On this week's edition of On the Town Steyn celebrates one of the great fraternal songwriting teams - the Sherman Brothers - with hits from Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and more, as rendered by singers from Julie Andrews to Ringo Starr. But Frank Sinatra and Eddie Cantor prefer to sing songs by the Sherman boys' dad... Plus Mark recalls a rather odd double-date in Delaware.
To listen to the show, simply click here and log-in.
Thank you for all your kind comments on last week's D-Day special. Jamie Marsh, a First Weekend Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club, says:
I listened to the D-Day special on Serenade Radio and it is great. Very moving.
Kenneth, an Arkansas Steyn Clubber, agrees:
Thank you so much for your D-Day program. It was wonderfully informative . . . while also deeply moving and inspiring.
Chris in Dublin writes:
What a well crafted piece of radio..! As a volunteer presenter on local radio myself I can appreciate the amount of work and research that Mark did in compiling this Saturday's program.
Fellow First Weekend Founding Member Josh Passell knows what touched him the most:
It was Frank [Sinatra] and Jim Radford who brought a tear to my eye. 'America the Beautiful' and 'The Shores of Normandy' make me prouder still that I leave my twin American flags up from Memorial Day to the Fourth of July. Men and women hoped against hope back then. But they still hoped.
From Gary Alexander, our peerless music maven:
What a wonderful show... I recall George Shearing and Mel Tormé 'doing' World War II on a Concord concert night, with George starting out in a quiet solo on 'Lili Marlene,' the song you said both sides liked, and I picture this blind pianist hearing it between the London air raids age 20. Will we ever be that united again -- or hear new songs of this quality again?
From Lisa, a third First Weekend Founding Member:
Mark, appreciate the fine collection of WWII songs. My dad was a teenager in the Fortiess. He served in the Pacific as a seventeen, eighteen-year-old. It was a tough time, but I believe they were made of tougher stuff than some of the lads today. Thanks for everything you do!
And one more from Charlene:
As always, a great show Mark. It is amazing how music and history together evoke such emotions. It's why I love your period pieces for Tales for our Time. The sounds of the age are as important as the dates, places, and facts.
Thanks for all your comments. If you've yet to hear our D-Day Special, you'll find it here. It's a better way to remember the day than with Biden, Sunak and Trudeau.
On the Town is Steyn's weekly music show on Serenade Radio every Saturday at 5pm British Summer Time - that's 6pm in western and central Europe/12 midday North American Eastern. You can listen from anywhere in the world by clicking the button at top right here.
As listeners know, Mark is a great believer in old-school appointment listening, and loves the way Serenade's Saturday schedule flows from Cindy Kent to Steyn and on to the evening shows. However, we appreciate that many potential listeners are, at the appointed hour, getting their twelfth booster shot, being interrogated for misgendering or whatever. So, as a bonus for Steyn Club members, we shall be posting the shows here every weekend.
We do enjoy your comments on our weekend programming. Steyn Clubbers are welcome to leave them below. For more on The Mark Steyn Club, see here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership.
Mark Steyn on the Town can be heard on Serenade Radio at the following hours:
Saturday 5pm London time/9am Los Angeles
Sunday 5am London time/12 midnight New York
Steyn's Song of the Week continues at its usual hour on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.