Tobacco

We go back to the Bad Old Days of the preponderance of smoking in public places. It used to be impossible to go into a bar, restaurant, or even a bakery that was not enveloped in blue clouds of haze, as people sat around puffing on cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. We listen to 78 RPM recordings that put smoking in a romantic light, then hear music created by artists who were heavily dependent on nicotine, and even acted as spokesmen for various cigarette brands, and then went on to die from smoking-related illnesses, such as lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease.

Hour One:

1 - Two Cigarettes in the Dark - Kenneth Sargent with Glen Gray and The Casa Loma Orchestra - 1934

2 - While a Cigarette Was Burning - Charles Wilson and Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye – 1938

3 - Let's Have Another Cigarette - Jerry Perkins with Mal Hallett and his Orchestra - 1937

4 - One Cigarette for Two - Jimmy Di Palma with Bobby Byrne and his Orchestra – 1939

5 - Der er Udsigt til Lange Cigarer (Denmark) - Ole Monty with Sid Merrimans Danseorkester - 1946

6 - Little Man with a Candy Cigar - Howard Du Lany with Gene Krupa and his Orchestra – 1941

7 - While I'm Rollin' My Last Cigarette - Howard Du Lany with Gene Krupa and his Orchestra – 1941

8 - The Man from the South with a Big Cigar in His Mouth - Red Ingle with Ted Weems and his Orchestra - 1947

9 - Cigarets And Whiskey (Netherlands) - Toby Rix met de Hollandsche Cowboys - Late 1930s

10 - Coffee, Cigarettes, and Tears - Eddie Marshall and his Trail Dusters – 1951

11 - Big Rock Candy Mountain - Burl Ives – 1945

12 - Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette - Johnny Bond and his Red River Valley Boys – 1947

13 - A Home in the Clouds - Helen O'Connell with Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra - 1939

Jimmy Dorsey ultimately succumbed to lung cancer.

14 - With Men Who Know Tobacco Best, It's Women Two to One - Tex Williams   - 1949

15 - A Vucchella (PaoloTosti - Neapolitan) - Enrico Caruso – 1913

Enrico Caruso smoked two packs a day, and died of a lung ailment at age 48.

16 - Love Is Like a Cigarette - Ivy Anderson with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra   - 1936

Duke Ellington developed lung cancer.

17 - Pitchin' up a Boogie - Nat King Cole and his Trio – 1945

Nat King Cole smoked three packs a day, and died of lung cancer at age 45.

Hour Two:

18 - Leroy Smokes a Cigar - The Great Gildersleeve – 1941 (Radio Comedy)

19 - Fibber Quits Smoking - Fibber McGee and Molly – 1940 (Radio Comedy)

20 - Cigarette - The Argentinians - 1931

21 - Lady of my Cigarette - Bennie Krueger's Orchestra - 1925

22 - Love Is Like a Cigarette - Stanley Worth with Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra – 1936