Brass TV Appearances

[Clark]

Hi - seems a little slow around here, so I thought I would try to get something started. I have been doing research on the Brass, and I have concluded that thier first network TV appearance was on the Danny Kaye Show on Wednesday, October 27, 1965. They played the Winds of Barcelona and a Taste of Honey. On November 7, 1965 Herb and the boys appeared for the first time on Ed Sullivan, playing A Taste o Honey and Zorba the Greek. A month later they appeared on the Hollywood Palace (December 11, 1965) and played The Lonely Bull and Whipped Cream. I have seen a tape of this program, and Pisano and Edmonds were a part of the group but the other trumpet player was not a familiar face. I couldn't tell if any of othe well known members were present or not. At the end of the set, Herb got to run over and shake the hostesses' hand but it was real brief. On January 10, 1966, they did the Andy Williams Show, and on March 23 they were back on the Danny Kaye Show playing A Taste Of Honey and Zorba. On April 30th, 1966, the did the Hollywood Palace and played four hits, including What Now My Love. Talk about being on a roll. In a few short months they appeared on six popular network shows, playing hits from three hot albums.

Can anyone add any other information? Are any of the tapes avialable of these early appearances? The first Hollywood Palace appearance is available, as well as two others that occured later in 1966 and 1967, but not the April 30th one.

I have sources for several TJB Videos as well as thier three televison specials in 1967, 68 & 69. I would be happy to share thier email addresses. It is really fun to watch them and brings back a lot of great memories. Some of the advertisements are pretty funny, and watching these you realize how much more prevelant smoking was in the 1960's.


Lets hear from some of you out there!

 

[Harry]

I surely must've seen just about all of those, but unfortunately, that part of my memory has faded. As a regular viewer of the Danny Kaye Show, it's a given that I saw those, and I vaguely remember the Hollywood Palace shows. Many of these may have predated my real fascination with the TJB, too. I seem to remember a TV appearance on a Grammy Awards show, back when "A Taste Of Honey" was Record Of The Year. They performed that one and "What Now My Love" as sort of a "future Grammy-winner. Back then, the actual awards ceremony wasn't televised, but a show was put together with many of the winning artists doing their award-winning performances. I don't recall who, if anyone, hosted that show, but I recall being very impressed with that "Record Of The Year" award, and later playing the album on my stereo.

Once Herb and the Brass started doing their own show, I was right there as they aired live (and in rerun!), actually recording a couple of them onto reel-to-reel audio tape. (Boy! Do those sound awful!)

Harry
...with faded memories, online...

 

[mikeargo]

I have sources for several TJB Videos as well as thier three televison specials in 1967, 68 & 69. I would be happy to share thier email addresses. It is really fun to watch them and brings back a lot of great memories. Some of the advertisements are pretty funny, and watching these you realize how much more prevelant smoking was in the 1960's.

I never saw the original Hollywood Palace or Danny Kaye appearances, and I don't remember seeing the TJB perform on any other shows, but I was glued to the set for the first 1967 special (in B&W!), by which time I'd been a die-hard TJB fan for two years, and every one thereafter. The first two TV specials don't seem to be that hard to come by on video, but lots of folks are looking for the 1969 "Brass Are Comin'" show. I'd like to check out your sources to see if that one's available.

I didn't acquire my first audio tape recorder until 1970 and missed the chance to record those early shows, but I did tape the 1975 Midnight Special right off the TV. As Harry says, the quality ain't impressive, but it sure brings back memories.

I can't add anything to your data, Clark. That's an impressive TV run for the group after the Whipped Cream LP and all the hits it spawned. Thanks for sharing!

Mike

 

[DAN BOLTON]

According to a brief bio in a TJB music book I have somewhere, the TJB also appeared on the MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW and AL HIRT'S show...I don't recall seeing them on anything before about 1967 or so...I remember the HOLLYWOOD PALACE and KRAFT MUSIC HALL shows and ED SULLIVAN, also the TJB specials, but that's about it. I was 13 in '67...

Dan

 

[jimac51]

I definitely remember seeing Herb on the Mike Douglas show performing "Mae". I suspect that it was summer of 1965 and Mike's show was not a network show but syndicated by Westinghouse Broadcasting. Interesting(Harry will appreciate this and maybe clarify)that the show was recorded(I think on a one day delay) in Philly,just a few miles from where I lived,at the KYW-Ch.3 studios at 17th & Walnut Sts. In 1969 I used to meet a cameraman from Mike's show on a commuter bus while on my way to college. He had great stories about Sammy Davis Jr. being such a gentleman to the stage crew. Mike taped five shows in four days and took off time for Vegas and other venues. Thursday was always the double show day and I believe the camera guy said that Sammy took the entire crew out for dinner or had it brought to the studio. Unfortunately,no Herb stories and it was before the now-famous week in 1972 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono cohosted for a week. I wonder if John and Yoko bought dinner? Maybe they supplied some brownies for dessert. Hmmm...Mac