Bob Manning on Capitol

Big-voiced Bob Manning had some success in the 1950s, but not, perhaps, as someone of his vocal talents should have had.

Starting out (as most pop vocalists of the period did) with big bands, Manning struck out on his own in the early 1950s, and actually produced his only semi-hit record himself (The Nearness of You) and sold it to Capitol. That company proceeded to make an LP with him called Lonely Spell, which represents his best work.

Here I have gathered two Manning EPs, which collect some singles, and add another single and the flip side of The Very Thought of You, which appears on one of the EPs.

You are not alone if you find Manning to be a vocal double for Dick Haymes. There are people who dispute this but the similarity was apparent to both Haymes and Manning. Not that this is a bad thing. Manning had one of the finest pop baritones ever to be recorded.

That said, he is at his best on familiar material. His take on Goodbye predates Sinatra's. Like Frank's version, it has a Nelson Riddle arrangement and the two versions have some phrasing in common. Goodbye is one of Sinatra's best records; Manning's is also very fine.

However, Capitol also gave Manning some lesser material to record. In Venus di Milo, for example, he is made to lament "where are the arms and the heart of you?" (I prefer Love Is Just Around the Corner where the object of affection is cuter than Venus "and what's more you've got arms!") And this is not the worst of it. Manning tackles this material gamely, but his dignified voice seems to fight the clumsy lyrics and saccharine melodies.

Manning recorded with Ziggy Elman and Art Mooney before his Capitol work, and then made some singles for RCA and M-G-M and one LP (of wedding songs) for Everest.