Cocoanut Grove Ambassadors, Volume 2

When those who celebrate Hollywood's Golden Age reflect back on the halcyon days of the early 1930s, one particular nightspot comes immediately to mind: the Cocoanut Grove at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel. This lavishly appointed club, part of the 23-acre Ambassador resort, was decorated in Moroccan style, featured full-sized palm trees, and spotlighted smooth musical entertainment provided by a series of popular dance orchestras. Thanks to the Transcription Company of America,...
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When those who celebrate Hollywood's Golden Age reflect back on the halcyon days of the early 1930s, one particular nightspot comes immediately to mind: the Cocoanut Grove at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel. This lavishly appointed club, part of the 23-acre Ambassador resort, was decorated in Moroccan style, featured full-sized palm trees, and spotlighted smooth musical entertainment provided by a series of popular dance orchestras. Thanks to the Transcription Company of America, which recorded quarter-hour radio shows in the style of the live remote broadcasts of the time, we can today experience what it was like to spend an evening at the stylish Cocoanut Grove. Return to the elegant days of the 1930s in this ten-hour collection of rare and fully restored broadcasts from Radio Archives. You'll enjoy performances by four of the Cocoanut Grove's top orchestra leaders of the early 1930s: Gus Arnheim, Jimmie Grier, Phil Harris, and Ted Fio Rito. Their smooth and melodic orchestrations, epitomizing the "West Coast Style" that would soon become prevalent in popular recordings and motion pictures, is matched with vocals by Loyce Whiteman, Leah Ray, Dave Marshall, Harry Barris, Dick Webster, and many others.