One of the CDJA’s greatest supporters and advocates for well over 25 years, passed away over year ago and left a legacy that will probably never be matched in the CDJA’s future. His name was Howard Heckendorn, of London, and he played an integral roll in our Association’s development and National Administration effectiveness. One of his many talents was how he related to DJ’ing in a those early days of carting along crates of LP’s and 45’s out to the local dance halls and banquet facilities to play his special mix of tunes that got the “hip cats” up on the floor to do their thing!
Just before he passed away, I asked him if he would write an article about his knowledge of the “SWING ERA” and the stuff that made DANCE HALL people go crazy when the “band” started to play! Here is the article that I found saved on my hard drive and determined it was waiting for me to dust it off and bring it to you with pleasure! Howard tell us again … like it was! My very first exposure with “DJ’ing” and playing ‘swing’ music was in 1948-49 as the “spinner” of 78 rpm records on a old single-play turntable at the Kitchener-Waterloo YWCA Friday night Co-Ed Club dances held for grade 7 & 8 students.
The most requested music at that time was a mixture of “Big Band Swing” and the current popular singers of the day. These were mostly former big band vocalists that had followed the “Swoon King”, Frank Sinatra into the world of the bobby-soxer. Some of the most popular swing tunes were “Boogie Woogie”, “String of Pearls”, “In The Mood”, “Opus One”, “Begin The Beguine”, “Jersey Bounce”, “Tuxedo Junction”, “Pennsylvania 6-5000”, “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, “Take The :A” Train”, “Satin Doll”, “Stompin’ At The Savoy” and “Don’t Be That Way”. These, along with the “cuddly” tunes, “Moonlight Serenade”, “Sentimental Journey”, “You Made Me Love You”, “Memories of You” and “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”, were the tunes I recall being requested most often.
Note: Most of these above titles can be found on the “Enoch Light & the Light Brigade” series of albums, or on the “Spitfire Band” series, (more recent Big Band appeal tunes are listed at the end of this article.)
I suggest using these remake productions over the originals, as they are so much more superior in recording quality. Some of the popular singing artists of that time period were Doris Day; Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Frankie Laine, Perry Como, Nat “King” Cole, Don Cornell and Dick Haymes. They had such hits as, “It’s Magic”; “Nature Boy”; “Beg Your Pardon”; “I Can Dream Can’t I”; “Cruising Down The River”; “That’s My Desire”; “Near You” and “Little White Lies”.
The early 1950s introduced Private Eddie Fisher with such Top Hit Parade hits as “Tell Me Why”, “I’m Yours”, “Anytime”, “Wish You Were Here” and “Lady of Spain”. Nat “King” Cole’s “Walking My Baby Back Home”, the Mills Brothers “Glow Worm” and Johnnie Ray who tearfully gave us “Cry” and “The Little White Cloud That Cried” were also popular numbers often requested. Jo Stafford with “You Belong To Me” and Kay Starr’s “Wheel of Fortune” were both big Hit Parade hits in 1952 which saw the introduction of Rosemary Clooney with “Botch-A-Me”.
The 1955 movie “Blackboard Jungle” backgroun | 
