Cy Coleman and His Cytones

When Decca records signed young piano phenom Cy Coleman in 1951, it decided to do something different from his first record on its affiliate Coral (available on my other blog via this post). It paired him with a studio vocal group it dubbed the Cytones, a name possibly inspired by Mel Torme's Meltones. "Cytones" is OK, but how about the Cyclones or the Cyborgs? The Cyclopses?

The results are certainly different from the piano fireworks that Coleman displayed on his first outing. While there is no lack of notes from the keyboard this time out, they are balanced by interjections from the group in vocal arrangements reminiscent of Kay Thompson. Coleman biographer Andy Probst thinks the results are fresh, while others (including me) find them cluttered.

No Coleman songs here, alas - instead we have "Lullaby of the Leaves" and "It Ain't Necessarily So." The sound is good.

My main blog has a new post of Coleman in a jazz setting, for those interested.

Miss "D" from Cleveland

This blog promises that it offers things that are "mainly obscure" - this one truly is. It is the first issue on the Cleveland label Jowall, featuring a singer named Miss "D".

Now, Miss "D" in the pop music world was another name for Dinah Washington, but this is not that luminary. It is instead an unknown soul singer - and not a bad one at that.

The 45 dates from 1962, according to an online discography of Ohio pressings, and that seems about right based on the musical style.

Miss "D" is accompanied by a reasonably good club combo of rhythm, saxes, trumpet, organ and piano. Before launching "People Will Walk All Over You," however, they could have got together on a tempo.

I always try to research this items I present, but this one has drawn a blank. Miss "D" is a mystery.

Mambo with Prado and Monroe

This is a follow-up to the recent reup of Pérez Prado's first LP on my other blog. This 1954 single combines the "Marilyn Monroe Mambo" with the "Steam Heat Mambo."

Just to be clear, Monroe does not appear on the song named for her. The closest we get to her is hearing the band chant "Marilyn Mon-roe" in the toneless manner that was popular among the ensembles of the time.

I wonder how many Monroe tributes there were in popular music. I know Ray Anthony had a hit with "Marilyn."

Was she spinning "Marilyn" or the "Marilyn Monroe Mambo"?

(Brief digression - There are photos online of Marilyn taken at a photo-op at Ray Anthony's house in 1952 promoting the "Marilyn" record. Just to show you how far we are away from those times, the Daily Mail identifies Anthony as a "crooner," even though he is toting his trumpet, and offers another photo of the two watching Mickey Rooney play the drums - and identifies him only as "a drummer." I hope they know that Monroe was an actor.)

The "Marilyn Monroe Mambo" appears on one of Prado's LPs, but I think the flip side of this 45 may be a non-LP tune. It is a mambo version of "Steam Heat," one of the songs from the great Adler and Ross show The Pajama Game.  Here, predictably, you get to enjoy the band chant "Steam Heat". And of course, Prado yells "Ugh!" as he does on most of his records.

The sound is reasonably good.

More Singles from Jerri Adams

Those of you who enjoyed the Jerri Adams post of a few months back will want to have this one. It consists of the rest of Jerri Adams' Columbia singles-only recordings, along with her only release on the Fraternity label.

These are fine outings, showing her ability to be convincing at all tempos and in a variety of genres, along her beautiful voice and excellent intonation. The quality of the material is variable, as usual with singles of this vintage.

"Why Tell a Lie," from September 1953, is the flipside to the "Moonlight in Vermont" (which was in the earlier post).

"Two's a Crowd" and "Alone Together" come from May 1954. On the latter, Percy Faith cooks up an accompaniment that sounds like a rhumba band playing through a hurricane. Faith backs her on all the Columbia sides where a conductor is indicated, except for the late Ray Conniff date.

"Snow Dreams" and "Guess I Had Too Much to Dream" feature her former vocal group, the Tattle Tales."Take My Hand" is the flip of the 1955 release of "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe," which was in my earlier post. ("Happiness" was also released in 54.)

"Walk Fast" and "If I Forget You" (an excellent record) are from 1956.

"I'm All Right Now" and "Looking for Someone to Love" are with Ray Conniff, circa 1958.

Finally, her only release on Fraternity Records from her home town, Cincinnati, dating from 1961. "Ivory Tower" was an effective, if pointless remake of a 1957 hit. It is backed by "All Around This Heart," written by arranger Edward H. Labonski.

All of these are from unplayed promos or store stock, except for the Fraternity single. The sound is exceptionally good.

The Blackwood Brothers Quartet

The Blackwood Brothers Quartet became famous for that gospel group's RCA Victor records starting in 1951, but before their major label acceptance, they issued singles on their own label - and continued doing so for a few years even after RCA gave them a contract.

Here are two 78s with the Blackwoods' imprint, which I believe represent two incarnations of the famous quartet.

The first comprises "A Land Where Living Waters Flow" and "If You've Never Learned to Pray." My best guess is that this group includes Bill Lyles, R.W. Blackwood, James Blackwood, Roy Blackwood, Doyle Blackwood, and pianist Hilton Griswold. This is the group shown on the label above. The photo below, from the informative site Grand Old Gospel Reunion, identifies the members.

The second single, however, has a somewhat different lineup. The label identifies the soloist on "My Desire" as tenor Bill Shaw, who joined the group circa 1952. (He is audibly a different tenor from the first record.) By that time, pianist Jack Marshall had replaced Griswold and the group had moved from Shenandoah, Iowa to Memphis. (The label for this release continued to use the old photo and Shenandoah location.)

The outstanding selection on these two records, for me, is the strongly rhythmic "Working on the Building," which points ahead to the approach that would lead the Blackwoods to tremendous popularity in the years to come.

Jerry Vale

I wanted to mark the recent passing of a fine singer, Jerry Vale, and even though I don't collect his records, I do have a few promotional items such as this 78 from early in his career.

Vale appears to be about 12 on this unusual promo label, but he was actually 23 when Columbia issued this single in spring 1954. The singer had been a Columbia artist for just over a year at that point.

Vale had a number of mild successes as a single artist such as "Innamorata" and "Pretend You Don't See Her," but he did well with his albums, starting with his tribute to Buddy Clark in 1958 - an LP that turns up far more often than Clark's own records do.

Vale really hit his stride with his easy going Columbia LPs from the mid-60s - ironically, at about the time that the mode for crooners was fading.

This particular single is a good one, with "Go" and "I'll Follow You" performed persuasively and backed by characteristically elaborate Percy Faith arrangements. Sorry that the record surfaces on this item are a little noisy.

Jane Morgan and Fascination

Following up on my recent post of the abbreviated Love in the Afternoon soundtrack, I thought I might as well post the big hit record of "Fascination" from that soundtrack, along with its special picture sleeve. The vocal is by, and probably made the career of, Jane Morgan, an accomplished night club singer who became associated with the song.

Here, Morgan sounds wistful, which is right for the lyrics. On this and her other records, she is too bland for my taste - but she was popular at the time. She pronounces "fascination" as "fasceenation," which sounds wrong to me, but I am no expert on such things.

Morgan was backed by the Troubadors, who made other records for Kapp at the time. The aural evidence suggests they comprised violin, bass, accordion, vibraphone and guitar. This combination of accordion and vibraphone allowed them to simulate the sound of the cimbalom used on the soundtrack. I can find no other information on the Troubadors, and I don't own any of their few LPs.

This single has Morgan's vocal version of "Fascination" on one side, and a "whistling instrumental" of that tune on the other. The unidentified whistler sounds like Muzzy Marcellino of "The High and the Mighty" fame, although that's just a guess as to his identity.