| Show War corre Correspondents Correspondent's Notebook Notebook 1 Nazis Failed to Halt Jitterbug g In Belgian Playboy City By Hal IIII Boyle Boyte LI LIEGE GE Belgium Delayed UP The JP The nazis controlled just about everything in Belgium and this playboy city on the Meuse river du during ing their year four-year stay in these parts parts except except th the jitter jitter- bugs How jitterbugging ever found its way into this country remains remains remains re re- re- re mains one of the mysteries of ot the war Dancing was banned by the nazis No one was supposed supposed supposed sup sup- posed to have a radio Social life under gestapo rule was pretty pretty pretty pret pret- ty furtive and dangerous But right under nazi noses the Liege lads and lasses developed into the jitterbugs this Utis side of ot Broadway And that's why one plush little night spot which looks just like many of ot its counterparts on st st. in New York was jumping last night It started out as a quiet evening eve eve- ning A d haired dark piano player play play- er listlessly accompanied a lean blond clarinetist while a bored drummer anti and an a a piccolo player occasionally made themselves heard Then out of the night and into the din and glare strolled five G GI's GIs Is I's with to tommy my guns under one arm and musical instruments under the other They walked walled over to the bandstand the music trailed off ort into silence and the dancers stopped Bruno Manni of ot San Francisco as fine a machine gunner as any any platoon ever had unlimbered his accordion Jim im Ille of Inglewood Cal Cat who occasionally drives a tank blew a few sweet notes on the trumpet trumpet trumpet trum trum- pet while Robert Deacon of Indianapolis a sometimes cook slid sUd onto onte the piano bench and grinned at the startled pianist T Charles Funk of Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Balti Balti- more Md ga gave ve the drums a afew afew afew few rolls like e no platoon sergeant sergeant sergeant ser ser- geant ever did before and S Eddie Gaga of Passaic N. N J. J cleared his throat to see if it he was in voice The boys began beating out Flat Foot and on the postage stamp sized dance floor these Liege youngsters just went vent out of ot this world The Belgian clarinet player jumped back on the stand and began giving like Benny Goodman Goodman Goodman Good Good- man while the local jitterbugs went into a frenzy After that number the boys slid into Night and Day Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Begin the Beguine After Youre You're Gone and all aU theold the theold theold old favorites hot and sweet Its like this this explained Gaga during Star Dust all us guys were wounded In battle battle and and s sent nt to a replacement depot We sort of drifted together because we liked lilted music and wed we'd have jam sessions now and then The colonel colon l liked it and hid had J m lp show on a 1 Well it went over all aU ril ri tip I guess because now tl up got us on the road ente entertain the boys and civilian civilians v rod dr we played at the o opera pets SS how hog You seen those iS They went wild Th They pe Peep th twE flowers and screamed stomped Just like at j I horn hem home te e eat dept they dont don't throw flow flOWE at me back t there here it t wS t first time they had hes heard aWl ewt music except pt on the e ra radi four years o oAt At tables the people I who Nho been bored a a. few minutes now now forgot to drink their cognac and kept time with their feet teet everyone was laughing and Iu h ing a a fine time Ad And c anyone realized it It was 2 a and the G GIs I's Is tooted That Then the boys placed un up 5 th Instruments slung tommy tommy- gt 0 their over shoulders and w iJ dered back through th the door I y the night l j |
