Les Elgart's 1946-48 Singles

Les Elgart

To go with a new post on the main blog that features the Les Elgart band's singles from 1954, here we take a look at the first Elgart recordings, which date from 1946 and 1948.

The set includes six tunes in all, which I believe may have been the band's total commercial recordings before it temporarily disbanded in 1949. It would rise again to great popular acclaim in the 1950s.

While not revelatory, these numbers from the 40s are enjoyable - more for the band than the vocalists.

The first coupling is from Musicraft, which had made a big venture into pop music after the war. What appears to be the sole disc on that label is a combination of "Mabel Mabel" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."

"Mabel Mabel" turns out to be Dvořák's Humoresque No. 7, even though it is here ascribed to Ervin Drake, Jimmy Shirl and Henry Manners. It must have taken all three of them to come up with "Mabel, Mabel, sweet and able / Take your elbows off the table / Get out of here and get yourself a guy!" The opening of the band bellowing "Hey, Mabel!" seems to be a precursor of the famous "Hey, Mabel" slogan for Carling's Beer.

The flip side is an instrumental of "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," in which arranger Bill Finegan does show off some of his Miller moves. Finegan is credited on the labels for both this and the "Mabel Mabel" arrangement. (Musicraft threw an extra "n" into Bill's last name at no charge.)

In 1948, Les and ensemble made four sides for the small Bullet label, all with vocal group choruses, two by the Uptowners, two by the Bobsters (for both, think the Pied Pipers, but not as smooth).

The first number is "Doodle Doo Doo," previously heard on my other site in a version by Tammy Grimes. This 1924 novelty by Art Kassel and Mel Stitzel was backed by "I Lost My Heart in Hartford" by Trace and Pines. ("Trace" is presumably bandleader-novelty composer Al Trace.) The band and vocal group are both more sluggish than desirable.

The second Bullet single led off with "I Went Down to Virginia," also recorded by a certain Frank Sinatra. It's a song by Redd Evans and Dave Mann that I've always liked. The arrangement shows some signs that it was done by Bill Finegan, but even so the record is no match for Sinatra and Axel Stordahl. The band's other arrangers were reportedly Nelson Riddle and Ralph Flanagan.

"Virginia" was backed by a charming oldie, "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?", written by Jimmy Monaco, Howard Johnson and Joseph McCarthy back in 1916 and revived by Betty Hutton in 1945. A good idea, but the Bobsters are lacking.

These singles all have reasonably good sound.

LINK