The Chesterfield Supper Club
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The Chesterfield Supper Club was an NBC musical variety radio program (1944-50) which was also telecast by NBC from 1948 to 1950.
The Chesterfield Supper Club began on December 11, 1944 as a 15-minute radio program, airing at 7pm weeknights on the NBC Radio Network. This musical variety show was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and featured live musical performances. Perry Como hosted The Chesterfield Supper Club (NBC-Radio 1944-50) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while Jo Stafford was the host on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Beginning in 1948, singer Peggy Lee was added to the roster, taking over the Thursday broadcast.
During the first year, Como was backed by the Ted Steele Orchestra, followed by the Lloyd Shaffer Orchestra at the end of 1945. With John Klenner, Shaffer and Steele composed the show's theme song, "Smoke Dreams." Roy Ringwald's "A Cigarette, Sweet Music and You" was also used on the show as a musical theme.
According to a 1948 magazine advertisement, Como was broadcast from New York, backed by the Mitchell Ayres orchestra. Stafford and Lee broadcast from Hollywood. Stafford was backed by her future husband Paul Weston and his orchestra. Peggy Lee was backed by her husband, Dave Barbour, and his orchestra. The show featured musical performances by the host, along with various guest singers and orchestras, including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Eddie Fisher, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Nat King Cole, Victor Borge and others.
[edit] Television
The Chesterfield Supper Club also appeared on NBC television, beginning Christmas Eve, 1948, with a live performance by Perry Como. This was the beginning of Como's long standing tradition of television Christmas specials. This series was the first of four regular primetime musical variety TV series hosted by Perry Como. He continued to host The Chesterfield Supper Club until 1950, when he moved to CBS and the NBC series ended.
[edit] Listen to
- Chesterfield Supper Club (December 11, 1944)
- The Chesterfield Supper Club in The Internet Archive's Old-Time Radio Collection
