In 1943 the Armed Forces Radio Service began transmitting programs that linked the thousands of American military personnel and civilians stationed overseas to the United States. This definitive study provides discographical data for the first 1,000 recordings of the AFRS Basic Musical Library, P (Popular) Series. This series of recordings of popular, jazz, and classical music constituted a permanent music library at every military radio station and allowed AFRS personnel at the numerous broadcast facilities around the world to act as disc jockeys, playing the most popular and requested songs and artists for their audiences--principally American GIs. Some of the many orchestras and singers represented in the collection include Bing Crosby, Harry James, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, the Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra, and Peggy Lee. The sources of the recordings were variable and included commercial recordings (occasionally alternate takes) principally from Columbia, Decca, and Victor; radio broadcasts (often from dress rehearsals); concerts; and AFRS's own recording sessions. Larry F. Kiner and Harry Mackenzie have meticulously and comprehensively researched the AFRS files to produce this first complete listing of these recordings and their compilation is also the first to identify the many commercial record issues that have been derived from the series. Following the introduction that advises readers how to use the book and also explains its format and abbreviations, the 1,000-entry discography begins. Each entry lists the AFRS Basic Musical Library P Series catalog number; the matrix number; take number as shown on the ARFS label; song title; artist identification; running time in minutes; source of the take, including exact date and geographical location, when known; and size, speed and issue data. Two appendixes center on the most popular artists and most popular songs of the collection and two separate indexes list articles and songs to facilitate ease of location. Of special interest are the over three dozen label illustrations. This important source of information on American popular songs, artists, and recordings of the 1943 to 1947 period will be welcomed by musical scholars of the World War II era and by those with a penchant for American popular music.

This book is a tribute to the talent of Clifton A. Edwards, the man who introduced the world to the ukulele, and whose career as a song writer spanned more than 60 years. He skyrocketed to national popularity when he appeared in the George Gershwin musical "Lady be Good," became a well-known vaudeville entertainer and Hollywood star, and was largely responsible for the voice, character, and image of Jiminy Cricket, the famous cricket of the popular Disney color cartoon classic, Pinocchio. Larry F. Kiner has brought together in one volume a discography of the songs recorded by Cliff Edwards, a complete listing of songs written by him, a chronology of stage shows in which he appeared, a filmography, notes on his radio and television careers, and appendixes that provide 78 RPM records by label and catalog number, library transcriptions, and films on video tape.

Here is the first complete listing of all the recorded works of Hubert Prior Vallee, one of America's most versatile and accomplished entertainers. Kiner chronicles Vallee's work from its infancy in 1921 through his most popular era in the late 1920s and early 1930s into the war years of the 1940s and on into the next thirty years. All known Vallee recordings that were ever issued or intended for issue as commercial releases are listed. Also included are unissued recordings, private recordings, radio broadcasts and soundtracks, as well as "private issues" that were produced in sizable quantities. Each entry contains as complete a citation of a disc's production as possible, including: date, type, and location of performance; orchestral accompaniment with number ofinstruments and vocalist; song title and songwriter's name; and recordsize/rpm/label name, catalog number/matrix number, and take designation. The book contains illustrations, a preface by the artist himself, as well as indexes for Valle songs, 78 rpm single records, LP records, conductors, costars, musicians who worked in the Connecticut Yankees, and Vallee's motion pictures and radio series.