“An eye for an eye…”

December 17, 2021
1941


“Remember Pearl Harbor”; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye; Don Reid; Sammy Kaye; Victor (27738-A); Publication date: December 17, 1941

Hawaii Raid In Photos 9 Pages

PEARL HARBOR: Nine Pages of Pictures

First Photos of the Battle of Pearl Harbor…

…Show How Viciously Army Posts Were Bombed

A Direct Hit on a Pleasure Car Took Three…


“Marching Along Together”; Xavier Cugat and his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra; Cugat Chorus; Dixon; Pola; Steininger; Columbia (36496); Publication date: December 17, 1941

U.S. Planes Were Stopped Before They Took Off…

…While Japanese Set Countless Fires Near Honolulu

U.S. Soldiers Stand Guard…


PM, December 17, 1941 (Photos by U.S. Army from Wide World and Movietone News)


“Viva Roosevelt!”; Xavier Cugat and his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra; Leonard Stokes; Miguelito Valdes; Cugat Chorus; Cugat; Stillman; Columbia (36496); Publication date: December 17, 1941

“Whoopee!”

December 16, 2021
1941


“The Star Spangled Banner”; Kate Smith and The Kate Smith Singers; Key; Smith; Jack Miller; Columbia (36511); Publication date: December 16, 1941


PM, December 16, 1941, p. 6

Full Text of the President’s Message to Congress…


“America, I Love You”; Kate Smith and The Kate Smith Singers; Leslie Gottier; Jack Miller; Columbia (36511); Publication date: December 16, 1941


PM, December 16, 1941, p. 7

..How Japan, Step by Step, Forced War in the pacific


“The Bill Of Rights”; Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights; Myers; Gorney; Columbia (35865); November 27, 1940


PM, December 16, 1941, p. 15

New York Solemnly Observes Bill of Rights Day

Bill of Rights Day – the 150th anniversary of the signing of the great document by the last of the original states, was marked elaborately in New York. Most impressive was this salute to the flag (see Mayor Fiorella La Guardia in front row) at City Hall.
Photo by Gene Badger

Before… Test Air-Raid Alarm in Times Square… After

The usual 10 a.m. traffic, the usual pedestrian, swarmed through Times Square at 10 a.m. Then police rehearsed a raid alarm…

Pedestrian were hustled off the streets, trolly cars and buses were emptied. Hurray – it works!
Photos by Wide World


[End of] “President Roosevelt Bill Of Rights Speech”; President Franklin D. Roosevelt (KHJ radio); Publication date: December 15, 1941


“Whoopee!!”; Ben Selvin and His Orchestra; De Sylva; Brown; Conrad; Vocalion (B 15154); November 23, 1925


The New York Times, December 16, 1941

LEPKE DEFENDANT IS FREED BY COURT

Printer Cleared of Operating ‘Front’ for $10,000,000 Narcotics Ring


“Whoopie Cha Cha”; Randy Carlos and his Orch.; Donaldson; Kahn; Rainbow (363); 1956

“Horror and Anguish…”

December 15, 2021
1939


“Wrap Your Troubles In Romantic Dreams Between the Moon and the 19th Willow”; Bing Crosby; Publication date: December 15, 1939


The Daily Argus, December 15, 1939

HORROR AND ANGUISH mark the faces of Mrs. H. Torres (left) and her daughter, Ada, as they watch a New York tenement fire in which Mrs. Torres’ sister and young nephew, Mrs. Ramona Malave thirty, and her son, Edward, died.


“Just for You Heart Sick Lovely Hawaiian Madonna in the Sand”; Andy Iona and his Orchestra; Publication date: December 15, 1939

While Tories Bar Low-Rent Housing

Mother and Son Die in B’klyn Tenement Fire

Fire roared through an old tenement in Brooklyn at 2 A.M. yesterday and took the lives of Mrs. Ramonia Malava, 10, and her 7-year-old son Edward.

The four-story tenement at 41 Bartlett St. was occupied by twelve families, all of whom managed to get out except Mrs. Malava and her boy, who were trapped in a rear apartment on the fourth floor. Their charred bodies were found near a window, indicating that they had been overcome while trying to escape…

The tenement fire was discovered when one of the occupants thought he smelled smoke. When he went to the hall the stair-well was a blazing furnace. He managed to get down a fire-escape to turn in an alarm.

Meanwhile a passerby, seeing the flames,, rushed into the building and aroused its occupants by banging on as many doors as he could reach.

Firemen are investing the orgin of the fire, which is believed to have started in a third-floor apartment.

The Daily Worker, December 15, 1939


“Holy Smoke (Can’t You Take Ya Take a Joke?) Pinch Me I Want My Mama Between 18th and 19th On Chestnut Street”; The Ole Tom-cat of the Keys Bob Zurke and his Delta Rhythm Band; Publication date: December 15, 1939


The New York Times, December 15, 1939

LEPKE DEFENDANT BARES PAST CRIMES

Denies Aiding Narcotics Ring, Then Admits He Was Former Burglar and Bootlegger

Missing Finger A Trap


“Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)”; Bing Crosby; John Scott Trotter And His Orchestra; Ted Koehler; Bill Moll; Harry Barris; Decca (2948 B); Publication date: December 15, 1939

“This Is Everybody’s War…”

December 15, 2021
1941


“He’s 1-A in the Army and He’s A-1 in My Heart”; Johnny Long And His Orchestra; Helen Young; Redd Evans; Decca (4115 A); Publication date: December 15, 1941


PM, December 15, 1941, p. 14

Air Raid Instructions for Teachers, Pupils and Parents


“Stormy Weather; Ill Wind”; Ted Koehler; Ned Freeman; Lou Bring; Harold Arlen; Lena Horne; Victor (27819-A / 27819-B); Publication date: December 15, 1941



PM, December 15, 1941, pp. 16-17

This Is Everybody’s War, And Here Are Some Of The Things Americans Can Do About It


“The Man I Love; Where or When”; Richard Rodgers; Lena Horne; Ira and George Gershwin; Lou Bring; Ned Freeman; Lorenz Hart; RCA Victor (27818-A / 27818-B); Publication date: December 15, 1941

“Trapped in Flames…”

December 14, 2021
1939


“Blues in the Groove”; Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra; Durham”; Vocalion (5395); Publication date: December 14, 1939


Batavia Daily News, December 14, 1939, p.1

TRAPPED IN FLAMES MOTHER AND SON DIE

Burn to Death in New York When Flames Destroy Tenement Building

OTHERS ESCAPE IN NIGHT


The New York Post, December 14, 1939 (Photo by Irving Haberman)

“THEY’RE STILL UP THERE!”

Mrs. Henrietta Torres and her daughter, Ada, photographed just after they were rescued from a two-alarm fire at 41 Bartlett Street, Brooklyn, early today. Mrs. Ramona Malave and her son, Edward, relatives of Mrs, Torres, were brought down later – dead.


“Uptown Blues”; Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra; Lunceford; Columbia (30232); Publication date: December 14, 1939


The New York Sun, December 14, 1939 (Photo by Irving Haberman)

FIREMEN MAKE RESCUES AT FATAL BLAZE

A scene at 41 Bartlett street, Brooklyn, early today as firemen engaged in rescue work in the four-story tenement house where two persons lost their lives. One of the tenants of an adjoining building is shown near the lower corner of the picture.


The New York Sun, December 14, 1939

WOMAN AND SON PERISH IN FIRE

Trapped at Window of Their Brooklyn Home


Weegee, Naked City, 1945, pp. 74-75

I Cried When I took This Picture

Mother and daughter cry and look up hopelessly as another daughter and her young baby are burning to death in the top floor of the tenement… firemen couldn’t reach them in time… on account of the stairway collapsing.


“Lunceford Special”; Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra; Lunceford; Durham; Gerald Wilson; Willie Smith; Trummy Young; Joe Thomas; Columbia (38338); Publication date: December 14, 1939


The New York Times, December 14, 1939

GOVERNMENT ENDS LEPKE TESTIMONY

Completes Its Case as 23d Witness Testifies Against Narcotics Defendant


“It’s Time To Jump and Shout”; Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra; Durham; Vocalion (5430); Publication date: December 14, 1939

“Shades of prohibition…”

December 13, 2021
1943


“Bartender Boogie”; Jack McVea and His Door Openers; McVea; Mosley; Black & White (766 A); July 1946


Life, December 13, 1943, pp. 38-39 (Photos by Weegee, Thomas D. McAvoy, Edith Rose, Walter Sanders, and Sam Shere)


“Bartender, Fill It up Again!”; Otis Blackwell; Jay-Dee (787); 1954


Life, December 13, 1943, p. 38 (Photo by Weegee)

Shades of prohibition hovers over New York City on Nov. 23, when Federal agents raided three dozen taverns and bars accused of selling bootleg liquor. In the west side as shown here, more than 50 gallons of hooch were found, some of it in bottles of well-known brands. Raiders are tearing the joint to pieces under forfeiture provisions of Internal Revenue law.


“Hey Bartender”; Red Saunders & his Orch.; Joe Williams; R. Hall; Saunders; Okeh (7061); 1955

WHISKY SHORTAGE

Nation drinks what it can as favorite spirit grows scarce.

Throughout the U.S. last week, liquor-store proprietors gave customers the once-over…


“Quiet Whisky”; Wynonie Harris; Schell; Glover; Harris; Weismantel; King (4685); September 11, 1953


Life, December 13, 1943, p. 38

In Washington this liquor store disposes pf all its available whisky each week in a hectic one-hour sale. Clerks handle long lines of customers on a first-come, first-served basis.

In Virginia, where liquor is rationed through Alcoholic Beverage Control Board stores, customers may buy one quart of spirits or a half gallon of table wine per month. In this ABC store stocks are low.


“Hey Bartender”; Floyd Dixon and his Band; Terry; Cat (114); April 1955

“We’re at War…”

December 12, 2021
1941


“If It’s Any News to You”; Clyde Bernhardt and his Blue Blazers; Clyde Bernhardt; Bernhardt; Hilliard; Sonora (109-B); 1946


“Looking the World Over”; Memphis Minnie; Lawler; Okeh (6707); December 12, 1941


“No Good”; Bob Chester and his Orchestra; Alvin; Melisande; Better Bradley; Bluebird (B-11428-B); Publication date; December 12, 1941


“Black Rat Swing”; Little Son Joe; Lawler; Okeh (6707); December 12, 1941


“Blackout”; Erskine Hawkins (The Twentieth Century Gabriel); Averi Parrish; Sam Lowe; Bluebird (B-11192-B); May 15, 1941


PM, December 12, 1941


“And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” Parts 1 and 2; Sterling Holloway; Harry Sosnik; Dr. Seuss; December 12, 1941

December 12, 1941

“New York Has Skyscrapers for Air Raid Shelters”

December 11, 2021
1941


“If It’s News to You”; Little Esther; Singleton; McCoy; Savoy (1516); May 2, 1956

PM Changes News Arrangement


“B-19”; Harry James and his Orchestra; James; Holmes; Columbia (36478); Publication date: December 11, 1941

Approaches to New York Harbor Mined by Navy


“Skyscraper”; “Flip” Phillips Fliptet; Phillips; Bauer; Neil Hefti; Aaron Sachs; Bill Harris; Joe Phillips; Ralph Burns; Chubby Jackson; Billy Bauer; Dave Tough; Signature (28106-A); October 2, 1944

New York Has Skyscrapers for Air Raid Shelters

Simple Safety Rules Will Save Lives When the Bombers Come

Since the began in 1939, automobiles have killed more civilians in America than bombs in Britain…


“Skyscraper Blues”; Dick Haymes; Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra; Gordon Jenkins; Tom Adair; Decca (24606 A); December 27, 1947

Simple Rules Show How to Make a Home Safer in Raids


“I’ve Heard That [Air Raid] Before”; Harry James and his Orchestra; Helen Forrest; Styne; Cahn; Columbia (37521); Publication date: December 11, 1941 and “Air Raid”; Major (5026 A); 1960

Blackout Curtains Will Hinder Night Bomb Raiding

‘Ghost’ Stripes Mark Blacked-Out Automobiles

PM, December 11, 1941


“Blackout Blues”; Billie Hayes; Peter Pan; Leslie Beacon; Beacon (5002-A); June 1943

“…a kind of game…”

December 10, 2021
1941, World War II


“Air Raid Sirens”; Major (4023 A); 1960

REMEMBER: A long and a short blast are for an air-raid alarm. A series of short blasts means all clear.


“You Don’t Know What Love Is”; Benny Goodman and his Orch.; Art London; Raye; de Paul; Okeh (6534); December 10, 1941


Full Text of the President’s Address Last Night… …Seven-Day Work Week Announced for War Industries

…Powerful and resourceful gangsters…

The President Says Axis Is at War With Us Now


President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat Following The Declaration Of War On Japan”; December 9, 1941

New York Has Its First Air-Raid Alarms, But the Enemy Fails to Make Appearance

A million schoolchildren were evacuated from their classrooms yesterday as New York had two air-raid alarms – the first of the war. These pupils at PS 34 on Hester Street look on the whole procedure as a kind of game. The alarm found most New Yorkers calm, but left them puzzled as to what it was all about. There is one theory that somebody mistook American planes for the enemy; another holds that it was a staged dress rehearsal. The Army denied the latter theory. Whatever the cause, we needed the practice. PM Photo by Weegee



“Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry”; Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra; Helen O’Connell; Victor Schertzinger; Johnny Mercer; Decca (4122 A); December 10, 1941


“I Remember You”; Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra; Bob Eberly; Victor Schertzinger; Johnny Mercer; Decca (4132 A); December 10, 1941

FBI’s Alien Roundup Brings in 335 Prisoners


“Not Mine”; Benny Goodman and his Orchestra; Peggy Lee; Mercer; Schertzinger; Columbia (38280); December 10, 1941

‘I Want to Stay Here,’ Wept This Japanese

PM, December 10, 1941 (Photos by Morris Gordon, Weegee, Harris and Ewing, and Click Magazine)


“Ev’rything I Love”; Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra; Bob Eberly; Cole Porter; Decca (4123 B); December 10, 1941

“…Powerful and resourceful gangsters…”