What's New

What's New may refer to:

What's New?

"What's New?" is a 1939 popular song composed by Bob Haggart, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was originally an instrumental tune titled "I'm Free" by Haggart in 1938, when Haggart was a member of Bob Crosby and His Orchestra. The tune was written with a trumpet solo, meant to showcase the talents of band-mate Billy Butterfield. Crosby's orchestra recorded "I'm Free" the same day it was written.

The following year, the music publishers hired Johnny Burke to write lyrics for the tune. Burke's telling of the torch song is unique, using one side of a casual conversation between former lovers. Thus the song was retitled using the song's first line, "What's New?". The song was recorded with the new title in 1939 by Bob Crosby and His Orchestra with vocalist Teddy Grace. The song reached a peak chart position of #10.

Other popular 1939 recordings of "What's New" include Hal Kemp and His Orchestra with Vocalist Nan Wynn, which peaked at #11, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra with vocalist Louise Tobin, which peaked at #7, and a recording by Bing Crosby which peaked at #7. Dexter Gordon regularly performed the song in the 1950s and 1960s.

What's New? (TV series)

What's New? was a daily science television program for children. The National Educational Television network broadcast the show in the 1960s. The half-hour program aired in black-and-white. It did not survive NET's transition to the Public Broadcasting Service.

The target audience was upper elementary school and junior high school grades. Al Binford hosted the program. Ron Finley created the opening credits. Each program would deal with three different topics, such as baseball or space science.

Notes

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