Swing time for Hitler

[BillF]

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/sep/16/propaganda-swing-nazi-jazz

[Big Beat Steve]

A subject that has been researched and documented from almost any almost angle imaginable in jazz circles, and now it is going to be turned into a stage show, musical (or whatever)?

Oh my ...

That Grauniad story has some pretty silly nonsense anyway. Charlie & His Orchestra "some of the biggest stars of the war"?

In what circles?

Among the Allies? Not likely. They were puzzled, maybe amused ... Charle Schwedler's vocals weren't THAT great, intonation, pronounciation and swing-wise (OK, "straight" vocalists often were just as stiff, even in UK and US dance bands, but anyway ....) And after all, the principle of "propaganda swing" wasn't that unknown in WWII (cf. Lucky Millinder's "We're gonna slap that dirty little Jap" or later on Little Jack Little's "Waltz in Berlin", etc.)

With the German public? Not sure to what extent these songs were broadcast large-scale over short-wave stations that the GERMANS listened to, but probably virtually the entire German radio audience never heard them anywhere anyway at that time. That alleged broadcasting "at home" is not borne out by thorough publications on that subject in jazz books.

Among the musicians? Not likely too many of them talked about those recordings that freely to others during the war, and some even refused to "remember" their involvement 20 years after the war when the first reissues were produced here. So .... ??

And considering the number of documents and radio/TV feature produced and published on this subject, it certainly is no "under-explored area of jazz historiy" either.

Overall, a bit sick IMO, this propensity for milking "anything nazi".

I don't quite get it, honestly.

And please ... don't let that Prince Harry use this as an excuse for another tasteless "masquerade"!

Edited September 17, 2014 by Big Beat Steve

[bichos]

A subject that has been researched and documented from almost any almost angle imaginable in jazz circles, and now it is going to be turned into a stage show, musical (or whatever)?

Oh my ...

That Grauniad story has some pretty silly nonsense anyway. Charlie & His Orchestra "some of the biggest stars of the war"?

In what circles?

Among the Allies? Not likely. They were puzzled, maybe amused ... Charle Schwedler's vocals weren't THAT great, intonation, pronounciation and swing-wise (OK, "straight" vocalists often were just as stiff, even in UK and US dance bands, but anyway ....) And after all, the principle of "propaganda swing" wasn't that unknown in WWII (cf. Lucky Millinder's "We're gonna slap that dirty little Jap" or later on Little Jack Little's "Waltz in Berlin", etc.)

With the German public? Not sure to what extent these songs were broadcast large-scale over short-wave stations that the GERMANS listened to, but probably virtually the entire German radio audience never heard them anywhere anyway at that time. That alleged broadcasting "at home" is not borne out by thorough publications on that subject in jazz books.

Among the musicians? Not likely too many of them talked about those recordings that freely to others during the war, and some even refused to "remember" their involvement 20 years after the war when the first reissues were produced here. So .... ??

And considering the number of documents and radio/TV feature produced and published on this subject, it certainly is no "under-explored area of jazz historiy" either.

Overall, a bit sick IMO, this propensity for milking "anything nazi".

I don't quite get it, honestly.

And please ... don't let that Prince Harry use this as an excuse for another tasteless "masquerade"!

:tupexact my Train of thought. i couldn´t say it better! thanks.

Keep boppin´

marcel