Mercier Music and the Radio

by Jack Ward Skinner

This posting may be unfamiliar to young people, and, maybe, even to some young adults. I’m taking a little trip down memory lane to review some of the songs of my youth. Most young people are not interested in music until their teenage years, and then, it is what is popular at that time. The music of my youth was influenced by the big bands, crooners, and blue grass country. The War years of 1941-45 had a noticeable effect on the music of that day. Following the War, music became lively as individuals took front stage away from the big band numbers, and some rose to great fame. So, let’s drop in and take a look and some (not all) of the music of yesteryear.

Growing into adolescence in the 1940s, I learned to like music. At an early age, I would sing along with my Mother, who sang around the house while she worked. Those were simple songs like, “You Are My Sunshine.”

But as I got old enough to go to the Mercier Theater by myself, I began hearing a broader range of music as it was played before each movie.

The Saturday matinee would find the theater packed with kids, waiting to see a serial, a mystery, and a cowboy show. We, seldom, listened to the music that was being played, as we were too busy conversing with our buddies, in anticipation of the excitement to be presented.

As I grew older, I began realizing that the music that was played on Saturday afternoons was a little different from that which was played during the week, when the “older” people attended. It did little to calm the wild beast in the hearts of the Saturday matinee clientele that attended those shows, but, somewhere along the line, they stuck in my memory. Maybe, because they were played over-and-over, Saturday-after-Saturday.

These songs were played on a record player in front of a microphone, up in the projection booth, and broadcast through speakers into the auditorium. Including, sometimes, the scratchy sounds of a well-worn record. And, if one was slightly cracked, there was a clicking noise each time the needle rode over the crack.

I can still hear those old songs from Saturdays in my mind: “Don’t Fence Me In”; “I’m An Old Cow Hand”; “Along the Santa Fe Trail”; “Old Buttermilk Sky”; “Swinging On a Star”; “San Antonio Rose”; “Deep In The Heart Of Texas”; “Sioux City Sue”; “ Chattanooga Choo-Choo”; and “Stormy Weather”.

Occasionally, when the noise got too extreme, the music stopped and a stern voice came over the PA for “you kids settle down right now.” And we would, a little bit, because the penalty, if it continued, was to get kicked out of the theater. No movie. Lost your dime. And you had to face your parents, who supported the people at the movie.

And then, there were the movies for grownups at night, Monday through Friday and Sunday afternoons. Sadly, the adults had to listen to “our” music on Saturday nights. There were songs, such as “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”; “Green Eyes”; “Star Dust”; “A String of Pearls”; “Begin the Beguines”; “How are Things In Glocca Mora”; “Sentimental Journey”; “People Will Say We’re In Love”; “Amapola”; “Maria Elena”; “You Made Me Love You”; and “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time”.

During the War years, another breed of songs appeared. These songs leaned toward thoughts of those departed by the War, some lively, some sad. Some of these songs were “You’ll Never Know”; “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You”; “I’ll Be Seeing You”; “Together”; “Long Ago and Far Away”; “I’ll Get By”; “I Can’t Begin to Tell You”; “I’ll Walk Alone”; “We’ll Meet Again”; “There’ll Be Blue Birds Over”; “When the Lights Go On Again”; “Boggie Woogie Bugle Boy”; “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree”; and, as the War ended in 1945, and the troops were coming home, a popular song was “It’s Been a Long, Long Time”.

Some of the songs played originated from movies. From State Fair came the popular “It Might As Well Be Spring” and “It’s a Grand Night for Singing”. And who could forget Judy Garland singing, “Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie” and “The Trolley Song”. A sad movie involved Dianna Durbin singing “Always”. With the line, ‘I’ll be loving you, always’, this song quickly caught on as the number one choice to sing at weddings, even on through the 1950s.

In about 1947-48, a movie production company came to town. This company went all over the business district, filming the stores and people on the sidewalk. They, then put it all together into a movie that was shown at the Mercier Theater. People came from far-and-wide to see this film and see if they were in “it”. I saw a lot of people I knew, especially the high school kids that hung around Rose’s Drug Store. The only ones that I recall now, were two Senior twins, Bill and Bob Edwards. The photographer must have taken a liking to them, because there were several shots of the two popular twins. And, throughout that movie production, a tune was played, which became very popular around town for awhile. That song was “Drinking Rum and Cocoa, Cola”.

About the only time I listened to the radio was on Saturday mornings when kid’s shows were played. But, with my Dad gone to the Navy, Mother played the radio quite a bit. Along with many of the songs listed above, there where some that caught my attention.

There was Bing Crosby, singing “Where the Blue of the Night, Meets the Gold of the Day”. “Pistol Pack’n Momma”, “Mairzy Doats”, “I’m Looking Over, A Four-Leaf Clover”, “Linda”, “The Old Lamp Lighter”, “You, You, You”, and “You Can’t Be True Dear”, and a number of hits by the Andrews Sisters.

By the 1950s, most song hits were by individual singers, both pop stars and country stars. Of course, there was Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, who were topping the charts even in the 40s. Others were Perry Como, Andy Williams, Patti Page, Doris Day, Jo Stafford, Eddie Fisher, the controversial Frankie Laine, Vaughn Monroe, Dinah Shore, Billie Holliday, Nat “King” Cole, Dick Haynes, Helen Forrest, and Tony Martin. In country music, Hank Williams led the way, with old standbys such as Red Foley, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Rodgers, Buck Owens, Jimmie Dickens, Bill Monroe, Eddie Arnold, Tex Williams, Bob Wills, and yes, Willie Nelson goes back that far.

So, when kids reach their teenage years, music begins seeping into their lives, especially the girls; boys, maybe not as much as working or sports. That’s until they get their first car with a radio in it. Then, they want to impress their dates, so they too, begin listening to music.

And those songs that are played over-and-over, tend to stick in their minds. And, through the years, people tend to look back and think their music was the best. That’s why, the songs of the early 50s are special to me. And about the time my dating got serious, along cam Rock-n-Roll, and Elvis, and the beat of those songs kept my toes a’tapping. Rock-n-Roll songs took over the airways, midway through the 50s, and, with TV getting more common in homes across the country, such shows as Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” became the thing to watch as teens came home from school. Except, maybe, those teens who lived on farms, had chores to do, and a new breed of country/western singers arrived on the scene and became favorites of a large number of this group.

But hearing those records played at the Mercier Theater, really was the beginnings of listening to music. And now, with Serius playing in my car radio, I can tune in to the 40s or 50s’ channels, and every once in a while, I hear one of those old tunes, and it takes me back to the time when I had to listen to “Old Buttermilk Sky”, while I waited for Roy Rogers to come on the big screen.

And I take another trip down memory lane.