KAY KYSER- THE OL' PROFESSOR OF SWING! AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN SUPERSTAR by author Steven Beasley is the first full length (346 pages) biography published on the man and his band who set swing music on its ear - then disappeared! It includes full discography, filmography, over 100 rare photos, and profiles of featured Kyser players Ginny Simms, Harry Babbitt, Ish Kabibble, Georgia Carroll Kyser, and of course, the story of the Ol' professor himself, Kay Kyser. This poignant story gives the recognition James King Kern Kyser and his band deserve, and outlines how important Kyser's contributions were to American music history before and during and after the second World War. Swing legend Glenn Miller was quoted as saying the only band leader he envied was Kay Kyser, who frequently outsold both Miller and Benny Goodman in live appearances. The often outrageous Kyser gained extreme popularity through his Kay Kyser's College of Musical Knowledge music/quiz/comedy radio show, which ran on NBC from 1938 to 1949. Though a lightning rod to his audiences onstage, he was an intensely private organizational genius offstage, who quit unannounced at the peak of his career. How can someone who accomplished so much be forgotten?
Originally from the deep South, Steven's professional past has included such music related assignments as assistant director of the scoring stage at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood in the early 1990s. He was also head recording engineer/producer at Songsafe Recording in the San Fernando Valley, and is currently serving the same function at Coffeetone Studio, his own twenty-four track digital facility in the Los Angeles area.
Beasley painstakingly researched the Kay Kyser Orchestra for twenty years, gaining both their confidence and friendship, getting their history first hand from former band members and the Kyser family. He's also written and produced a thirteen minute promotional DVD for his proposed one hour TV documentary on this book's subject, Kay Kyser- The Ol' Professor of Swing! Steven's book Kay Kyser - The Ol'Professor of Swing! America's Forgotten Superstar has been award "BEST BOOKS 2010" by USA Book News and the 2009 Preserving Music of America Award.
He's an internationally published author with articles in England's Big Bands International magazine, and stateside in Back in the Mood, a 1940s related periodical. In addition, he's a professional musician and songwriter, having had his songs in films and written and recorded musical scores for several comedy shorts shown on Showtime, HBO, and various cable channels in Europe.
A husband and father of two, Steven currently resides in Northridge, Ca.
