Phil (who?) Spitalny: SAVE THAT LAST DANCE , PHIL !

Phil Spitalny and his "Hour of Charm" radio show was so well-known that on an episode of I Love Lucy, Ricky Ricardo threatens his band with, “The first guy who looks like he’s playing in his sleep gets traded to Phil Spitalny.” Spitalny had a long string of hit records, among them (in the '20s) "Jackass Blues" and "I Want to Meander in the Meadow," both big hits, and the 1960 Drifters hit "Save the Last Dance for Me". But you could ask 1000, or 10,000 people: "Who is Phil Spitalny"... and not get a single answer.

Spitalny distinguished himself from all his competitors with a gimmick that worked: an orchestra made up entirely of women, "Phil Spitalny & His All-Girl Orchestra". They were a big outfit, and a good outfit, able to play "jazzed" classics and light classical with equal aplomb, and were definitely easy to look at -- although they broke through initially in radio, where there was no visual impact, on a program called The Hour of Charm. Later on, they were signed to Universal Pictures.

Spitalny continued to work in music into the '50s, and retired to Miami, where he died in 1970. The University of Miami offers two academic awards, The Evelyn and Phil Spitnalny Music Achievement Award and The Evelyn and Phil Spitnalny Scholarship , and former members of the orchestra continued to play in the '90s, most notably in the Venice Symphony Orchestra.

Spitalny was born in Russia in 1890 and began his musical education at the age of 9, training at the Conservatory of Music in Odessa on the piano and violin. The clarinet, however, was his main instrument, and he made several appearances as a child prodigy playing it. In 1905 he came to the U.S., settling in Cleveland, OH. There, he and one of his brothers were part of an orchestra which performed in the dining room of the city's Hotel Statler. Spitalny was a member of the original Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. Later Spitalny moved to Boston and led a 50-piece ensemble that played Loew’s State Theater. Eventually he formed his own touring orchestra, which recorded for Victor from 1924 to 1926. Spitalny collaborated with many big-name composers such as Gus Kahn and jazz musician Lee “Stubby” Gordon, but perhaps his most lasting tune, made famous by The Drifters (1960) is “Save the Last Dance for Me,” which he co-authored with Frank Magine and Walter Hirsch. Spitalny moved to New York in 1928; his conventional all male band, the Phil Spitalny Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra, had a successful debut in 1930 and performed concerts, played night clubs and was heard on the radio. Why Spitalny decided to disband his male orchestra and create one entirely of female musicians is lost in legend and the realities of musical employment in the Great Depression..

In 1932 Spitalny saw a “brilliant violinist” performing , and the idea was born to search America for other women who could form an orchestra. The violinist was Evelyn Kaye Klein from the Institute of Musical Art (now the Juilliard School). The search cost $20,000, and Spitalny auditioned some 1,500 women musicians before he found twenty-two of them judged good enough to be in his group. Evelyn Kaye Klein became Evelyn and Her Magic Violin, accompanied by the Golden Voice of Vivien (soprano) and the Haunting Voice of Maxine (contralto). Spitalny knew he had a good orchestra, but sponsors for an all-girl band were harder to come by. He arranged a “blind” audition for Linit Bath Oil — the orchestra played in another location and the music was piped in — and only after Linit had signed the contract did they learn the orchestra was all-female. The orchestra made its debut in New York City’s Capitol Theater, and began a network radio program,

"The Hour of Charm" on January 3, 1935.

When it came to travel, the band traveled in private railroad cars. Porters were instructed not to let anyone into the Spitalny cars. Inevitably, some did get in, and Spitalny would remove them himself. The movie "Some Like it Hot" was based directly on the Spitalny railroad hijinks. Did Spitalny hire women because he 'loved women' or did he hire them because they would be more willing to endure his demands? Spitalny would sometimes interview potential musicians in his underwear.
The story:

A young woman shows up for her interview at the appointed time, either at Spitalny’s hotel room or at his dressing room. She knocks at the door, then is faced with the decision of what to do when he answers it dressed in nothing but his undershorts. Should she forfeit the job by refusing to enter? Or should she go on with the interview, risking further inappropriate behavior? According to Tucker, those who fled were less ashamed than those who stayed for the audition. Women who experienced this with Spitalny and joined the band did not discuss the details with other band members and did not know others had similar experiences. No one said that he ever got “fresh” or did anything more than sit in his underwear. Interestingly enough, in his autobiography Mickey Katz (Jewish comedian and musician) recalls Spitalny backstage at the Loew’s State Theater in Boston, wandering around in his silk BVDs to “air out his parts.” One wonders if Spitalny was simply boorish and unthinking, or found it psychologically stimulating to appear before others in a state of undress.

During the war years Phil Spitalny and his Orchestra showed their patriotism with their theme song, “We Must Be Vigilant” and assisted in the war effort through performances at the Boston Stage Door Canteen and on the USS North Carolina. During this decade the band also made two movies: When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1942) and Here Come the Co-Eds (1945), movies in which Spitalny's orchestra members were not only given important speaking roles, but comprised almost the entire cast, save for the starring celebrities.

In the late 1940s with the advent of television, General Electric reevaluated how it spent its advertising dollars. Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, a men’s orchestra, could wear a tuxedo every week, but because an all-girl orchestra needed new gowns for every show, Spitalny would not come down on his price. Waring got the sponsorship. Spitalny and his orchestra left radio in 1948. The orchestra still played many concerts and had appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Spitalny's last hit, "Save the Last Dance for Me", was overlooked by Billey McCurd's Vewwa-tones band,
and never played by them.

In a bandleader career similar to, but completely overshadowed by the now-forgotten Spitalny's,
McCurd (now "Billey Vewwa") has only that terrazzo graffitto in common with the great Russian Maestro,...
...and age.

Who do you figure
knows women (& music... or fame) better...
Billey, or Phil?