Ralph Flanagan's First Recordings

Ralph Flanagan became known for reviving the Glenn Miller sound via his recordings for RCA Victor. Not too long ago, we explored the bandleader's first Victors, along with the promotional records that the company produced in support.

That all took place in 1949 - but Flanagan had been active in the recording studio a few years before for a smaller record company, and utilizing the same Milleresque approach.

This post presents those recordings, which Rainbow Records issued via a 78 album in April 1947. The album cover above pushes the Miller angle and barely mentions Flanagan. This made sense - Miller was famous and beloved - particularly so following his wartime demise. Flanagan was an obscure arranger, who I believe was working for Tony Pastor at the time.

Releasing the album may have been one of the best business decisions that Rainbow ever made - although it was not without its headaches. The recordings were made either in 1946 or early 1947, at a time when Rainbow was releasing the likes of Marshall Young ("Mah-Zell Means Good Luck"), the Auditones and the Gomez Rhumba Orchestra. Fine artists, I'm sure, but not the type to set the charts ablaze.

Ralph Flanagan

But the Miller tribute did get noticed. It was the subject of praise, including a laudatory review in the May 24, 1947 Billboard, followed by the headache - a June lawsuit from the Miller estate, claiming that Rainbow was trying to deceive the public. It's not clear what happened to the suit, but Rainbow kept on selling the Flanagan records, even reissuing them in 1954 to capitalize on Hollywood's Glenn Miller Story. (There was a mini-industry of Miller tributes and reissues at the time.)

The Rainbow set was a commercial success right out of the gate - Cash Box reported that it was enjoying "phenomenal sales." But what of the music? It's pretty good - well played by a band salted with former Miller sidemen, including sax players Al Klink and Ernie Caceres and trumpeter Bobby Hackett. Flanagan was a gifted mimic of Miller's style, so most aficionados will enjoy the set. I enjoy it myself, despite a few too many "boo-wah" derby-fanning brass effects.

1954 EP cover

The download includes the artwork for the original album, which only mentions Hackett in passing and credits only one solo to him, on "Beale St. Blues." Later on, when the he became known as a soloist via Jackie Gleason's mood music LPs, the label credits were changed to read "Ralph Flanagan and Orchestra Featuring Bobby Hackett." The trumpeter also is mentioned prominently on the cover of the LP and EP reissues.

In assembling the album, Flanagan's idea was to adapt Miller's set-building rubric of "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue," without repeating anything Miller had recorded. The oldies were Kern's "Make Believe" and Berlin's "Always," the new ones Flanagan's own "Low Gear" and "Come On In" (the latter a quick rewrite of "In the Mood"), the borrowed items Tommy Dorsey's theme song "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" and Benny Goodman's "Goodbye," and the blue numbers the "St. Louis Blues" and "Basin St. Blues." While it is literally true that Miller had not recorded any of these songs, the "St. Louis Blues March" was one of the AAF band's best-known pieces.

I transferred four of the songs from my copy of the reissue EP, and cleaned up the other four from Internet Archive transfers. The sound is very good indeed - especially with ambient stereo processing.