Two Of A Kind - Ray McKinley Johnny Desmond & The New Glenn Miller Orch

[o7y]

This show was my first exposure to jazz. I was only 11 years old and I remember watching it from my mother's apartment in LA two years after my parents were divorced. It was great to see some real jazz & not something like Lawrence Welk. It was great that CBS gave it a showcase if only for a short time. That looks like a young Jerry McKenzie back there on drums. It gave me a Pollyanna view of the music business which was all wrong, but it's still great to see these episodes.

[alexanuchid]

whoelse sing thid number ?post them all!!!

[rusher33707]

Unless I am mistaken, this clip came from a 13-week summer replacement TV-series entitled "Glenn Miller Time" which aired on CBS in 1961. I remember that show very vividly -- it was one of my favorites. McKinley was the leader of the Glenn Miller "ghost band" at the time, and although his main stock in trade was re-creating the Miller sound, he was not beyond digressing beyond that realm on occasion. A talented drummer and singer. Johnny Desmond, his co-host, was also a great talent.

[CCJazzmen2]

Yes, you are right...Thanks

[drstrangeq]

Thanks so much for these posts! Drummer, singer, entertainer, hell of a swinger!!

[callmeBe]

What fun! It just shows that both these guys could really distance themselves from the shadow of Glen Miller and do fantastic things on their own (or together)! (I think both these talented guys spent too much time re-living the Glen Miller days).  Love that stinging brass section, and those tutti dissonanaces!! (That would have been too harsh for Miller). Would it not have been hard on the set being separated by such a distance between the saxes, rhythm, or brass as a matter of performance?

[rfenno]

Johnny went out on the road in 1984 with a show I was on. What a pro he was! A tremendous ballad singer. When he had to go back to LA for some treatment, we were sent some amazing subs, including HERB JEFFRIES, who had just become a father again at (if I remember right) age 71!

[paulgoodling]

DESMOND BEST FRONT MAN FOR MILLER

[rhapsodyinblah]

Men were actually HANDSOME, classy, refined. Today they're grungy and unkempt.

[acfinney]

Beutiful....Thanks for posting this video. Two underated greats having a lot of fun. I wonder why Ray didn't use Desmond on his GM in HIFI records?

[4205lr]

Saw Johnny Desmond i Clearwater, Florida in 1985. He gave a great show but I don't suppose anyone guessed he was fighting the prostate cancer that killed him later that year.

[johnnyzing]

@4205lr I played Drums and Percussion for JD three times. Once at DisneyWorld in 1973....next in MPLS in 1977 then again in NYC at a Country Club Dec 6th 1978. Watching these videos now I didn't know how good he was! I had my head buried in the charts! Wish I would of talked to him. John-Hans Melcher

[4205lr]

You shouldn't be amazed. This was real talent which will never be seen again.