Les Brown - Coral Singles 1951-54

Bandleader Les Brown recorded a large number of singles for the Coral label from 1951-54. I thought we might have a look at some of the more neglected items. Most of these never appeared on a Coral LP, or were only reissued much later. The collection includes 17 songs, and heavily features the exceptional vocalist Lucy Ann Polk.

Indeed, Polk appears on the first several cuts, starting with "Very Good Advice," the Sammy Fain-Bob Hilliard song written for Disney's Alice in Wonderland film. In my post devoted to that film's songs, I included the flip side of Brown's record, with Lucy Ann's terrific "'Twas Brillig." (That post included the Peggy King-Ralph Flanagan version of "Very Good Advice.") This record has a brief trombone solo that is probably by Polk's husband Dick Noel.

The second selection also comes from a film, Bing's Just for You - the wonderful "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." Polk is great, but please hear Crosby and Jane Wyman on the original cast LP. Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer were the authors. On the Brown record, we hear an opening solo from pianist Jeff Clarkson.

In "If You Turn Me Down," Lucy Ann threatens to go off to Missouri and live with a floppy-eared mule (or something). Peter De Rose and Carl Sigman wrote this novelty. The singer was actually from Idaho, and broke into the business as part of the sibling act the Town Criers, who worked with Kay Kyser and other bands. You can hear them with Tommy Dorsey here.

Lucy Ann Polk

There have been several songs with the title "Let It Be" - the Beatles among others - but this is a gospel-tinged item that Lucy Ann shares with the Mellomen. That's the group's bass, Thurl Ravenscroft, at the opening.

"Who's Excited" was originally a Johnny Hodges instrumental, which appeared on the alto saxophonist's 1951 LP Johnny Hodges Collates. Johnny Mercer added lyrics, and the result is this Lucy Ann Polk vocal. The Four Hits provide backing.

Lucy Ann leaves the stage for a moment so we can hear two songs with one of the busiest singing groups of the day, Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires, which I believe featured two of the best female vocalists of the time - Loulie Jean Norman and Gloria Wood. 

Their first song is the lamentable "Kiss of Fire," a hit for Georgia Gibbs that year (1952). Lester Allen and Robert Hill took credit for the number, which actually was the 1903 Argentine tango "El Choclo" with overheated lyrics. Allen and Hill did not bother to credit Ángel Villoldo, who wrote the tune.

Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires: Mack McLean,
Loulie Jean Norman, Conlon,
Gloria Wood, Charlie Parlato

The flip side was another cover, this time of Kay Starr's "I Waited a Little Too Long," which was written by dancer-singer-actor Donald O'Connor and Sid Miller. The Rhythmaires are exemplary here, the band swings, Dick Noel (probably) and guitarist Tony Rizzi are heard.

We take a break from the vocals with "You Forgot Your Gloves," an instrumental with a Frank Comstock chart. Jeff Clarkson and Rizzi do a Shearing-style solo, following by a tenor sax break that is probably Dave Pell. The song was introduced by Jerry Norris and Constance Carpenter in the 1931 revue The Third Little Show. Ed Eliscu and Ned Rehak were the songwriters.

Lucy Ann Polk returns with Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," which was introduced by Mary Martin in 1938. Lucy Ann is a fine successor to Martin. Van Alexander, Frank Comstock and Wes Hensel all had a hand in the arrangement.

Dave Pell

Another instrumental, this one a mambo called "Montoona Clipper" by trumpeter Hensel, was a staple of the book at the time, and can be heard here in another version. The band's collective skill and precision are notable on this number, as elsewhere. Dave Pell gets a label credit for his tenor solo.

Next, two charts by the estimable Skip Martin, starting with an instrumental version of "How About You?" which is missing the ecstatic Judy Garland vocal heard in Babes on Broadway but little else. Burton Lane and Ralph Freed were the authors.

Lucy Ann Polk is at the microphone for "Back in Your Own Back Yard," which dates from 1928 and is associated with co-writer Al Jolson, although Ruth Etting recorded it first. This is Polk's final appearance in the set; she soon would leave the band to go solo. The splendid Jo Ann Greer replaced her.

The song "Ruby" was a hit in 1953 for Richard Hayman and Les Baxter, and Brown's polished performance also made a brief appearance on the charts. The piece was adapted from Heinz Roemheld's theme for the film Ruby Gentry, with lyrics by Mitchell Parish added.

"Invitation" is another film theme, and a particularly beautiful one, written by Bronislaw Kaper. The brilliant alto saxophonist Ronnie Lang has a solo, as do guitarist Bobby Gibbons and Jeff Clarkson. Frank Comstock's arrangement has overtones of the sound that has come to be called "crime jazz." 

Bandleader Maxwell Davis' "Hotpoint" is next. This rocking riff tune is done marvelously well by the talented ensemble.

Butch Stone

Mambos were big at the time, and mambo popularizer Sonny Burke came up with the novelty "They Were Doing the Mambo" with lyricist Don Raye. This was just the right material for saxophonist-vocalist Butch Stone, who plays the fumble-footed wallflower to perfection - "They were doing the mambo / While I just stood around," he complains. I am usually immune to Stone's charms, but this is a fun number. "What kind of dance is this that doesn't have a caller?" he asks plaintively. Even the band vocal is effective.

The final item in our set is another mambo - the "St. Louis Blues Mambo." (Hey, Glenn Miller turned Handy's classic into a march, so why not a mambo?) Wes Hensel was the arranger.

Les Brown had a superb band with tight ensemble, capable soloists and vocalists, and a varied and stimulating book, shown throughout this set. 

The 78 originals here come from Internet Archive needle drops, suitably remastered in ambient stereo and sounding glorious.

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