Victory Parade Spotlight of Bands

Ever since Benny Goodman started the Swing Era at the Palomar Ballroom on August 21, 1935, Swing Music gained popularity, first with the kids who wanted to dance to it and eventually with sponsors who were willing to pay for it.

In 1941, Mutual had the bright idea of broadcasting Swing Bands remotely from various halls around the country. Recording a live event for later broadcast did not carry the stigma at Mutual that it did on NBC or CBS, and there were Mutual Stations around the country to support the remotes. Coca Cola was sold on the idea, and the first edition of Spotlight Bands was broadcast just days before Pearl Harbor.

Once the War started, everyone realized that the most appreciative halls were the various military bases and defense plants around the country. One of the ways that the show "paid the rent for the hall" was to provide the recordings to Special Services who repackaged them as Victory Parade for AFRS.

Patriotism is well and good, but it helps if the music is hot! And it was on Spotlight Bands/Victory Parade. Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, Les Brown, Guy Lombardo, Bob Crosby, Gene Krupa, Ted Fio Rito, Jack Teagarden, Louis Armstrong, Lawrence Welk and many others lent their talents to the program. The broadcasts would open with a bugle calling assembly, followed by a "roll call", starting with the band leader, the band, and finally the men of the facility that the show was visiting. Perhaps the musicians pulled out all the stops for the servicemen, but the Victory Parade recordings are some of the best of the Swing Era.