This Just In ...
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Goodnight everyone and have a superhero weekend!
It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.
The weekend has finally arrived.
The sun has set.
The evening sky has erupted.
Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.
Tonight, radio meets superhero meets TV meets classical music meets the big screen.
We’ve never done this before on our Friday night music feature….open with a movie trailer.
This weekend, in theaters across
FYI kiddies, the Green Hornet debuted on radio in the 1930’s in, of all things, a children’s program. The star, Britt Reid, was a highly respected newspaper publisher by day. At night, he turned crime fighting masked vigilante.
"He hunts the biggest of all game: public enemies who try to destroy our America... With his faithful valet Kato, Britt Reid, daring young publisher, matches wits with the Underworld, risking his life so that criminals and racketeers within the law may feel its weight by the sting of the Green Hornet!... Ride with Britt Reid as he races toward another thrilling adventure! The Green Hornet strikes again!"
Opening sequence to the radio series
Then in the 1960’s, when Batman’s popularity took off, ABC on Friday nights launched “The Green Hornet” starring Van Williams as Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato. I never missed an episode.
Check out the series opening and the amazing trumpet and theme.
One could certainly argue that it is not humanly possible to play those kind of notes that fast on the trumpet. That is, unless you're the man behind the horn.
The man playing the trumpet is the legendary Al Hirt. He had a few big hits in the 60’s at a time when the Beatles, the Stones, anyone with a British accent, the Beach Boys, the Four Seasons, and the Supremes ruled the charts.
Enjoy these toe-tappers.
We begin with some “Cotton Candy."
Next, another smash for Hirt with a magical memorable melody. Care for some Java?
Cotton Candy and Java are two of the greatest instrumentals ever written and performed.
Thank you, Al Hirt!
As for the Green Hornet movie, I really, really would love to see it.
But I probably won't go.
Why not?
Simple.
They'll just ruin it and my childhood memories.
That's it for tonight's entry.
We close with a recording from the 1970's.
The Green Hornet TV theme music performed by Al Hirt was based on the classical classic "Flight of the Bumble Bee" written by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov in 1899.
During the disco craze, Walter Murphy capitalized on the trend by modernizing very, very, very old music like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
Here's his rendition of that bumble bee tune, "Flight 76."
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