John Hightower
Host of Brass, Reeds and PercussionBorn in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1951, John moved to Huntsville in 1975, where he worked for a communications training firm. From 1997 to 2022, John worked for the Lanier Ford law firm. During his tenure, He served as Lanier Ford's law librarian, marketing specialist, trainer, and professional recruiter.
From 7th grade to 12th grade, John was involved in band (he played flute and piccolo), a fact that explains his fascination with band music.
John graduated from Mississippi State University (MSU) with a degree in communications and from the University of Mississippi with a law degree. While attending MSU, he worked in professional radio in Starkville for WSSO and WSMU-FM (sister stations). While attending law school in Oxford, John worked for WSUH and WOOR-FM (sister stations). .He served as program director at both sets of stations. Radio was always a lot of fun for him, and he said, "I can't believe how lucky I am to be working in radio again."
John says he has big shoes to fill in following Darryl Adams as host of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion. Darryl passed away on October 18, 2011. But since that time, John has continued a Huntsville tradition at 1 p.m. every Saturday on WLRH.
Thank you, Darryl Adams, for the many wonderful years you dedicated to WLRH. You are missed!
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features official German military marches based on themes from operas. But this edition opens with a triple play of a jazz standard written by Jelly Roll Morton in 1906; namely, “The King Porter Stomp.” We will begin with the first recording of the tune, the one made in1923 with Morton himself playing the piano. Then we will hear the 1935 recording by the Benny Goodman band, a recording that became a big big band hit. The third version will be a 1955 recording of the tune arranged by Pete Rugolo, obviously made with better recording equipment.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features original classical wind-band hunting music from the 1700s and 20th century movie music composed by John Williams. This edition opens with two German military marches. As required by a 1817 decree of Prussian King Fredrich Wilhelm, the Prussian Army adopted a list of official marches to be played at military ceremonies. This practice continued when the German Empire was formed and continues to this day. There have been three different editions of the list of official marches. The first is a parade march from the first list and was written by the military musician Julius Mollendorf. The second is also a parade march written by Princess Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen and can be found on all three lists.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features original classical wind-band music that depicts a hunting trip and 1960s music from television shows. But this edition opens with a big hit from 1968: “Those Were the Days.” Boris Fomin, a Russian who lived from 1900 to 1948, composed the music with original lyrics by a Russian poet. Gene Raskin, an American, wrote the English lyrics; and Mary Hopkin, an English singer, recorded the song for the newly minted Apple Records, encouraged by Beatle Paul McCartney, who played the acoustic guitar for the recording. The song was a number-one hit in Great Britain, Canada, and France. In the United States, it topped at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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Joseph Lacalle was born in Cadiz, Spain, in 1859. He immigrated to the United States in 1884 at age 25. He played clarinet in the John Philip Sousa Band and the Patrick Gilmore Band. Eventually, he started his own band and became known as a composer, conductor, and music critic. He wrote his biggest hit in 1920: “Amapola.” "Amapola" is Spanish for the poppy flower, but is also used as a girl’s name in Spanish. In 1941, the Jimmy Dorsey big-band recording of “Amapola” became a number-one hit. The song has appeared in various movies since that time, and Natalie Cole recorded it for her 2013 album.
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For 2024, Hanukkah began at sunset on December 25 and will end at sunset on January 2, 2025. So in recognition of Hanukkah, this edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features Hanukkah songs and klezmer. Klezmer is an instrumental musical tradition of the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. Most klezmer is dance music, which is very appropriate for Hanukkah which is a happy celebration. Over the years, klezmer has incorporated elements from many other traditions: Turkish, Greek, Romanian, German, and Slavic, as well as Jewish religious music. In the United States, klezmer has incorporated big band jazz and Dixieland elements as well. And as two selections aired during this edition will demonstrate, even Latin music has been incorporated into klezmer.
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Christmas music can have an interesting history. For example, the composer of “Carol of the Bells” was assassinated. The melody used for one carol comes from a cantata celebrating the invention of movable type. And a number of popular secular Christmas tunes were written by a Jewish World War II veteran. But today’s edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion begins with a “Christmas Fanfare” composed the Scottish cornet player and composer Brian Keachie. For 29 years, Keachie was the principal cornet player for the Kilmarnock Concert Brass Band, which has won numerous brass-band contests. He has been featured on numerous radio and television shows.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion opens with an Advent composition entitled “The Kingdom Triumphant,” written by the British Salvation Army composer Eric Ball, who lived from 1903 to 1989. The composition has three major sections: Vision of Judgment, Remembrance of the First Advent, and Vision of the Second Advent. As a trombone player, he joined a Salvation Army young people’s band, began working as a music editor in the Salvation Army’s publishing house when he was 18, and eventually lead the Salvation Army’s International Staff Band. In 1946, Ball conducted the Brighouse and Rastrick Band in the winning performance at the National Brass Band Championships.
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“Canite Tuba” or “Blow the Trumpet” is a popular Advent hymn that has been set to music by a number of composers of the 1500s and 1600s, including Hans Leo Hassler and Jacob Handl. This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion begins with the setting by Giovanni Palestrina, who lived from about 1525 to 1594. He became a chorister in a Roman church when he was 11 years old, eventually becoming an organist and choir director for a church in his hometown of Palestrina, located near Rome. Eventually, he held a number of positions with churches closely associated with the Vatican. Both Bach and Mendelssohn studied and were influenced by Palestrina’s music.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussions opens the holiday season with Advent, Christmas, and secular holiday music. We will begin with the Advent hymn “O Savior, Tear Open the Heavens.” We can trace the music to a German Catholic hymnbook from 1668, although the composer has not been identified. The lyrics were written by a Jesuit priest Freidrich Spee, who lived from 1591 to 1635. He died from plague that he contracted while ministering to soldiers. He wrote a book of secular songs, including Christmas and Easter hymns. But he is perhaps most famous for his opposition to witch hunting and writing a book opposing witch hunting, in which he observed: “Torture has the power to create witches where none exist.”
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Rampart Street in New Orleans is the northern border of the French Quarter. It’s called Rampart Street because a rampart—or a dirt wall—was built there to defend the early French colonial city. In the early and mid-20th century, Rampart Street was the center of an important African-American commercial and entertainment district. Louis Armstrong grew up on South Rampart Street. The name of the street appears in the title of at least three compositions, but this edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion opens with one written in 1937 by Ray Bauduc and Bob Haggart: “The South Rampart Street Parade.” The show opens with a version recorded by Pete Fountain in 1963.