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I posted this over on my ONOFFON SSP thread but I know many of you don't go there and I really want to share this with you all.I found this auction on eBay for a publicity still from the movie, A Song Is Born. My brother, Perry, just won the auction so we now own it. The thing that's so cool about this photo is that it's not from the set of the movie, it's taken in the recording studio while the band was recording the soundtrack!!! My dad is almost dead center and is the only one fully facing the camera. I couldn't have asked for a better shot! This is a copy I saved on my hard drive -The description is as follows: "A rare original 8" x 10" publicity still from the 1948 RKO film "A Song Is Born". Pictured, from left to right in the back row are Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Barnet, Harry Babasin; in the front are Al Hendrickson, Mel Powell, and Louis Bellson. Other than a 1" wrinkled area near the center of the top border, the photo is in excellent condition." If you look over the piano player's shoulder, Mel Powell, you'll see the sheet music laid out on the piano. I'm hoping that the actual photo will be clear enough to see the song they're playing - I'm sure it will be.It makes me wonder if MGM has an archive of behind the scenes photos from the movie that I've never seen. Obviously, this is one... This just keeps getting better and better...

Great photo, a nice piece of history.- JH

Really cool!

It's such an excellent pic Von. It's like all the energy in the room is passing thru him. He must've been awesome to work with.Someone posted this on a country forum yesterday. IT's a video from inside the studio on a high-level Nashville session. Great sound, great players... very revealing and attractive!http://www.thesessionplayers.com/

Back in 1960 my father bought a boat that 33 men and women escaped from Cuba in. She was made of Philippine mahogany. He named her 'Sea view'. She was a beautiful little sloop, 24ft long and about 6ft wide. On his days off from his job as an Air Traffic Controller, he would sail by the beaches close to the hotels and offer to take tourists for a boat ride. Sometimes my mother would go with him.About a month ago, I received an e-mail that was circulating that had hundreds of old photos of Nassau and the Bahamas from the 40', 50's & 60's. Imagine my surprise and joy when I came across a photo of my parent on the boat at the beach of the British Colonel Hotel. I quickly saved it. That was a moment to cherish. My parents passed away years ago, but having this small piece of their history is awesome. She was also in a Timex Watch TV commercial.Billy

Apr 3, 2009, 8:06am, onoffon wrote:The description is as follows: "A rare original 8" x 10" publicity still from the 1948 RKO film "A Song Is Born". Pictured, from left to right in the back row are Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Barnet, Harry Babasin; in the front are Al Hendrickson, Mel Powell, and Louis Bellson. Hokey SMOKES, Bullwinkle!! Too bad your Dad never got to work with anybody famous! Man, that's amazing. That photo would be valuable, PERIOD, because of the who's who of Jazz in the pic. But I can't imagine the personal sentimental value it must hold for you.That's very cool, Von. thanks for sharing it HERE.Ted

That is insanely cool (for both of you)...what a nice little lift for me (on this rainy day here) to hear this news!

Can I have a copy?? That is so utterly the shezz!

What a treasure! How awesome to see your dad in the midst of all this creativity and music by so many talented players!Congrats!Suz

Love that pic. Look how close they all were to each other. Recording direct to mono, I can only see a mic in front of the horns and I'd bet this recording sounded stellar.For anyone interested, check out the film: The Wrecking Crew. It's a doc about the session players in LA during the 60's. Great film.