PHILADELPHIA, August 20, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Celebrating 25 years of the WPEN Big Band Concert Series has been a dancer's-delight at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing all summer long and on Thursday, August 28, 2003, it will be the finale of the season from 7 to 9 p.m. featuring the Walter Jay Orchestra.
Walter Jay, who originated the Big Band Series in June 1978, is a successful bandleader who has played as back up band or to entertain such American icons as Bob Hope, Diana Ross, Tony Martin, Bobby Rydell, Margaret Whiting, Maureen McGovern, 5th Dimension, Al Martino, Don Cornell, Bobby Vinton and Hugh Hefner. A musician for most of his life, Walter Jay has a masters degree in music education from Temple University and has been teaching music for almost 30 years at St. John Newman High School. He recalls when the Big Band Series began.
He said, "The first night was a torrential downpour and we couldn't even use the stage under the tent at Delaware Avenue and Market Street. Finally after the rain stopped, we did the concert and as summer went, the crowd built and built. We went from 5,000 to 7,000 people. There was no lighting. They brought their own chairs. By the 2nd summer, 1979, crowds were in excess of 8,000 and 10,000. The third year, the city brought in bleachers and Penn's Landing Corporation had a little equipment for sound system."
Born in South Philadelphia and now a resident of West Philadelphia, Walter Jay continued describing this summer-long series. "In 1982, WPEN came in. Dean Tyler fell in love with our band and Walter Jay and the 950 WPEN Big Band Series entertained guests on Penn's Landing. Eventually more bands were brought in and we all alternated. Each year the Big Band Series improved but using the format developed back in 1978. I remember it starting with the huge tent when nothing was built on Penn's Landing to now in the Great Plaza where many thousands of people come each season."
The WPEN Big Band concert series takes place on the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Street with free swing dance lessons taking place at 6:00 p.m.
WPEN is the definitive Big Band and Adult Standard radio station in America, combining "great stars and the great songs" of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbara Streisand, Barry Manilow, Nat "King" Cole, Neil Diamond, The Carpenters, Diana Krall and more.
Independence Blue Cross is the presenting sponsor of the 2003 Summer Season at Penn's Landing. Penn's Landing Summer 2003 family of sponsors include: Commerce Bank, US Airways, Pennsylvania Lottery, PECO Energy and Deer Park Water.
Penn's Landing is Philadelphia's Waterfront district, running along Columbus Boulevard from Washington Avenue to Spring Garden Street. The two main sites for the more than 75 festivals, concerts, and events at Penn's Landing are the Great Plaza, located along the Delaware River at Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Street, and Festival Pier, on Columbus Boulevard and Spring Garden Street. For more information on event locations and event details, call (215) 922-2FUN or visit www.pennslandingcorp.com.
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