Back in 1970, when Arnold Dean premiered “A One Night Stand with the Big Bands” on WTIC, Hartford, most of the big bands as we remembered them were long gone. By the late 1940s vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Jo Stafford, Dinah Shore and many others had taken their place, singing songs of love and romance.  When the 1950s arrived rock ‘n’ roll thundered onto the music charts and almost completely overshadowed the driving rhythms of the once dominant swing era.

And yet a few of the big bands struggled to keep their music alive and, quite frankly, to earn a living. No longer were they being booked for weeks at a time at major hotels or other venues.  By now it was only a one night stand for a fundraiser at the Elks club or an evening of nostalgia at a local dinner theater.

Yet, Arnold, who, while still in high school, hoped one day to become a clarinetist with one of the big bands, sensed that there was still a great interest in the swing music of thirty years ago.  A radio documentary on the life and career of Glenn Miller, which he produced on the 25^th anniversary of the band leader’s death in late 1969, spurred him on to do a monthly series called “A One Night Stand with the Big Bands” which finally came to fruition almost a year later.

As a result we have the lives, careers and memories of some of the greatest names of the big band era permanently preserved on audiotape.  But beyond that Arnold was able to capture forever the stories behind some of the greatest musical events of that time frame, including the famous Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert of 1938 as recalled by Harry James, Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman themselves.

Because of Arnold’s musical background he was able to ask the probing questions of these great musicians that others might have missed.  He was able to talk at ease about arrangements, styling and techniques.   It led Cab Calloway to remark “This is the finest interview I’ve ever had.”

Arnold had the advantage of having Bob Scherago as his studio and remote engineer who not only offered his technical expertise but shared his own musical knowledge in the formulation of some of the questions.  Brian Hartnett supervised the editing and mixing of the final product.

We lost Arnold in 2012 at the age of 82, but fortunately his work with the big bands and the era they represented has been preserved for future scholars to study and enjoy.

Thank you, Arnold.