Page Cavanaugh Special

I've written often, although not recently, of my admiration for the late, great pianist-vocalist Page Cavanaugh. A few recent requests for reuploads of some Page LPs also motivated me to share more of his obscure output, in the form of four Navy recruiting transcriptions he recorded in the early 1960s.

But first, the re-ups. All of these are my original, mp3-only transfers from several years ago. Don't expect sonic splendors. The links below take you to the original post. Direct links to the downloads are also in the comments section of this post.

Page Cavanaugh: After Hours

Page Cavanaugh: Keyboard Kings

Page Cavanaugh Trio

Now on to the new material. These are four 15-minute transcriptions from a series called "The Navy Swings". Page and trio perform on each program and also back obscure vocalist Kay Cee Jones. Announcer George Fenneman pushes careers in the U.S. Navy.

Kay Cee Jones

Kay Cee Jones was perhaps most notable for singing with Western swing legend Spade Cooley in the 1950s. She made a few assorted singles on her own, and I have included one of them as a bonus item. She's not bad on the 45, although the material is. On the Navy shows, she can be overbearing.

The transcriptions don't indicate who is accompanying Cavanaugh. His classic trio, depicted below, included Al Viola on guitar (left) and Lloyd Pratt on bass (right), but I doubt they are present on the Navy shows.

The transcriptions are on 16-inch discs, as were many radio programs back then. I don't have a transcription turntable, so I had them dubbed onto cassette tape many years ago. Unfortunately the person who did the work transferred the sound at far too low a level, so the results lack definition, although they are certainly listenable. And listen you should, if you like great pianism and stylish singing.

The classic Page Cavanaugh Trio

Music by Bernard Rogers, Burnet Tuthill, Robert Sanders - New Transfer

The first-ever post on the blog, several years ago, was of the American Recording Society LP of music by Bernard Rogers, Burnet Tuthill and Robert Sanders. Back then, I had exactly zero readers, so I didn't bother to archive my transfer. 

Well, someone asked me to reupload the LP, and I had nothing to reup. So I found the record and retransferred it for this post. 

What of the music? Let me quote from my original post:

"The American Recording Society issued quite a few records of conservative composers back in the 1950s. This music has a populist bent, but I don’t know that it was ever really popular. It was popular enough, however, to get recorded by ARS, which had a grant for the purpose.

Bernard Rogers, Robert Sanders, Burnet Tuthill

"Bernard Rogers was perhaps the best known of the three composers on this 10-inch LP; his music was also recorded in the Howard Hanson series from the Eastman School, where Rogers taught such better known composers as Peter Mennin and David Diamond. Burnet Tuthill taught in Memphis; his best known pupil was Moondog (not the Gidget boyfriend, the eccentric musician). Tuthill’s father, by the way, designed Carnegie Hall. Robert Sanders taught at Brooklyn College. The Rogers and Sanders items come from the early 1930s; not sure about the other." [Addendum: I've learned Tuthill's Come Seven is from 1935.]

Max Schönherr

The Sanders piece, a piece of barn dance Americana, is probably the weakest item here. Despite what I wrote years ago, it's the only work on this record that could be termed populist. Tuthill's composition bears the marks of Stravinsky, and the Rogers score is essentially a storybook.

Good sound and good performances by the so-called American Recording Society Orchestra - actually the Vienna Symphony - led by the Austrian composer-conductor Max Schönherr. I'm sure my transfer is much improved, and this version includes complete, restored cover scans. For this 2023 revision, I've reworked the files and rendered them in ambient stereo, which materially adds to their impact.

Eighth Batch of Reups

Here are a few more of the reups that have been requested. As you can see below, I remaster the reups where that is warranted and possible, and that takes a while. Because the process is slow, and I don't have an unlimited amount of time, I am more likely to focus on individual requests than requests for dozens of items. Hope you understand.

Here are tonight's selections. Download links are in the comments.

Vic Damone - Amor

Excellent Damone LP on Mercury with a bonus 45. "It's a Long Way" has been newly speed corrected. Remastered. Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Gordon Jenkins - Manhattan Tower; California

Jenkins' first recording of "Manhattan Tower," along with the less successful suite, "California". Transferred from LP, but including scans of the booklet and cover from the 78 set. Remastered. Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Gordon Jenkins - The Complete Manhattan Tower

Jenkins' classic second recording, of a much expanded version of "Manhattan Tower". Remastered. Apple lossless. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Pagan Love Song

Howard Keel and Esther Williams (or is it vocal double Betty Wand?) are the pagans on this M-G-M soundtrack. Includes a bonus of deleted versions of two songs, and a Keel solo cut from the film. This one is mp3 only. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Seán Ó Riada and The Playboy of the Western World Soundtrack

This is a follow up to my recent, surprisingly popular post of a 1955 studio recording of John Millington Synge's play The Playboy of the Western World. At that time I said I would present the soundtrack recording of the 1962 film version of the play, if I could find it.

Frightening sculpture of
Ó Riada by alanryanhall

The gods smiled on me, and I was able to locate the LP, so here is my transfer. The recording is notable because it represents one of the first stirrings of the Irish traditional music revival, which was led by composer Seán Ó Riada. Ó Riada had assembled a group called Ceoltóirí Chualann ("musicians of Chualann") for a series of recordings on the Gael-Linn label. One of them was this album of music from the Playboy of the Western World soundtrack. The musicians play traditional tunes as arranged by Ó Riada. The main theme, at least insofar as I can tell from the impenetrable Gaelic liner notes, appears to be "Mo Mhúirnín Bán," which means "My Fair Darling." It is heard throughout the score.

Ceoltóirí Chualann included many of the founding members of the Chieftains, including its founder, Paddy Moloney, who is heard here, I believe, on the uilleann pipes.

That is Siobhán McKenna in the role of Pegeen Mike on the cover. She also appeared in the studio cast. However, the film version of play had Gary Raymond as Christy Mahon, rather than Cyril Cusack.

I want to mention that I am especially indebted to reader Hotspur, who has very graciously uploaded the entire film version of The Playboy of the Western World onto YouTube for us all to enjoy. The links are in the comments, along with the links to the soundtrack recording. I would also like to refer you to the comments section of the first Playboy post. There, Hotspur has provided links to his transfers of the Ralph Richardson "Cyrano de Bergerac" on Caedmon, and "Twelfth Night" with Siobhán McKenna, Vanessa Redgrave and Paul Scofield. For all you spoken word enthusiasts (and there seem to be quite a few of you), don't miss these transfers. Thanks, Hotspur!

Dick Todd

Dick Todd had the fortune or misfortune of sounding like Bing Crosby - so much so that he was called "the Canadian Crosby." He was, nonetheless, a good singer in his own right, although the vocal resemblance didn't stop with timbre; he adopted some of Bing's mannerisms, too.

Todd's first brush with fame came during his four-year period of recording for the Victor subsidiary, Bluebird, which ended in 1942. This particular LP picks up his recordings for the small Rainbow label, which began in 1949. The high point of that association was a hit recording of "Daddy's Little Girl," included here. With that success, Rainbow continued to pair Todd with sentimental family songs, including "Daddy's Little Boy," "Be Good to Your Father and Mother" and the ghastly 1920 chestnut "Daddy, You've Been a Mother to Me."

Circa 1952, Rainbow collected these items in this obscure 10-inch LP of "American Family Songs," with cover image of Todd gazing down at the ideal family unit of mom, dad, brother and sis. I hail from a unit very much like this one, although Dad, something of a fashion plate, never would have allowed us to sit on his lap while he was wearing a suit. Papa would occasionally regale me with his own version of "Daddy's Little Boy," which had an ironic tone foreign to the Todd recording.

Rainbow filled out this LP with a few love songs and the saga of "Michael McInerny" (whom Todd insists on calling "McInereny"), who was noted, the lyrics tell us, for tickling the chins of the married women of the neighborhood. He seems hardly the type of fellow to be featured on a disc of family songs.

On most of these tunes, Todd has the spartan accompaniment of a pianist that I believe to be Eddie (Piano) Miller. (Miller was called "Piano" to distinguish him from the tenor saxophonist of the same given name, I think.) Todd also is aided by a small and not very well-drilled vocal group. The simply-miked sound is just to my taste.

Following these recordings, Todd sank into obscurity, reputedly becoming alcoholic, destitute and estranged from his own family before his 1975 death. These recordings may be period pieces, but he was a talented singer who is worth remembering.