Downbeat Pete (Pete Kelly's Blues)
4/19/20262 hr 6 min
Our month of Jack Webb continues with his most unusual crime drama - Pete Kelly's Blues, a show that incorporated Webb's love of jazz into its weekly mysteries. Kelly played cornet in a combo at a Kansas City speakeasy during Prohibition, and each episode featured vocal and instrumental musical numbers. Though it didn't last long on radio, Webb brought Pete Kelly's Blues to the big screen with a cast that included Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald. We'll hear four episodes of the short-lived series: "Gus Trudeau" (originally aired on NBC on August 15, 1951); "Zelda" (originally aired on NBC on September 5, 1951); "...
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road, and those who travel it wind up in the gutter, the prison, or the grave.
Speaker 10:07
[jazz music] The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 20:17
The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective.
Speaker 30:21
The Adventures of the Saint, starring Vincent Price.
Speaker 4· Soundbite0:24
Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator- Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 6· Host0:35
[jazz music] Hello, and welcome to Down These Mean Streets and more old-time radio detectives and crime solvers. Our month-long salute to Jack Webb continues this week with his unique crime drama, Pete Kelly's Blues. Unlike the other shows we've heard this month starring Webb, Pete Kelly's Blues was a period piece set in Kansas City, Missouri during the Prohibition era, and the show incorporated Webb's love of jazz with multiple musical numbers performed in each episode.