Best of All

Best of All was an hour-long NBC music anthology show that aired in the 1954-55 season. It featured prominent performers of the day, with an emphasis on music. Each show had a theme; it might be works of a particular composer, a tribute to particular star (Steve Allen, Lionel Barrymore, Judy Garland), even show business itself.

The musical director and bandleader was Skitch Henderson, who is likely best remembered for his tenure on The Tonight Show from its inception--with one break--in the early 1950s through the mid-1960s. If you are a fan of your daddy's music (or perhaps it is your granddaddy's music) from the days of Tin Pan Alley, when singers were not afraid to sing songs written by song writers, before the term "covered by" was invented, this show is a treat.

Even though the Google-Fu is strong in me, I was unable to find an web article specifically about this program. "Best of all" is a wicked difficult string search for, even though I used every trick I know to narrow the search results, because it turns up every "best of" list on the innertubes.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.