Frankie Laine Promotes His Latest LP and Singles

In early 1951 Columbia Records was able to wrest the dynamic singer Frankie Laine away from Mercury. This was mainly because Columbia had recruited Laine's producer, the prodigious hitmaker Mitch Miller. The bigger label's marketing prowess also might have been a factor.

In only a few months, Frankie and Mitch were churning out hits ("Jezebel," et al) and also a 10-inch LP that didn't include Laine's singles of the time, and that had him singing if not subtly at least at a lower volume than his single releases generally displayed.

To plug both the LP and singles, Columbia had the vocalist and producer tape a two-sided promotional record that is the subject of today's post - which is a companion to a post on the main blog about Frankie's One for My Baby LP.  For the two programs below, I've added appropriate songs from Laine's Columbia output as a DJ might have done some 70 years ago.

A Frankie Laine - Mitch Miller Program

The first side of the promo record contains the voice tracks for a 15-minute show with Laine and Miller introducing three songs from the singer's new Columbia album - "Tomorrow Mountain," "To Be Worthy of You" and "One for My Baby."

As those things generally were, the scripted banter is stiff, but it does reveal that Frankie relied on Mitch to help select the songs and that they tried to make the material diverse. At that they succeeded, with only the title tune and "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" being standards.

Beyond that, Frankie gives kudos to bandleader Paul Weston and pianist Carl Fischer - and their work is predictably polished and professional throughout the album.

The download includes the three songs from the LP along with their intros.

Frankie Laine and Mitch Miller

Greetings from Frankie Laine

The second side of the promotional single has Frankie delivering four record introductions, two "singing salutes" and one spot offering an autographed photo.

These spots were designed to be used whenever the DJ had an appropriate record - presumably Laine's - ready to air. They are generic - no specific cut is mentioned, although one does make reference to Christmas.

I've turned the spots into a second program lasting about 17 minutes by sequencing the salutes and intros with Laine's singles of the time. The result demonstrates the diverse materials he was recording - both the blockbusters like "Jezebel" and the delightful duets with Jo Stafford.

For some reason, Columbia had Frankie begin all his intros in the same way - "Hiya DAD! This is Frankie Laine." Hiya DAD" must have been a Laine catchphrase - Mitch refers to him as Dad in the program above. Even so, it's annoying.

The "singing salutes" that begin and end the program both include a snatch of Laine's theme song, his  first big hit, "That's My Desire."

Cash Box, April 21, 1951

Now for the song selections.

"Jezebel" was a huge hit for Laine right off the bat, as well as the first success for songwriter Wayne Shanklin, who later was to pen "Chanson d'Amour" and "The Big Hurt." This was Frankie at his most unbridled, and the public wanted more.

In response, Laine, Miller and Columbia came out with "Jealousy," a similar tale of temperament, using Jacob Gade's 1925 tango melody and a 1930 set of lyrics by Vera Bloom.

Billboard, November 3, 1951

The two duets with Jo Stafford provide a welcome contrast. One is the light-hearted and deftly sung "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" - the Johnny Mercer-Hoagy Carmichael tune introduced by Bing and Jane Wyman in Here Comes the Groom. Frankie and Jo sing somewhat different lyrics than Bing and Jane. It's not clear where this special material came from, but it is a welcome addition to one of my favorite songs of the era.

The second duet is "Christmas Roses," an enjoyable uptempo song done beautifully by the pair. It was from the team of Hy Zaret, Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, who earlier wrote the wonderful "It All Comes Back to Me Now." Unlike the rest of the songs in this set, this was a 1952 release.

The final number is "Snow in Lover's Lane," an obscure song by Al De Vita, Jerry Ball, Fred Kelly and Jerry Kanner. I believe Frankie may have introduced it - his face is on the sheet music, at least.

It makes for an entertaining program - "Hiya DAD" aside - in vivid sound. All tracks were refurbished from originals found on Internet Archive.

Gordon MacRae on Apollo

Most recently we have heard from vocalist (and future film star) Gordon MacRae in his early Musicraft recordings, dating from 1945. Today we examine two 78s he made for the Apollo label in 1947, just before he joined Capitol, where he did his best-known discs.

Apollo was only a few years old at the time, and was known primarily for gospel and R&B releases, although it also had a pop line. The catalogue featured a few releases by the young Dean Martin, made at about the same time as MacRae's efforts for the label. All this was shortly before Apollo was to sign its biggest star, Mahalia Jackson. 

MacRae's selections for the label were all songs that had achieved some popularity at the time, three on the charts and one on Broadway.

Gordon MacRae

His first coupling was "Heartaches" b/w "If I Had My Life to Live Over." The former, written by Al Hoffman and John Klenner, dated from 1931 but had been revived in 1947 as an instrumental by bandleader Ted Weems.

"If I Had My Life to Live Over" is another oldie, written by Moe Jaffe, Larry Vincent and Henry Tobias in 1939. Larry Vincent and the Feilden Foursome revived it in 1947 with some success. Vincent was the owner of the Pearl label, which primarily issued party records.

MacRae includes the verse on both the above songs.

"I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You)" was a new song that Savannah Churchill wrote and recorded for Apollo. It was to hit number one on the R&B charts. MacRae's effort was presumably a cover for the pop market. (This is not the same song as "I Wanna Be Loved," a 1933 effort by Johnny Green and Eddie Heyman that may be more familiar.)

The backing for Savannah Churchill's composition was "Old Devil Moon," a great song by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg from the current Broadway hit Finian's Rainbow.

MacRae is in good voice and generally does well, although he seems uncomfortable with "I Want to Be Loved." The singer displays more of a Bing influence here than on the Musicraft sides, where he sounded more like Dick Haymes.

Leading the band on both records was tenor saxophonist Jerry Jerome, who had played with Glenn Miller, Red Norvo, Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. The backings on the first two songs were lush in the manner of the time, including strings. The arrangements on the second coupling were less elaborate, with the chart for "I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You)" an odd amalgam of R&B and Dixieland. Jerome was presumably the tenor soloist on that number.

Jerry Jerome had an usual physique

Bobby Short's First Records

The great cabaret singer-pianist Bobby Short (1924-2005) started issuing LPs in 1955, with his first Atlantic release. But a few years earlier the small and short-lived Trend label issued his first records - one single and then one EP, which included the single.

Today's post is devoted to the fruits of that 1953 session, where he was backed by the band of the 23-year-old Buddy Bregman, who also may have been making his debut on records.

Short, who was 29 at the time of the Trend date, had been on stage for two-thirds of his young life, having started in shows at 11. His first recording session had been for the National label in 1944, but those sides were apparently never issued.

With his considerable experience, it is not surprising to find that the singer we hear on the Trend sides sounds very much like the artist who became increasingly familiar to cabaret enthusiasts as the years went by.

His song selection would not be out of place on any of his later albums, either. It starts off with "Let There Be Love," the biggest (only?) hit by Lionel Rand and Ian Grant, dating from 1940. This is a perfect vehicle for Short, whose phrasing makes a meal, so to speak, of such passages as "chile con carne and sparkling champagne." His strong but flexible sense of rhythm keeps it from seeming affected.

Next comes perhaps the most interesting song on the EP, "Sunday in Savannah," again the greatest hit of the obscure songwriter Hugh Mackay (also spelled MacKay and McKay). This slice-of-life-down-south song is so reminiscent of the work of Willard Robison that the original Trend 78 attributed it to him.

My guess is that Short learned the song from the first, 1952 LP of fellow cabaret singer Mabel Mercer, who did attribute it correctly. Regardless, it's a strikingly good composition that was later revived by a number of singers, notably Nina Simone. Here, Bregman's band is joined by the Jud Conlon Rhythmaires, who had accompanied Bing Crosby for several years. They don't add anything to the proceedings, but that's not Short's doing, as far as I know.

Short was known for his good taste, and he continues to show it with his third selection, "Taking a Chance on Love," a Vernon Duke-John Latouche-Ted Fetter song introduced by Ethel Waters in 1940's Cabin in the Sky. (Waters' memorable film version can be seen on YouTube.)

The composer of the final song, Bart Howard, was a cabaret pianist who once was Mercer's accompanist. "Let Me Love You" was on Mercer's third LP, but I believe that Short's EP had already been recorded by then. Howard was a talented songwriter. You can also hear "Let Me Love You" in Marian Bruce's interpretation here, and Howard's "My Love Is a Wanderer" performed by Shannon Bolin via this link.

The Trend and Kapp EPs

I mentioned that Trend was a short-lived label. Its catalogue was bought by the Kapp label, which reissued the Short EP in about 1957. My transfers of "Let Me Love You" and "Taking a Chance on Love" come from the Kapp release. The other songs are derived from a Trend 78 found on Internet Archive, which I used because it has better sound than the EP.

Note: This is newly available in excellent ambient stereo sound.

Mercury Artists Introduce Their 1948 Christmas Records

My friend Ernie brought this promotional record to my attention, and he has himself posted the contents in two of his giant Christmas collections. But I wanted to post it, too, because the records that the Mercury artists introduce have all appeared on my main blog at one time or another. But you don't have to go chasing them - I've packaged the bundle together in this single post.

The singers involved are Vic Damone, John Laurenz, Frankie Laine and Eddy Howard, all leading artists for Mercury in 1948. This particular promo record went out to disk jockeys with hopes that they would play the contents as introductions to the vocalists' respective Christmas offerings.

First, Vic Damone promotes his coupling of "White Christmas" and "Christmas Morn," which I included as part of a Damone holiday collection not long ago.

John Laurenz

John Laurenz is up next. He is the least known of the quartet, although he made quite a few records for Mercury in the late 40s. Laurenz was a warm vocalist, sort of a combination of Bing Crosby and Buddy Clark, with some Perry Como thrown in.

His record is "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," which appeared in a holiday compilation back in 2018. I hope to prepare a post devoted to Laurenz's other recordings for the main blog in the new year. 

Frankie Laine promotes his "Tara Talara Tala" and "You're All I Want for Christmas." My other blog shared these tunes back in 2016 as part of a Mercury holiday LP that also included the Eddy Howard selections in this group ("The Christmas Song" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas") - and the Damone items for that matter.

Billboard, November 13, 1948

Eddy Howard was a singing bandleader whose Christmas songs seem to have been issued first in 1947 on the Majestic label. Mercury must have purchased the master recordings, as it sometimes did with smaller labels that were folding.

Our final selection is the flip side of the Mercury promo record, an advance copy of Vic Damone's next record, "My Heart's in the Middle of July," scheduled for a January 1 release date. That song is of seasonal interest - and it's good - so it makes for a nice conclusion to this program.

Thanks again to Ernie, and happy holidays to all!

Betty Clooney at Christmas

Betty Clooney's sister Rosemary is a Christmas icon for her seasonal records and her appearance in the 1954 film White Christmas. But Betty herself was a fine singer who made a few holiday records, which we have for you today.

Those of you who have heard the Clooney sisters' Columbia recording of "Sisters" will know that Rosie and Betty had very similar voices. Betty's was slightly cloudier. She does quite well with today's pair of songs.

The first offering is "Christmas and You," which Joni James also recorded in 1953, and which appears on James' Christmas LP.

Betty's version came out on the ultra-obscure R.K.C. label, but is well produced with backing by the ex-Elliot Lawrence arranger Frank Hunter, who manages to work both "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells" into his chart.

The songwriters were Russell H. Faith and Clarence Way Kehner, whose biggest hit was Sinatra's "Somewhere in Your Heart." The B-side of "Christmas and You" wasn't by Clooney.

Stalwart blog follower gimpiero brought this one to my attention. Thanks to him and to longtime pal Ernie, who may have tipped me to the next number. (If I have that wrong, please let me know!)

Betty's second offering is "Let's Go Home for Christmas," an attractive waltz on another obscure label, Studio, out of Detroit. The backing this time is by a group led by Joel Nash, a popular local pianist.

I've also included the flip side of "Let's Go Home for Christmas," a non-holiday song called "I Was Wrong." On its first pressing of this number, Studio's label called it "Was It Wrong." (It was.) In its vast reaches, Internet Archive has each label, so I've included them in the download.

Both of these records may have been demos, which Betty was doing at the time, although they seem like elaborate productions for that purpose. And the Studio recording might not have reprinted labels if it wasn't a commercial issue.

I hope to prepare another post featuring Betty's other singles, which I'm sure are worth hearing. Although she did not make that many records, she was on television regularly in the 1950s, and certainly had a successful career before her early death at age 45 in 1976.

Betty Clooney does her Christmas shopping

An Early Take on Corelli's Christmas Concerto

The Christmas Concerto by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) is one of the best known classical pieces of the season, but was much less popular in the 1920s, when recordings of the work began to appear.

Today we have one of the first such recordings, with Frieder Weissmann conducting members of the State Opera Orchestra, Berlin. It dates from November 1928, just a year after the first recording I've traced, that of John Barbirolli and National Gramophonic Society Orchestra.

This vintage set is provided through the generosity of blog follower Steve Banks, who sent me this recording as well as the Matthew Locke string quartet I posted in October.

Frieder Weissmann

Weissmann (here called Dr. Frederick Weissmann) was one of the most active recording artists throughout the 1920s and early 30s, when he was forced to leave Germany upon the accession of the Nazis. He was the house conductor for Carl Lindström AG, which owned the Parlophone and Odeon labels. Despite his relative youth (he was 35 when these records were made), he had a wide repertoire, and gives a good account of himself in this work.

Although the original was on Parlophone, the set at hand was issued by the US Columbia label, and dates from about 1932 or 1933. This was when Columbia was pressing its releases on blue shellac, a practice that continued for a few more years.

Corelli's Christmas Concerto (his Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 8) is highly accomplished and deservedly popular. Weissmann's reading is not nearly as heavy as some of the baroque performances of the time, but you will hear some scoops and slides in the concertino strings that would be considered old-fashioned in just a few years.

A contrast is provided by I Solisti di Zagreb in its 1957 recording, which I posted some years back. By the late 50s, such ensembles specialized in baroque music, with a more lithe and lighter-textured approach. Even more of a contrast is provided by modern period-practice ensembles. A good example is the Freiburger Barockorchester, which can be heard on YouTube.

Still, the Berlin set is an interesting document in reasonably good sound. I should mention that the first record in the set was a bit warped, and there is some swish in the grooves, which I have minimized.

Thanks again to Steve for providing this set to us. Happy holidays to him and all!

Arcangelo Corelli by Hugh Howard (1697)

Holiday Greetings from Capitol and Margaret Whiting

We've explored RCA Victor's holiday offerings for 1949, now let's listen to the season's greetings message that the Capitol folks sent out that same year, featuring the great singer Margaret Whiting.

This particular disc was aimed at the jukebox operators of the nation. It seems as though that group was planning a convention in Chicago, and this record was supposed to tie in to that gathering.

It's more than a little contrived, but carefully produced none the less. The scenario was that Margaret Whiting had missed the Super Chief (that was a train) for Chicago, so she flagged down Santa Claus for a lift. The bearded one just happened to be headed that way himself, loaded down with Capitol records.

It turns out that those discs were the ones that Capitol was promoting at the time, and this special record had one or the other of them on the flip side.

Apparently there were a number of different versions of the disc, all with a different side B. This particular item has a song by Johnny Smith and the Jubalaires called "Home, Home, Home," well suited to the season.

The Jubalaires were a pop/gospel group in the vein of the Mills Brothers, Ink Spots and Delta Rhythm Boys. They had been on radio for years, first with Arthur Godfrey, more recently on the Amos & Andy show. The group went through many changes, so I'm not entirely sure who is on this record, but you can read more about them here. (You'll have to scroll down.)

The uncertainty about this record also relates to the identity of "Johnny Smith." In its review, Billboard seems to think it's Jack Smith, then a Capitol crooner. This would not be unusual; both Sinatra and Crosby recorded with such groups as the Delta Rhythm Boys and the Charioteers. But it doesn't sound like Smith on this record, and why would Capitol rename him for this outing? It's a little peculiar.

Both sides of the record are fun, though, and just the type of thing I love. Hope you might enjoy it as well.

Margaret Whiting