Christmas Songs of Spain

Here is a lovely album of the Christmas songs of Spain, recorded circa 1955 by musicologist Laura Boulton. It is one of several of her field recordings released by Folkways during that label's heyday.

I can tell you little of the music and nothing of the performers, alas, because even though there is a booklet included with the set, it consists almost entirely of texts. I imagine the intent was to show the variety of indigenous Christmas music rather than to display individual artistry. However, to give the only credit to the person doing the recording is something expected from the likes of Phil Spector rather than a musicologist.

But I am being too crabby for a time so close to Christmas. This is a fine set in good sound; please enjoy it and the holidays!

A Christmas Carol and Lyn Murray Singers

Columbia's two Christmas releases in 1942 were Basil Rathbone as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and the Lyn Murray Singers in songs of the season. The label brought them together in 1948 for this early LP.

Rathbone as Scrooge

Rathbone was identified with the Dickens tale, and not just as Scrooge. He appeared in a televised version in 1954 as Marley's ghost, then returned to the central role for the 1956 TV musical, The Stingiest Man in Town. (I offered that album two years ago here.)

For its 1942 adaptation, Columbia advertised a "Hollywood cast," but it was mainly radio actors. Among the troupe were Arthur Q. Bryan (the voice of Elmer Fudd), Elliott Lewis (who has popped up on this blog a number of times, most notably in Manhattan Tower), Lurene Tuttle (a ubiquitous presence on radio and television), and silent film star Francis X. Bushman. The connecting music is by Leith Stevens, another semi-regular at this location.

The potted performance is an effective one, and the sound is alright. My pressing is a little worn. At one point it's hard to tell if it the ghost's chains or the groove's walls that are making the clunking noises in the background.

Lyn Murray

Don't neglect the other side of the record. It may look like a generic collection of carols, but it is very well done by the Lyn Murray Singers, a radio group of the time. Murray went on to become a Hollywood composer.

Columbia's ads for the set of carols (see below) quote composer-critic Deems Taylor as claiming that Murray's group rates with the "great English Singers". Most people these days wouldn't understand the comparison, and I doubt that most people then did either.

The English Singers were a pioneering early music group that also performed contemporary works. I have a 78 of the group in Christmas settings by Rutland Boughton and Peter Warlock that will soon be up on my other, long-neglected blog. I will say here that Lyn Murray's singers and the English Singers had little to do with one other, despite what Deems Taylor may have said. The repertoire was different, and Murray's group was much more secure technically than the Londoners.

The image below is the cover of the Christmas Carol's 78 set, presumably by Alex Steinweiss. You can see how the artwork was adapted for the LP cover above. The download also includes the inside of the 78 set and a different LP cover (these are not my scans).

Christmas with the Hour of Charm

Phil Spitalny may not have been the best known bandleader of the 20th century, but his troupe certainly had the most elaborate name - Phil Spitalny and his Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra Featuring Evelyn and Her Magic Violin.

I can't explain to you what made Evelyn's violin so magical, although it did cast a spell over Spitalny. He married her (Evelyn, that is). I can explain the "Hour of Charm" part of the name. That was the title of the radio show that Phil and the band appeared on from 1934 to 1948.

All this may sound gimmicky, and is surely was. Even so, these were serious musicians, and this is quite a good record, even if composed entirely of standard holiday fare.

This 10-inch LP came out on RCA Victor in 1950. Victor leased the masters from Spitalny himself. He recorded them in fall 1947 at WOR studios in New York, and issued them as a 78 set on his own Charm label. The bandleader sold them at concerts and via large mail-order ads in magazines such as Life (see below).

Spitalny had previously recorded for Columbia and did some picture discs for Vogue. I thought I had one of the Vogues around here, but it turned out to be by another band with a long name - Art Kassel and his Castles in the Air Orchestra.

1948 Life ad (click to enlarge)

Christmas in 1954

Here is what Christmas sounded like in 1954 - at least if you confined yourself to the products that the RCA Victor recording company had on sale that year.

And quite a pleasant sound it was, with RCA's biggest stars in mostly familiar fare, which actually had been released as singles and on other LPs in earlier years.

One highlight is Perry Como's fine version of "White Christmas," which he manages to make personal, even though as a vocalist he is descended from the immortal Bing, the song's originator.

Dinah Shore offers "Happy Christmas Little Friend," welcome perhaps because the song is not overplayed like most traditional holiday material. Life Magazine commissioned this particular song from Rodgers and Hammerstein, but it nonetheless never entered the popular repertoire.

Tony Martin is excellent in "Silent Night" - one of his best records. And Eddy Arnold's country hit "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" is appealing even though it is a corny alphabet song. Blog favorite Ralph Flanagan adds a Miller-styled "Winter Wonderland" that I much enjoyed.

The low point is the Three Suns' four-square rendition of "Silver Skates," which evokes the roller rink more than the ice house. Also, I could live without Eartha Kitt's overplayed "Santa Baby" (and the Madonna clone version, for that matter).

All in all, though, a fine record. The sound is very good, as usual with RCA Victor products.

More Organ Music for Christmas

Yesterday I was delighted to receive the annual Christmas compilation CD from fellow collector the CaptainOT, one of the true holiday music aficionados.

The good Captain is a generous fellow, and has sent me any number of 10-inch LPs over the years, just because he thought I might like them. So today I want to present my transfer of one of those albums with my thanks to him.

This is a unpretentious LP of familiar tunes played by organist Elmer Ihrke, who recorded three albums for Chicago's Rondo Records in the early 1950s. Ihrke was the music director of a Milwaukee radio station when these records were made. He was active as a musician as early as 1926 and as late as 1973.

In contrast to the mighty Aeolian-Skinner organ that Virgil Fox had at his command in my last Christmas share, Ihrke appears to be performing on a relatively modest Hammond B-3 electric organ - at least that is what he is playing on the cover.

Rondo made quite a specialty of organ records. Its biggest artist was Ken Griffin, who moved on to make many popular records for Columbia, many issued after his early death in 1956.

As you can see at left, Rondo issued the Ihrke LP on red vinyl with a green label. This is just the thing for Christmas - although the label actually issued all its albums with that color scheme.

Merry Christmas, Captain!

Chico Hamilton

We interrupt the Christmas shares for a quick tribute to a fine musician who passed away several days ago - drummer Chico Hamilton was 92 at the time of his death.

Hamilton was central to West Coast jazz, having been a member of the Gerry Mulligan group, and later founding a notable quintet of his own with flutist Buddy Collette, guitarist Jim Hall, cellist Fred Katz and bassist Carson Smith.

The drummer recorded this LP, his first as a leader, between appearing with those two ensembles. Like them, the trio had no piano, relying on Hamilton's interplay with guitarist Howard Roberts and bassist George Duvivier. The results are enduringly fresh.

This album is actually an expanded version of an EP that Pacific Jazz had recorded with the group in December 1953. Its success led to an additional session on October 1954 and this 10-inch LP the following year.

As always, the post is a transfer from my own copy of the original album. The sound is good.

Virgil Fox's First Christmas Album

Virgil Fox was a much applauded and much derided organist who was known both for his technique and his flamboyance. Scorned as the "Liberace of the organ." he also had quite a following and made some great recordings, this among them.

"Christmas Carols on the Organ," one of RCA Victor's 1954 holiday offerings, is the first of Fox's four seasonal LPs, and one of his first of any repertoire.

I am no organ expert - and in general avoid pop organ records - but this is extraordinarily well done, both in performance and recording.

Fox in 1954

In 1954, Fox had been the organist at New York's Riverside Church for eight years, and would remain there until 1965. Here he is performing on the church's Aeolian-Skinner organ, which I believe had been newly installed to his specifications.

Fox had a reputation for being slick, loud and sentimental, but you will find little of that here. His playing always remains well within the bounds of good taste, yet he also injects considerable life into this well worn material through his remarkable control, which he uses to inject a dance-like lift to the contours of these simple tunes.

The sound has an ideal balance of resonance and presence, with just enough church reverberation for my taste.

RCA issued this material both as a 12-inch LP and in abbreviated form as a double EP, with a different and preferable cover (below) by the American regionalist painter Adolf Dehn. I admire Dehn, but why is it that these nostalgic scenes always feature a sleigh and someone waving from the front porch?

Canteloube Settings of Christmas Songs

Let's start off this year's Christmas shares with this gorgeous LP of European Christmas music in settings by Joseph Canteloube.

Canteloube

You may know the composer from his versions of the "Songs from the Auvergne," which have been quite popular since their publication in 1930. If so, you will want to here this record, which has much of the same atmosphere and flavor.

Performing are Le Groupe des Chanteurs Traditionnels de Paris and the Champs-Élysées orchestra (which I believe at that time was a recording name for the French National Radio Orchestra). Conducting is Marc Honegger, a cousin of composer Arthur Honegger. Alto Hélène Brunet, tenor Marcel Giteau and soprano Madeleine Gérault are the soloists.

Honegger

The songs themselves are from France, Bohemia, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Austria, Italy and England.

Ducretet-Thomson recorded this LP in about 1954, and issued it in France on a 10-inch LP. It then came out in the US on Westminster on a 12-inch pressing. The download includes cover scans from both editions. Westminster's cover is below - it appears to depict an early American fireplace, which could not be less appropriate. My transfer is from the French pressing, and the sound is good.

A happy holiday season to all!

George 'The Fox' Williams in Hi-Fi

It's about time for Christmas music shares, but before I start down that path, I thought I might feature one of the most repulsive covers of the 1950s, or any other decade.

Someone at Decca Records (and it my have been Alex Steinweiss) decided it was a great idea to honor bandleader George "The Fox" Williams by dressing up someone in a ratty fox costume, giving him a baton, putting the results on the cover, and expecting it to sell records.

You have to spend a few moments examining the magnificence of this misguided art direction - the evil eyes, the leering mouth and the mangy fur, accented by a scarf and matching gloves, all topped off by a pair of earphones.

Fortunately, the music is good! Like Buddy Morrow, Williams decided the way to the charts might lie in adopting the R&B style. Unlike Morrow, he wrote his own material, although it is mostly simple riff tunes. Performing the results are several groups of superb New York studio musicians, with one constant being the authentic R&B tenor sax of Sam "The Man" Taylor. I particularly like the way the arranger uses bass sax in the textures.

There is one vocal among the instrumentals, delivered by Belfast-born Cathy Ryan in a convincingly bluesy style. Ryan had made records with Art Mooney and Lucky Millinder, and went on to make several sides as a single for M-G-M, Cardinal and King.

The 12 items here were originally issued as Coral singles from early 1954 through 1955. The sound is excellent. For more on Williams, see the earlier posts here.

The Big Beat with Buddy Morrow

A new one for our long series of postwar big bands; this time the "big beat" of Buddy Morrow and his crew.

Morrow later led a Dorsey ghost band for many years, I suppose predicated by his playing the trombone and having spent a few months with Tommy. And he was quite a gifted instrumentalist, immediately displayed on "Some of These Days," the first cut on this 1953 LP.

Buddy Morrow

The title is The Big Beat, a contemporary euphemism for rhythm & blues; the style that Morrow affected, at least during this period. He had made his name with a cover of Jimmy Forrest's 1951 R&B hit, "Night Train" (which in itself was appropriated from Duke Ellington's 1946 "Happy-Go-Lucky Local"). Morrow spent a fair amount of time trying to make lightning strike twice by recording a variety of crossover material. This led to some strange results. Here we have Sinatra-style vocalist Frankie Lester launching into material from Bessie Smith ("Beale Street Mama"), Jay McShann/Walter Brown ("Confessin' the Blues), and Bo Carter ("Corrine, Corina", although they probably sourced that one from Bob Wills' 1940 Western swing hit).

Frankie Lester

The wonder is that Lester - a singer I admire - does it all so well. Indeed, this is a very well done record by all involved, including the recording crew.

The Big Beat was a 10-inch record, but this transfer comes from an unusual 12-inch promo copy. Morrow's cuts are on one side of the record; the other is devoted to Dates with Ralph Flanagan at Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook and the Hollywood Palladium. Morrow and Flanagan shared management and a record company; this promo record was sent to disk jockeys in advance of some joint appearances. The two bands later combined forces for an RCA album.

Menotti's Sebastian Ballet Suite

Here's the second in a short series of early recordings of Gian Carlo Menotti's music, in this case the first recording of music from his 1944 ballet Sebastian.

These selections are just as attractive as the Menotti violin concerto presented on this blog not long ago. The performances led by Dimitri Mitropoulos are excellent. The "Robin Hood Dell Orchestra" was by and large (if not entirely) composed of Philadelphia Orchestra musicians.

Columbia issued this recording in 1947, a big year for Menotti, whose short operas The Medium and The Telephone had been presented on Broadway to some acclaim.

The cover is by Alex Steinweiss. Columbia's sound and surfaces were very good. My copy of the original 78 set has some dish warp, but it does not affect the sonics to any great degree.

Dimitiri Mitropoulos conducted the music of both Menotti and Samuel Barber. Here, at the 1958 European premiere of Vanessa: Front - Mitropoulos, Rosalind Elias, Eleanor Steber, Barber. Rear - Giorgio Tozzi, Ira Malaniuk, Menotti, unidentified, Alois Pernerstorfer, Nicolai Gedda, Rudolf Bing.

George Williams Remembers Jimmie Lunceford

A few weeks ago the blog presented a Ray Anthony record that was almost certainly arranged by George Williams. At that time, I said I would upload this LP that RCA Victor issued under the arranger's own name in 1957.

I wish I had chosen Williams's Brunswick LP instead, because it has a spectacularly repulsive cover showing a gentlemen in a ratty fox costume conducting the band - in honor of Williams' nickname, "The Fox".

Then again, this cover isn't bad, what with the gentleman grasping his impressively large instrument between the lady's legs.

George Williams

But what of the music? Williams (or RCA) decided to do a tribute to band leader Jimmie Lunceford, on the tenuous premise that Williams was a Lunceford arranger for a few months back in the late 1930s. Homages of this kind were popular in the late 50s, as people looked back fondly on the vanished swing era.

The results are what you might expect - streamlined versions of Lunceford standards played by a talented group of studio musicians who appeared on hundreds of other records of the time. The cover details the performers. Two of them are given pseudonyms - trombonist Jimmy O'Heigho is presumably Jimmy Cleveland and trumpeter Swede Enlovely is Harry "Sweets" Edison. This peculiar custom of fanciful renamings, common at the time, was probably done for contractual reasons.

The music is enjoyable, if not characteristic of the records that had been issued under Williams' name in earlier years. Those recordings, mainly in a quasi-R&B mode, are collected on the Brunswick album I mentioned above. Maybe I'll present that one as well, if people are interested.

A Wagner Concert from Pittsburgh and Reiner

My recent post of a Brahms concerto with Rudolf Serkin, the Pittsburgh Symphony and Fritz Reiner sent me looking through my files for other early Reiner recordings. The first one that came to hand was this "Wagner concert" from the first years of the conductor's tenure in the then-Steel City.

As sometimes happens, my friend Bryan of The Shellackophile blog had the simultaneous idea of posting the same set, and did so yesterday. I would urge you to go there to take advantage of Bryan's efforts, for several reasons: he does a great job on his transfers; he worked from the 78 set while I worked from the LP; he includes the very good graphics from the 78 album, which appear to be by Alex Steinweiss; and his download includes the Venusberg music, not included here.

Reiner caricature by
Olga Koussevitzky

Here are the LP contents and dates (all recordings were made in the Syria Mosque):

Die Meistersinger - Prelude (January 9, 1941)
Siegfried - Forest Murmurs (January 9, 1941)
Lohengrin - Prelude from Act 1 (November 15, 1941)
Lohengrin - Prelude from Act 3 (January 9, 1941)
Die Walküre - Ride of the Valkyries (February 25, 1940)

Similar to the Brahms, these excerpts display fine control, balance and orchestral discipline, if little glamour, delivered in boxy sound.

Reiner's later work in Chicago has been much discussed; I'll be posting a few more examples of what he was able to accomplish in Pittsburgh. If you want to learn more about the conductor, here's a good article with some familiar anecdotes and a few I hadn't heard before.

Indiscretion of an American Wife

A while back I posted a Paul Weston LP that collected theme music from Jennifer Jones films, including two excerpts from 1953's "Indiscretion of an American Wife." At that time, I promised to present the soundtrack album from that movie - and here it is.

Cicognini

The music is by Alessandro Cicognini, whose long career spanned 106 films and included a particularly close association with Vittorio de Sica, who directed this effort. I haven't seen "Indiscretion," but I imagine you can figure out the story from the title, the cover, and the cues listed on the cover. The music is suitably passionate and memorable.

My copy of this LP was not in ideal condition, but the sound is reasonably good. Leading the orchestra is Franco Ferrara, a legendary conducting teacher who made very few classical records, although I think he can be heard on a number of soundtrack records beside this one.

Alfred Drake in Songs from Brigadoon

Alfred Drake is surely among the most famous personalities ever to appear in Broadway musicals. He never recorded the score of Brigadoon, however, except for this obscure two-record set of 78s from 1947. (I haven't found another recording, anyway.)

Drake was already one of the leading stars on Broadway when these  sides were cut. His performance as Curly in Oklahoma four years earlier had made him famous.

When Brigadoon opened in March 1947, Drake was appearing in the Duke Ellington-John Latouche version of The Beggars' Opera, which was called Beggars' Holiday. Later in 1947, the baritone joined a revival of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock.

Rainbow Records was new when it signed Drake for this set, contracting him for The Heather on the Hill, From This Day On, and Almost Like Being in Love. Joining him for the first two songs is the obscure Roberta Roberts. Another unknown, Bill Venturo, handles Come to Me, Bend to Me (and quite well, too). It's possible that Venturo is actually Bill Ventura, who later turned up as one of Mitch Miller's Sing-Along Gang. Rainbow doesn't bother acknowledging anyone but Drake on the cover.

As you can see, the cover itself is garish and cheap looking, but the production is surprisingly good. Rainbow brought in Brigadoon orchestrator Ted Royal to lead the orchestra, and provided fairly good sound. The pressings are grainy, however, and my copy is certainly not mint.

I probably don't need to add that Drake is excellent. This is most enjoyable.

Alexander Young Sings Roger Quilter

This blog has presented Alexander Young's recital of songs by Vaughan Williams and Peter Warlock; now it's time for his take on another English composer - the less celebrated, but nonetheless worthwhile Roger Quilter.

Roger Quilter

Five years younger than Vaughan Williams, Quilter had died at age 75 only a year or so before this program was transcribed in 1954. His output was almost entirely confined to songs, although his Children's Overture is sometimes heard.

I continue to be puzzled by the slight regard for tenor Alexander Young's artistry. The download includes a review of this LP by the estimable Andrew Porter, who complains that Young does not measure up to Gervase Elwes (who introduced some of these songs) or to John McCormick. For good measure Porter snorts that some of Quilter's work is insipid.

Alexander Young

Well, now. What Porter thinks is bland, I think is sensitive. Similarly, I enjoy the understated approach of Young, which Porter finds to be too much of too little.

I will say that if you have enjoyed the previous Alexander Young recitals, you may discover that this edition is to your taste as well. The sound is good, and as before, the sympathetic accompanist is Gordon Watson. This was transferred from the American Westminister edition of an English Argo original.

Music for Jennifer

One of the most gorgeous of all so-called "easy listening" records was devoted to music from films that starred Jennifer Jones. This Paul Weston 10-inch LP from 1954 has everything - fine sound, lovely arrangements, excellent themes and a beautiful cover.

Paul Weston

Weston's liner notes claim that he got the idea for the album from Jones herself. Call me cynical, but I suspect he more likely got it from Jones' publicist. Whatever, it makes for a delightful program, later incorporated into a more generic "music from Hollywood" 12-inch LP.

Here are the films and composers represented:

Indiscretion of an American Wife - Alessandro Cicognini
Portrait of Jennie - Bernard Herrmann
Duel in the Sun - Dmitri Tiomkin
Since You Went Away - Max Steiner
Ruby Gentry - Heinz Roemheld
Song of Bernadette - Alfred Newman
Love Letters - Victor Young

I am very fond of the music from Indiscretion of an American Wife, and am preparing a transfer of the soundtrack LP for the blog.

Frank D'Rone

Frank D'Rone, who died recently, can't be considered a well-known singer, although he is a well-regarded artist by his peers and by vocal aficionados. He is someone worth remembering for his considerable skill and taste as both vocalist and guitarist.

These days D'Rone is mostly known for four Mercury LPs and one on Cadet. These and some other recordings are readily available from his website, so I will concentrate on a few singles I had at hand.

D'Rone (shortened from Caldarone) began his career in New York in 1950. In 1953, he turned up on Motor City Records, and then went with the Herbie Fields band in 1954. By 1956 he was in Chicago clubs, and that city and Las Vegas were his bases of operations from then on.

It wasn't long before he was picked up by Mercury, a local label. His first effort was a cover of Bobby Helms' "My Special Angel" in 1957.

Our program today picks up with two singles from 1960. I want to first discuss "Joey, Joey, Joey." Although it is the only number in this group that appears on one of his albums, it is likely to be the one song here that is closest to his club repertoire. Although the backing here is credited to Fred Norman, it is largely D'Rone's guitar. his reading is persuasive, although to me some of his vocal mannerisms aren't suited to the song. The flip side is a folkish ballad called "The House and the Old Wisteria Tree," characteristic of the time. While not memorable, it also is not unattractive.

Also from 1960 is D'Rone's closest approach to a hit tune - "Strawberry Blonde," which rose to number 14 on the British hit parade. It's an "Old MacDonald"-style swingin' oldie, although here D'Rone sounds less like Sinatra and more like teen-set swinger Bobby Rydell crossed with Jack Scott. This was backed with "Time Hurries By," a pleasant ballad. Arrangements are by David Carroll.

D'Rone had moved on to Cameo records in 1963, and then, in 1965, to Columbia, where he made at least three singles. Representing this period today is a cover version of a big French hit by yé-yé girl France Gall, a children's tune called "Charlemagne." It's a peculiar song that blames the Father of Europe and lover of learning because modern-day children have to attend school. Although this may have made some sense to French kids of the day, I can't believe that anyone thought American youth would find it appealing (or even comprehensible). D'Rone is accompanied here by the six Quinto Sisters, best known for the original version of "A Holly Jolly Christmas," a song I cannot abide. (I now have added "Charlemagne" to that list.)

Fortunately, the other side of this is a very fine balled called "Nancy Knew," which makes a fitting end to this brief tribute to a talented artist. To learn more about him, see a three-part interview on the JazzWax blog.

Menotti and Honegger Led by Munch

This post is notable for Gian Carlo Menotti's neglected violin concerto. Not that I am shrugging off Arthur Honegger's second symphony, but this recording has been reissued repeatedly, unlike the Menotti work.

This was the first and for many years the only recording of the concerto, written in 1952 for Efrem Zimbalist. By the time this version was set down in November 1954, the work had also been taken up by Tossy Spivakovsky, who is heard here with Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony.

This is a beautiful concerto in a vibrant rendition. It is surprising that both the concerto and the recording are not better known.

Munch recorded the symphony at least three times. Honegger completed the work in 1942, and Munch took the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra into the studio that same year to begin work on a recording, which for some reason was not completed until 1944. This reading is from March 1953.

Honegger scored his symphony for strings with a prominent trumpet part in the final movement, presumably played here by Roger Voisin, longtime BSO principal.

While the symphony has become a well-known work, the Menotti concerto does not deserve its obscurity. The download includes a doctoral dissertation on the work by Laura Tomlin that gives historical details and a detailed analysis.

The Symphony Hall sound, as usual, is quite good. I will have a few other early Menotti recordings up on the blog relatively soon.

Torch Time with Herb Jeffries

One of the blog's commenters wrote to say that the great romantic crooner Herb Jeffries reached the age of 100 last month. To celebrate, here is a transfer of what may be the singer's best album, Time on My Hands, which came out in 1951.

Jeffries at a 1951 recording session

The LP is a collection of torch songs. That was probably not a novel theme even way back then. Still, I doubt any other example was carried out better than this unusually cohesive set. This session found Jeffries in relaxed and confident form, and complemented by a entirely sympathetic combo. The arranger was pianist Dick Hazard; also on the date were guitarists Bob Bain and Allen Reuss, bassist Phil Stephens and drummer Nick Fatool.

Coral released Time on My Hands both as a 10-inch LP and a box of four 45s; my copy is in the latter format. The sound is excellent.

I've featured Jeffries a couple of times before; you can learn more about him on the earlier posts, which can be found via this link.