A Legend Has Passed

Chuck Cecil (1922-2019)

On April 30th, we lost a legend, at least a legend to those of us who are enthusiasts and collectors of vintage big band recordings.  For years, Chuck Cecil had broadcast a show from a studio in his California home called "The Swingin' Years," and for years I have been a fan of that great program.  I wanted to just honor Chuck's memory a little in my own way, as he was truly a legend of his time, and perhaps one of the last beacons of preservation of this great music to be enjoyed by a larger audience than even he could have imagined.

Although born in Oklahoma, Chuck grew up in and around the Van Nuys area just north of Los Angeles, and in high school his classmates included such famous people as Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe, the latter of which he was able to attend her wedding sometime around 1947.   The show that many of us are familiar with came on the air in the year 1956, and Chuck has broadcast "The Swingin' Years," with the opening theme being a Harry James recording of The Mole, for all those years.  My first encounter with this great show came during a visit to my dad's just before my senior year in high school started in the summer of 1988, when I was introduced to the show on a local station in Brunswick, GA - on that station, Chuck's program aired on Saturday afternoons.  However, I would get to listen to him a lot more in the coming years, as around the year 1989 his show actually replaced Henry Boggan's on Sunday nights on WBT-AM out of Charlotte, NC.  At that point, I had listened to Henry's show for around 8 years almost without interruption, but Chuck's show was actually a better program as it featured exclusively vintage big bands, as opposed to Henry who played a little bit of everything.  With college and everything, I couldn't listen as regularly as I once did, but I tuned in when I could and was still listening to Chuck's show well into the 1990's.  Once I got internet access, I could get it more regularly on stations from around the country, but that didn't happen until the 2000s.  So, to sort of give you an idea of what a listening experience of one of Chuck's programs was like, let me describe it to you.

Chuck was not your average DJ, as throughout the four hours or so he would broadcast he would have these featured segments.  For instance, he would play the best-selling records of a certain day of the year from a certain year, say June 10, 1941.   Or, he would do a "Turning Time Around" segment in which he would take an old song that was originally recorded in the 30's and 40's, and then contrast it with a more contemporary version of the same song by an artist in recent times - one of those I recall was taking a recording a young Molly Ringwald made in the late 1970's of the 1920's flapper song "I Wanna Be Loved By You," and he would then play the Vaughn DeLeath recording from the 1920's or something like that.  Another segment was a 15-minute recording of a live big band remote from a certain year that would have been on radio then.  Yet another feature was his famous interviews - he had a whole slew of interviews he did with big band legends, in which he would play the interview and then intersperse it with notable recordings.  Stuff like that - those themed segments - kept Chuck's show exciting.  Of course, there would also be stretches in which he would play records, and then give you an encyclopedic rundown of the date of the session, who did the solos if a famous big band recording, etc.  In this way, Chuck's program was both entertaining and educational, and you got to learn a lot of neat information about big bands, including some things you may not have known before.  All in all, it was something I looked forward to on Sunday nights, and even today kind of miss.   And, to add to this, Chuck had an extensive library of over 40,000 recordings to make for a lot of broadcasts, and at times he would even play something you never would have thought you got to hear.  It was an experience that would make you appreciate the music even more after a few hours of his radio broadcast.  On occasion too, he would venture from playing big band recordings and throw in something else, such as a 1950's pop record that may have been famous on the same date he broadcast the show - something like Frank Chacksfield's haunting 1953 record of "Ebb Tide" or the like.  The idea, I believe, was that Chuck was not just focusing on the big band aspect of what he called "the swinging years," but rather the comprehensive portrait of the times (which for his show spanned the years between 1935 and 1955).  This even included interjecting some historic trivia, such as historic news headlines of a certain day, etc.  It was a good formula, and his fans (including me) enjoyed it.

Chuck's show touched a lot of people - many were able to relive memories, and younger folks such as myself at that time learned to appreciate good music thanks to his passion for it.  He broadcast the show from his house up until 2016, and he actually did his last broadcast at the age of 94 - that was impressive too!  His total career in radio - which began around 1947 - therefore encompassed 70 years.  That is what makes Chuck a legend. 

A much younger picture of Chuck in his home studio, where he broadcast "The Swingin' Years" for a lot of years

The final broadcast of Chuck's show, as well as his passing from this life three years afterward, meant the end of a great era.  With sub-standard pop music dominating the conventional airwaves now, the loss of Chuck's show is a great one, as it is harder to find good music.  However, as far as I know, his daughter has preserved the recordings of his broadcasts, and I believe she is donating them to a university library or something, which means at some point they may be available to listen to and relive the memories this great show created.  I would love to get some CD's of his complete radio programs, as they would be a welcome addition to my own collection, and perhaps that will happen in the near future.  But, until then, his daughter is pretty strict about not having his recordings widely disseminated, and it is only respectful to honor that, as it also honors Chuck's memory as well.

Chuck's passing, as well as the cancellation of his show three years previous, ends an era of good radio broadcasts and finding good music on the airwaves to listen to, at least on conventional radio stations.  However, thankfully there are internet broadcasts that still feature vintage big bands - of note is that guy Dismuke, who goes way back in time with some rare recordings - so the flame is carried on.  That being said, I now pray Chuck to have rest eternal, and may Light Perpetual shine upon him.  And, may the Holy Spirit comfort his family, in particular his dear widow Edna, in this time of loss.  Thanks again for allowing me to share, and will hopefully have some nuggets of inspiration to share again soon.