Isabel Bigley and Stephen Douglass

Isabel Bigley and Stephen Douglass starred in some of the biggest Broadway hits of the 1950s, without ever becoming household names. This budget-label release allows you to hear them in some of the best-known Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes, individually and in duet.

Isabel Bigley

Bigley originated the role of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and then Jeanie in R&H's Me and Juliet.  She retired from the stage shortly after this record was made in the late 50s.

Douglass had been a lead in The Golden Apple, a replacement Sid Sorokin in The Pajama Game and then became Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, his biggest role.

One reason why Bigley and Douglass aren't better remembered is that their best roles either never made it to Hollywood, or were recast there - Jean Simmons took over the part of Sarah Brown and Tab Hunter (!) became Joe Hardy.

Stephen Douglass with Gwen Verdon,
recording Damn Yankees

This record is a workmanlike product for a budget label, but it sounds under-rehearsed, the arrangements are thin, and the two singers have little chemistry. Among Bigley's numbers is "No Other Love," which she introduced in Me and Juliet, a most enjoyable score even though the show's success was limited by a weak book.

Douglass is good in declamatory songs such as "Some Enchanted Evening," but stiff in "It's a Grand Night for Singing," where elan is required.

The LP is dated 1957 on the back cover, but I believe it actually came out in 1958 or 1959. The mono sound is reasonably good. I haven't seen evidence of a stereo issue, although one may exist, considering the probable date of issue.

LINK

An 18th Century Christmas with I Solisti di Zagreb

What's a Croatian ensemble doing with the Italian name "I Solisti di Zagreb"? I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with its founder and director, Antonio Janigro, being from Milan.

Janigro, noted as both a cellist and conductor, spent most of his career in Zagreb, and founded the Zagreb Soloists chamber ensemble in 1953. Today it is usually called by its Croatian name, Zagrebački solisti.

This traversal of some familiar holiday fare comes from 1957, when the group had begun recording for Vanguard Bach Guild. They had already become an impressive, secure ensemble, well led by Janigro and nicely recorded by Vanguard.

A giant Janigro attempts to behead a Zagreb violinist

The repertoire here begins with the Corelli Christmas Concerto. Then we have three J.S. Bach chorales in respectful arrangements by Croatian composer Milko Kelemen. Following is the Toy Symphony once thought to be by Haydn, then by Leopold Mozart and now by who-knows. And finally there is the Torelli Concerto Grosso known as the "Pastoral Symphony for the Nativity." 

The sound is excellent.

Many More Reups for Christmas

I had quite a few requests to reup some of the Christmas posts, mostly dating back to the early years of this blog.

So here is what is on offer tonight, presented without much commentary in the interests of getting this post up in a timely fashion. Four of these are the original versions in mp3 form. In three cases, I had the raw transfers and remastered them. Those are noted below up top. Links are in the comments to this post.

Im Glanz der Weinachtskerzen. Excellent Polydor LP from 1955 with baritone Willy Schneider, the Berlin Motet Choir, Erich Bender and his children's choir. Remastered version, Apple lossless. 

Malcolm Sargent and Royal Carol Society - Christmas Carols. Atmospheric 1955 LP from the famed conductor and his Royal Carol Society. Remastered version, Apple lossless.

Dorothy Collins - Won't You Spend Christmas with Me. The fine pop vocalist's late 50s Christmas LP, a real favorite with blog readers. Remastered version, Apple lossless.

Buddy Clark - Merry Christmas Waltz / Winter Wonderland. A Columbia 78 from the great 40s vocalist.

Festival of Lessons and Carols 1954 - King's College Choir. One of the early LPs documenting the famous Christmas Eve service from King's College, Cambridge.

Leopold Stokowski - Season's Greetings. An EP from the 50s reprinting several vaguely holiday-themed items that Stoki did for Victor back in the 40s.

John Jacob Niles - Folk Songs of Christmas, Vol. 2. EP from the early folk singer.

Remastered Jo Stafford Christmas Singles

I had a request for the collection of Jo Stafford Christmas singles that I put together five years ago, so I went ahead and refurbished them and am reupping them now.

The centerpiece of the collection is the medley of Christmas songs that Jo recorded with Gordon MacRae for the 1949 season, here in the 1955 EP edition (above).

Also included are her 1946 recordings of "Silent Night" and "White Christmas," her excellent 1953 version of "The Christmas Blues," and a 1952 duet with Frankie Laine on the country-tinged "Christmas Roses."

Paul Weston, as usual, accompanies.

All the Best for Christmas from Jack Carroll

The other day I shared a group of promotional records that included a publisher's demo from Bernie Knee, who was one of the best known demo singers of the time. Now here is a full Christmas album featuring another demo specialist, Jack Carroll.

This LP came out in 1959 on the small Laurie label (Dion and the Belmonts were it hit artists), although I suspect Carroll recorded it years earlier. But before I get to the speculation about its origins, a few words about the singer.

From what I can tell, Carroll was born Vincenzo Riccio in New Jersey, and started in the business as a big band singer with Les Brown, Tex Beneke and Sammy Kaye. He recorded for Decca, Majar (including a tune called "Whistling Otto, the Baby Reindeer," which I would like to hear, once), and on MGM, Rondo and National with Russ Case.

Rose Mary Jun and Jack Carroll at the Pins and Needles sessions

Perhaps his longest stint with a label was from 1955 to 1957 on Unique, where he taped a good album called "My Heart Sings" and singles. Then came this holiday album, a 1962 Pins and Needles studio recording on Columbia, a 1963 LP on VRC, and many, many demos and ads. He also appeared in a few movies as (for some reason) Jidge Carroll.

As you might expect from a demo singer, Carroll's diction and intonation are excellent. Depending on your taste, you may find him subtle - or bland. For me, this understated approach works well for this over-exposed holiday fare.

As I mentioned, I doubt that this was a new recording when it was released in 1959. Here's why. There is no stereo release that I can trace. There are only eight vocals, suggesting this was planned as a 10-inch LP, a format that was almost extinct in the US in 1959. The listed arranger is Eliot Glenn, but I can't find any other mention of a musician by that name. The arrangements themselves are badly dated, with their Miller and Lombardo overtones. The newest song on the LP ("Home for the Holidays") is from 1954. My best guess is that this comes from Carroll's time at Unique.

A Promo Christmas

The commercialization of Christmas is not new; and certainly not a novelty in the record business. I have heard promotional holiday records that date back into the 1920s, and I would be surprised if there aren't older items out there.

Today we will sample several types of promotional disks, and even one that could be considered an anti-promotion.

The first type of promotion is a record intended to benefit a charity. This collection has three examples of the genre, all of them official "Christmas Seal songs" of their respective seasons. Christmas Seals were originally a tuberculosis charity, later broadened to include all lung diseases. I haven't been able to discover the first official "Christmas Seal song" in the U.S., but I know the tradition dates back to at least "Happy Christmas, Little Friend," which was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein at the behest of Life Magazine in 1952, and then was chosen as the Christmas Seal song the next year, in the Rosemary Clooney recording.

The Christmas Seal song for 1954 was "The Spirit of Christmas," a fine Matt Dennis-Tom Adair tune that Kitty Kallen recorded, with a Jack Pleis backing.

For the official 1956 song, Rosemary Clooney returned with her young sister Gail and "He'll Be Comin' Down the Chimney," with music lifted from "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" and its antecedents. (I wonder if the listed "composers" donated their publishing royalties?)

Finally, the 1965 Christmas Seal song was Robert Goulet's "This Christmas I Spend with You," the title tune from his 1963 Christmas LP. This transfer is from the promotional 45, which includes opening and closing messages from Goulet as well as his rendition of "White Christmas."

Dinah Shore was renowned for her vocal skill, warmth and charm, which made her an ideal commercial spokesperson, and she was employed both by her record company and her television sponsor for promotional purposes during the holiday season.

1957 Billboard ad with Dinah Shore

In 1957, Dinah was the face of RCA Victor's extensive Christmas releases, appearing on point-of-sale materials and in trade ads. Oddly, Dinah herself did not merit a Christmas LP release, only an EP titled "You Meet the Nicest People at Christmas." No arranger is listed, although it may have been Harry Zimmerman, who was working with Shore both at RCA and on her TV show.

1961 Chevy promo

In 1961, her sponsor, Chevrolet, called upon her for another EP, which I believe was a giveaway at dealerships. By that time, Dinah had moved on to Capitol, but had not moved on from "You Meet the Nicest People," which appears here in a different, peppier version. This EP, with backing by Jack Marshall, is just as good as the RCA effort.

Another type of promotional item is a demo record. Today's collection includes what I believe was a demo sent by the publishers Patore Music to record companies on behalf of its composer, Henry Tobias and two of his Christmas ditties, "Take Off Those Whiskers Daddy" and "The Holiday Hop." The artist is Bernie Knee, a talented vocalist who was one of the best known demo singers. His backing is by Irving Fields, whose popular 1959 LP, "Bagels and Bongos," can still be found in many thrift shops.

Based on copyright records, I believe the Tobias-Knee-Fields 45 is from 1966. Several years later, Knee and Tobias combined to record the Richard Nixon tribute, "Hang In There, Mr. President," during the waning days of Nixon's term, replacing Irving Fields with Frankie Yankovic. (Sadly, only a snippet of this gem is available online.)

We conclude with an anti-promotional record of sorts, Stan Freberg's "Green Chri$tma$" from 1958, which is the satirist's complaint against Madison Avenue's appropriation of Christmas for its own purposes. It's a funny bit if you remember the ads he skewers. It's also a little ironic because Freberg was making some green himself from this Christmas record.

Wikipedia, perhaps reflecting Freberg's own views, would have you believe that Capitol did not want to release the record and did so with "no promotion or publicity," which isn't true. The company issued it with a picture sleeve containing Freberg's essay of self-praise on the back. My own copy of the 45 is a white-label Capitol promo. The record itself was a moderate hit and appeared on Billboard's charts.

Archer & Gile - The Wonder of Christmas

Those of you who like your Christmas music unadorned will appreciate this 1961 album from the duo of Archer & Gile.

That's unadorned - not unsophisticated. Soprano Frances Archer and alto Beverly Gile were fine artists who worked in a folk vein, and the chamber orchestra accompaniments here are well suited to their style.

Frances Archer and Beverly Gile

Archer & Gile were discovered by none other than Walt Disney, singing at a Palm Springs party. (The women were singing, not Walt.) He signed them up for the Mickey Mouse Club television show and had them record the first LP ever issued on his Disneyland label, A Child's Garden of Verses.

The artists stayed with Disney for about five years and then moved on to Eleanor Steber's St/And Records, where they produced this holiday LP and at least one another. Greg Ehrbar's book on Disney records says that they later moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and retired from the business.

This particular LP was not especially well recorded, placing the singers at opposite ends of the stereo spectrum and plopping the band in between in a dry acoustic. I've done my best to compensate. But the sound is not a major distraction, and the album is worth your time if you like Christmas music.