to beat the band./ * /The audience cheered and stamped and clapped to beat the band./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • beat the band — {adv. phr.}, {informal} At great speed; with much noise or commotion. Used after to . * /The fire engines were going down the road to beat the band./ * /The audience cheered and stamped and clapped to beat the band./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • beat\ the\ band — adv. phr. informal At great speed; with much noise or commotion. Used after to . The fire engines were going down the road to beat the band. The audience cheered and stamped and clapped to beat the band …   Словарь американских идиом

  • to beat the band — informal in such a way as to surpass all competition they were talking to beat the band * * * to beat the band US informal : in a very forceful or obvious way He was snoring to beat the band. [=he was snoring very loudly] • • • Main Entry: ↑band… …   Useful english dictionary

  • to\ beat\ the\ band — adv. phr. informal At great speed; with much noise or commotion. Used after to . The fire engines were going down the road to beat the band. The audience cheered and stamped and clapped to beat the band …   Словарь американских идиом

  • to beat the band — mod. very hard and very fast. □ He’s selling computers to beat the band since he started advertising. □ She worked to beat the band to get ready for this …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • to beat the band informal, — to beat the band informal, chiefly N. Amer. so as to surpass all competition. → beat …   English new terms dictionary

  • to beat the band — phrasal in a very energetic or forceful manner < talking away to beat the band > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • to beat the band — adverb Very vigorously; at a frantic pace; to a high degree; in large quantities. Fifty dollars gold d buy beer to beat the band enough to drown me if I fell in head first. Syn: a lot …   Wiktionary

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