WBAI, New York City - 99.5 FM

An unusual blend of big band Jazz, Swing, Standards, Showtunes, Contemporary Cabaret and Celebrity Interviews!

Everything Old Is New Again began on radio in Boston in the mid-1970s under the title "The Great Entertainer." The broadcast focused entirely on the music, career and life of a particular Star. Each Saturday morning, the Boston radio audience tuned in to listen to a show spotlighting the talents of Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand or Edith Piaf.

After moving from Boston to New York, in the spring of 1979, producer/host David Kenney approached the Program Director of WBAI-FM about the possibility of bringing a program like "The Great Entertainer" to the New York airwaves. The program expanded its focus to feature vocal groups and Big Bands, as well as solo performers. In addition to these "feature artist" segments, the show presented an unusual blend of big band Jazz, Swing, Standards, Showtunes and Contemporary Cabaret.

The show was scheduled to debut in June but still lacked a name and theme song. In May, David interviewed Peter Allen, then starring on Broadway in his one-man show "Up In One." He found Peter to be "a gracious and terribly funny man." The song "Everything Old is New Again" came up in the conversation and the two decided almost on the spot that the song should serve as the title and theme song for the broadcast. The show aired on Tuesday mornings from June 1979 to January 1985. At that point it moved to the Sunday night/Monday morning overnight slot. The three-hour weekly broadcast developed a dedicated cult of listeners. Also, during this period a new segment was introduced. Each week the audience was presented with four or five different renditions of the same song throughout the broadcast.

In January 1999, then Program Director Samori Marksman brought Everything Old Is New Again to Prime Time. In doing so he created a unique block of programming for the Sunday night listeners -- beginning with Max Schmid's "The Golden Age of Radio" at 7:30 p.m.; followed then by Everything Old Is New Again with David Kenney at 9:00 p.m. Because of its move to Prime Time, it has become the show to tune in to for Celebrity Interviews and unique musical programming.

david Besides his work on "Everything Old Is New Again," David Kenney has produced various "specials" for the station:

*In 1994, along with fellow WBAI producer Peter Bochan, David produced an eleven-hour tribute to "The Crooners." An in-studio concert featured performances by Nancy LaMott, Phillip Officer, Lina Koutrakas, Barbara Fasano and Ralph Brande.

* An eight-hour tribute to Irving Berlin in 1995 had an extensive interview with Berlin's daughter, Mary Ellin Barrett and cabaret legend, The Incomparable Hildegarde. An in-studio concert of Berlin's songs were performed by Margaret Whiting, Julie Wilson, Ronny Whyte, in addition to the cast of the "Crooner Concert" mentioned above.

*What was to be a twenty-minute chat with Les Paul turned out to be a 60-minute interview, that in turn became part of a four hour special on the legendary guitarist and inventor.

*For a special on Bobby Darin, his son, Dodd and Harriet Wasser, his lifelong friend added a personal look into the life of the singer.

*Hoagy Bix Carmichael provided a personal look at his father, when his interview was broadcast as part of the Hoagy Carmichael special.

*Altovise Davis gave the listeners a loving and intimate look at her life with Sammy Davis, Jr. for a special on his life.

*The Billy Strayhorn Special provided David with the opportunity to interview Lena Horne about her friendship with the songwriter and arranger. Strayhorn's biographer, David Hajdu helped produce this special. An in-studio concert of Strayhorn's songs provided performances by Barbara Lea, Eric Comstock, Karen Oberlin, Laurie Krauz and Ralph Brande.

*Most recently, David produced an Interactive Broadway Potpourri. This special provided listeners -- from all over the world via email -- the chance to ask questions of David's guests including Johnny Mathis, composers Andrew Lippa and Michael John LaChiusa and musical star Marcia Lewis.

As a performer, David has shared the cabaret stage with Karen Mason and Nancy LaMott in "Revue by Curt Davis." He was a founding member of the Cynosure Theatre Company and starred in two of their productions. First as Ernest Dekulb in "The Blue Mercedes" and then as Carl in Lanford Wilson's "Serenading Louie". Other roles include the Reverend in "The Foreigner," Amos Hart in "Chicago," Clifford Anderson in "Deathtrap," Mark Dolson in "Mass Appeal," Randy in "Gemini," King Herod in "Jesus Christ Superstar", two productions of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" playing Linus; and Schoeder with Kevin Chamberlain in the title role.

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