The Warm Voice of Hal Derwin

I am sure I have a few of Hal Derwin's Capitol 78s, but I paid him little mind until my recent post of the first Buddy DeSylva tribute album. There, Derwin contributed a most pleasing account of "When Day Is Done," so I decided to look at his recorded legacy more closely.

Today's post, consisting of 25 Derwin single sides from 1946-49, is the result of that examination. Most of these little-known recordings are distinguished by Derwin's warm, relaxed vocals - in the vein of Crosby or Como, and not markedly inferior to them, either. The set also includes two pleasant instrumentals from the big band that Derwin was leading at the time. And it also includes the sole single by an odd Capitol all-star ensemble called Ten Cats and a Mouse, which included Derwin. In total, the collection includes all but six of the songs that Derwin recorded for Capitol.

Hal Derwin is answering fan mail -
or so his publicist informs us

Derwin (1914-98) apparently started off as a vocalist (he was in a trio with Lee Gillette, himself later associated with Capitol), but also played guitar at times when he was with several bands, including Shep Fields and Artie Shaw (where he was called Hal Stevens). I'll post a few of his Shaw records later on. Derwin eventually got the call to record for Capitol, and formed his own band at about the same time.

Fortunately for him, his first record - "The Old Lamplighter" - did well, and that set Derwin up for a three-year run in the Capitol studios. The flip side of the record - "I Guess I'll Get the Papers and Go Home" - may bear some explanation to any young readers. "Papers" refers to newspapers, now scarce, but then plentiful. In the major cities, publishers would time the first edition of the morning paper to his newsstands at about midnight. So theoretically, one could finish a lonely evening by picking up the papers and heading home.

Next in queue is Lecuona's "Another Night Like This," from Dick Haymes' film Carnival in Costa Rica, featured here in the soundtrack rendition. Derwin does well by it, even if he is not in the Haymes class. The coupling is "You'll Always Be the One I Love." The romantic backing on these earliest records is by the busy maestro Frank De Vol.

"It Might Have Been a Different Story" and "You Can Take My Word for It, Baby" are two pop items of the day, the latter also recorded by a bouncy Frank Sinatra.

At this point (1947), Derwin switches to his own band for backing, along with a vocal group. For "An Apple Blossom Wedding" and "Blue and Broken Hearted" the vocal assistance is by Gloria and Diane, of whom I know nothing. (If I were to speculate wildly, the Gloria might be Gloria Wood.)

For "How Lucky You Are" (also done by Buddy Clark) and "On the Avenue," Gloria and Diane are supplanted by the Co-Eds. In turn, they were replaced by the Hi-Liters for "My, How the Time Goes By" and "The Little Old Mill" (another song that Clark put out). The Hi-Liters stayed around for "The Dream Peddler" and "You're Too Dangerous, Cherie." The latter song is "La Vie en Rose" in English mufti - and another Clark specialty.

Hal Derwin and two unidentified members of the Hi-Liters.
That could be Gloria Wood on the right.

Derwin reached back to 1932 for the old favorite "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye," which came out then on a memorable Boswell Sisters disc that he does not surpass (who could?). The flip is "Worry Worry Worry."

Capitol assembled the Ten Cats and a Mouse is October 1947 to play "Ja-Da" and "Three O'Clock Jump," the latter credited to "Felis Domestica." The trick here is that the musicians all play instruments other than their specialties. So, for example, trumpeters Billy May and Bobby Sherwood take up the trombone, lamentably. The best soloist is surely Benny Carter on tenor saxophone, but this is a bit of a cheat, since Carter played that instrument (and several others, including trumpet) regularly. The inaudible drummer is Peggy Lee (presumably the Mouse). Derwin plays guitar.

In addition to its Buddy DeSylva tribute album, Capitol included Derwin in a Jerome Kern memorial package in 1947, assigning him one of my favorite songs, "The Touch of Your Hand," an quasi-operetta piece that is not suited to the singer's style.

We move on to 1948 and "Melody Time" from the Disney film. The backing was an instrumental from Derwin's band, "Always," from Irving Berlin and 1925. The group sounds very good; I suspect it was a studio ensemble rather than a road band.

Derwin's last solo in this set is another lonely-guy song, "I Go In When the Moon Comes Out." Capitol coupled it with an instrumental of "Louise."

The final, 1949 recordings were two enjoyable duets with ex-Goodman singer Martha Tilton, both backed by Frank De Vol. The dance novelty "Ballin' the Jack" was coupled with Derwin's own "Take Me Back," a nostalgic number that features an unconvincing "soft-shoe" solo probably played by the drummer. It's nicely done, even so.

Derwin had his limitations, and his band was nothing to set the pulse racing, but at his best he was a smooth and very pleasing singer who deserves to be remembered. After his Capitol stint, he continued to lead a band for a piece, and eventually landed back at Capitol in an A&R role.

These records were obtained from lossless needle drops on Internet Archive, as redone by me. The sound is generally very good.