The One Night Stand Series broadcasts from 1943 to 1965 made the United States Armed Forces Radio Service the biggest music producer the world has ever known. Played over both military and civilian radio stations in many countries, most Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcasts were sheer entertainment but they kept memories of home alive for American Service men and women around the globe. The 30-minute One Night Stand transcriptions included live broadcasts or remotes from all the popular ballrooms and hotels in the United States. Every type of band such as Hawaiian, Latin, novelty, sweet, dance, swing, jazz, large, small, black, and white was represented. Found here is the Regular Series up to 1001--to round off a mastering week. The Fill Series and the Popular Music Replacement Series, also found here, ran concurrently with the main series. A small number of transcriptions missing from the official libraries have not been included but otherwise compilers Harry Mackenzie and Lothar Polomski have gathered together every available shred of information for this exhaustive volume. Besides a history of the Armed Forces Radio Service and the Regular, Fill, and Popular series, the book contains a list of unidentified programs, five separate appendixes, and two indexes.
The book begins with an extensively researched history of the Special Service Division of the Armed Forces that oversaw the production of the transcribed broadcasts and facilitated their distribution globally. Included here is a detailed discussion of the methods and materials of transcription and reproduction as well as a history of the American Forces Network: its spread and current status. Then follow the discographies for the Regular Series, Fill Series, Popular Music Replacement Series, and Unidentified Programmes. Five appendixes contain information such as location addresses, a directory of bandleaders, themes, and commercial issues by country of origin. There are also two separate band indexes. This is a singular reference for anyone seeking information about the music of the World War II and post-war eras.
About the Author: HARRY MACKENZIE is a retired British telecommunications engineer residing in Glasgow, Scotland. His previous books include Basic Musical Library, P Series, 1-1000 (Greenwood Press, 1990), AFRS Downbeat: An Exploratory Discography, and Johnny Mercer Chesterfield Series 1944.
LOTHAR POLOMSKI is a retired banker living in Berlin, Germany.
