Wurlitzer organ at Organ Stop Pizza, Mesa, Arizona

Wurlitzer organ at Organ Stop Pizza, Mesa, Arizona
 

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Programs that feature this organ

#0006: Love’s Old, Sweet Songs

Some questions shouldn’t need asking twice, not after the encouragement we provide on this Pipedreams broadcast. It’s an aural array of amorous melodies designed to stir the heart and unlock the emotions. Our Valentine’s Day prelude features great tunes by Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, and Franz Liszt, dealing with first loves, impossible loves, deep loves, and love’s dreams. Featured organists are Bary Baker, Lew Williams, Simon Gledhill, and Lyn Larson. Happy or sad, impossible or inevitable, at daybreak or twilight, you’ll enjoy our melodious bouquet of Love’s Old Sweet Songs.

#0226: On Your Toes

Falling in love is easy to do, especially with the music of Richard Rodgers as accompaniment. Rodgers’ melodic gift in conjunction with lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein, gave new song to three generations. Folks flocked to such shows as The Boys from Syracuse, The Girl Friend and South Pacific, and tunes from those and dozens of other productions still resound throughout the land. It’s a celebration of a great American composer with some of his most famous and most obscure works played organs in theatres, naturally, but also in a home, a high school auditorium and a pizza restaurant. George Wright, Rob Richards, Tom Hazleton and many others will keep you On Your Toes with a Richard Rodgers Centennial Tribute, this week on Pipedreams.

#0523: That Golden Glow

A 50th anniversary celebration of the ongoing activities of the American Theatre Organ Society. Theatre organs, invented to provide accompaniment to ‘silent films’ in the early days of the 20th century, found themselves unneeded in their original line of work by the mid 1930s. Yet their novel and engaging sounds continue to fascinate and entertain. Check next month’s A.T.O.S. National Convention, July 1-5, 2005 in Los Angeles, CA. Contact the Organ Historical Society Catalog for access to a large variety of theater organ recordings on compact disc.

#0720: Archive of The Joke's On Us

…share in humoresques, scherzos, fantasies and other compositions done up with a sense of fun and surprise. Who says the organ must always be so serious. It’s not all solemn processionals. The king of instruments does have a sense of humor, too, as you’ll discover on our next Pipedreams program, where wry wit, sardonic satire, and a general joviality prevail. Bill Albright’s nifty narration provides a key element, as do songs by Stephen Sondheim and Henry Mancini, scherzos and fantasies played in Souvigny and San Francisco, and a humerous hornpipe played in Sydney Australia. That’s but part of the fun. We’ll also sample concert instruments in Dallas and Yokoyama, theatre organs in Kansas and Arizona, and one of the finest French antiques from the 18th century, still capable of a big smile. Curious chords prove that the Joke is On Us - humoresques for organ, this week on Pipedreams.