An almost five-hour New Year's Eve broadcast by NBC Radio, beginning at 11:05pm EST New Year's Eve December 31 1963.
Hosts for different segments include, Ray Barnett, Jerry Damon, Walt Hoffman, Ralph Portner, Ted Collins.
An unpresented concept LIVE broadcast, never done again, swinging cross country New Years Eve. Produced by the American Federation of Musicians.
"The All Star Parade of Bands" goes from East to West. Ten of the nation's top dance bands swing the old year out and the new year in from New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Different time zones...separate Midnight New Year's Eve celebrations.
11:05 p.m. Peter Duchin Orchestra; 11:30 p.m. Ben Grauer from Times Square; 11:35 p.m Count Basie Orchestra form Basin Street East in New York; 11:45 p.m. Gene Krupa Quartet; 11:55 p.m. Times Square celebration observations by Ben Grauer and Bob Wilson; 12:05; Count Basie Orchestra; 12:30 a.m. Maynard Ferguson Orchestra; 12:55 a.m. Ben Arden and Xavier Cugat Orchestras; 1:30 a.m. Harry James Orchestra; 2:05 a.m. Les Brown Orchestra form Newport Inn, New Port Beach, California; 2:30 a.m. Woody Herman Orchestra at the Castaways Hotel in Las Vegas, 2:55 a.m. Lawrence Welk Orchestra, 3:30 a.m. Lionel Hampton Orchestra.
Midnight celebrations are heard in three different time zones. NBC Radio swings cross country in its All Star Parade of Bands which goes from East to West. Ten of the nation's top dance bands swing 1963 out and 1964 in. At 11:55 PM, NBC cuts to Times Square in New York. Ben Grauer and Bob Wilson reports and recaps the year 1963, only five weeks after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Nov. 22, 1963).
NOTE: A "lost" recorded treasure to be played non-stop (DVD sound track transfer - 4 hours, 22 minutes) during contemporary New Year's Eve parities.
