The First Buddy DeSylva Tribute Album

A few days ago, I published a private record that Capitol issued to commemorate the 1950 death of Buddy DeSylva, one of its founders.

At that time, I lamented the fact that Capitol didn't see fit to use its own artists to celebrate DeSylva's songwriting career rather than repurposing a radio show from seven years earlier.

Buddy DeSylva examines his catalog. "Mother Me,
Tennessee" and the other songs here
did not make the cut for this collection.

Two friends of the blog, Bryan and Randy, quickly drew my attention to the fact that Capitol had indeed issued an earlier DeSylva tribute using its own stars, back in 1947.

I felt a little embarrassed by my forgetting this album, particularly because I have a copy of it in my collection. I told Bryan that I could not transfer it, however, because my 78 turntable is having speed-regulatory seizures. So Bryan sent along a link to an Internet Archive transfer, which I have remastered for this post.

Promo in Capitol News

The Capitol set is called Somebody Loves Me: The Beloved Songs of Buddy DeSylva - no doubt especially beloved at the company because he was chairman of the board. But I will admit that he wrote lyrics for many excellent songs, and this collection does a good job at presenting eight of them.

Among those who contributed vocals were Johnny Mercer, Peggy Lee, Nat Cole and Margaret Whiting. They may need no introduction, but here are a few words about the other artists involved.

Andy Russell was a fine balladeer who had many hits for Capitol. Russell's popularity waned in the 1950s, when he relocated to Mexico. Even though he was born in Los Angeles and spoke little Spanish, he was of Hispanic descent and quickly became a star in Latin America, returning to the US (and Capitol) in the 1960s. He performs one of DeSylva, Brown and Henderson's best songs, "Just a Memory."

Martha Tilton and Johnny Mercer

Martha Tilton came to prominence as a Benny Goodman band singer in the late 1930s. She joined Capitol early in its history, and here is paired with company mogul Johnny Mercer for another DeSylva, Brown and Henderson item, "If I Had a Talking Picture of You."

Clark Dennis was a radio singer who made records for Capitol from 1946-50. You can read more about him via this post on my other blog. He also has appeared on this blog, providing vocals for a 1939 Paul Whiteman set. On this album, he sings the famous DeSylva-Brown-Henderson waltz, "Together."

If Hal Derwin's vocals did not dazzle you,
his outfit's clashing patterns would

The most obscure name in the lineup may be Hal Derwin, but his easy manner is perfectly suited to "When Day Is Done." Derwin was a bandleader during the 40s and 50s, but I believe he recorded for Capitol solely as a vocalist.

Capitol repurposed the inside front cover of this 78 set as the front cover of the later 10-inch LP. That image and other photos and scans are in the download, including a Capitol News article announcing the project. The ad below comes from the June 1947 Capitol News.