What You Don't Know About Makin' Whoopee feat. Mike Kessler | Century Songs Ep. 9

What You Don’t Know About “Makin’ Whoopee” (1928) + Mike Kessler Interview | Century Songs Ep. 9 Century Songs Episode 9 explores the 1928 Broadway novelty song “Makin’ Whoopee,” tracing how a scandalous Jazz Age slang term was used in Florenz Ziegfeld’s revue Whoopee, introduced by Eddie Cantor, and later reinterpreted by artists including Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, and Willie Nelson. The episode features a conversation with educator, musician, and bandleader Mike Kessler about steel pan gig experiences, keeping the instrument in tune, why he took up vibraphone and steel pan, and his regular work on drums, vibraphone, congas, and steel pan with groups including the Monday Night Jam at the Jazz Kitchen, Chatterbox gigs, Island Mixtape, and a Cal Tjader tribute. Kessler also discusses his 10 years with Kids Dance Outreach, bringing dance classes and live musicians into schools and culminating in a large annual show at the Schrott Center. The episode includes a three-question quiz on the song’s slang origins via Walter Winchell, the film’s Technicolor process, and closes with Jazz Kitchen show listings and local holiday gift album ideas.