Personal Asides: Answers to Old Guy’s Trivia…Terry’s Latest…A Great Swing Artist’s First Big Hit Record.

Old Guy’s Trivia.

Unsurprising that the Old Guy’s Trivia contest was won by Frank Nofsinger with the title of the song, “You’ll Never Know.” Jesse Taylor came in second. Pat Hickey was thinking of “Tangerine” but he’s just a kid.


Terry’s Latest…

Here’s one that may be more difficult than you think…from the pen of Terry Przybylski, Honor code: no search engines.

Many presidents have been avid golfers—Eisenhower particularly—but who was the last president to be a skilled bowler?



First Hit.

I realize I haven’t written on contemporary politics in quite a long time but I’m fascinated today with swing trivia. We’ll get back to today’s politics in time.

Once again, no search engines. I’m not going to give you the name of the artist because that would give it away. Instead I’ll describe him and his first record hit—which happens to be my favorite as well. He was born in 1905 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. The song that became his first hit started out as a waltz written by Irving Berlin for the early sound movie The Awakening which had music but no dialogue. The artist changed the song by…and here’s the first clue…having the vocalist perform the song while the band chanted phrases behind him. The song starts out with a lightly swinging beat. The artist smoothly performs the main theme while the horn section punches out riffs behind. The vocalist was Jack Leonard—first hint-- who for his time was just slightly less popular than Sinatra was to become. Then—second hint--Bunny Berigan comes on with his solo and the song become something special. It was recorded January 29, 1937 and is a swing classic. The artist’s name is? The name of the song is?