Smoke Dreams

Sometimes a song comes along that really grabs us. We can't hear enough of it. Time passes, but the song lingers amidst our memories and feelings. When it comes to surface, perhaps as we sing or whistle or hum the song, it might evoke a certain time or place or person, most likely a loved one.

One of the first songs to hit me that way is called Smoke Dreams. I heard it when I was a boy in the mid-1940s. "Smoke dreams from smoke rings, while the Chesterfield burns...." I hadn't heard that song for many years, but once in awhile, after all this time, I would still find myself humming it. I couldn't remember who played it or sang it.

I thought of Smoke Dreams a couple of months ago when I was working on my new podcast blog, The Palomar. I was transferring a Chesterfield broadcast from 1947 featuring Tex Beneke and his Orchestra. As the broadcast came to a close, the band played its theme, Moonlight Serenade and suddenly segued into Smoke Dreams.

What a wonderful surprise! A few minutes later I was searching Amazon to see if they had any CDs with Smoke Dreams on them. They only had a couple, both by Jo Stafford with Paul Weston (her husband) and his Orchestra. That rang a bell! I checked through my CDs looking for my only one by Jo Stafford. Sure enough, Smoke Dreams was on it!

You can hear both versions on The Palomar, but why wait?

Just click the Play button to hear "Smoke Dreams"....

Postscript: Eddie Hubbard is the announcer on this Chesterfield Show from 1947. He became one of the most popular radio personalities in Chicago a couple of years later. My family listened to him every morning on WIND for many years.