Reveille With Beverly (Final 30)

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY
by dean opperman
REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)
Yeah cats from Katmandu to Ketchikan! Here she

isthe classy lassiethe 14-karat heart-alarmer
BEVERLY, THE REVIELLE GIRL!
With the deft release of a slip-cued disc, Beverly
shuns the traditional trumpet at sunrise. This is
her own sunrise serenade, her reveille for the hip,
Benny Goodmans, Bugle Call Rag
Its 0530 Pacific War Time in the darkened studios of KNX Hollywood, but no
matter where you are, for the next hour you are with her. As a new day
dawns the word goes out, the jazz goes forth and the world awakes to the
unique platter-chatter that is Reveille With Beverly.
From her tiny broadcast cubicle, Beverlys voice reaches out, perfect and
clear to the barracks, the shipyards, the lonely desert foxholes in North
Africa, and the insect-infested Quonset huts on remote Pacific islands. Hi
there boys! Were ready with the stuff that makes you swing and sway!
Beverly leans in closer to the microphone.
The turntables are loaded and theyre
bustin with bounce
Energized and alert, Bev is in her element.
She loves being the girl who gets the
bugler up. She reads aloud from fan mail,
cracks jokes, and pokes fun at her
announcer. She keeps one eye on the
clock, the other on her mike level, and
ignores the arm-waving engineer. This is
the orchestrated chaos of live radio.
This is the true story of Jean Beverly Ruth, the legendary hostess of
Reveille with Beverly, the groundbreaking radio program that brought a
touch of home to Allied soldiers all over the world during World War II.
Beverly was barely 22 years old when she talked her way into KFEL-Denver
and the offices of station owner Gene OFallon. All she had going for her
was gumption and a new idea for an early morning show.
I noticed that new recruits had a common complaint: they hated the
buglers reveille blast at dawn. Thats when the idea flashed through my
mindwhat about a radio wake-up show just for the troops? There were
very few disc jockeys in those days, and a girl? Whoever thought of that?
Reveille with Beverly, as she pitched it,
would be a pre-dawn program for the soldiers
stationed at nearby Fort Logan, Colorado. She
would
solicit
song
requests
from
the
servicemen and read clippings from camp

newspapers.
I dont know what was I thinking. Beverly
chuckles. Mr. OFallon probably should have thrown me out of his office!
But when I walked into KFEL, I didnt think about rejection, only about how
much I wanted to be on the air. He either liked my idea or reasoned that I
couldnt embarrass him too much at that hour of the morning. The next
thing I knew I was in front of a microphone, broadcasting to the troops
stationed near Denver. I was their age, talking to young men as new in their
jobs as I was. We were in this together.
Little did she know she was about to become the worlds first international
radio personality. It didnt matter that she had limited experience. What
Beverly lacked in skill she made up for with instinct. Her secret was the
same as Frank Sinatras and Billy HolidaysBeverly was one of the first to
comprehend the power of the intimate delivery. I had romantic ideas
about radio. If I ever got on the air, I had decided I would get very close to
my listeners and talk to them, one-on-one.
With an ice cold Coke in one hand and as a
stack of hot discs in the other, Beverly talked
like her fans. She didnt use the stodgy diction
that dominated radio in those days. Beverly
used phrases like, We're loaded with mellow
melodies and solid senders, so lets shake a few
of them loose, shall we?
One wonders what the starched generals at nearby Fort Logan thought,
waking up to this irreverent, upstart woman taking pot shots at the top
brass. We can only imagine their reactions when they heard her sign off,
Until next time, dont forget to leave a sergeant burning in the window!
Beverly was new, she was different and she embodied restless spirit that
would typify The Greatest Generation.
On December 7, 1941, less than six weeks
after her KFEL debut, the US Pacific Fleet at
Pearl Harbor was destroyed in a surprise
attack by the Japanese Navy. In a cataclysmic
flash, America was in the middle of a fighting
war. The sleeping giant had been rudely
awakened. Though it would take nearly four years of early mornings for the
giant to win back the day, Reveille with Beverly would help make the
mission easier. As if she had been specifically designed for the task, and
almost overnight, Beverly would go from unknown radio personality to
wartime necessityas essential to troop morale as a Rita Hayworth pin-up or

a three-day pass.
If World War II was a modern, mechanized war, it was also a war of morale.
It would be won for the girlsthe sweethearts, the wives and daughters left
behind. Like no other war, morale was a priority, bolstered by
entertainment and a touch of home. What better boost to the everyday sad
sack than waking up to the beautiful voice of a girl? Not the girl he loved
perhaps, but the girl he listened to, right beside him in spirit, talking to him
on the radio and playing his favorite songs?
In the opening days of the war when most of the news was bad, Reveille
With Beverly provided patriotic fodder for the press. A pretty girl made for
good and distracting copy. Beverly was a bonanza for the Denver
newspapers- their homegrown and picturesque, Fem-cee. Her smile
presided over captions like: Miss of the Mike, Dawn's Early Lightener,
The Watt Girl, Buck Private Beverly, and Girlfriend of the Garrisons.
This salvo of publicity caught the attention of national publications. Henry
Huff, the Denver correspondent for TIME magazine, phoned and said I was
driving him nuts, Beverly remembers. He couldnt get Reveille With
Beverly out of his head because it didnt quite rhyme! I dont know if he
was calling to complain, or what, but in a few minutes he was at the station,
reading my fan mail.
Huff realized the idea of "Dawns Early Light" would make a good story for
TIME. It appeared in the January 5th, 1942 issue that named President
Roosevelt Man of the Year. The cover featured the presidents portrait
with his now famous cry, This generation of Americans has a rendezvous
with destiny.
Beverlys would be a bigger destiny than most, and the
rendezvous would come very quickly.
Of the many pretty girls the Army looks to for the joys of life, TIME
reported, Few have merited as much devotion as a cheerful, blue-eyed
little number. She is directly responsible for the fact that 28,000 Army men
at Fort Logan and three other Army posts get up willingly before sunrise.
The article was followed by a feature story in LIFE magazine. In the age
before television, LIFE (next to weekly newsreels) was Americas primary
source for pictures of the news.
And Beverly was
a picture!
natural
lost
Her
beauty,
to
TIME
readers,
was
evident.
LIFE
unfurled
the
banner,
Army
Sweethearts
over a six-page
layout.
The
article examined
the
virtues
two
of
women
doing their duty

for
the
men
doing
the
fighting.
The
pretty
damsel
from Denver got

the majority of the coverage.
The Beverly blitz made waves on both coasts. She was invited to appear on
the CBS radio hit, We, the People. The trip itself was a media event. She
was flown to New York and picked up by Ed Sullivan who took her to the top
nightspots and wrote about her in his column for the New York Daily News.
On We, The People she demonstrated what Time described as her
jailhouse coffee wit.
When asked if shed received any marriage
proposals, Beverly replied, Oh yes, Ive had quite a few, but right now Im
going with a soldier at Fort Logan. And one at Lowry Field. And then theres
the two at Fort Warren. Theres only one thing I pray forthe government
doesnt ever merge those camps. That would really complicate my life!
In Hollywood, executives at Columbia Pictures caught wind of the girl disc

jockey who brought music to the fighting men. Deciding the story would
make a terrific musical they bought the rights to the name, Reveille With
Beverly from KFEL, and hired Beverly as the films technical consultant.
Doing the radio show was a dream come true, but if someone had told me
a major movie would be made about it, I would have laughed. Beverly
remembers. The United States had just been attacked and was in serious
danger of losing the war. Lives were disrupted all around me. My friends
quit their jobs, sold their cars, and joined the army. And in the middle of all
this, Time made a big deal
about my show being a
morale-builder.
was
flattered, of course, but a

film about it? That was
completely unexpected.
Hollywood !
If it had all come together
during a single lifetime, it
might have been enough
to overwhelm her. But the
success
program,
of
her
the
radio
national
magazine coverage, and the motion picture deal happened within a few
short months.
It was all so incredible, Beverly remembers. One minute Im doing my
little show in Denver and the next thing I know Im moving to Hollywood to

consult with Columbia Pictures about a movie!
10
When they asked me to
screen test for the lead it really threw me for a loop! But I had to say no.
My wartime assignment had already arrived from an authority I couldnt
argue withthousands of letters from recruits, ready to give all they had to
their country for the duration. That was the phrase on everyones lips,
and my post for the duration was behind a microphone.
Not long after she arrived in Hollywood, Beverly contacted Hal Hudson, the
program director at CBS Radios flagship radio station, KNX. With spunk
worthy of Sergeant York, Beverly marched into his office and played a demo
disc of her Denver show. He offered her the slot and a deal was signed.
Suddenly, Reveille With Beverly was on KNX.
Posters
were
distributed to military
bases
and
announcements
aired:
were
Attention
Army,
Navy,
Guard,
and
Coast
Marines!
Station KNX presents

radios
painless
reveille for the armed

forces! One of the nations military problems is turning out soldiers with a
sparkle in their eye at the crack of dawnwhat with C.Q.s, Jimmylegs, and
others yelling SHAKE A LEG! and HEY YOU! GET UP!
Reveille With
Beverly is a novel program designed to relieve the rigors of reveille,

featuring Buck Private Beverly for the men of the armed forces over KNX!
The show was an instant hit. KNXs 50,000-watt, clear-channel signal sent
Reveille with Beverly thousands of miles in all directions. She was heard on
11
training bases in Texas, military outposts in Chicago, troop ships far out in
the Pacific, and cargo planes from Alaska to New Zealand.
Sgt. William Bosco wrote, This may surprise you, but your early morning
program is being heard and enjoyed here in the Marshall Islands. I would
like to request Dancing In The Dark because while its 6 A.M. where you
are, its midnight here.
Seaman Chuck LaFrancos V-Mail letter was edited by military censors. Im
with the Seabees (somewhere) in the South Pacific. Although its far from
reveille when I hear your show, I still enjoy it. There are no women out
here and it does us good to hear your voice
Other Beverly fans were nearer to the
studio, but distant just the same.
This is a request from the fellows in
compartment 214 at the Naval Receiving
Station in San Pedro. Were in the brig
and would like to hear, Dont Get
Around Much Anymore.
The mail, the mail, Beverly moans, her
hands on her head. The letters came by the hundreds in big canvas sacks.
Wed pour it all on the floor and start sorting. Publicity shots show me
reading letters in nylons and a dress, but I spent most of my time on my
hands and knees, in jeans, going through it. You cant wear hose for that!
Though she may have been at some USO dance or camp show the night
before, come 4:20 A.M., Beverly would rise to the call of duty and the call of
the mail.
12
Sgt. George Eichler of San Diego wrote, Ask any GIwhether he be a

Johnnie Doughboy, a Tommie Tar, or a Larry Leatherneckwho is the bestknown Hollywood girl? Youd be
surprised to learn that it ISNT
curvaceous
Betty
Grable
or
vivacious Hedy Lamarrno, the

answer will always be Beverly, the
Reveille
Perko
Girl.
in
Private
Alaska,
Jimmy
echoed
the
sentiment with a simple, If all

your listeners were like me this
war would last forever!
Most of the fan letters asked the
same
two
questions:
Are
you
married? and, What do you look

like? A note from The Radio Gang
of the U.S.S. Chew, somewhere at
sea, was typical: We have tried
to imagine what you look like and
everyone seems to have a different opinion. Some picture you as a very
beautiful young lady with brown hair and blue eyes. Others picture you as
an elderly lady with streaks of gray in your hair. You could solve everything
if you would please send us a photo.
Jimmy, at March Field wrote, Dear Beverly, your picture is going into the
Pulchritudinous Panorama I have in my locker. I will have to secure you
inside, I guess, for the men who have seen your photo have a glint of
possessiveness in their eyes!
There were letters of love and devotion, of
loss and longing. Corporal Robert Reid of the 307th infantry in Italy
composed a one-sentence summary of every GIs sentiment: Your show
drives away our sorrowsyou are an inspirationwe love you, Cinderella!
13
By 1943, Beverly was receiving over a thousand letters a week. In all

branches of the armed forces, there was a plane, a ship, or a tank named
Beverly. Even a barrage balloon had her name on it. Though flattered,
Beverly admits, I was slightly skeptical about having a balloon named after
me. Her favorite honors
were
the
humorous
commendations, like the

time she was voted, The
Girl Wed Most Like to be
Trapped
in
the
Lower
Turret of a B-17 With, and

The One We Would Most
Like to be Quarantined
With.
Meanwhile, up the street
from KNX, in small offices at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, Beverlys
life was about to take another dramatic turn. She was deemed perfect to fill
a very specific need for the War Departments Special Service Division. In
May of 1942, they set up offices in Los Angeles to launch a radio network
for the men in uniform: The Armed Forces Radio Service.
With a governmental green light and a huge wad of cash, the AFRS had a
mandate from President Roosevelt to get on the air as soon as possible. The
AFRS needed programming, and Reveille With Beverly was a natural choice.
Quickly, Beverlys show was being re-broadcast on powerful short wave
transmitters and syndicated via Vinylite transcriptions to hundreds of AFRS
front line transmitters. She became an international personality; the first
deejay with that distinction, and within months would be heard by some
eleven million soldiers in 46 countries. The global exposure brought added
responsibility. The AFRS edited her shows to remove references considered
sensitive by military intelligence. Whether live or recorded, my programs
14
were protected from enemy use. I had to delay reading the mail for ten
days and keep the precise locations vague. AFRS personnel were on hand
for my broadcasts and suddenly, my innocent, cheery show turned into a
new kind of battlefront.
The War of the Radio Waves
began within a few weeks of
Beverlys
AFRS
premiere,
when Radio Tokyo launched a

program
called
Hour.
It
The
Zero
stiff,
was
transparent affair featuring

old swing records, and hosted
by a team of female disc
jockeys
who
became
known
Rose
(one
American
of
collectively
as
Tokyo
which,
college
an
student
named Iva Toguri, took the

brunt of the post-war blame
and served a long prison sentence). Radio Berlin also joined the cause with
Axis Sally and her infamous attempts to destroy Allied morale. Sally was
particularly vicious; playing recorded screams (supposedly the sounds of our
men dying in battles) and telling our troops their girl friends were cheating
on them back home.
The funny thing is, in all the mail I received, I dont recall too many guys
referring to Tokyo Rose or Axis Sally. When the servicemen mentioned
listening to other women, it was pretty clear they didnt like them much.
PFC Harold Gibson wrote from Hawaii, What prompted me to write my first
fan letter is that at long last a female announcer is on the air who has a
15
really pleasant voice and believe me, Miss Beverly, I hear a lot of them,
from the young lady of Radio Central Moscow to the not-so-young lady who
gurgles the news from Honolulu. Ah me, how we suffer!
No victors were ever declared in
the War of the Radio Waves, but
Beverly would have been the clear
winner. Most of the attention
Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally got
came after the war was over when
they were arrested. In reality, I
doubt they ever drew an audience
as large as mine. Beverlys eyes sparkle. I had far better records!
Increasingly, Beverlys program became essential to morale. In early 1942,
the U.S. Pacific fleet was in ruins,
General Douglas MacArthur had
abandoned an entire army in the
Philippines, and America seemed
powerless to affect any resistance.
Everyone was afraid, especially
those on the West Coast. Civilians
could do little except plant victory
gardens, initiate scrap drives, and
work in defense plants.
Across the West, via KNX, Reveille
with Beverly was the next best
thing to an extra cup of warrationed coffee. For swing shift
workers, and military personnel
16
stuck in Los Angeles awaiting orders, fighting as much for a ticket to the
Palladium as for a ticket to the Pacific, Beverly was a source of comfort.
Around the world, via the AFRS, Beverly conveyed gratitude to frontline
troops listening over rag-tag hookups like the Jungle Network, the Pacific
Ocean Network, and the Mosquito Network. She was also a staple on
permanent AFRS installations in Britain, Italy, Africa, Persia, China, and
India-Burma.
It wasnt easy, says Beverly. I remember days when I could hardly do my
show because of the letters from soldiers whose best friends had just been
killed in battle. I seemed to
always be switching gears.
One second, I was facing the
stark reality of war; the next,
I was on-mike, always trying
to be positive.
There were funny moments
as well. Someone at KNX
managed to requisition ten
minutes in the middle of my
airtime
for
Immediate
newscast.
grumbles
were
sounded by G.I.s. When the

news
announcer
became
overly familiar and called me

Bev,
telegram
was
dispatched to KNX from a

tank battalion stationed nearby. It threatened to rumble west on Sunset
Boulevard and blockade the CBS building.
My employers graciously
acceded. The newscast became a quick casualty, the CBS in-house news
17
sheet carried the story and KNX staffers giggled in the hallways about the
army coming to Beverlys rescue.
Perhaps Beverlys show was also a lucky charm. Almost as soon as Beverly
and the Armed Forces Radio Network took to the air, the British delivered
defeat to Rommel in the Battle of El Alamein and the Americans destroyed
the Japanese fleet at Midway.
New evidence indicates Beverlys show played a part in D-Day. Deep in the
National Archives researchers uncovered a stack of previously classified
18
AFRS music shows Beverly had hosted. They were labeled with the unusual
designation, UNIT FIVEParts A through F, JUNE, 1944. The program content
was just as odd. Instead of Beverlys usual chatter and hot swing music, she
sounded stilted. Her song intros were also
strange.
Obscure
record
titles
like,
Opening Night, Torpedo Junction, I

Dug A Ditch, and Knocking One Out for
Uncle Sam, seemed to be calls to action.
Sometimes I got orders about what records
to playthey were handed to meand the
introductions
were
scripted.
And
the
military made me read them word for

word. I was mystified, but I didnt argue. I
later learned that Radio London was also
ordered to play certain songs at certain
times.
Sur
Le
Pont
DAvingnon
for
instance, was broadcast fourteen times just

prior to the D-Day invasion.
Apparently,
Allied intelligence used me as a carrier

pigeon to relay misinformation to the
enemy as well as secret messages to the
French Underground.
Meanwhile, back on the set of the Reveille
With Beverly movie, Columbia Pictures had
cast Ann Miller for the lead role. With
Beverly as an advocate, the orchestras of
Duke Ellington and Count Basie were given
feature roles, and an up-and-coming singer,
named Frank Sinatra, would make a pivotal
career appearance. I was the technical
19
advisor on the picture, Beverly smiles, which meant I was given a lot of
input on the music. Production money was running low, but we still needed
a boy singer to balance out the girls who would be singing with most of the
big bands. It was a cinch to pick my favorite male vocalistFrank Sinatra,
the one-hundred-dollar-a-week singer with Tommy Dorseys band. Columbia
Pictures wasnt enthusiastic, but I insisted. Just one number from Frankie,
please!
Filming was kept under wraps. The huge sound stage was closed to all
outsiders. I held my breath as Sinatra circled the all-girl orchestra. The way
he bent over each beautifully gowned musician to croon a few bars of
Night and Day foretold his future as an actor as well as a singer. His first
solo
performance
on
film
kicked off one of the greatest

careers in music history.
Columbia
Pictures
released
Beverly
to
pre-
Reveille
With
Allied
troops
around the world, in Europe

and the Pacific, wherever a
projector could be set up,
with or without a screen. Up to that point, the promotional trailers
advertised Reveille with Beverly as another big band musical.
Its
interesting because it was probably the last time Sinatra got bottom
billing!
The reaction of the armed forces got back to Columbia Pictures. Sure
enough, by the time my mother and I approached the Hollywood Pantages
Theater for the stateside premiere, neon signs flashed: Reveille with
Beverly, FRANK SINATRAS FIRST STARRING MOVIE!
20
Almost overnight, Sinatra was a

huge star. I remember going to
CBS to do my show early one
morning and not being able to
find a place to park. The usual
pre-dawn dark surrounded the
CBS building, but a chorus of
giggles didnt fit the usual scene.
Hundreds of teenage girls

stood in line outside the CBS
Studio B theatre waiting for
tickets
to
Sinatras
first
weekly radio show, 13 hours

later at 6pm. Saddle shoes
stretched
from
Sunset
Boulevard to Vine Street as their owners waited to squeal coast to coast

whenever their new idol executed a sexy slur in the lyrics. Frank Sinatras
rise to stardom was inevitable, but I like to think that I helped make it
happen.
Duke Ellington was no disappointment to those lucky enough to meet him.
Id run into him from time to time and he always thanked me for choosing
his band for the film. It was in Reveille with Beverly that he made the
debuted his biggest hit, Take the A Train. At one of his later concerts, he
handed me his baton and let me give the downbeat for his orchestra. When
21
Johnny Hodges, Ray Nance and the worlds greatest collection of musicians
responded I felt that I could fly right over the crowd!
As The Girlfriend Of The Garrisons, Beverly had obligations in addition to
her radio programs. Week after week, Id make trips to San Pedro to
launch Liberty Ships. Chet Huntley, the famous NBC network TV news
anchor of the 1960s was my chauffeur. He was just breaking into the news
business, and had been assigned by CBS to cover the launches with me.
22
There were big crowds and sometimes Rudy Vallee and his orchestra would
play. It seemed I always struggled with those unbreakable bottles of
champagne. I never did christen a ships hull without help!
I met a lot of celebrities, but none were as impressive as my mentor, Elsie
Janis, Beverly says. Entertainers work all fronts, was the motto Beverly
picked up from Janis, who, as World War Ones Sweetheart of the Allied
Expeditionary Force, was the first star to entertain frontline troops. Elsie
Janis continued her long, glorious career as a Broadway headliner,
screenwriter, and recording star well into
her 60s. In 1944, she was in Hollywood
hosting her own NBC program called The
Brighter Side. It was dedicated to the
heroes on the home front. She coaxed
Beverly to appear on the debut show. In her
introduction Elsie said, Beverly gets up at
4:20 A.M. to cheer the shivering GIs over the
radio,
and
shes
got
thousands
and
thousands of lads in her audience every

morning. This young lady is one of the great
heroines of the whole war!
To have Elsie Janis call me a hero surprised me so much, I was just about
speechless, Beverly says in awe. And thats not a good thing on network
radio! Before the evening was out, Elsie insisted that she repay me for my
appearance on her show by offering to be on mine. What a wonderful lady!
She was older then, and she had a hard time getting up that early. Shed
been a frontline performer decades before and had this reputation for being
able to face adversitythe show must go onand all that. The morning she
came to do my show, she shuffled into CBS, slumped into my guest chair,
and said, on-mike, Ive been through mustard gas and flash bombs, but that
pre-dawn alarm clock is the worst thing Ive ever faced!
23
To World War I veterans, troop recreation meant baseballs and mitts. There
were no radios in The War To End All Wars. But this new generation of
soldiers listened to the radio in their off hours, specifically to jazz and
swing
music.
troops
needed
beat,
and
The
a
Beverly
provided it. I tried

to open the listeners
up to jazz and I took
real
pride
promoting
in
the
hot
new artists like Stan

Kenton,
Charlie
Parker, and the Nat

King Cole Trio.
I
remember
two
jazz greats tapping

on my studio window
one
morning.
Roy
Eldridge, who played

the soaring trumpet
in
Gene
band,
and
legendary
Krupas
Krupas
songbird,
Anita ODay somehow

got past the CBS doorman, and I got an impromptu interview. GIs listening
out there heard Anita and Little Jazz, as Roy was known, reveal inside
stories about big band life in the 1940s.
24
One Saturday night, I was at a night spot on Vermont Avenue where an

athletic, gangly kid sat at the piano. Nat Cole, with his ingratiating grin and
a big jaw that almost unhinged for Straighten Up and Fly Right, was
creating a brand new sound. He called me Lady Deejay and greeted my
comings and goings with military marches hyped up with a jazzy touch. One
night he called me up on stage and motioned for me to sit on the piano
bench with him, and asked me what Id like to sing! I had to confess to a
shortage of musical talentother than placing the needle on his recordings.
He liked that.
I was right in the heart of the Los Angeles jazz scene. One night it might
be a visit with Freddie Slack and Ella Mae
Morse after a late night recording session.
Another night it might be a party with
record promoters from small independent
labels like Capitol or Crescendo. It was
amazing to have so much cooperation. The
promoters, the bands, even the competing
radio networks made sure I had the best
new music. They all wanted to do their
part. If it was on a disc, I could get it. And
not just commercial releasesrecordings of
radio shows, outtakes, V-discs, transcriptionsall in the name of the war
effort and it was a thrill to have the latest sounds for the guys.
25
Beverly downplays her contributions. She realizes she was lucky to come
along at the just the right moment, when it was possible for an absolute
novice to get a radio show spinning records for men in the military. Equally
unlikely were the spreads in TIME and LIFE, much less a feature film based
on her show. Yet, one must give credit to Beverlys natural ability and her
winning personality--gracious, intelligent, and funny.
Inevitably, her popularity
forced CBS executives to
tune in during the ungodly
hours she owned. Beverly
wasnt aware of it, but
shed
developed
reputation
as
comedienne.
a
In
a
light
short
order, the network made

Beverly the mistress of
ceremonies for The KNX
Victory
Belles,
woman,
an
weekly
production
that
allstage
was
broadcast live from local

military bases. CBS then
tapped her to co-host two
new
network
programs:
Hello
From
Hollywood
(with
Bill
Fuller)
and
Potluck Party (with Jack

Bailey). The AFRS also gave Beverly extra duty, asking her to host GI Jive.
26
Hello From Hollywood had a fun premise. We did the show as a remote
from the corner of Hollywood and Vine. As soldiers in uniform passed by,
wed lure them to the mike with the promise to make a recording of their
appearance to send to their relatives. We must have sent out thousands of
27
those little yellow records. Often their

mothers were far outside the range of
the CBS network and hadnt heard their
sons voices in months.
Recently, a long time Beverly fan in
Australia, Bill Stafford, located her to
say he had found a recording of himself
as a guest on that show. The little
paper disc had been one of his
mothers cherished possessions. He sent the disc to Beverly, along with an
autograph card that several celebrities had signed for him as he toured KNX
that day in 1943. Beverlys signature was there, next to Bette Davis and a
slew of other big names from wartime Hollywood. It seems unreal now but
over time, I had so many opportunities to work side-by-side with my radio

and screen idols, that it almost became commonplace. They were just
normal peoplefriendly, courteous, and doing their bit to help the boys in
uniform.
28
People often ask me what it was like to work at CBS during the Golden Age
Of Radio. Mostly, I remember trying not to gawk at stars like Jack Benny or
freeze when I found myself face-to-face with George Burns and Gracie Allen
at Brittinghams Restaurant in Columbia Square! It wasnt uncommon, while
serving coffee and donuts to soldiers at the USO or the Hollywood Canteen,
to stand between celebrities wearing aprons, handing out refreshments,
and signing autographs. Memories of those times are a blur of famous
personalities. One thing we girls had in common, we sympathized with each
other about dancing with GIs wearing those heavy army boots!
29
It was gratifying work, but by 1944,

Beverly was doing five different radio
programs a week. It was a pace that
became a grind. Im not sure I could
have sustained it much longer, Beverly
says. I had to sleep a lot to keep my
energy up and it ruined my social life!
Little wonder then, as the war began to
wind down, Beverly developed more
conventional ideas. When KNX began the
transition into peacetime programming,
she knew that her on-air work was
nearing an end. She also gave up her GI Jive broadcasts to Marty Wilkerson,
who, as GI Jill, transformed
the program into an institution
that entertained troops well
into the Korean conflict.
By wars end, Beverly sounded
taps for Reveille, as well. It
had
been
long
run
by
Hollywood standards. I did

over a thousand Reveille With
Beverly shows, never taking a
vacation. I thought I would be
doing it for the rest of my life.
If the war hadnt stopped, I
probably would have; but like
Rosie
the
Riveter,
when
Johnny came marching home I

left the workforce and married.

For
years,
people
had
public
30
relations
intimated
that
Beverly had a boyfriend in

every branch of the service.
While
she
received
many
proposals of marriage (mostly

from lonely GIs she had never
met), the one she accepted
was from bandleader Freddie
Slack, whose piano playing
with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra had set off the national boogie-woogie
craze of the late 1930s. When Slack started his own band in 1941, he hired
a young singer named Ella Mae Morse. The following year they scored two
successive million sellers, Cow-Cow Boogie and Mr. Five-by-Five, the
first major hits for the brand new Capitol Records label.
Following their marriage, Beverly and Freddie
spent years on the road. His band played the
top dance spots across America and made nine
movie appearances. But, as the big band era
faded, so did Slacks popularity and he fell
victim to alcoholism. Beverly and Freddie
divorced and she and their young son returned
to California where she built a successful
postwar radio career in Los Angeles and a
groundbreaking
career
in
Santa
Barbara
television. She also did a nighttime version of her show, re-titled, Reverie
With Beverly, for a west coast network of NBC stations.
The 1950s saw another marriage, to Santa Barbara attorney John Hay and
the birth of two more children. By 1960, Beverly had become one of
Madison Avenues favorite spokes-moms for such wholesome products as
31
Wonder Bread, Carnation Milk, Kraft Cheese, and General Mills. She landed
her best and most famous role as the national television home economist for
Pillsbury. In spite of my crisp white uniform,
I didnt know much about home economics,
Beverly laughs. I was more cheesecake than
cake mix! Pillsbury gave me a lot of work,
though. They said I had a nice round face. In
1965 however, she found herself squeezed
out by the Pillsbury Doughboy. He apparently
had a rounder face than she. I still get mad
when I see him, she says with mock
solemnity.
Perhaps Beverlys greatest compliment was being named the Honorary
Lifetime Chairman of Direct Relief, the humanitarian aid organization that
sends millions of dollars of medical supplies to underserved areas
throughout the world. Now in her 48th year with the charity, she still serves
on the board. Shes been honored by
President Bush; has worked with the
Dalai Lama and was recently named
one of Santa Barbaras Women of
Influence.
It has been a charmed life, but the
defining years were the Reveille years.
Reveille with Beverly captured the
spirit of the timesthe energy, the
hope,
and
the
willingness
to
do
whatever it took to bring the war to an

end and bring the boys home. I
certainly was a lucky girl and isnt it amazing? My career coincided with a
time when women were suddenly allowed to do anything. And we did.
32
Everybody did. Men and women, at home and overseas. We were just kids,
but we changed the course of history. As the Los Angeles Times predicted
at wars end, Aging veterans, men and women, will carry memories of
Beverly, The Reveille Girl into the next century. She is that important.
Like many who were there, images and feelings of the Second World War
are revisited on a daily basis. Losses are still felt and memories of sacrifice
linger. The idea of being alone in a tiny studio, talking into a microphone,
reaching out to people around the world, is still magical to me. I think back
to the dark, early hours inside that big CBS building during the war and the
thousands of letters that showed how Reveille With Beverly brightened
lives. Im proud of that. Yet it haunts me that so many of the letters I
received were from soldiers who never came back.
33
The AXIS
PROPOGANDISTS
TOKYO ROSE
There were at least 20 different Japanese women
disc jockeys but there was no single Tokyo Rose. The myth arose from the
imaginations of Allied soldiers in the Pacific who struggled to put a face to
the many female voices coming from Japanese radio beginning in 1943.
Unfortunately, this myth, of a sultry Japanese radio propagandist taunting
our boys in the Pacific during the bloody battles, seeped into American
consciousness. It led to the post-war arrest of Iva Toguri who was unjustly
tried and convicted of being the Tokyo Rose.
In fact, Radio Tokyos, The Zero
Hour,
was
actually
presented
by
Allied prisoners of war under the

supervision
of
Japanese
military
intelligence. These POWs, including

Australian
Army
Major
Charles
Cousens, did what they could to

subtly sabotage the broadcast. When
Radio Tokyo told Cousens to add a
female voice, he
chose Iva Toguri
from
amongst
several
JapaneseAmerican women
trapped
Radio
in
the
Tokyo
typing pool. She
34
was actually a UCLA student and American citizen who had traveled to
Tokyo in 1941 to look after her ailing mother, but got stuck there when
hostilities broke out.
Toguri's voice was stunted and roughexactly what Cousens was looking
forsomeone he could teach to read scripts that pleased his Japanese
captors, but did little damage to the morale of Allied men. Broadcasting
under the name of Orphan Ann from late 1943 to 1945, Toguri read
innocuous scripts that Cousens had written.
Greetings everybody! This is your number one enemy, your favorite
playmate, Orphan Ann on Radio Tokyothe little sunbeam whose throat
youd like to cut! Get ready again for a vicious assault on your morale, 75
minutes of music and news for our friendsI mean, our enemiesin the
South Pacific.
After Japans surrender in 1945, the confused young woman was excited
about going home to America and offered herself up freely to the press. She
explained exactly what she did because she thought she had done no wrong.
Military investigators then tore her away from her husband and began a
$500,000,
three-
month
trial
that
would
become
the
biggest
and
most
expensive legal battle

in history.
Toguri was convicted
of
one
count
of
treason with virtually

no concrete evidence
against her. Sentenced to ten years and given a $10,000 fine, she served
most of the sentence along side Axis Sally in the Federal Women's
Reformatory in Alderson, West Virginia.
35
In the 1970s support began to build for her pardon. Finally, after an
appearance on 60 Minutes, President Ford, himself a veteran of the Pacific
War, pardoned Toguri as his last official act in office, in January 1977.
Today, at age 85, Iva Toguri continues to struggle with the power of her
myth. She works in a small family-owned department store in Chicago.
AXIS SALLY
Her real name was Mildred
Gillars, a native of Portland,
Maine. She was an aspiring
actress who wound up in
Greenwich Village and then
moved to Germany to pursue
a
political
attach
with
whom she'd had a casual

affair.
She was the voice behind
Radio Berlins Midge at the
Mike, in which she played
antiquated records, read the
names
of
the
latest
Americans POWs, and gave

vicious
Although
anti-Semitic
she
talks.
referred
to
herself as Midge, GIs dubbed her Axis Sally. Her shows usually aired
sometime between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. daily, and were heard in Europe,
North Africa, and the United States via short wave. Most GIs agreed that
Gillars had a sexy voice. Unlike her Japanese counterparts in the Pacific,
she liked to taunt the soldiers about their wives and sweethearts.
36
"Hi fellows," she would say. "I know you're yearning plenty for someone, but
I wonder if she isn't running around with the 4-Fs back home."
Sally's most famous broadcast, the one that would eventually get her
convicted of treason, was a play entitled Vision of Invasion that went out
over the airwaves on May 11, 1944. It was beamed to American troops in
England awaiting the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as well as to the home
folks in America. Gillars played the role of an American mother who
dreamed that her soldier son, a member of the invasion forces, died aboard
a burning ship in the attempt to cross the English Channel. The play had
sound effects simulating the cries of the wounded as they were raked with
gunfire from the beaches. An announcer's voice intoned, "The D of D-Day
stands for doom...disaster...death..."
After
the
defeat
of
Germany, Gillars was not

immediately apprehended,
but
blended
into
the
throngs
of
displaced
persons
in
occupied
Germany seeking assistance

from the Western Allies. In
1948, she was arrested,
flown to the United States
and incarcerated. In 1949
she was charged with 10
counts
of
treason
by
federal grand jury, tried,

and found guilty. She was
sentenced to 10 to 30 years
in prison and a $10,000 fine. When she became eligible for parole in 1959,
she waived the right, apparently preferring prison to ridicule as a traitor on
the outside. Released in 1961, Gillars taught for a while in a Roman Catholic
37
school for girls in Columbus, Ohio, and then returned to her alma mater,
Ohio Wesleyan. She received a bachelor's degree in speech in 1973. She
died in 1988 at the age of 87.
LORD HAW HAW
There were other, lesser known, Axis voices bombarding the world from the
short wave transmitters of Berlin and Japan. Among the most famous was
Lord Haw Haw, who enjoyed the dubious distinction of being the first radio
propagandist to become an international celebrity. The British citizen took
to the airwaves on Radio Berlin in 1939. His real name was William Joyce.
After the war, he was captured by the British, tried, and hanged.
38
BEVERLY and
the BIG BANDS
Over a thousand overseas broadcasts of Reveille
with Beverly captured the spirit of the timesthe
energy, the hope, and the willingness to do
whatever it took to bring the war to an end and bring our boys home.
I was there so they wouldnt be alone; so they knew what they were
fighting for. My job was to play the songs that cheered and united us, that
kept our morale high, Beverly says.
A great deal of credit is owed to the songwriters and musicians who were
the poets of that era. They crystallized the emotions of the time and
preserved them for future generations. I didnt realize it then, but those
songs and my shows formed a repository against the day when all World War
II memories will be second-hand.
39
Show One - Hour One

TAKE THE A TRAIN
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Hollywood - February 15, 1941
Some say Duke Ellington was the true originator of swing. When the country
latched onto the big bands in the mid-thirties, it was merely discovering the
music that Duke Ellington and his band had been playing for close to ten
years. Take the A Train was a Billy Strayhorn composition that was also
the first of many Ellington discs to feature a solo performance by trumpet
great, Ray Nance. It is also heard in the film, Reveille with Beverly. Betty
Roche offered a vocal version in the movie, jitterbugging in the aisle of a
moving train as she sang.
40
BEGIN THE BEGUINE

Artie Shaw Orchestra
New York - July 24, 1938
Arranger Jerry Gray and Artie Shaw

were discussing songs to record when
they hit upon Begin the Beguine, a
tune that the guys in the band liked to
play at jam sessions. The massive
success of Shaws recording changed his
life, producing a great schism between
his
artistic
ambitions
and
the
oppressive pressures of popular success. Shaw was a restless intellect who

loved making music, but who had complete disdain for the music business.
Beverly adds, The press gave him a bad time because he refused to
compromise his music. Yet he produced some of the best of the era. Ive
known Artie for many years and Ive never known him to be anything but
wonderful.
EL RANCHO GRANDE
WITH Tony Pastor
New York
November 3, 1939
Beverly loved to surprise her audience

with
tracks
that
had
not
been
commercially recorded or released. As a member of the AFRS, an

organization given carte blanche by President Roosevelt, Beverly had access
to any commercial radio broadcast in the U.S. This track is one grande
example. Taken from a 1939 NBC broadcast at New Yorks, Caf Rouge (but
not commercially released until 1953), the aircheck of El Rancho Grande
is also one of Arties own favorites. Shaw saxophonist Tony Pastor does the
vocals in a style Pastor described as patterned after my idol, Louis
Armstrong. Artie later said of El Rancho Grande, When the band comes
41
in behind Tony, it just swings like crazy to the end. To this day, I dont think it
could be improved upon.
ROYAL GARDEN BLUES

Benny Goodman ORCHESTRA
New York November 7, 1940
The Original Dixieland Jazz Band first recorded Royal Garden Blues in
1921. When Benny Goodman got hold of it, it became a tour de force. The
Benny Goodman Sextet was one of musics first super groups, and featured
Goodmans clarinet; Ellington alumnus, Cootie Williams on trumpet; Georgie
Auld on trombone; Count Basie on piano; and Charlie Christian on guitar.
Christian usually stole the spotlight on Goodmans small group recordings
with his driving, probing guitar. Unfortunately, this influential jazz genius
remained with the band for only two years. He died of tuberculosis in 1942
at age of twenty-three.
WAITING FOR THE TRAIN TO COME IN

Peggy Lee
Hollywood
July 30, 1945
In 1943, following a
two year retirement,
Peggy Lee was coaxed
out of her housewife
roll to sign with the
new
Capitol
label,
with
her
along
guitarist
husband,
Dave
Barbour.
Legend has it (and

session
notes
later
confirm) that Peggy

was very tense prior to recording this comeback track even though Barbour
42
was on hand to do the guitar solo and lend his support. Johnny Mercer came
to the rescue, calming the nervous singer, urging her to relax and just
bend the notes. The resulting effort was her first hit as a solo artist and
her first title to reach the top of the charts. Waiting For the Train To Come
In carried a melancholy message that struck an emotional chord with
homesick servicemen and their families waiting for them to return.
STRING OF PEARLS
Glenn Miller Orchestra
New York
November 3, 1941
Quoting from fan mail, Beverly

relays the promise of one young
private to dance the jitterbug on
top of Toykos capital if she
would play String Of Pearls.
This Glenn Miller classic is the
most
memorable
of
Bobby
Hacketts many cornet solos with

the Miller band. Tex Benekes
marvelous sax chorus also helped propel it the top of the pop charts shortly
after Pearl Harbor. But it is Alec Filas memorable trumpet blast that opens
the tune. He was a powerful musician with a brilliant, piercing tone that
lifted you right off your feet, arranger Jerry Gray remembers. When Fila
played the opening to String of Pearls, it scared the hell out of
everybody!
ALONG THE SANTA FE TRAIL
Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band

New York - May 5, 1944
For millions, Glenn Millers name and music still carry an undiminished aura
of nostalgia. His distinctive sound is indelibly etched in the American
consciousness. The massive 42-piece Glenn Miller Army Air Force Training
Command Band was his biggest orchestra, whose members gave unstintingly
43
of
themselves
throughout
the
war.
Miller, of course, made

the
ultimate
sacrifice.
Many fans call his service

band the best of the
Miller orchestras.
This
record was not issued to

the public, but was yet
another aircheck Beverly
had procured for her fans. Singer Johnny Desmond excels in Along the
Santa Fe Trail with the huge AAFTC string section expertly incorporated.
CHEROKEE
Charlie Barnet Orchestra

New York
July 17, 1939
Trumpeter Billy May wrote this arrangement of Ray Nobles, Cherokee in
the back of a bus while the Charlie Barnet band was en route to the
Playland Casino in Rye, New York. When the Barnet orchestra recorded it,
the producer of the session was so unimpressed with their effort that he
offered to give the master disc to Charlie as a birthday present. However,
extensive radio and jukebox play vindicated the recording, and Cherokee
turned out to be the biggest hit of Barnets career.
REDSKIN RHUMBA
Charlie Barnet Orchestra

New York - October, 14, 1940
Redskin Rhumba was a follow-up to Cherokee. It evolved from
Cherokee during a radio program, in order to fill out a show that had run
short. Before long, Redskin Rhumba surfaced as a separate work. It came
in handy when the American Federation of Musicians strike embroiled
network radio in a conflict with ASCAP. For the duration of the strike,
44
Redskin Rhumba became Barnets way around keeping his theme song
while thumbing his nose at both the AFM and ASCAP.
BLUE SKIES
Tommy Dorsey ORCHESTRA

with Frank Sinatra
New York - July 15, 1941
Few would argue with Beverlys description
of Blue Skies as one of the greatest
swing records ever cut. Few, that is,
except for its composer, Irving Berlin, who
exhorted Tommy Dorseys producer to tell
that Irish bastard not to f___ around with
my
song.
Berlins
oft-recorded
Blue
Skies rarely received the hot treatment

that Sy Olivers arrangement gives it here.
Recorded at the orchestras peak, this
incarnation of T.D.s band featured Frank
Sinatra, Buddy Rich on drums, and Ziggy Elman on lead trumpet.
I HAD THE CRAZIEST DREAM
Harry James Orchestra with Helen Forrest

Hollywood - July 22, 1942
If Tommy Dorsey invented new methods of phrasing a tune, Harry James
provided the working model of how to pack an emotional wallop. No one
handled a trumpet note quite like he did; swinging with such force that his
riffs threaten to jump right out of the record groove. Helen Forrest, one of
the great songbirds of the
era, joined Harry on this
track. In her long career, she
sang with nearly all the big
bands.
After
Artie
Shaw
discovered her in 1938, she

jumped to Benny Goodman in
45
1939, and joined James in 1941. I Had the Craziest Dream is one of many
delectable Forrest masterpieces. It became her best-known song and the
title of her 1982 biography.
AC-ENT-TCHU-ATE THE POSITIVE

Johnny Mercer
HollywoodOctober 4, 1944
Johnny Mercer, who as

much
as
Williams
Faulkner,
Tennessee
or
William
represented
Dixie to millions, wrote

and produced a string of
first-rate
hits.
All-American
Ac-Ent-Tchu-Ate
the Positive was even

nominated for an Academy Award. It didnt win, but that didnt stop
Mercer, who would take home four Oscars during his lifetime. Ac-EntTchu-Ate was one of the many hits Mercer co-wrote with Harold Arlen.
Their collaboration was the most rewarding association of either mans
career. Of the many blues-tinged hits they created (Blues in the Night,
Come Rain or Come Shine, One for My Baby, That Old Black Magic),
Ac-Ent-Tchu-Ate was the teams most popular
tune, reaching #1 in February 1945.
ONE OCLOCK JUMP
The Metronome All StarS OF 1940

New York January 16, 1941
No one had ever taken as democratic an
approach to assembling a dream band as the
editors of Metronome Magazine. Popular with
jazz heads and jitterbugs alike, Metronome took
46
an idea from baseballs All-Star teams and extended an invitation to readers

to vote for their favorite musicians in an annual poll. The winners were
then invited to jam in a studio and the records were then released to the
public. The 1940 participants chose to do One OClock Jump, Count
Basies first big hit. It became so popular that Basie adopted it as his theme
song, and performed it in the film version of Reveille with Beverly. Of the
1940 winners, (Trumpets: Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Cootie Williams.
Trombones: Tommy Dorsey, J.C. Higginbotham. Clarinet: Benny Goodman.
Alto sax: Toots Mondello, Benny Carter. Tenor sax: Coleman Hawkins, Tex
Beneke. Piano: Count Basie. Guitar: Charlie Christian. String Bass: Artie
Bernstein. Drums: Buddy Rich), six of the 14 participants were bandleaders
in their own right.
I CAN'T ESCAPE FROM YOU

Benny Carter Orchestra
Hollywood - May 21, 1944
Benny Carter, admired as much as any saxophonist

in jazz, ranked with Johnny Hodges as one of the
two vital influences of 1940s jazz. Endowed with
superb
tone
and
flawless
technique,
Carter
worked with the likes of Fletcher Henderson,

Chick Webb, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and
Freddie Slack. In addition to being one of the
architects of the swing era, he was also a top
trumpet player, arranger and leader of his own orchestras. In 1942, his
band entertained at Los Angeles hot spots such as Billy Bergs, Casa Manana
and The Trocadero. I Cant Escape From You is one of a dozen
exceptionally well-recorded tunes that he laid down for Capitol in 1944.
They reveal all the beauty of Carters playing and arranging, as well as the
tremendous quality of his band.
47
THREE LITTLE WORDS

Ella Fitzgerald
And Her Orchestra
New York January 8, 1941
Riding the crest of stardom after her

runaway hit, A-Tisket A-Tasket, Ella
Fitzgerald
was
named
Metronomes
favorite girl vocalist in both 1939 and

1940. When her bandleader (and father by adoption), the great Chick
Webb, died of tuberculosis in 1939, the 21-year-old Ella led the band and
came into her own as Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra. For a
two-year period, they recorded a variety of pop standards sprinkled with
Tin Pan Alley novelties. Chauncey Haughtons sax and Ellas spirited
improvisation let three little words speak volumes.
JAVA JIVE
The King Sisters

AND Alvino Rey
New York
May 13, 1940
One of the era's most
enduring
groups,
vocal
the
King
SistersDonna,
Yvonne, Louise and
Alycefirst came to
prominence in 1939
when they joined a
new band formed by
Louise's husband, the slide pedal guitarist Alvino Rey. They scored a series
of smash hits: The Hut Sut Song, I Understand, and I'll Get By.
Yvonne King remembered some minor fallout as a result of recording Java
Jive. It was one of our first records. We were Mormons and just nave
teenagers. We didnt realize that the song conflicted with the Mormon Word
48
of Wisdom, which says you arent supposed to smoke, drink alcohol, or

drink coffee! It seems like half the songs we recorded were in conflict with
that. But we did them anyway.
MY DREAMS ARE GETTING BETTER ALL TIME

THE Les Brown Band
OF REKNOWN
with Doris Day
New York
February 2, 1945
Les Brown led a big band

for more than sixty years,
an achievement that has
been duly recognized as a
world record. His band
was on top almost from
the beginning. As far back
as the early 1940s his
orchestra
was
broadcasting institution on network radio. Yet, with all this, Les Brown may
well be remembered for two thingshis long tenure as Bob Hopes
bandleader on countless USO tours and TV programs; and for launching the
career of one of Americas most popular
female vocalists, Doris Day. She put herself
and Brown on the top with My Dreams are
Getting Better All the Time, and a timely
new
Les
Sentimental
Brown
composition
Journey.
As
called
developments
turned in the Allies favor, love songs began

to anticipate reunion at the end of the war. A
sense of exhilaration bobbed to the surface
with My Dreams Are Getting Better All the
Time, an arresting arrangement in which
the orchestra sounds as if it can barely keep a lid on itself.
49
SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY
Les BrownS band OF REKNOWN With Doris Day

New York November 11, 1944
Les Browns second hit was subtler than My Dreams Are Getting Better All
The Time. On Sentimental Journey the band sounds as if it is lounging
on a sunny beach. Doris Day recalls that when she and band first ran though
the composition at a late-night rehearsal, it generated little enthusiasm
from the group. Then we played it on a couple of broadcasts and the mail
started pouring in. Before that, I dont think wed even planned to record
it. But of course we did--right away--and you know the rest. The slow
sultry tune became the bands signature. It is indelibly attached to the
nostalgic longing that came to symbolize the imminent return of soldiers
from distant battles. Both songs (My Dreams and Sentimental) were number
one in concurrent weeks in May of 1945, just as Hitler surrendered, and will
always be associated with the final days of the war.
Show Two - Hour Two

THEY'RE EITHER TOO YOUNG OR TOO OLD
Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra
with Kitty Kallen
New York - October 7, 1943
Was there ever a better example of a master

lyricist having fun with his craft and still getting
the
message
across
than
Frank
Loessers,
Theyre Either Too Young or Too Old? Its

tongue-in-cheek vocal by Kitty Kallen, with all its
implied promise of love on hold, clinched its
success. If Helen Forrest was the Queen of
Swing, little Kitty Kallen was its princess. Already
established with Jack Teagardens band as the 17-year-old kid from
Philadelphia with the great voice, her later recordings with Jimmy Dorseys
50
band established her as a major recording star. The Jimmy Dorsey-Kitty

Kallen pairing produced three top-five records on the charts in early 1944,
this being the first.
TANGERINE
Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra

with Helen OConnell and Bob Eberly
New York - December 10, 1941
Helen OConnell was undoubtedly the most
popular of Jimmy Dorseys vocalists. Many
people remember her primarily for the duets
she sang with Bob Eberly. They developed a
formula
for
Dorseys
radio
program
that
proved to be a sensation. Eberly sang the first

chorus of a ballad, the tempo would pick up,
Dorsey would play a jazz chorus, the tempo would slow again, and Helen
OConnell would come in with a wailing finale. They used it on records too-the first of these, Green Eyes, sold 90,000 copies in a few days.
Amapola was another, as was Star Eyes. The most popular of the
collaborations was Tangerine, hitting number three in May 1942.
SUMMIT RIDGE DRIVE
Artie Shaw And His Gramercy Five

Hollywood - September 3, 1940
Artie Shaw saw frontline action too. His Navy band played in jungles,
airplane hangars, and on the decks of ships all over the Pacific Theatre.
Conditions were grim. The Shaw outfit survived seventeen bombing attacks
by Japanese aircraft trying to hit the warships transporting the band from
island to island. No matter the conditions, Shaws many bands provided
magnificent, inventive music rivaling Miller and Goodman, both in quality
and popularity. His pre-war Gramercy Five was a small group from Arties
orchestra that included Shaws clarinet, Billy Butterfields trumpet, and a
51
rhythm section featuring Johnny Guarnieri on harpsichord. The song was

named after the Hollywood street Artie lived on.
STAR DUST

Hollywood
October 7, 1940
Artie Shaws version of Stardust was built on an unusual string backing
and a series of excellent solos. Billy Butterfield set this Hoagy Carmichael
composition on its swinging way with a soaring trumpet solo that made the
recording an instant classic. Jack Jenneys trombone solo also stands as a
melodic paraphrase second to none. His performance included an
extraordinary octave leap to high F, which was admired far-and-wide by
musicians at the time, not only for the ease with which Jenney managed
the deed but also for the elegance and sensitivity of his phrasing. Shaw,
too, played magnificently, performing his solo with a loving, warm feeling
that no other clarinetist of the time could match, topping his effort with a
stunning high A. Shaws rendition of Star Dust was one of the biggest hits
of the era, became the definitive version of the song and one of Shaws
outstanding accomplishments.
CABIN IN THE SKY
Benny Goodman Orchestra

with Helen Forrest
New York
November 29, 1940
In one of Beverlys most
poignant letters, a B-17
pilot
somewhere
in
England requested Cabin

In The Sky. The letter
read, We know that you
are behind us to the last
mile and that last mile isn't

far awaywe wont let you down, believe me.
52
Ethyl Waters originally
performed this song in the play of the same name. True to form, Beverly found
a swinging Fletcher Henderson arrangement of it by Benny Goodmans
orchestra. Recorded just a month after Cabin in The Sky opened on Broadway,
this 1940 recording didnt hit the charts until June 1943. Often overlooked
today, Helen Forrests vocal and Goodmans soaring clarinet make this a swing
masterpiece.
CALDONIA
Woody HermanS Young Thundering Herd

New York
February 26, 1945
As the war drew to a close, Woody Hermans First Herd came together as
a band to reflect the spirited, muscle-flexing exuberance of an America
emerging as a triumphant world power. But, the AFM ban prevented the
band from recording. Woody got around this by waxing several V-Discs
records free of union
restrictions
because
they were distributed

only to troops overseas.
Members of the Armed
Forces
were
hear
new
able
to
Herman
selections as early as
the summer of 1944-and
even request them from
Beverlybut
wouldnt
they
be
commercially recorded or released to the public until months later. Herman

produced one of the finest jazz orchestras and created a body of work that
stand to this day as classics of the era. This catchy version of Louis Jordans
Caldonia was Woodys biggest hit.
53
NORTHWEST PASSAGE
Woody HermanS Young Thundering Herd

New York
March 1, 1945
All the elements that
made
Woody
Hermans First Herd

such
swinging
juggernaut
in
coalesce
the
volcanic
bands
version
of
Northwest
Passage.
It
demonstrates
what
Woody meant when

he said, When those
guys blow, I duck! In
1945, the band won
both the Down Beat
and
music
Metronome
polls,
and
broke ballroom and

theatre
attendance
records all over the

country. Northwest
Passage broke new
groundthe faster tempo moved away from the realm of dance and into the
realm of jazz as composition, as music to be heard and listened to on its
own merits. Hermans Herd was the ideal band to present it, and
Northwest Passage resides squarely on the line between the big band era
and the emerging styles of Stan Kenton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker.
54
I'M BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT

Harry James Orchestra with Kitty Kallen
New York - November 21, 1944
As close to a perfect swing record as is ever likely to be released, Im

Beginning to See the Light, is lyrically flawless and expertly executed by
the Harry James Orchestra. James approached it with a bouncy, rockingchair beat that very few, if any, white bands had achieved. But it was Kitty
Kallens sexy delivery that made the record a four alarm fire now. Twice
in 1945, the Kitty Kallen-Harry James combo had six songs in the top ten
and this record demonstrates the reasons. Im Beginning to See the Light
jumped to number one on the charts in April 1945, beating Duke Ellington
even though he wrote it and had recorded it, too.
ITS BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME

Harry James Orchestra with Kitty Kallen
New York - September 17, 1945
As World War II ground to a weary halt, the thoughts of American fighting

men turned increasingly to going home. Perhaps no song captured the mood
of anticipation as well as Its Been A Long, Long Time. Jule Styne, who
co-wrote one of the anthems of wartime parting, I Dont Want to Walk
Without You, came full circle in 1945, collaborating with Sammy Cahn on
this song of homecoming. It was given to Harry James who, following the
settlement of the AFM
strike, was intent on
making a big splash by
adding
two-dozen
strings to his band. The

lush new sound and the
sumptuous
vocals
of
Kitty Kallen sent the

ballad to the top of the
charts and was one of
the last songs to become emotionally intertwined with World War II.
55
IT DON'T MEAN A THING IF YOU AINT GOT THAT

SWING
While the word swing was initially associated

with Benny Goodman around 1935, it had
actually been around for years to describe a
particular rhythmic feeling. Years before swing
became the designation for a whole era in
popular music, Duke Ellington was the first to
use the word in a song title, in his original
version of It Dont Mean A Thing, from 1932.
This updated 1945 version shows off the hard
driving energy the Ellington band could muster.
All three of Ellingtons female vocalists perform.
Kay Davis, Joya Sherrill and Marie Ellington are
introduced one at a time in a clever round built on the opening phrase.
C JAM BLUES
Chicago - January 21, 1942
Dukes landmark, C Jam Blues, is an
easygoing number; one of the few in
Ellingtons repertoire that seemed to be
a loose jam. But C Jam Blues is
deceptive. Until the last chorus there is
little hint of a big band. It was part of
Ellingtons master plan, a hidden script,
and structure behind all the blowing. The song builds through five solos with
a succession of swinging soloists. Then, in the sixth and seventh choruses,
the Duke engulfs Barney Bigards clarinet in dramatic orchestral figures that
bring the piece to a stunning climax.
56
ROCK DANIEL
Sister Rosetta Tharpe

WITH Lucky MillinderS Orchestra
Los Angeles August 1943
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who mastered the
guitar at age six, was gospels first national
star. Noted for her remarkably powerful
mezzo-soprano voice and fiery, rhythmic
drive, she sang in churches before coming to
New York to star at The Cotton Club. The
swinging
spiritualist
thrilled
Harlem
audiences, but a number of ministers in the

area criticized her for putting too much
motion
and
emotion
into
her
singing.
Conscience-stricken over her secular performances, Sister Tharpe returned

to her religious musical roots. Her unusual combination of gospel style with
Lucky Millinders big band sound was an intriguing experiment while it
lasted. Following her Apollo days, Tharpe went on to even greater fame as a
gospel-folk singer.
RHUMBOOGIE
Gene KrupA orchestra

with Irene Daye
New York
September 3, 1940
Gene Krupa was an original member of Benny
Goodmans breakthrough swing band of 1935,
and was another catalyst of the big band era.
There had been ingenious drummers before
him, but they worked largely as unobtrusive
timekeepers. When Krupa arrived, it was a new
ball game. Anyone who ever saw Krupa beat the drums was unlikely to
forget the sight. Sweat would stream down his face and his clothes would be
drenched in perspiration. His sticks traveled as fast as hummingbird wings
57
as he attacked the drums with abandon. Krupa left Goodman in 1938 to

form his own orchestra. He took Irene Daye as the Canary and stocked his
band with some of the best young musicians around.
COW-COW BOOGIE
Freddie Slack
WITH Ella Mae Morse
Hollywood May 21, 1942
The very first
hit
from
brand
the
new
Capitol Records
was Cow-Cow
Boogie,
performed
by
pianist Freddie
Slack
and
his
big-voiced
Texas
brunette, 18-year-old Ella Mae Morse. The song, originally penned by
boogie-woogie pioneer, Cow Cow Davenport, caught Capitol co-founder
Johnny Mercers ears. Benny Carter gave it a new arrangement and on May
21, 1942, Slack and Morse cut the song at Capitols first recording session.
Ella Mae remembered, Johnny Mercer was in charge and he said, Okay,
lets run it through onceand thats what we did. When we got through
with it, he said, Wrap it up. Thats a take. I said, I can do it better than
that! He said, No you cant. I burst into tears but that was it; one take.
Mercer was right. It put us on the map, Ella added. And thats how
Capitol scored a million-seller its first time out. To this day the gold disc
for Cow-Cow Boogie hangs outside of the presidents office at the Capitol.
58
MR. FIVE BY FIVE
Freddie Slack
with Ella Mae Morse
Hollywood - July 20, 1942
Freddie Slack had a lot going for him when he left the Will Bradley-Ray
McKinley band in 1941. He had been featured there (and with Jimmy
Dorseys band before that) on a batch of boogie-woogie hits like, Beat Me
Daddy Eight to the Bar, and Down the Road Apiece. He was in the right
place at the right time and the world was ready for Freddie Slack. Following
the success of Cow-Cow Boogie, Slack struck gold with Mr. Five-ByFive. The song is about the legendarily large Jimmy Rushing, the big man
with the big voice in Count Basies band. Ella Mae Morse was perfect in this
jivey blues that also featured a cameo by Johnny Mercer.
GEE BABY, AIN'T I GOOD TO YOU

Nat King Cole Trio
Hollywood
November 30, 1943
Nat King Cole was another

early Capitol artist who had
been long respected in Los
Angeles jazz circles. Nat
recalled, One night at the
331 Club, Johnny Mercer
and Glenn Wallichs came in
and
asked
if
Id
be
interested in recording for

them. Well, that sounded
groovy to me. The Nat King
Cole
Trio
walked
into
Capitol Records when the company was just an office measuring twelve by
fourteen feet, with all the masters kept in the drawer of one desk. Capitol
wanted new talent and the King Cole Trio certainly qualified. When the AFM
59
recording ban ended, Cole and company were among the first to record.
From their first Capitol session, Gee Baby, Aint I Good to You, jumped to
number one in late 1944.
MARCHETA
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra

Marcheta pre-dated the birth of jazz. It was written as a waltz in 1913 by
Broadway songwriter, Victor Schertzinger. The ubiquitous Johnny Mercer
played a part in resurrecting Schertzingers songwriting career. Thanks to
Mercer, Schertzingers Tangerine and I Remember You became two of
the most recorded songs in history. Gene Krupa also had a hand in the
Schertzinger revival of the 1930s. Krupa, who liked to experiment with
classical motifs, demonstrated how Marcheta could swing. In 1939,
Tommy Dorsey picked it up and gave it to Sy Oliver to arrange. The result is
this marvelous instrumental, highlighted by a searing, but understated Pee
Wee Erwin trumpet solo that keeps things cooking at a low boil. Marcheta
became familiar to millions as the flip side of the first Tommy Dorsey-Pied
Pipers-Frank Sinatra smash, Ill Never Smile Again.
I'LL BE SEEING YOU
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra

with Frank Sinatra
New York February 26, 1940
Though its indelibly associated with World War II, Ill Be Seeing You was
written in 1938 for the Broadway musical, Right This Way. The song didnt
make an impression then, nor would it in 1940 when Tommy Dorsey cut this
version. But four years later, Bing Crosby recorded it, which prompted
Victor Records to reissue the Dorsey/Sinatra version. The song became
number one in June of 1944. It took five years for Ill Be Seeing You to
become a hit, but the prospect of wars end turned it into a standard. Its
been said that World War II will be more widely understood from its love
60
songs than it will be from the Potsdam Conference or the Battle of Midway.
There is probably no better example of that supposition than this song. The
old familiar places mentioned in Ill Be Seeing You are a perfect place to
conclude our Beverly flashback. As the pensive AFRS announcer says at the
close of the broadcast, Ah, Bev, that was swell
Swell? She was fantastic!
-Dean Opperman
Santa Barbara, CA
July 2001
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61

Reveille With Beverly (Final 30)

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Reveille With Beverly (Final 30)

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REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

Yeah cats from Katmandu to Ketchikan! Here she

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

servicemen and read clippings from camp

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

wartime necessityas essential to troop morale as a Rita Hayworth pin-up or

Beverlys would be a bigger destiny than most, and the

rendezvous would come very quickly.

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

doing their duty

from Denver got

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

When asked if shed received any marriage

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

In Hollywood, executives at Columbia Pictures caught wind of the girl disc

flattered, of course, but a

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

When they asked me to

Station KNX presents

reveille for the armed

Beverly is a novel program designed to relieve the rigors of reveille,

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

Sgt. George Eichler of San Diego wrote, Ask any GIwhether he be a

vivacious Hedy Lamarrno, the

sentiment with a simple, If all

married? and, What do you look

There were letters of love and devotion, of

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

By 1943, Beverly was receiving over a thousand letters a week. In all

commendations, like the

Turret of a B-17 With, and

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

when Radio Tokyo launched a

transparent affair featuring

named Iva Toguri, took the

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

sounded by G.I.s. When the

overly familiar and called me

dispatched to KNX from a

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

Opening Night, Torpedo Junction, I

military made me read them word for

instance, was broadcast fourteen times just

Allied intelligence used me as a carrier

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

kicked off one of the greatest

around the world, in Europe

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

Almost overnight, Sinatra was a

Hundreds of teenage girls

weekly radio show, 13 hours

Boulevard to Vine Street as their owners waited to squeal coast to coast

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

thousands of lads in her audience every

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY - Dean Opperman (Final Draft 30.)

provided it. I tried

new artists like Stan