SOUNDIES: A MUSICAL HISTORY. Before Scopitones there were Soundies, short films from the 1940s featuring musical numbers. They were played on film jukeboxes in bars, restaurants, and other places where one might want to pass some idle hours. Louis Armstrong, Doris Day, Lena Horne, Spike Jones, Big Joe Turner, and Fats Waller were among the performers seen in Soundies.

Soundies: A Musical History is a Michael Feinstein-hosted documentary about Soundies that will air on PBS during its March 2007 pledge drive.

It's scheduled for WNET Thursday night, March 8, from 8-10 pm.

Here is a trailer for the special.



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Here's a Louis Armstrong soundie featuring Velma Middleton.



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Here's Rufe Davis with "Mama Don't Allow No Music."



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Here's the late Yvonne DeCarlo torching "The Lamp of Memory."



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