Trevor Mac, the drummer on this track by Teddy Weatherford and his Band, was born Trevor MacCabe to an Irish father and a Portuguese mother. He began his career in …

More Chic Chocolate from the Marco Pacci collection. The vocalist is Charles Sheppard. This tune first appeared in the film Song of the Open Road, made in 1944. Here’s what …

This photo of mid-1930s Bombay was taken in the home of the Hutson Sisters, whom I wrote about here. It was sent to me by the wonderful Maxine Steller, a …

I Couldn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night was part of the soundtrack of the 1943 film Higher and Higher. It was recorded in Calcutta two years later by Chic Chocolate …

Darktown Strutter’s Ball is a tune with a long history: it was composed in 1917 by a Canadian named Shelton Brooks and the same year was recorded by the Original …

Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farres composed Quizas, Quizas, Quizas in 1947 and it took only a few years to become a hit all around the world, inspiring local versions in several …

As I began to upload this week’s piece, I realised that it was article number 54 – which means that this website marked its first anniversary earlier in May without …

The Hutson Sisters, Bombay’s answer to the Andrews Sisters, first appear in my archival material in November 1937, when they were featured on a late-night All India Radio programme. The …

Last week, I reproduced a charming note written by Maxine Steller, a Bombay native who now lives in Australia. This week, it’s time for her husband, 87-year-old Fred Steller, to …