The ‘Hottest Man in The Band’ was a gimmick number performed by Walt Roesner and the Capitolians, a west coast band inexplicably named for their long-standing gig at the Capitol Theater in New York. Don’t ask me why. That’s what slim information the internet produced regarding this very fine musical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxYSVO78Edchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAFLS-jyti4 Yesterday I posted about pre-code portrayals of gay men in the movies and cartoons of the era. The usual characterization was of what was commonly known as a ‘sissy’ or ‘pansy’. Which brings us to the once popular and now utterly obscure bandleader Dick Rich. Above I’ve posted two
The all-girl orchestra was generally regarded as something of a ‘gimmick’–an oddity that amused audiences due to the rarity of seeing women playing horns, saxes, basses and drums. Indeed, only singing, violin and piano playing seemed to be considered appropriate and not jarring for a woman to be seen playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irSFb-DTeIs Yesterday I posted a lovely video mash-up of images (still and live) reconstructing the 1927 Ziegfeld Follies, accompanied by a twin piano arrangement of some 20s tunes taken from an Ampico piano roll. I mentioned that the twin piano act was a popular featured act in Vaudeville of the