Moonglow With Martin

[ghost of miles]

I've come across a couple of references to it lately... it came out of New Orleans in the 1950s and 60s and was hosted by Dick Martin (who apparently died in 1997). Supposedly a favorite with musicians and other late-night listening types. Ran from midnight till sometime after one... some of the descriptions reminded me of WFIU's Dick Bishop and his program Afterglow, which I inherited (and I'm assuredly Bobby Murcer to Dick's Joe DiMaggio... or something like that).

Somewhat related: are there any sites that host vintage/oldtime jazz radio programs like the one above?

Edited March 31, 2009 by ghost of miles

[Kalo]

At first glance, I thought this was about roots rocker Moon Martin, and thus meat for Jazzmoose...

[JSngry]

Is this Dick Martin of Rowan & Martin?

[ghost of miles]

Is this Dick Martin of Rowan & Martin?

I don't think so. Some discussion of Martin on the West Coast jazz list here. Looks like folks could hear him up here in Indiana and Ohio as well.

I'd love to read a good book about the oldtime jazz jocks from the 1935-65 era.

[ghost of miles]

Also found this from an e-mail memories list:

Some time ago I wrote you asking about Dick Martin who had the enormously popular midnight jazz show on WWL in the fifties, Moonglow With Martin. You didn't have any idea what had happened to him, and no contributors to your site seemed to know of his whereabouts. Nosing around the internet, I learned that Dick Martin had moved to WRKF in Baton Rouge, the public radio station. I contacted them and received a response from Eric Deweese, the station manager. I am sure he won't mind if I share his response with your readers:

"Dick died about 6 years ago (1997 ?). He had stopped his Moonglow show on WRKF a few years before his death because of poor health. He has a daughter in Dallas and a sister in Springfield, Illinois. Unfortunately, I've lost track of them.

Many people would call Dick telling him how they got engaged listening to him, listened to him on their wedding night, and were now celebrating a 40th anniversary. One man said, as a child, he put a big, 1950's table model radio under his pillow in order to listen to Moonglow. His parents were good Baptists who didn't hold with that kind of music.

Glad to know he is remembered.

eric deweese/manager/wrkf/baton rouge"

I am sorry that Dick Martin is no longer with us, but he brought a lot of pleasure to many people, and he was the primary jazz teacher to a 15 year-old Mexican border boy who remembers him fondly.

[Indiana jazz aficiando]

I grew up listening to Moonglow with Martin as a teenager in southern Indiana. I had to keep my radio down very low so my parents wouldnt know I

was still up. His program was instrumental in my early love of jazz, cabaret singers like Blossom Dearie, Bobby Short and the artists who sang

"the American songbook." Our own program here in Bloomington, Indiana - - originated by Dick Bishop and called "Afterglow" was modeled after

Martin's. It's on WFIU the PBS station here and is now hosted by David Brent Johnson, who carries on that special kind of programming. Wonderful!

[ghost of miles]

Thanks much, IJA... cool to hear from somebody who actually listened to Dick Martin's show--from southern Indiana, no less! PM sent your way.

[ghost of miles]

Dick Martin is the MC for the first five cuts on the 90th Floor Records release CIRCA 1960, which includes several recordings of the North Texas State Laboratory Dance Band A (featuring a young Marvin Stamm on trumpet). You can't hear him very well, but he's there, for any Dick Martin fans out there (and the CD itself is an interesting snapshot of a certain aspect of the Texas jazz scene at the time... four tracks here for fans of vocalist Ann Richards as well).

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=18060#.Uiiw2H-aZjg