"Whispering" ... Peter Kreuder mit seinem Tanzorchester /Gus Deloof & His Swing Orchestra (1935/40)

The popular standard "Whispering" which was first recorded by Paul Whiteman in 1920 (the first record to sell almost 2 million copies) saw a revival in the mid 1930s when the song was adapted to fit the new sound of the swing era.

Today's video features two of these modernized versions. The first was recorded by Peter Kreuder and his dance orchestra for Telefunken in November 1935. The second - more jazz-oriented - version was recorded by Belgian jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger Gus Deloof who recorded his version five years later in December 1940. Deloof worked with musicians such as Fud Candrix, Bernard Etté and Chas Remue. He was part of the Ray Ventura orchestra between 1934 and 1939. From 1940 onwards he recorded and performed with his own orchestra. Some his best known compositions are: "Harlem Swing", "Swinging at the Jamboree" and "En balayant le parquet" (Sweeping the floor).

The video takes a look at some of the pre-war entertainment venues around the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche in Berlin's fashionable West (absent is the famous "Romanisches Café"). The area was also known als the “Roman Forum” due to the fact that some of the massive buildings surrounding the Gedächtniskirche were built in the same ornate style. These included the first “Romanisches Haus” which became the Gloria-Palast (cinema) in the 1920s. On the opposite site a second “Romanisches Haus” was built which housed the famous “Romanische Café”. Further down the street towards the Zoo railway station were the Wilhelmshallen - built in the same Neo-Roman style. Initially used as exposition halls the building was converted into an entertainment complex featuring the UFA Palast am Zoo, cabarets and dancings. None of these buildings and venues survived the Second World War.

Ostend (Oostende) is a Belgian city which was badly damaged during the Second Word War. The once fashionable seaside resort was heavily bombed in May 1940. Many of the grand buildings on its beach promenade were destroyed such as the Grand Hotel de la Plage, Hotel Splendid and Hotel Beau Rivage as well as the beautiful casino which hosted many artists and orchestras during the summer season in its heyday. The building was demolished in 1943 and replaced by a complex of bunkers and anti-aircraft guns which were part of the Atlantik Wall defense. The boulevard with its ruined hotels and villas was declared "Sperrgebiet" (Forbidden zone) for the city's inhabitants. The buildings that remained were demolished during the building boom of the 1950s and '60s and replaced by massive high-rise apartment buildings which catered to the emerging mass tourism.

About the records:

"Whispering"
Peter Kreuder mit seinem Tanzorchester

Telefunken A1886 / mx. 20961
Berlin,
November 1935

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"Whispering"
Gus Deloof & His Swing Orchestra

Decca Swing Series 8751 / mx. JCB 27
Brussels,
27.12.1940

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