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May 29, 1943: 'The Million Dollar Band' on NBC

 
May 29, 1943: Charlie Spivak was the first leader of The Million Dollar Band which debuted on NBC. The band featured Barry Wood as vocalist. The unusual feature of the show was the awarding each week of five diamond rings.

The band debuted on the talent show entitled "Metropolitan Area Auditions." Charlie Spivak was the first maestro invited to lead the group. The five diamond rings were given to listeners that wrote the most interesting letters about what songs moved them and why.
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  1. The wwwriterMay 19, 2019 at 6:42 PM

    I ran across a 30 second recording of the opening song for this show while cleaining out my mom's things. It was quite amusing and a catchy tune.

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  2. AnonymousApril 26, 2025 at 2:39 AM

    This episode also featured the Double Daters, something of a vocal supergroup... I've still never heard them and am trying to track down a recording. They had Chuck Goldstein (formerly of the Modernaires, and later of Four Chicks and Chuck), Helen Carroll (formerly of the Merry Macs, and later of the Satisfiers), Ray Charles (later of the Ray Charles Singers) and someone named Ruth Doring (whom I don't know much about).

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  3. owen hApril 26, 2025 at 2:49 AM

    This same debut show also had the short-lived quartet the Double Daters, who were something of a vocal supergroup. They were made up of Chuck Goldstein (of the Modernaires and Four Chicks and Chuck), Helen Carroll (of the Merry Macs and the Satisfiers), Ray Charles (of the Ray Charles singers), and a Ruth Doring (whom I don't know much about - she was in the Doring Sisters trio at some point). Still haven't been able to find any recordings of them!

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