Joe Bev presents "78 Records of Betty Boop & Popeye the Sailor" Saturday, June 8 3:30 pm ET on CRAGG

NAPANOCH, N.Y. - June 7, 2013 - PRLog -- The cans of spinach and garter belts will be flying when Joe Bev presents "Helen Kane & Billy Costello, the 78s of Betty Boop & Popeye the Sailor", on The Jazz-O-Rama Hour, Saturday, June 8, 3:30 pm ET, 12:30 pm PT, on Internet radio powerhouse Cult Radio-A-Go-Go! (http://www.cultradioagogo.com), including:

I'm Pop-eye the Sailor Man - Billy Costello (1935)
I Wanna Be Loved By You - Helen Kane (1928)
Man on the Flying Trapeze - Billy Costello (1934)
Button Up Your Overcoat Helen Kane (1929)
The Teddy Bear's Picnic - Billy Costello (1935)
That's Why I'm Happy  - Helen Kane-  (1929)
Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing - Billy Costello (1935)
I Have to Have You - Helen Kane (1929)
Good Ship Yakihiki Dooda - Billy Costello (1935)
My Man is on the Make - Helen Kane (1930)
Nagasaki - Billy Costello (1935)
I Want to Be Bad  - Helen Kane (1929)
Dinah - Billy Costello (1935)
Dangerous Nan McGrew - Helen Kane (1930)
Tiger Rag - Billy Costello (1935)

William "Billy" Costello a.k.a. "Red Pepper Sam", was the original voice of Popeye the Sailor in animated cartoons. Costello had worked with the Fleischer Studio as the voice of Gus the Gorilla on the Betty Boop radio show and they felt that the raspy voice he had used for that character would work for the new Popeye character they were planning. He was cast to provide the voice for the first Popeye cartoon, 1933's Popeye the Sailor. Costello appeared in the next 24 Popeye shorts until he was fired by the Fleischers, allegedly over "bad behavior," and was replaced with Jack Mercer. Costello's final appearance was in You Gotta Be A Football Hero (1935).

Helen Kane became known as the 'Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl' because of her baby-talk, scat-singing tag line to that song. This version was recorded right when Kane's popularity started to reach its peak, and became her signature song. Kane's first performance at the Paramount Theater in Times Square proved to be her career's launching point. She was singing "That's My Weakness Now", when she interpolated the scat lyrics “boop-boop-a-doop.” This resonated with the flapper culture, and four days later, Helen Kane’s name went up in lights.Two years later, a cartoon character named Betty Boop was modeled after Kane. In 1930, Fleischer Studios animator Grim Natwick introduced a caricature of Helen Kane, with droopy dog ears and a squeaky singing voice, in the Talkartoons cartoon Dizzy Dishes. "Betty Boop", as the character was later dubbed, soon became popular and the star of her own cartoons. In 1932, Betty Boop was changed into a human, the long dog ears becoming hoop earrings. Helen Kane unsuccessfully sued Max Fleischer over the character.

The June 8th Joe Bev 3-Hour Block will include:

Comedy-O-Rama #12 ENCORE: "Sgt. Lefty Goes Hollywood, with guest star Stuart Pankin"
Jazz-O-Rama #5 ENCORE: "Helen Kane & Billy Costello, the 78s of Betty Boop & Popeye the Sailor"
Joe Bev Experience #12 ENCORE: "From Moonshine to Armadillos: The Birth of the Austin Music Scene"

Joe Bev has been producing radio in many genres since 1971 when he was 12. At 19 in 1980, Bev became the youngest person to produce a radio show for public radio. He co-hosted The Jazz Show with Garret Gega in the early 80s, a four hour a week mix classic jazz and comedy. Bev also worked for WBGO, Jazz 88 in Newark, NJ and produced documentaries for WNYC New York Public Radio on jazz legends including Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Cab Calloway, and Lionel Hampton.

More about Waterlogg Productions at http://www.waterlogg.com.

An announcement about this week's Joe Bev Experience: "From Moonshine to Armadillos: The Birth of the Austin Music Scene" follows.

Video preview:
http://youtu.be/IbshLUGKNP0