Re: [ARSCLIST] Odd RCA Victor release...

[John Ross <johnross@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Cities Service Band of America was the last version of a very 
long-running NBC radio and TV series sponsored by Cities Service, the 
gas pipeline and petroleum company. The program began in 1925. The 
Cities Service Orchestra radio program became the Cities Service Band 
of America in 1948 and they continued on radio until early 1956. The 
TV version ran on NBC during the 1949-50 season.

The Band of America was a 48-piece brass band (one player for each 
state). After they lost their radio and TV shows, the band continued 
as a promotion vehicle for Cities Service, which became Citgo in 1965.

They also made a bunch of records for RCA Victor. I remember playing 
their version of "The Star Spangled Banner" from a 45 as the sign-off 
at more than one radio station in the 1960's.

Hugh Baille was a longtime reporter and executive at United Press, 
the American news agency that later merged with Hearst's 
International News Service to become UPI. In his
1959 memoir, "High Tension," he says: "The last time I saw Field 
Marshal Lord Montgomery he was riding a horse up Paccadilly in June 
1953, in the Coronation procession of Queen Elizabeth. (The Irish 
Guards, marching ahead of him, were playing 'The United Press March,' 
which Paul Lavalle wrote for me on my promise to have it played 
before the Queen. I had made the promise and I kept it -- but it took 
some doing.)"

There's a great American tradition of marches named for newspapers 
(most notably Sousa's Washington Post March, but there were also 
marches for dozens of others -- www.gabbf.com/abb/cds.html offers 
four CDs full of them. Apparently, Lavalle may have added the UP 
March to the Band of America's regular book.

I have a copy of The United Press March on a 10-inch RCA Victor LP, 
"Sunday Band Concert" (LPM-3120). It was also released on a 45, RCA 
Victor 47-5205 http://downhold.org/lowry/march2.jpg

John Ross

At  9/2/2007 04:11 PM, you wrote:
> I recently acquired a single sided black label RCA Victor 10" 78rpm  #20-5205
> matrix E3VB-0518-1A, pressed on vinyl with that gorgeous spider logo 
> on the back.
>
> It is "United Press March" - Paul Lavalle, Cities Service Band of America
> conducted by the composer.
>
> I'm wondering if this was used as some kind of theme for radio programming,
> from the title, probably newspaper related, but it doesn't seem to be the kind
> of thing that would usually be sold to the consumer market.
>
> Does anyone know anything about this?
>
>
>
>
> ... Graham Newton
>
> --
> Audio Restoration by Graham Newton, http://www.audio-restoration.com
> World class professional services applied to tape or phonograph records for
> consumers and re-releases, featuring CEDAR's CAMBRIDGE processes.