Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts / Fight Of The Week (boxing)

    (CBS Primetime, 1948 - 1955;
     CBS Primetime, 1951, re-run under "Blue Ribbon Classics";
     Syndicated, re-runs via CBS films "Blue Ribbon Classics")

    [aka: "Fight Of The Week";
     aka: "Blue Ribbon Bouts";
     rerun title: "Blue Ribbon Classics";

     These Wednesday night CBS boxing matches originated in 
     New York arena called "Madison Square Garden" sponsored by 
     a Milwaukee beer company that produced Pabst Blue Ribbon,
     Miller Beer and other regional and national brands;

     The play-by-play announcer was Russ Hodges, and the announcer
     who did the on-camera live beer commercials was Bill Nimmo;

     A nemo was tv slang for a "remote" broadcast; Not known if
     that term originated because of Bill Nimmo's broadcasts on
     this series or because of the remote location of "Captain 
     Nemo" from "20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" :-)

     Along with NBC's "Friday Night Fights", this series was one
     which promoted the early interest in television through the
     use of boxing -- when television first came out it was so
     expensive that individuals had a hard time justifying the
     expense, so neighborhood taverns would often set up a TV
     to keep the men interested in staying (and drinking) longer;

     After seeing how it looked, and after the prices started to
     fall, men who had seen TV sets in bars bought them for the home,
     and many men (including my stepfather) frequently watched these
     boxing matches, with a can of beer in hand, of course...

     CBS attempted a short-lived kinescope show in 1951 which 
     showed the "hilights" of boxing matches -- called "Blue Ribbon
     Classics" but it didn't catch on as a network show so the
     CBS Films division syndicated it...]

---

Theme: "What'll You Have? (Pabst Blue Ribbon)"

    [THEME, composer and publisher information courtesy expert 
     John Steiner, "the Historian for the Pabst Brewing Company"
     who worked 23 years for the company in Milwaukee;

     The melody was adapted from the traditional nursery tune 
    "Ten Little Indians"...In contrast to the published sheet 
     music title which John says is simply "What'll You Have?" --
     using the contraction "What'll" (the way the lyrics were) --
     the BMI Repertoire database lists the title as follows: 
    "What Will You Have (Legal Title)";

     Bill Gale was a prolific composer/performer of polkas and 
     polish songs who also wrote a few commercial jingles; Also
     he introduced both the "Clarinet Polka" and the "Laugh
     Polka" on the Columbia label under the name "Bill Gale
     and his Music Makers"; Another name under which he made
     recordings was "Bill Gale and his Globetrotters"; and 
     later "Bill Gale and His Orchestra"; 

     Note: Polka king Bill Gale is not to be confused with the
     rhythm and blues artist known as "Billy" Gale...]

     Composers: music by Bill Gale (BMI)
               [professional name of William Gula] and
                lyric by Irvin J. Wagner (affiliation unknown)

     Orig. Publishers: Gala Music Publishing, Inc. (BMI) and
                       The Pabst Brewing Company (affiliation unknown)

     2001 Publishers: Gala Music Publishing, Inc. (BMI)
                         of Pompano Beach, FL; and
                      The Pabst Brewing Company
                         of Milwaukee, WI (affiliation unknown)

     Unpublished Copyright Date: Mar. 7, 1951; Eu 231 529.
     Unpublished Renewal   Date: 

    [published date courtesy contributor T. Perrone]
     Published Copyright Date: May. 15, 1951, Ep  54 776.
     Published Renewal   Date:

     Recording:

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