NOT JUST A POODLE SKIRT, chrome, pink & black 50s-themed cafe, although that era is well represented. Nostalgia is part of it, but the main idea is that the era between the 20s and early 60s produced great popular entertainment: jazz, musical theatre, and popular music, as well as some of the best movies ever made–a wealth of rich content worth exploring in depth. Anchored by an old-fashioned soda fountain and art deco jukebox loaded with tunes both well-known and obscure from each decade in our period of interest, the Jitterbug Palace will offer music and movies on CD and DVD; books on the people and trends in the history of jazz, dance bands and early radio & TV; the actors, directors and studios; and hundreds of posters and other memorabilia. I invite you to poke around on this site; check out the sound and movie files–regard them as previews of things to come. And don't miss the links to some cool nostalgia/historic web sites. Your comments are welcome; you can email me to get on the mailing list for news of the Jitterbug Palace's ultimate location and other info.


Click to watch full-length movies now.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH clips from old Hollywood movies, short music films and TV shows, many of which the Jitterbug Palace will offer for sale. The movies were updated 9-2-09.

IMPORTANT: clear your cache often in order to see the newest additions.

MOVIE GENRES WILL INCLUDE:

  • Silent Classics
  • Musicals
  • Screwball Comedies
  • WW II
  • Astaire & Rogers
  • Film Noir
  • Adventure
  • Science Fiction
  • Swashbucklers
  • Serials
  • Comedy
  • Hitchcock
  • Westerns
  • Selected TV Shows

    NEW WEB CAM!
    See Jitterbug Palace's
    home town on the
    GRASS VALLEY CAM

  • Milkshakes
  • Sundaes
  • Banana Splits
  • New York Egg Creams
  • Fountain Drinks
  • Mary Fraser Candies
    Featuring your favorite big band, pop, doowop, surf, western swing, R&B and rock and roll hits. Well-represented also is The Great American Song Book—The Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern.

  • The Flamingos Listen
  • Bing Crosby Listen
  • Cab Calloway Listen
  • The Beachboys Listen
  • The Four Freshmen Listen
  • Johnny Otis Listen
  • Tadd Dameron Listen
  • Billie Holliday Listen
  • Miles Davis Listen
  • Chuck Berry Listen
  • The Boswell Sisters Listen
  • Frank Sinatra Listen
  • Etta James Listen
  • Louis Jordan Listen
  • Fred Astaire Listen
  • The Spaniels Listen
  • Peggy Lee Listen
  • Nat King Cole Listen
  • Boyd Raeburn Listen
  • Bob Wills & Texas Playboys Listen
  • The Ronettes Listen
  • King Pleasure Listen
  • Glenn Miller Listen
  • The Cadillacs Listen
  • Chick Webb Listen
  • Slim Gaillard Listen
  • Joe Mooney Listen
  • Dick Dale & his Deltones Listen
  • The Marketts Listen
  • Patsy Cline Listen
  • The Metallics Listen
  • Judy Garland
  • Brenda Lee
  • Perry Como
  • The Everly Brothers
  • Gerry Mulligan
  • Jerry Lee Lewis
  • Bix Beiderbecke
  • The Righteous Brothers
  • Les Paul & Mary Ford
  • Louis Armstrong
  • Louis Prima
  • James Brown & his Famous Flames
  • Les Brown & his Band of Renown
  • Bobby Darin
  • Thelonious Monk
  • Lavern Baker
  • Duke Ellington
  • Chet Baker
  • The Supremes
  • The Belairs
  • Stan Kenton
  • Jesse Belvin
  • Hank Williams
  • Santo & Johnny
  • The Dorsey Brothers
  • Bo Diddley
  • Benny Goodman
  • The Paris Sisters
  • Artie Shaw
  • Charlie Parker
  • The Orlons
  • Jeri Southern
  • Jack Teagarden
  • Jimmy Clanton
  • Jimmy Blanton
  • The Shirelles
  • Patti Page
  • Ray Noble
  • Paul Whiteman’s Rhythm Boys
  • The Dells
  • Elvis Presley
  • Etta Jones
  • Woody Herman
  • Jimmy Smith
  • Count Basie
  • Ella Fitzgerald
  • Richie Valens
  • Fletcher Henderson
  • Doris Day
  • Martha & the Vandellas
  • The Ventures
  • Roy Eldridge
  • Anita O'Day
  • Dion & the Belmonts
  • Claude Thornhill
  • The Harptones
  • Judy Holliday
  • Henry Mancini
  • The Bobettes
  • The Maguire Sisters
  • The Clovers
  • The Diamonds
  • Jimmy Lunceford
  • Roy Orbison
  • June Christy
  • Buddy Holly
  • Ray Noble
  • Tommy Dorsey
  • Larry Clinton
  • Lee Wiley
  • and more . . .

    • SAMPLE PODCAST Here's a more extended sample, featuring somewhat abbreviated selections, of what you might hear on the Jitterbug Palace jukebox over a period of a half hour or so.

    Listen to one of my favorite online jazz broadcasts:



    MULTIMEDIA PREVIEW
    (requires Flash and loads slowly)



    Many of these sites feature podcasts, RealAudio, MP3 or other sound files.

    KMPX Air Checks
    In the late 70s, KMPX-FM in San Francisco, with John Jensen as Program Director, played a great mix of classic jazz, blues and dance music from the late 20s through the 40s. Herb Caen was an enthusiastic supporter. DJs included Jim Watt, Rick Wagstaff, Walt Jamond, and Al Jazzbeaux Collins with his Purple Grotto. (This incarnation followed the station's first life as one of the first free-form rock FM stations under Tom Donahue.) This site has several hours of mostly unscoped airchecks from Bill Chase, Wagstaff and others. I still have some old cassettes I recorded during those years, including most of the complete recordings of Bing Crosby, mostly hosted by Watt and Jensen, and featuring Bing himself in the studio for some of the broadcasts, which were done over a period of several months. Great listening-check it out!

    Swing Gang
    Tampa Bay may have the most active swing dance community in the country, with several events at several venues every week.

    Michael Feinstein's American Songbook Bookmark this authoritative and entertaining online source for info, photos, music and video. Amazing.

    The Michael Feinstein Foundation
    whose "mission is to bring the music of the Great American Songbook to our young people today, and to preserve it for generations to come."

    Hot Jazz Saturday Night
    Rob Bamberger's weekly 3-hour broadcast from WAMU-FM, Washington D.C. Great music presented with knowledgeable commentary. The previous week's show is archived for on-demand playing in a variety of formats. Highly Recommended.

    Sara & Swingtime
    Need a great 30s-40s style singer and band for your Northern California event? Check out the sound samples—you'll like what you hear!

    The Dean Martinis
    Nashville jump blues, swing and jazz band whose motto is "Taking jazz back to the dance floor!"

    Worlds Records
    Amazing selection of older (and some contemporary) jazz and pop; lots of European and British compilations. I buy most of my music from Worlds Records.

    Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club
    If I lived in L.A., you'd find me here every Sunday night. Check out the archived shows.

    Mora's Modern Music
    There are a ton of bands playing retro arrangements, but in my opinion this one (or rather this family of bands, since Dean Mora has various configurations and covers the 20s through the 40s) is the most authentic. They play the Cicada Club and other SoCal venues.

    Divaville:
    Nothing but great singers broadcast live every Wednesday evening, 6-9 West Coast time.

    Great early jazz site featuring sound and movie clips, as well as lots of info.

    Lily Wilde, Portland-based retro jazz singer & band

    Film Noir 'net

    The Puppini Sisters, British retro girl group. Great web site

    Mary Rademacher, wonderful jazz/pop singer based in Michigan

    The Stolen Sweets: Boswell Sisters tribute group from Portland

    Hollywood on the Radio

    Tracy-Hepburn Podcast

    Vocal Group Harmony-lots of great music!

    Savoy Ballroom

    The Hard Bop Home Page

    Songwriters Hall of Fame

    Bob Dorough

    A cool old movie site

    Radio Hall of Fame

    Great online 20s-30s radio station

    Brian Lee's Color Radio

    Beachboys Historic Monument

    Great American Songbook

    Savoy Style

    Fred Astaire

    A Great Day in Harlem

    Clara Bow (the It Girl)

    Harpo Marx

    The Gershwins

    Downtown Grass Valley

    Great U-Pick Farmstand (my neighbor)

    Doug's home page

    About the musicians, the bands, the movies, the studios, the stars . . .

    Artists in Exile. Covers the influence European & Russian pre-WWII political exiles had on American entertainment. Highly recommended; the link below will allow you to browse several pages and if it looks interesting, complete the purchase:


    Browse Inside this book
    Get this for your site

    changing regularly, about the bands, the movies, the performers, historical info about the different eras
    Test your knowledge and win fountain treats and merchandise.