he Lady With the Gold Baton: A Creative Tribute: June 2021

About this project

Kay Kemble (1911-1989) is a character invented for this project. Kay sang on radio commercials as a child and went on to lead Big Bands and swing ensembles in the 30's and 40's. She worked at Scott Air Field as a WAAC enlistee and a civilian. She produced war bond rallies, and her all-female band promoted a popular shampoo brand. In the 80's there was renewed interest in Kay's musical career.

Kay informally adopted the orphaned niece and nephew of her partner Wilmetta "Teeny" Stockton, and in the early 70's the family moved from St. Louis to New Orleans. After Kay and Teeny's deaths, family members remained in New Orleans until displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In 2014, I arranged to archive, organize, and restore Kay's memorabilia. Most items were damaged due to age, hurried packing , and lack of funds for formal archiving.

I've "become" Kay in reproduction radio broadcasts, and created artifacts to represent damaged or destroyed items in the collection.

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Kay's Era -- there was often a radio version when a new movie came out

Jack Benny in the radio version of "The Horn Blows at Midnight" on the Ford Theater program:

I like the image in the video above but the version below has better audio quality.

Another radio version on a program sponsored by Grape Nuts:

The early television program "Omnibus" presented a viewable version of The Horn Blows at Midnight in 1953.

The film's poor reception have Benny comedy fodder for years on his radio show. And old-time radio buffs collect recorfdings of radio versions, including the one at the Ford Theater. Here's an old LP version.