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a Baltimore reminiscence - "The Harley Show" (Harley Brinsfield)

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Posted on November 15, 2011 at 07:09:50
mhardy6647
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Posts: 16018
Location: New England
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  Since: October 23, 2016
 Something got me thinking last night after dinner about erstwhile Baltimore sandwich baron and jazz fanatic Harley Brinsfield. Harley was known for two things - his chain of (very good) sandwich shops - sort of like Subway (but much better submarines) and his profound collection of, and knowledge of, early jazz and similar music forms. He bought two hours a night, 10pm to midnight weeknights, on 50 kW clear-channel station WBAL in Baltimore (then and now none too far from WBZ Boston and WBT Charlotte on your radio dial). "The Harley Show" was old jazz - great old jazz, mostly if not exclusively from his own collection.

I used to go to sleep at night to the Harley Show as a pretty young kid. His opening theme was "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" (Duke Ellington), and his closing theme was not " 'Round Midnight", but rather an obscure but very catchy tune called "Sailing Down Chesapeake Bay". I liked the song* but hearing it meant it was almost midnight, and I was still awake! Not a good thing.

Interestingly, I never developed much appreciation for any kind of jazz, ancient or modern, but I liked Harley's subs (his bread rolls were from H&S Bakery in B-more) and I liked his radio show, too.

Any of youse palookas remember "The Harley Show"?

* Through the wonder of teh Interwebs, I just found, and listened, to "Sailing Down Chesapeake Bay". It has probably been close to 40 years since I'd last heard this. Only now, in 2011, do I know that the performers were "Bob Scobey's Frisco Jazz Band featuring Clancy Hayes on vocals".

You may listen, too, if you like. YT link below :-)

(and FWIW, here's Duke Ellington, with Johnny Hodges, essaying "Things Ain't What they Used to Be" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fJu-byjtRY -- this isn't the recording used to open "IThe Harley Show", but it's close enough for Government work...)

And Harley has a Wikipedia entry, too (of course)! It appears that it may be a cut 'n' paste of a Michael Olesker piece. Olesker is/was a B-more columnist and raconteur of some repute. He "got" Baltimore in a deep and profound way, from my perspective. Is he still around?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley_Brinsfield

The comment on Harley's state of progressive intoxication is spot on, based on my recollection of the show :-)

all the best,
mrh

 

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    ...
Olesker, posted on November 15, 2011 at 11:49:44
jec01
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Posts: 1462
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Joined: September 22, 2004
 Greetings from Baltimore.

I got here too late to enjoy Harley Brinsfield, but I had plenty of Michael Olesker. He was canned by the Baltimore Sun in a plagiarism scandal about five years ago. For awhile he hung out at the now-failed Baltimore Examiner. He seems to have disappeared since about 2009.

Happy listening,

Jim
Happy listening,

Jim

"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno

 

uffda! (nt), posted on November 16, 2011 at 08:25:31
mhardy6647
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Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 nt
all the best,
mrh

 

RE: a Baltimore reminiscence - "The Harley Show" (Harley Brinsfield), posted on July 20, 2014 at 18:01:44
tbonge@gmail.com
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Posts: 1
Joined: July 20, 2014
 No, that is not a cut & paste of anything (at least originally.) I wrote tht in 2006 and some creep keeps taking out all the good stuff. Bobiously somebody who's not from Baltimore. I am trying to document the things I put into from personal recollection, and put them back with the proper documentation. In view of that goal, I post the following and maybe it can be put in the main article.

Harley didn't just play music - he lived the music. He left you with a feeling of who the musician was. One immediately recognized that, although his job was making sandwiches, his life was jazz, and he didn't really care if you bought a sandwich from him or not, as long as you loved music as he did. Virtually every top jazz musician when they played around Washington D.C. or Baltimore would show up on his show and the performer and Harley would reminisce about old times – Harley seemed to have “Been there, done that” with every jazz musician in the world. I give an example of the fascinating stories related on Harley’s show, this one by Count Basie, from my memory, from early in the 1950’s

“We were broadcasting live from the Reno Club in Kansas City at the time; we used this 12 bar riff as our theme, but it didn’t have a name, we just played. We started our broadcasts at Midnight and went on till 2:00 A.M. At 12:45 A.M. there was a 15 minute break for the news. We would all smoke cigarettes and drink coffee until the announcer would cue us a couple of minutes before we started playing again at 1:00 A.M. This one night the announcer forgot to give us our cue. So, at the end of the news, the announcer said, ‘And now back to Count Basie.’ Then dead air. The announcer finally realized what was happening and shouted, ‘It’s One O’clock! Jump!’ We grabbed our instruments and started playing the theme. From then on our theme had a name – ‘One O’clock Jump!’ “

Harley was absolutely beloved for his kindness and generosity, once, for instance, putting in months of effort assisting a friend in starting a competing sandwich shop.

 

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