© 2024 WLRH All Rights Reserved
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Brass, Reeds, and Percussion: November 11, 2023 (Veterans Day)

The Veterans Day edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion salutes our veterans with the “St. Louis Blues March” made famous during WW II by the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. First, we’ll hear a 1922 recording of the “St. Louis Blues,” written by Alabama’s very own W. C. Handy and performed by his Memphis Blues Band. Then we’re going to hear the 1947 hit version recorded by Tex Beneke and His Orchestra. Finally, we’ll hear the stereo version of the march from the 1954 movie The Glenn Miller Story. The “St. Louis Blues,” by the way, is one of the most recorded tunes in the history of making recordings!

  1. Liberty Fanfare
    Composer:  John Williams (1932- )
    Performer:  U.S. Navy Band
    Album:  Victory at Sea
      
  2. St. Louis Blues (1922 recording)
    Composer:  W. C. Handy (1873-1958)
    Performer:  W. C. Handy's Memphis Blues Band
    Album:  W. C. Handy's Memphis Blues Band
      
  3. St. Louis Blues March (1947 recording)
    Composer:  W. C. Handy
    Performer:  Tex Beneke & His Orchestra
    Album:  Nipper's Greatest Hits: The 40's, Vol. 2
      
  4. St. Louis Blues March (1954 recording)
    Composer:  W. C. Handy, arranged by Henry Mancini
    Performer:  Universal International Orchestra
    Album:  Sound Track from "Glenn Miller Story"
      
  5. American Patrol (1885)
    Composer:  Frank W. Meacham (1856-1909)
    Performer:  Universal International Orchestra
    Album:  Sound Track from "Glenn Miller Story"
      
  6. Duty, Honor, Country
    Composer:  Gen. Douglas MacArthur (words, 1880-1964) and Harold Walters (music, 1918-1984)
    Performer:  U.S. Army Band
    Album:  Hero for Today
      
  7. Yankee Doodle
    Composer:   Traditional, arranged by Roland Smeets
    Performer:  Royal Belgian Navy Band
    Album:  Spanish Trilogy
      
  8. Columbia, Gem of the Ocean (1843)
    Composer:  Thomas A'Becket, Sr. (1808-1890)
    Performer:  U.S. Navy Band Great Lakes
    Album:  Patriotic Music to Inspire and Uplift
      
  9. Columbia, Gem of the Ocean (1950 recording)
    Composer:  Thomas A'Becket, Sr. (1808-1890)
    Performer:  Les Brown & His Orchestra
    Album:  Best of the Rare Les Brown & His Orchestra
      
  10. Army Goes Rolling Along
    Composer:   General Edmund Gruber (1879-1941) & H. W. Arberg (lyrics)
    Performer:  California Wind Orchestra
    Album:  Slice of America
      
  11. Anchors Aweigh
    Composer:  Charles A. Zimmerman (1861-1916)
    Performer:  California Wind Orchestra
    Album:  Slice of America
      
  12. Marines Hymn
    Composer:  Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
    Performer:  California Wind Orchestra
    Album:  Slice of America
      
  13. Air Force Song (Wild Blue Yonder)
    Composer:  Robert Crawford (1899-1961)
    Performer:  California Wind Orchestra
    Album:  Slice of America
      
  14. Semper Paratus
    Composer:  F. S. van Boskerck (1868-1927)
    Performer:  California Wind Orchestra
    Album:  Slice of America
      
  15. Heave Ho! My lads, Heave Ho
    Composer:  Jack Lawrence (1912-2009)
    Performer:  U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band
    Album:  Early Light
      
  16. Song of the Seabees
    Composer:  Sam Lewis (lyrics, 1885-1959) & Peter DeRose (music, 1896-1953)
    Performer:  U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band
    Album:  Early Light
      
  17. March of the Women Marines (1943)
    Composer:  Louis Saverino (1915-2003)
    Performer:  U.S. Navy Band
    Album:  Three Hit Albums from the U.S. Military Bands
      
Born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1951, John moved to Huntsville in 1975, where he worked for a communications training firm. From 1997 to 2022, John worked for the Lanier Ford law firm. During his tenure, He served as Lanier Ford's law librarian, marketing specialist, trainer, and professional recruiter. While in college and law school, John worked in professional radio in Starkville and Oxford, Mississippi.