The days dwindle down

Remember, you’ve only got till tomorrow — Wednesday, February 17th — to take advantage of 25% savings on all Cladrite Radio gear.

Just use the coupon code 4PFBDAY at checkout to save big bucks on t-shirts, hoodies, mousepads, coffee mugs — you name it. And you’ll find similar savings at our sponsor site, Cladrite.com, where you’ll find “yesterday’s t-shirts, today!”

Don’t miss out!

Unbeatable savings on great gear

We like nothing better than to share good news with the Cladrite Radio Clan, and today’s news is swell, indeed.

Through Wednesday, February 17, you can save 25% on all Cladrite Radio gear — t-shirts, coffee mugs, hoodies, you name it.

Savings of 25% are, we’re sure you’ll agree, nothing to sneeze at, so if you’ve been wanting to share your devotion to Cladrite Radio with the world, here’s your chance.

You can also enjoy similar savings at our sponsor site, Cladrite.com, where you can purchase “yesterday’s t-shirts, today.” That’s right, they feature great vintage graphics on everything from t-shirts to sweatshirts, mousepads, and more.

If you haven’t yet checked out the wares at Cladrite.com, now’s the time!

Get a new shirt, help improve lives

Here’s a gentle reminder that today is the last day to contribute to Oxfam America‘s relief efforts in Haiti by purchasing Cladrite Radio gear. If you see something you like among our offerings (or over at Cladrite.com, where they’re also donating the proceeds of the sale of tees, hoodies, and other products, each emblazoned with a vintage graphics, to OA), today’s the day to make that purchase.

You’ll get a great shirt out of the deal, while the good folks at Oxfam America receive much-needed funds to help them assist those who are suffering in Haiti — it’s a win-win.

Or, if you prefer, you can donate to Oxfam America directly here.

The Personality Girl resurfaces

Annette Hanshaw, one of the most revered performers in the Cladrite Radio pantheon, was a very busy gal for a few years in the late 1920s and early ’30s. She recorded dozens of memorably jazzy pop sides (or were they poppy jazz?) between 1926 and 1934, under a variety of names and for several record labels (as was so often the norm in those days), and made innumerable radio appearances between 1932 and 1935. In fact, the readers of Radioland magazine voted Hanshaw, known in those days as “The Personality Girl,” their favorite singer of 1935.

Tommy Dorsey himself once called Hanshaw “a musician’s singer.”

So it was a huge loss to the world of pop and jazz music when Hanshaw retired from show business after marrying Pathé Records executive Herman “Wally” Rose. She made her last record in 1934 and appeared on the radio for the final time in 1937.

In recent years, much of Hanshaw’s recorded output has made its way to CD, boosting her current popularity and keeping her in the public eye. Her songs are even featured prominently in director Nina Paley’s 2009 animated film Sita Sings the Blue.

Though a rumored pair of mysterious demo records, cut many years after her retirement when Hanshaw was said to be considering a comeback, have never been released to the public, some “homemade” recordings Hanshaw made recently surfaced on youtube.com.

The person who posted the recordings, whose youtube handle is merrihew, offers the following background:

These two selections are the best sounding of a batch of homemade recordings that Annette Hanshaw did. Her husband copied them onto a tape for a friend of mine. I don’t know when they were made but on one of the records she refers to “Steve Cochran’s looks”. He was a big movie star for a couple of years around 1950. So that’s a hint. Unfortunately the sound on the others is pretty bad.

For Hanshaw fans, these recordings, even lacking as they admittedly are in fidelity and clarity, are an unexpected and delightful gift.

We’ve posted what merrihew says are the best of the recordings as this week’s Cladrite Clip (look to the sidebar on the left), but you can hear other, more muffled and scratchy snippets of songs from those home recording sessions at the links below:

• Part 2 – Annette Hanshaw private recordings
• Part 1 – Annette Hanshaw private recordings

If you’ve not been exposed to Hanshaw, we encourage you to give a listen to some of her earlier work online, at Last.fm, RedHotJazz.com, or one of the many other sites where streaming music can be heard. You’ll also hear Hanshaw often on Cladrite Radio.

We think it best to hear her at her best first, and then give these later, lo-fi recordings a listen to get an idea what might have been if, in fact, Hanshaw, who died of cancer in 1985, had undertaken a comeback.

Buy a tee, help save lives in Haiti

From now through Sunday, January 16, all proceeds from sales of Cladrite Radio gear will go to benefit Oxfam America’s relief efforts in Haiti, so take a look at our offerings (Cladrite.com is doing the same).

You can also donate directly to Oxfam America here