Joe Mooney Obscurities

Joe Mooney at a recording session

Joe Mooney is one of those musicians who inspires passionate devotion among the few while remaining unknown to the many. He was an accomplished accordionist and organist, while also being a stylish vocalist. 

I featured Mooney on my other blog several years ago, presenting 15 of the 18 sides he made for Decca in the late 1940s. Today I add one more Decca to the pile, with five other obscurities on other labels.

The Decca, "Stars in My Eyes," is from July 1947, and as with all the recordings from this period features the Joe Mooney Quartet - Mooney (accordion), Andy Fitzgerald (clarinet), Jack Hotop (guitar) and Gate Frega (bass).

The next single was recorded for the small Carousel label in 1951, and features Mooney's vocals and organ on "Crazy She Calls Me" and "Long Ago Last Night." Also on the date are guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and bassist Bob Carter.

The next year, Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan brought in Mooney for one of the several vocals he recorded with the Sauter-Finegan Band. This one is a fine reading of "Hit the Road to Dreamland."

Guitarist Johnny Smith had Mooney on organ for a 1953 Roost date, producing "Ramona" and "Terry's Theme" from Limelight. Also on the session were bassist Eddie Safranski and drummer Don Lamond.

These singles all were remastered from lossless originals on Internet Archive. The sound is very good.