The Early Jackie Paris

It's been nearly 20 years since the death of jazz singer Jackie Paris (1924-2004), who didn't achieve the acclaim he deserved in his lifetime, and has not fared much better since.

That neglect is hard to understand. As Will Friedwald wrote before Paris' death, "He was and is an uncompromising jazz singer who happens to have an enormous - albeit unrealized - pop appeal ... Here is a musician saturated with the virtues of modern jazz - the harmonic sophistication, the cool attitude, the bright clean tone - who never sounds like he's doing anything way-out or complex."

One of the early posts on this blog 14 years ago was devoted to Paris' first LP, the 10-incher That "Paris" Mood on Coral. It was followed in 2010 by a selection of his early singles. Today, we greatly expand those offerings by combining all the songs on the 10-inch LP and its 12-inch successor, Skylark, with the bulk of the singles that Paris produced from 1947-55. All told, there are 33 selections in this set.

I hope to follow this post with another that will include Paris' EmArcy LP of 1955-56 with a few other songs issued by that company.

1947-55 Singles

We start with Paris' first record, a 1947 78 released by M-G-M and coupling "Your Red Wagon" and "Skylark" (which he later remade for Coral). This first effort shows off the two sides of his vocal personality - the hip and forceful singing on "Red Wagon," and the intense sincerity and sweetness of "Skylark."

Paris first became popular in jazz circles after the war while appearing on New York's 52nd Street. He had a trio at the time with pianist Deryck Sampson and bassist William Lalatte. Although they certainly were influenced by the King Cole Trio (and Sampson by George Shearing), they also were paying attention to the Page Cavanaugh Trio, as can be heard in the next M-G-M single, "I've Got a Way with Women," backed by the standard "I've Got a Crush on You."

Paris moved on in 1949 to National, which announced his arrival with the ad below for his debut single, coupling "The Old Master Painter" and a "surprise rendition" of "Goodbye Sue." I hope I am not spoiling things by telling you that the surprise is a spoken interlude in hipster lingo in which Paris tells Sue "I dig you the most!" among other entreaties for her to come back. Billboard dug this not, however, calling the spoken section "silly hip talking." (I think it's fun.)

During this same 1949 session, Paris cut the first vocal rendition of Thelonious Monk's bop anthem, "'Round Midnight," with Bernie Hanigan's lyrics. It eventually came out on EmArcy; I'll include it in the subsequent collection devoted to Paris' work for that label.

Friedwald tells us that Paris was the favorite singer of bassist-composer-bandleader Charles Mingus, who had worked with him in Lionel Hampton's band circa 1949. Mingus wrote several compositions for the vocalist in 1952, which were among the first things Mingus released on his Debut label.

Will wrote, "Mingus could devise as much formless abstraction as he liked - for example the entrancingly meandering 'Portrait' - knowing that Paris could 'sell' the number as convincingly as Sinatra could put over a Cole Porter show tune. Likewise 'Paris In Blue' veers off into all kinds of odd directions. Yet Paris effectively anchors all narrative and melodic motion to the blues framework that the piece begins and ends with." Today's set also includes the flip side of "Paris in Blue," "Make Believe."

Later in 1952, Paris did a one-off single for RCA Victor with a mannered singer named Tamara Hayes, who made some other records for RCA at the time. The record coupled the old R&B hit "I Miss You So" with "Chance of a Lifetime."

Paris moved on to Decca's Brunswick and Coral labels in 1953. A session for Coral with Norman Leyden produced a few singles that later appeared on the Skylark album below, along with an affecting revival of Harry Warren's beautiful "I Know Why (and So Do You)," written for Glenn Miller's film Sun Valley Serenade.

Paris' efforts for Brunswick are represented here by live versions with a Terry Gibbs combo of "You Go to My Head" and "Cool Blues." The former is one of Paris' best records. The latter is wonderful swinger, at least until Paris indulges in that reprehensible jazz custom, scat singing. Although these two tracks did appear on a single, I have transferred them from a various artists LP called Jazztime USA, Vol. 3.

Back on Coral, Paris recorded a few songs with clarinetist Tony Scott (not included here), then a solo on "When I Lost You," the beautiful and affecting Irving Berlin waltz, which is another of Jackie's finest records. It was backed by the lesser "Idle Gossip," which was included on the Skylark LP discussed below, as were most of the other songs he cut for Coral in 1953-54.

One of the songs orphaned from the LP was a remake of the 1940 Mills Brothers hit, "Java Jive," well suited to Paris' style. The flipside is an odd reworking of "O Sole Mio" as "True," which Paris plays straight. The backing is by Neal Hefti.

The final Coral single - and the last in this collection - was 1955's "Love Is a King" and "I Need Your Love." Not great songs, but graced by Paris' sincerity.

That "Paris" Mood/Skylark

Coral brought Paris into the studio in June 1954 to record his first album, That "Paris" Mood. It mainly consisted of standards, with the exception of two songs. "Detour Ahead" is a good ballad perfectly suited to Paris' style, with his emotions under control but near the surface. Bassist John Frigo wrote it in 1948 (with two bandmates co-credited). The best song is "Who Can I Turn To?", not the Anthony Newley piece but an elegant 1941 item from composer Alec Wilder and lyricist William Engvick.

Otherwise, the standouts are Johnny Green's great "You're Mine You," even though Jackie gets carried away by the "I own you!" line. He's so intense, it's a little frightening. Paris also does well with the Cahn-Style classic, "The Things We Did Last Summer."

The whole LP is beautifully done, but Charlie Shavers would not have been my first choice to play the trumpet obbligatos, which are at times intrusive, at other times off-mike.

By 1957, 10-inch albums had become passé, and many labels were expanding their inventory of little LPs into the 12-inch variety. Decca accordingly turned That "Paris" Mood into the 12-inch Skylark, in the process switching it from Coral to the Brunswick marque.

It wasn't a straight expansion, however. "The Things We Did Last Summer" was left off the Skylark bill of fare, while five songs were added. These all had previously been issued as singles: the second version of "Skylark," "Only Yesterday," "If Love Is Good to Me," "Idle Gossip" and "I Had a Talk with a Daisy." Today's collection includes all songs from both albums. 

"Skylark" was a song dear to Paris, and the single had achieved some success, so it became the title song of the 12-inch LP. Also semi-successful as a single was "If Love Is Good to Me," which showed off Paris' talent for the near-miss. As the singer explained to Will Friedwald, "I introduced that song [on Brunswick] and my record had just started to sell. The next thing I know, Redd [Evans, the composer] told me, 'Listen, Nat Cole wants to do the song and I can't turn him down.' Cole had already made hits out of a half dozen Evans songs. So Nat recorded it, and though Cashbox picked mine over his. Nat's record became the biggest record in the country."

The cover displays Decca's penchant for dorky photographic assemblages. I don't know what kind of bird that is on the cover, but I don't believe it is a skylark. As far as I know they are colorless creatures that would not be as photogenic perched on a RCA 77-DX microphone.

Returning to the subject, it is a shame that Paris never achieved fame commensurate with his great gifts. The download includes a long 1996 interview with the singer in which he recounts his career. 

Most of these records came from my collection, helpfully augmented by Internet Archive materials. The sound is generally vivid, except for some rustle on the 78s.

Coming up are a second Paris collection, plus posts devoted to two of my other favorite vocalists, David Allyn and Ronnie Deauville.

Sibelius Symphones from Ehrling - Corrected Files

Please note: the versions of the Sibelius symphonies I posted yesterday have some errors, which I have now corrected. My thanks to Daniel Frank for alerting me. The 3rd and 7th symphonies were pitched too high. The pitch on the 1st symphony is correct, but I made a mistake in splitting the third and fourth movements.

Links to the corrected versions are available in the comments to this post and the original post.

Three Sibelius Symphonies from Stockholm and Sixten Ehrling

Sixten Ehrling

The first recorded cycle of Jan Sibelius' symphonies did not emanate from an internationally acclaimed orchestra, famous conductor or leading label. It was a product of a small record company, the Stockholm orchestra and a young Swedish conductor, 33-year-old Sixten Ehrling.

The orchestra, the Metronome record label and Ehrling began recording the symphonies in January 1952, shortly before they embarked on their famous collaboration on the Violin Concerto with Camilla Wicks. At the time of the concerto sessions in mid-February, Symphonies 1, 3 and 7 had already been taped. Those three symphonies are the basis of today's post.

Symphonies No. 3 and 7

Sibelius himself was still alive when the recordings were made, and it is said that Ehrling met the composer during the session and shared cigars. In a way, the composer and conductor were well matched. It could be said that Sibelius' icy symphonies and Ehrling's famously cold personality suited one another.

But that is too simplistic. The symphonies are in no way monolithic, nor even that icy. Just taking the three symphonies on view here, the third is much different from the romantic first, and both are distinct from the seventh.

Ehrling's readings are intense. The Stockholm orchestra was not at the time a virtuoso ensemble, and only numbered 70-some members. But its musicians follow Ehrling's tempos faultlessly. 

The seventh symphony is notable in being in one movement, with constantly changing tempos and motives. Although it's s striking piece, the danger is that it will come off as shapeless. Ehrling skirts that by never letting the tension slacken.

The Stockholm players do well, although the tuning in the brass is not always exact, nor is there much depth of string tone.

Symphony No. 1

Interestingly, Ehrling does not seem as tense in the first symphony. His tempi in the first movement are moderate although never slack. Similarly, the "Andantino (ma non troppo lento)" second movement is taken at a leisurely pace. On the other hand, the Allegro third movement is suitably quick. And while Ehrling is a cool conductor, he does suggest the emotion underlying the finale. The ending is eloquent without being impassioned.

The critics were generally kind to Ehrling and the orchestra. The first symphony for some reason did not elicit any American reviews, but the coupling of the third and seventh found favor. James Lyons of the American Record Guide said the third was superior to the early recording led by Sibelius' associate Robert Kajanus. The seventh, Lyons opined, "unfolds less smoothly than some and less dramatically than others and still its muscle and lean are as taut as Finnish timber." (Mixed metaphor there, but you get the idea. Critics are apt to cite northern forests when discussing Sibelius. Artists too - check the two covers above.)

The auditorium of the Academy of Music

The reviewers generally praised the sound on these discs, although it is not without fault. As with the other Sibelius recordings from this source, the pitch tends to wander notably, which I have adjusted here (as well as in the earlier post). The sound is good, although not ideally clear. This may be an artifact of the recording method, which involved taping in the relatively compact auditorium of the Royal Academy of Music, then adding room reverberation later on. That was not an unprecedented technique; Columbia used it during this period as well, but because it adds a generation onto the master, it can blunt the impact of the recording and may have contributed to the pitch drift. Even so, the resulting sound here is pleasing. The third and seventh LP is from my collection; the first comes from a lossless transfer on Internet Archive, refurbished for this post.

One further note about the production: although the previous Sibelius issues heard here came out on Capitol in the US, the symphonies were issued by Mercury. In all cases, the recordings were handled by Metronome.

The fifth and sixth symphonies from this cycle are coming up.

Jean Sibelius, in a typically forbidding pose

They All Sang Merle Travis

1956 Billboard ad

The charismatic country musician Merle Travis (1917-83) was a remarkably influential guitarist and a talented singer, but today's post will explore his gifts as a songwriter. We'll look at 26 recordings by other country musicians as well as such disparate performers as Lawrence Welk and Mickey Katz, and add a few that include Travis but were not issued under his name.

Early Life and Career

It's hard to discuss Merle Travis without citing his background, which colored some of his most famous songs. He was born and raised in coal-mining country, Muhlenberg County, Tennessee, and learned to play guitar from local musicians who included Ike Everly, father of Phil and Don.

By the time he was 20, he was playing with well-known country fiddler Clayton McMichen, and soon moved to become a staff musician at Cincinnati's WLW radio. His first recordings were in 1943 with fellow WLW staffer Grandpa Jones. They called themselves the "Sheppard Brothers" to sidestep their employer's prohibition on recording. Their "You'll Be Lonesome Too" and "The Steppin' Out Kind" (not included in this collection) comprised the first 78 ever issued by Syd Nathan's King Records.

1944-45 Recordings

It wasn't long before Travis was making a name for himself both as musician and songwriter. By 1944, he had moved to California and soon was in the studios with Capitol artist Wesley Tuttle. Together they wrote our first selection, "It May Be Too Late." The song is a standard bluegrass style yearning-for-the-old-folks-at-home number. It is a Travis record in all but name; he is the lead singer and guitarist on the recording. In just a few years Travis would record at Capitol under his own name.

From about the same time came the Travis-Tuttle "I Know It's Wrong," another standard country lament, with Tuttle singing and Travis' excellent picking.

Tex Atchison (upper left), Merle Travis (lower left), Cliffie Stone (right). Guitarist Red Murrell also recorded with Travis.

With the third side, we encounter one of Merle's most characteristic and famous songs, "Cincinnati Lou." Travis was to have a hit with the song under his own name for Capitol in 1946, but this 1945 version is by "Tin Ear Tanner and His Back Room Boys" for the small Bel-Tone label. Again, Travis sings and plays on the record, although it's not clear if he or fiddler Tex Atchison answered to "Tin Ear Tanner." The Back Room Boys included longtime Travis associate Cliffie Stone on bass.

1946 Recordings

Judy Canova

Travis really began to rise with his Capitol contract. His first session there, in March 1946, produced not only "Cincinnati Lou" but "No Vacancy," co-written with Cliffie Stone. It, too, was a hit and among the cover records was a version by ex-vaudeville personality Judy Canova, who was then popular in films. She cut it for the small ARA label (which unbeknownst to her and other ARA artists was a Soviet-front operation).

But Travis' biggest hit in 1946 was "Divorce Me C.O.D." from a July session. By that time the major labels were getting interested, and Decca had their popular novelty act the Hoosier Hot Shots do a version. The material was suited to their style and the results are convincing.

In August 1946, Capitol had Travis record an album of Folk Songs of the Hills, from which came several of Merle's most famous songs - "Sixteen Tons," "Dark as a Dungeon" and others. Among them was "That's All," here in a late 1946 rendition for 4-Star by "T" Texas Tyler, longtime country star.

1947-49 Recordings

In early 1947, Merle had another big success with "So Round, So Firm, So Fully-Packed," here in a cover version by one of the biggest names in country music, Ernest Tubb. In the lyrics, Travis wove in several takeoffs on current advertising slogans. The title is a Lucky Strike cigarettes catch phrase. Other products referenced in the song are Sunkist oranges, Camel cigarettes, Packard automobiles and Pepsi-Cola.

"Weary Lonesome Me" is another standard country lament that Travis had recorded during in his first Capitol session. It was unissued then, but his old associate Grandpa Jones picked it up and recorded it in 1947 for King. Among those playing on the record are Nashville session musicians Henry Haynes and Kenneth Burns, who soon would become known as musical satirists Homer and Jethro. I believe the guitarist is Hank Garland.

Deuce Spriggins and His Band (Deuce is to the right of the accordionist)

The biggest country hit of 1947 was "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)," written by Travis and Tex Williams. Among the musicians playing on Tex's superb, fast-paced recording were bassist Deuce Spriggins, who ventured into the studio a few months later to record his own version for Coast (which spelled his name "Spriggens"). It's not at all a bad record, although Deuce did not possess Tex's superb timing or resonant voice.

"Smoke" was such a big country hit that even someone like bandleader Lawrence Welk got interested, enlisting Bob "Tex" Cromer for the date. Cromer did have a country background, and recorded a few numbers with Spade Cooley later on. This record is not as limp as you might suspect, but posed no threat to Tex Williams or even Deuce Spriggins.

Travis recorded his distasteful "I Like My Chicken Fryin' Size" for Capitol in July 1947. The big country star Johnny Bond was in Columbia's studios a few weeks later for a cover version, suggesting again that recording companies and leading artists were paying close attention to Travis. Later that same year, Bond and Columbia put out Merle's ballad "A Petal from a Faded Rose."

Wade Ray in 1919

Wade Ray had been in vaudeville as a young child. By 1949, he had become a versatile country artist, singing and playing all the instruments on "Cuddlebug." I had to check the label twice to make sure this was a Travis song. It's catchy and accomplished, but old-timey, a song that could have been written back when Ray was a boy fiddler.

Recordings of the 1950s

Grandpa Jones

Grandpa Jones returned in 1950 with "Dark as a Dungeon," one of Travis' best and most famous songs, which originally appeared in the Folk Songs from the Hills album. Jones does it full justice in a most affecting bluegrass recording. (For some reason, King attributed the song to Jones.)

In late 1950, Tex Williams took Travis' "Don't Make Love to Mary (With Mabel on Your Mind)" into the studio, with hopes of repeating the success of "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!" This brilliant novelty is just as good as "Smoke," although not as profitable. "Don't slip and call her Ginger / If her name is Clementine" is the advice here.

Tex Williams

Lindy Doherty was a pop singer on Capitol's rolls for a short time. He did a good job in 1950 with "Sweet Temptation," a bid for crossover success with lush backing from Sid Feller. Travis had recorded the song back in 1946.

Roberta Lee was a former band singer who began a recording and a night club career in the late 40s. In 1952, she did a sardonic and highly effective version of Travis' "Common Folks." It's a lesser known but very worthwhile example of Merle's talking-blues style.

Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan

"Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan" (Lee Roy Pettit) is best remembered for his 1951 hit "Hot Rod Race" (a cover for Capitol of Arkie Shibley's Gilt-Edge original). He is commanding on 1953's "The Wheel That Does the Squeakin'." This driving honky-tonk side boasted Capitol's best sidemen, including Jimmy Bryant, Billy Strange, Speedy West, Red Murrell, Muddy Berry and Billy Liebert. Another exceptionally clever song.

Molly Bee

From about the same time is "What'll He Do?" from the 14-year-old Molly Bee, who had scored with her 1952 version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Bee was a talented youngster who often was on American television in the 1950s.

Travis' own bid for Christmas immortality was 1953's "Freddie, The Little Fir Tree," yet another anthropomorphic tale in the mode of "Frosty the Snowman." I think it's creepy, and it did not become one of Gene Autry's most famous holiday records. Ned Fairchild was the co-author.

"Steel Guitar Rag" was a famous Bob Wills instrumental written by Leon McAuliffe of the Wills band (although it was based on earlier songs). Travis and frequent collaborator Cliffie Stone added words and recorded it in 1947. The Dinning Sisters, a country version of the Andrews Sisters, revived it for Decca in 1953. Decca arranger Jack Pleis' work is unidiomatic; he probably was not used to having a steel guitar in his studio. The words are fine, but this is not a song that was crying out for lyrics (or the Dinnings, for that matter).

Eddy Arnold, RCA Victor's country superstar, was in rare form with "Bayou Baby (A Cajun Lullaby)," a lovely song, one of Travis' best. This superb record was an early 1956 release.

Travis' most popular composition is probably the surreal coal-mining song "Sixteen Tons," one of the numbers in his 1946 Folk Songs of the Hills. It wasn't until 1955 that the song it became a huge hit, in Tennessee Ernie Ford's compelling version (a favorite of mine when I was six). This Ford record elicited some unlikely cover versions, including one by the talented pop singer Johnny Desmond, who does surprisingly well in the face of Dick Jacobs' unsympathetic arrangement.

Mickey Katz and his 16 tons of salami

Tennessee Ernie's record was so pervasive that it invited parodies, including a Mickey Katz deconstruction. Instead of sixteen tons of No. 9 coal, Katz loads sixteen tons of hard salami in the delicatessen to which he owes his neshamah. It's incredible, as are many of Katz' records. This may be the only Travis record with a klezmer-style break.

As country morphed into rockabilly in the mid-50s, a popular example of the genre was Sanford Clark's "The Fool" of early 1956. Later that year he covered "Nine Pound Hammer," which had appeared in the Folk Songs of the Hills album. The song is so associated with Travis that it is usually ascribed to him (as it is here), although it's a traditional number and was identified as such in the original album. Clark's pounding rockabilly reading is probably not what Travis had in mind, although it's compelling in its own way (in fact, it's better than "The Fool"). Guitarist Al Casey discovered Clark and plays the stinging solo on this record.

As a measure both of the distance music had come in a decade and of Travis' greatness as an artist, we end this collection with Merle's own 1946 recording of "Nine Pound Hammer," which shows how his inimitable narrative and superb vocal and guitar playing made the song his own.

All these recordings come from the vast reaches of the Internet Archive, as cleaned up by me. The sound is generally excellent.

Travis Himself on Film and Video

YouTube has these examples of Merle performing songs in this collection:

Nine Pound Hammer

Sixteen Tons

Sweet Temptation

Dark as a Dungeon

1956 Billboard ad

Sibelius from Camilla Wicks and Sixten Ehrling

Camilla Wicks and Sixten Ehrling

One of the most famous LPs of the Sibelius Violin Concerto featured a young American soloist who was to make very few recordings, Camilla Wicks (1928-2020). Leading the orchestra in that 1952 Stockholm performance was a young conductor, Sixten Ehrling (1918-2005), who was at the time engaged in recording a cycle of Sibelius symphonies for the same company, Sweden's Metronome Records.

Today's post presents the concerto recording, adding Ehrling's contemporaneous account of Sibelius' Lemminkäinen Suite. A future post will look at some of the conductor's Sibelius symphonies.

Violin Concerto in D minor, op. 47

Camilla Wicks was just 23 when she made this recording, but already was a veteran of the concert stage. Although she was born in California, her father was Norwegian and had changed his name from Varhaugvik to Wicks upon emigrating to the US. Through her tours, Camilla had become particularly popular in Scandinavia, and her interpretation of the Sibelius concerto had reputedly won the approval of the composer himself.

Camilla Wicks

Ehrling, a native of Malmö, had made his public debut as a conductor only a few years before this recording, with the same Stockholm Philharmonic that appears on these records under its broadcasting name, the Stockholm Radio Symphony.

The American Record Guide's Peter Hugh Reed wrote of the recording, "[Wicks'] technical assurance and vibrant tonal quality are backed by musical intelligence and emotion that never degenerates into sentiment ... Mr. Ehrling's conducting has the necessary urgency to an essentially rhapsodic opus; he does not miss the excitement nor the romantic beauties."

The Swedish Metronome company was a small operation, and most of the copies of the LP can be found on Capitol, which licensed the concerto for the US market. The Metronome pressings are highly sought after by collectors; several copies have traded in the $2,000 range. The Capitols are not nearly as pricey, but still can trade for hundreds of dollars. Even so, it's not an especially rare item; I have two copies of it myself.

My two Capitol pressings are from different issues - the first issue (P8175, cover above) and the second issue (P8327), which differed in that it had a green cover (shown at right) and in addition to the concerto included the two best known pieces from Sibelius' Lemminkäinen Suite - the "Swan of Tuonela" and the "Return of Lemminkäinen," also conducted by Ehrling.

These two pieces came from Metronome/Capitol's complete recording of the Suite (which Capitol called the Legends of Lemminkäinen, and which is also called the Four Legends from the Kalevala). The Suite is the second major part of today's post, but first we have a few encores from Camilla Wicks

Two Heifetz Transcriptions

The Sibelius concerto was not Wicks' first recording. The Swedish label Cupol had engaged her to perform a series of short works back in 1948, when she was 19. Today's encores are two of those recordings, both transcriptions by Jascha Heifetz. The first is a Serenade from Borodin's Petite Suite, which would become popular in a few years as "Night of My Nights" in the musical Kismet.

The second encore is another familiar work, Manuel Ponce's "Estrellita," originally a song.

As with the Sibelius, Wicks' performances are faultless. Her accompanist is Kåre Siem.

On YouTube, Wicks can be seen in a vintage performance of Fartein Valen's Violin Concerto and in a film set in Romsdal, Norway, which has an appearance by the violinist (and her mother, pianist Ruby Wicks) in a Grieg Sonata at about 9:20. In later life, Camilla became a much respected violin teacher. She passed away not long ago, in late 2020.

Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22

Ehrling recorded the Lemminkäinen Suite with the Stockholm orchestra in December 1953, following his traversal of the seven symphonies. In that year, he had become the music director of the Royal Swedish Opera, where he was to stay until 1960. At that time he was eased out of the post after being reprimanded for what was called his "robust leadership style."

Ehrling then moved to the US and became the Detroit Symphony's music director in 1963, and a frequent guest conductor elsewhere. He died in 2005.

Sixten Ehrling

In the reviews, Ehrling's recording had the misfortune of being compared to the relatively new Ormandy-Philadelphia disc of the Suite. The American Record Guide said of the Stockholm set, "Handsome performances in the authentic tradition, not quite as virtuosic as the ones from Philadelphia but beautifully shaped just the same."

All these recordings were made in the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The sound is fairly good for the period. The transfers of the concerto and two of the Lemminkäinen legends come from my collection. The remaining legends and the encores are remastered from lossless originals found on Internet Archive.

Three Evenings with Fred Astaire, Barrie Chase and Chrysler

Barrie Chase and Fred Astaire

I recently posted General Motors' 50th Anniversary television show, and noted in passing that while I had honored GM and Ford (after a sort; it was an Edsel promo), Chrysler had not yet been in the spotlight. Then reader Jeff M. reminded me that the Chrysler Corp. had sponsored three Fred Astaire specials, in 1958, 1959 and 1960, and had issued promotional LPs for each show.

Fortunately I have those LPs and they are the basis of today's post, which also gives me the opportunity to discuss the auto styling then in vogue at Chrysler.

On each of the programs, Astaire was partnered by dancer Barrie Chase, who is little heard on the LPs. Fortunately, Fred was a singer as well as dancer, or we would have a few hours of background music and guest stars.

Also, as a bonus, to honor one of Astaire's earlier (and most famous) partners, I am posting the singles that Fred and Ginger Rogers issued separately in connection with their 1938 film Carefree. It's on my other blog and features a nifty picture label with Fred's floating head front and center (well, to the left of the spindle hole anyway).

An Evening with Fred Astaire (1958)

The first show in the series was broadcast on October 17, 1958. As did GM, Chrysler chose this fall to show off its newly introduced models. As I mentioned with GM's 1958 models, the cars of the time were becoming ever more bloated. The top of the line 1959 Imperial below resembled a luxurious barge with fins, suitable for emperors and anyone else with the appropriate amount of cash.

The 1959 Imperial

Jonah Jones

The TV show was not nearly so ostentatious. Besides Barrie Chase, the program showcased trumpeter Jonah Jones and David Rose and his orchestra. The dance numbers are backed alternately by Rose and Jones, the latter of whom also gets a solo spot on "St. James Infirmary." Jones' trumpet playing is pure Louis Armstrong, his singing is Armstrong strained through Fats Waller. Jones' group was quite a swinging combo. Nothing original here, but still entertaining. Rose's orchestra and arrangements are enjoyable, too: good thing because we can't see the dance routines.

This is a good time to mention that the program was the first to be captured on video tape and can be seen in color on YouTube. should you want to see what Astaire, Chase and Hermes Pan cooked up. It is well worth watching. Fred was still a supreme dancer, and Chase was one of the best partners he ever had.

It also gives you a chance to see the Chrysler ads that were tastefully left off the LP. They are from another world than today's commercials, with a stentorian announcer leading into a male chorus, a la Mitch Miller's Sing-Along Gang, with a musical run-down on the cars' many attributes.

Fred sings "Change Partners," the superb Irving Berlin song from Carefree (which as noted above can be found in its original commercial release on my other blog), then a medley of his many hits, a feature he would continue through the next two shows.

The critics were ecstatic about the program. Jack Gould of the New York Times proclaimed it "a joy, an hour that will rank among the great contemporary theatre nights in any media." The show went on to win nine Emmy awards, and led to the two encore evenings we discuss next.

Missing the dancing, the LP is not worthy of such elaborate praise, although Jones' and David Rose's contributions are enjoyable. (Rose had a terrific piano player.) Reader Jeff was concerned about the sound quality on this LP, and it did prove to be screechy right out of the sleeve. However, with some adjustments, it and its successors now sound very good.

I do like the cover for this LP, with line drawings and calligraphy reminiscent of the jazz LP designs by David Stone Martin, Andy Warhol and Burt Goldblatt. The designer was Emrich Nicholson.

Another Evening with Fred Astaire (1959)

The first evening was so successful that Chrysler brought back the same team for an encore in 1959, and another promotional LP. They did vary things a bit by adding announcer Ken Nordine, who had issued a few quasi-hipster albums of what he called "Word Jazz." The bit on this show is a standard concept pivoting on the word "baby" and involving that popular cliché of the time, a visit to a beatnik hangout. (Astaire and Hermes Pan had done something similar in Funny Face.) Fred and Barrie Chase make the scene into an amusing dance nonetheless, which you can see on YouTube. Nordine's record company rushed out a single of "My Baby," noting on the label that it was "from the TV spectacular 'Another Evening with Fred Astaire.'"

Prop cover for "That Face"

Also new to the troupe were the excellent Bill Thompson Singers, who added some aural variety to the mix. They back Astaire as he sings and dances to "That Face," written for him by Alan Bergman and Lew Spence. In this, Astaire is inspired by a mock-Vogue cover with Barrie Chase's portrait.

Astaire himself wrote "The Afterbeat" with Johnny Mercer. It took the combined genius of those two distinguished fellows to come up with a piece that sounds just like "The Bunny Hop."

In another number, Chase dances with several swains, only to end up with Fred, who is wearing a mask of Mad magazine's Alfred E. Newman. Some reviewers thought this tasteless.

Jonah Jones and ensemble made a return appearance, accompanying Astaire in a "Night Train" scenario. "Train" is not a great composition, despite its Ellington roots, but Fred and the singers do well with its repetitive riffs.

Fortunately, Astaire left "The Bunny Hop," "Night Train" and Alfred E. Newman behind for a concluding medley of his many vocal hits.

It may have been "Valiant," but it sure wasn't attractive

As with the previous special, Chrysler used the platform to proclaim the merits of its new 1960 models. The best designed was probably the low-priced Plymouth, with its simple lines and swooping tail fins. New that year was the small Valiant, a clumsy looking effort that nonetheless was a preview of Chrysler's new design direction.

The critics were once again complimentary, with several saying that "Another Evening" was superior to the award-winning first "Evening." "Fred Scores Again! Tops 1st Triumph!" was one breathless headline. 

The cover of this second LP was not as striking as the first one, but did give Astaire a chance to show off both his immaculate footwork and his splendid wardrobe.

Astaire Time (1960)

The final edition in this three-year run (there was to be a reprise in 1968) was Astaire Time of 1961.

For this concluding episode, Jonah Jones's small group was replaced by Count Basie's big band, which ovr the years had evolved into a chrome-plated musical limousine such that the Chrysler Corporation never imagined. Basie himself is in exceptional form, and the remarkable band is propelled by his new drummer, Sonny Payne. The crew can be seen on YouTube, with Astaire dancing to "Sweet Georgia Brown."

Count Basie

Basie's vocalist, Joe Williams, is featured in a blues medley, which was his specialty. I think he sang "Everyday I Have the Blues" every time he appeared on TV. That's OK; it never got old.

Astaire and Barrie appear in Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets," a famous if overworked tune. Their routine can be seen on YouTube. Fred later presents Porter's "Thank You So Much, Mrs. Lowsborough-Goodby," a sub-Noel Coward piece that I have never taken to. This is the lead-in to Astaire's third medley.

Chrysler, meanwhile, was introducing its 1961 lineup. The higher-priced lines still had the gigantic tail fins that had been a Chrysler signature for several years. The low-priced Plymouth, however, had tamped down the fins into a sweeping design that was very attractive. The dowdy Valiant soldiered on, this time with a sibling, the similar Dodge Lancer.

1961 Plymouth

As for the reaction to the show, the critics were again battling to see who could be most effusive with the praise. The winner was probably John Crosby, who insisted that, "Not only did it set a high mark for television, but it set a new high mark for everything else ... stage or screen or nightclubs."

As I mentioned, Astaire and Chase were to present one more special, The Fred Astaire Show, in 1968. Musical tastes had changed and in place of Count Basie were the immortal Simon & Garfunkel and the now-forgotten pop-rockers The Gordian Knot. No LP exists for this show, to my knowledge.

Just a reminder that Fred and Ginger can be heard in songs from Carefree on Buster's Swinging Singles.