These are Dal’s memories of the stars and the wannabes, the hustlers and bootleggers and hat check chicks, all of whom paraded through his life in the days when Vancouver’s nightclub scene rivalled San Francisco’s, and Hollywood’s big-name performers made it a regular tour stop.

This story takes a loving look back at the gigs, laughter and musical misadventures of a time when the songs came from records and radio instead of CDs and iPods. It was a time when the music business was rich with characters like Two-for Joe, who ran the spotlight at the Cave and frequently took it off the performer to turn it on his girlfriend lest she was cavorting with a new beau; and the one-hit wonder singer and piano player who had to hide between performances because a Mafia hit man was looking to turn out his lights.

On his ninetieth birthday Dal sold out the Orpheum Theatre; in 2009 he released a new CD; in 2010 he ran in the Olympic Torch relay, and when the Dal Richards Orchestra launches into In the Mood, graceful dancers are set swinging, just as their parents, and even grandparents, have done–through seven decades of keeping the music alive.