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Bahn Frei
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Hear it -
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The sound of the opening fanfare of trumpets sends a chill of
excitement up the spine of any Shep fan who spent their feckless
youth with a radio buried beneath their pillow. It was 'show time'
and soon would follow that distinctive voice which would mesmerize
us for the next forty-five minutes.
Jean Shepherd was on the air and he was talking to 'me'.
Every night for over
twenty years Shep would open and close his nightly WOR radio show
using Eduard Strauss' Bahn Frei as his theme music. Only one change
was made over that time.
How did he begin using
the theme? According to Shep, during an appearance on Larry King
Live in 1983: "I was doing a TV show in Cincinnati sponsored by the
Bayhorse Ale company. They wanted something in the titles involving
horses so we came up with the idea of a group of horses in
silhouette running along to the Bahn Frei theme with a small
silhouette of me running along trying to catch up." The show was the
original version of "Rear Bumpers" on WLW-TV
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"Variations on a Theme"
On December 10, 1962 something
strange happened. Shep and his engineer Bob got ready to go on the
air when they suddenly realized that the tape with the theme had
been erased! They tried to sneak onto the air without the theme but
Shep laughingly told the listeners what had happened. Being a
resourceful engineer, Bob quickly found a tape of a previous show
and they played the theme from it. They closed the show probably
with the same copy cutting it off before it played completely. The
next day Shep came on the air without any fanfare with the now
famous variation of the Bahn Frei theme. As the final notes played
out, a sound like Shep saying "Ahhhh" was added as the final beat.
It is uncertain why this was done, but Shep said on an interview
with Alan Colmes in 1998 that it was done that way because "it felt
right."
You can hear
Shep's explanation on the 12-10-62 show:
and some further explanation on the 1-10-63 show:
On the September 3, 1960
show he quietly said "the end" at the final beat, then went on with
the show.
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Based on information supplied by Herb Squire during
the Friends of Old Time Radio Convention in Newark, NJ on October
20, 2000 I have found what appears to be a copy of the original
theme used by Shep.
Herb was an engineer
for WOR and worked with Shep.
This is a three record
(6 song) album of 78 rpm discs and according to Herb was recorded in
the 40's (Possibly 1948), although there are no dates on the album
or records.
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BAHN FREI POLKA
(Fast Track)
by Eduard Strauss
Arranged by Peter Bodge
Boston "Pops" Orchestra
Arthur Fiedler
Conductor
RCA Victor
Red Seal Record
"Strauss Polkas"
Album #
M 1049 (78rpm)
WMO 1049(45rpm)
Record #
10-1207B (78rpm)
49-0583-B (45rpm) |
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Label from 78 rpm
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There is a 45
rpm version of this album which was apparently released in
the U.S. and Canada. The case in which it comes is identical
to the 78 rpm version and also contains the other 5 songs
that are in the 78 rpm set. The records are pressed in red
vinyl. |
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| Another copy of this
same recording was released on 33-1/3 LP. It is the same
recording as was on the 78 and 45 rpm version recorded by the
Boston Pops.
It comes on the RCA Camden label -
#CAL-126 |
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Although copies
of the original album are only available through places like
ebay or used record dealers, this is the closest variation
currently available in stores:
Strauss Family Waltzes
Recorded by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops in 1958
RCA Victor Label 09026-61688-2 |
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Made in USA
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