Harley Brinsfield

Harley Brinsfield hosted The Harley Show, Music out of Baltimore on WBAL and later on WFBR from about 1952 to sometime in the 1970s. With his second wife, Arlene Levy Brinsfield, he opened Harley Submarine Sandwich Shops, which, largely due to the publicity generated by his show, became one of the first and largest local fast food franchises pre-dating both McDonald's and Subway by many years.^{[citation needed]}

Harley was USN Retired when he met and married Arlene Levy of San Francisco, California. A family story is that she hocked her engagement and wedding rings for sufficient cash to open the first Harley's. She became the bookkeeper for the chain, which eventually expanded to 15-20 restaurants throughout Maryland. Brinsfield also served as a commissioner of the Maryland State Roads Commission in the 1960s, representing the City of Baltimore.

Radio show

Harley purchased two hours in a block and had complete charge of the show. The show lead in with the theme Things Ain't What They Used To Be(played by a Duke Ellington small band with Johnny Hodges on the tenor sax) and closed with Sailing Down the Chesapeake Bay (Played by Bob Scobey's Frisco Band). He would showcase a particular performer and trace that performer's development throughout his show. At various times, Harley used the Tishomingo Blues going to commercials or breaks.

Top jazz musicians when they played around Washington D.C. or Baltimore would show up on his show and the performer and Harley would reminisce about old times.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

Harley has the strange legacy of being perhaps the most obscure person in the history of jazz, while at the same time remembered and missed by more people than any other. ^{[citation needed]}

References

• Michael Olesker's Baltimore; Michael Olesker; The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Annual Report, Maryland State Roads Commission, 1965, which includes a photograph of Brinsfield.
• D. A. Levy, Researcher, Director of The Maritime Heritage Project (www.maritimeheritage.org), and niece of Arlene Levy Brinsfield.

External links

• DCNYRadio (and TV) MEMORY BANK