Make Believe Ballroom
byJeff Bressler
HistoryMusicCommentary
Hosted by Jeff Bressler, The Make Believe Ballroom brings you Classic Big Band jazz, blues, boogie-woogie, and dixieland hits from the 30s and 40s each week.The program has been broadcast almost continuously since 1935. The Ballroom is America's third-longest-running music radio program.Each program mixes beloved 78 rpm records, stories, listener requests, and special guest features, all geared to bring you the music and history of the big band era.
Episodes(40 episodes)
Make Believe Ballroom - 6/5/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a listen to some both A and B sides of records, who was Todd Rollins, a historic black female composer, and more records and reminiscences from the big band and jazz era.
Published: Jun 5, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 5/29/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at a world record-breaking Bing Crosby Hawaiian tune, two Artie Shaw classic radio remotes, two interesting Benny Goodman tunes, and more records and reminiscences from the big band and jazz era.
Published: May 29, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 5/22/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, a song about a woman in the military, listeners' emails about Louis Jordan and Bill Finnigan, the A and B side of a great Ray Noble 78rpm, and more records and reminiscences from the big band and jazz era.
Published: May 21, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 5/15/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, Count Basie’s ode to the draft, two first-time-ever-recorded hits for Fats Waller, the mother of boogie woogie, and more records and reminiscences from the big band and jazz era.
Published: May 15, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 5/8/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, Artie Shaw as a radio second banana, a post Glenn Miller Army small group in Paris, late 40s Metronome All-Stars, and more records and reminiscences from the big band and jazz era.
Published: May 8, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom 5/1/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, Glenn Miller's greatest trombone solo, trombones of Teagarden and Dorsey, train songs, a short-lived Charlie Barnet vocalist, and more records and reminiscences from the big band and jazz era.
Published: May 1, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 4/24/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a historic reunion between Duke and Satchmo, the history behind some song names, a little Texas Swing 40s-style, and more records and reminiscences from the big band and jazz era.
Published: Apr 24, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 4/17/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a salute to a female blues vocalist, little remembered, a rare Artie Shaw record, 15-year-old Judy Garland, how a song got an unusual name, plus many more records, stories, and reminiscences from the big band era.
Published: Apr 17, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 4/10/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, Sarah Vaughn’s start; Count Basie reached the masses from a tiny club; the first band Benny Goodman led; listeners, emails, plus many more records, stories, and reminiscences from the big band era.
Published: Apr 10, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 4/3/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, Hawaiian swing, a bandleader with no biography, plus many more records, stories, and reminiscences from the big band era.
Published: Apr 3, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 3/27/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, some "royalty" of jazz, the original King of Swing, a forgotten record label, plus many more records, stories, and reminiscences from the big band era.
Published: Mar 27, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 3/20/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a British bandleader comes to the US and makes history, a female vocalist who had two number 1 hits in a span of a month, plus many more records, stories, and reminiscences from the big band era.
Published: Mar 20, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 3/13/26 Edition
The Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a little-remembered big band singer, the use of the organ in 1930s and '40s jazz, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman play Klezmer, many more records, stories, and reminiscences from the big band era.
Published: Mar 13, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 3/6/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a bandleader in the Guinness Book of Records, a TV dad who started his career in music, battling brothers, and more records and reminiscences from the golden age of the American songbook.
Published: Mar 6, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 2/27/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at a musical couple married for over 50 years, a famous brother from a comedy team who raised the baton on his own band, a musician and arranger talked out of law school, and more records and reminiscences from the golden age of the American songbook.
Published: Feb 27, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 2/22/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a macabre big band passing, a listener's letter about Ray Anthony, a forgotten drummer, and more records and reminiscences from the golden age of the American songbook.
Published: Feb 20, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 2/13/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at a bygone record company, movies from the silver screen, how a Bing Crosby financial investment changed audio recording, and more records and reminiscences from the golden age of the American songbook.
Published: Feb 13, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 2/6/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at how smaller radio markets got their musical programming, two somewhat forgotten big band era stars, two infamous musicians with checkered pasts, and also more records and reminiscences from the golden age of the American songbook.
Published: Feb 6, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom -1/30/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at a famous jazz club and eatery on an iconic street in New York City, music and discussion about 1930s and 40s small group jazz, and also more records and reminiscences from the golden age of the American songbook.
Published: Jan 30, 2026Duration: 58m 1s
Make Believe Ballroom - 1/23/26 Edition
On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom - the greatest public relations stunt in big band history, a story of the early days of the Ballroom hosted by Martin Block, some well-known arrangers, in addition to many more songs and reminisces.
Published: Jan 23, 2026Duration: 58m 1s