Welcome to my personal web page dedicated to the preservation of the great big band sounds of the past. I have been a collector of remote broadcasts and transcribed shows for many years. It is a very rewarding hobby. As a musician myself, I have always been fascinated with the “live” sound of the many big bands that broadcasted nightly from every part of the country during the 1930's, 1940's, and into the mid - 1950's. There is something about the “live” sound of a remote broadcast that excites the imagination and co njures up visions of the countless ballrooms, dance halls, and hotel locations that were everywhere in the country. There were local dance bands in nearly every town in America. There were also territory bands and the big “name bands” that broadcast regularly from the most famous night spots in the country. Most local radio stations carried these wonderful broadcasts via the national networks, Mutual, CBS, NBC, and ABC. During WW II the Armed Forces Radio Service was formed in order to provide entertainment to the many service personnel both overseas and stationed at the many military installations throughout the United States. Fortunately for us collectors many of the AFRS shows have been preserved. There were many AFRS shows dedicated to the music of the big bands, One Night Stand, Downbeat, Magic Carpet, Jubilee, just to name a few. The AFRS also produced edited versions of commercial shows such as the Coca Cola Spotlight Bands series, the Tommy Dorsey Raleigh Shows, and Your Hit Parade.
My personal collection numbers some 10,000+ broadcasts, transcriptions, and transcribed shows. Several years ago, I began to transfer programs from tape to CD. As many of my reel tapes are 30-40 years old I thought it prudent to attempt to preserve these wonderful sounds by digitalizing them. All my programs are processed through a 15 band equalizer as part of the CD recording . None, however, have been digitally remastered. There are some repeats of the same shows throughout my CD list. Often I will come across a better copy or a more complete broadcast of a show that I have already put onto CD. Instead of constantly reworking my list I generally leave the earlier version in place. I have also attempted to note the running time of each show and the sound quality as I perceive it. A few remarks about sound quality are in order.
Sound quality is to the ears of the listener as beauty is to the eyes of the beholder. My intent is to maximize the sound quality of each individual show. Therefore, there will often be differences in volume and clarity among shows on the same CD. I use the following symbols in denoting sound quality as I perceive it:
G - This is the “average sound” of a 50-60 year old broadcast.
G/VG - Good to Very Good
VG - Very Good
EX - Excellent Sound Quality
FLX - Volume fluctuation on original source.
SN - Surface noise, such as scratches or static
I try to record new material to CD’s every week. My intent is to preserve my collection for future generations to enjoy. Thanks to the contributions of many collectors around the country I hope to continue with this project for years to come. I always enjoy hearing from fellow big band collectors and enthusiasts. As you scroll through the pages of my shows you will see that I have tried to preserve a wide range of musical styles, swing, sweet, hotel bands, dance bands, and jazz ensembles. I believe that it is important to save these items for the future. Most commercial record companies are not interested in much of this material, and therefore it remains with the collectors and interested parties to archive these fascinating bits of our musical past. If you have any questions or comments, or would simply like to chat about big band remotes, please contact my e-mail. I will respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you
for visiting my collection,
Mark Caputo
.