In 1930 twelve-year-old Berl Olswanger hitched up his knee trousers and sat down at the piano at the WMC Studio in Memphis where he had his own radio program. A few years later, in 1939, Berl joined the George Olsen Orchestra and toured with the orchestra from New York to Hollywood, as he accompanied such legends as Bing Crosby and Jack Benny. Then during World War II, Admiral “Bull” Halsey placed Berl in charge of all music and entertainment for the South Pacific.

When he returned to Memphis after the war, Berl could have chosen to go on the road and become as big a star as Roger Williams or Liberace, but he preferred having a family life and loved the people of Memphis, so he chose to stay at home. In 1981, when "Mr. Music of Memphis" died, he left behind a legacy as a composer, arranger, and band leader.

Big Round Records now presents the archival recordings of Berl Olswanger, beginning with Berl Olswanger at the Piano, featuring tunes by Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, and more. Berl's piano arrangements were a feature of his daily radio programs over WMC in Memphis during the 1950s. He recorded Berl Olswanger at the Piano in 1953 in response to requests by his radio listeners for an album of Berl Olswanger piano stylings.

Berl Olswanger at the Piano contains eight tunes:

That Old Black Magic (Harold Arlen)
Beer Barrel Polka (Jaromir Vejvoda)
I've Got it Bad and That Ain't Good (Duke Ellington)
Tenderly (Walter Gross)
Donkey Serenade (Rudolf Friml)
Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael)
Begin the Beguine (Cole Porter)
Berl's Yancey (Berl's arrangement of "Yancey Special" by Meade Lux Lewis)

Now digitized and rereleased on Big Round Records, the seminal album has been followed by two others that immortalize the piano great’s legacy: Berl Olswanger at Pepper Records and Berl Olswanger and the Olswanger Beat.