[Dixielandjazz] Willis Conover - Lost mails

[brian.harvey5]

Willis Conover's VOA programme was heard daily in Britain and mainland
Europe during the 1950s and was - because the BBC played no jazz - at one
time our only source of good sounds. He did a great deal of good work
keeping us up to date with what was happening.
Conover was also very kind to British jazzmen because if you sent him an LP
with notes about the band he would play it, read the notes and even in some
cases give out telephone numbers. When I organised the first recordings by
bands like those of Acker Bilk, the late Bob Wallis and others Conover
played them all, explained who they were and gave my telephone number as a
contact. Exposure through VOA was responsible therefore for launching the
international careers of Bilk, Wallis and others and we should be eternally
grateful to him.
On the subject of lost or late emails - today I received several non-DJML
messages datemarked late May but have had no hold ups with DJML mails of
which I get about 30 a day. Somewhere in the world-wide email system there
is obviously a log jam that dates back to May.
Brian Harvey, St. Albans, England