From the Back Room: the Early Sarah Vaughan, Vol. 3

This post completes the survey of Sarah Vaughan's earliest recordings, taking her career up to when she joined Columbia, her first major label. There were two previous volumes in this collection, which can be found here and here.

This set includes 17 recordings in all. Fifteen were made from November 1947 through the end of the year. That was when labels were in a frenzy to complete recording sessions before the Musicians Union strike began on New Year's Day 1948. We also have two more discs made during the strike. These were with a choir - permitted because vocalists were not union members.

A November 1947 Session with Ted Dale

Ted Dale

Vaughan had been working with arranger/bandleader Ted Dale (see Vol. 2) and that relationship was to continue during what must have been a marathon session on November 8 that produced nine masters. Dale  provided relatively lush settings that set off the vocalist's virtuosity, rather than treating her as a member of an ensemble, which had often been the case earlier in her recording career.

Leading off is "Love Me or Leave Me," a Walter Donaldson-Gus Kahn number that Ruth Etting had introduced in 1928's Whoopee. Clarinetist Sam Musiker is featured here.

Sarah's first recording had been "I'll Wait and Pray" back in 1945 with Billy Eckstine. Presumably she wanted a more polished version of the song, which had been written by George Treadwell (her husband) and Jerry Valentine. Dale provides the requisite polish, but the song hardly merited a reprise.

Two of the most standard of standards were next. First, there is an uptempo version of Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You," followed by an appropriately slow and plush reading of the Gershwins' "The Man I Love."

"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" is not of that renown, but has been sporadically popular since Fats Waller recorded it in 1935. Fred Ahlert and Joe Young were the authors. This one has a small combo feel, albeit with a string selection along for the journey. Vaughan is particularly good here.

"The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else" by Gus Kahn and Isham Jones is a high quality song that has maintained some popularity since its publication in 1924. The tempo is too fast here for Sarah's taste. I suspect that the marathon session had something to do with this.

Another song from the 1920s - this one by DeSylva, Brown and Henderson - is "Button Up Your Overcoat," which seems more to the vocalist's liking.

Bandleader-pianist Phil Moore came out with "I Feel So Smoochie" in 1947 - Vaughan's was among a number of cover versions. It's an annoying song (to me), but she seemed to like it. The arrangement is too cumbersome for the song, and the tempo is hectic.

Sarah was among the artists who recorded Dietz and Schwartz' "Blue Grass," one of the songs from Inside U.S.A., a 1948 Broadway revue. The melody is pleasing, but Dietz's lyrics are contrived, and the song wasn't a hit. Vaughan's reading was not issued at the time, even though her singing is one of the most impressive things in this set. 

(FYI - A post from several years ago discussed two Inside U.S.A. albums issued at the time of the production. One featured stars Jack Haley and Beatrice Lillie, the other Buddy Clark and Pearl Bailey, who were not in the production. "Haunted Heart" is the best number from the score.)

December 1947 Sessions

Dick Maltby

Musicraft decided it needed to pile up a few more masters before the strike began, so on December 27 it brought Vaughan into the studio with arranger Dick Maltby to cut two songs.

Those were the Cahn-Styne numbers "It's You or No One" and "It's Magic," written for Doris Day to sing in the film Romance on the High Seas. That musical didn't come out until summer 1948, so the song publishers were working well in advance to get their works recorded before the ban took effect. That way the recordings could be issued in the run-up to the film's opening.

Maltby does well on the arrangements, and Vaughan is in good form for these two notable songs.

Jimmy Jones

Two days after the Maltby session, Sarah was back at it, setting down four songs with a combo led by her accompanist, the talented pianist Jimmy Jones.

The song "What a Difference a Day Made" began life as Maria Grever's "Cuando vuelva a tu lado." Stanley Adams adapted it for the American market. The Vaughan-Jones version swings hard, welcome after the Dale and Maltby arrangements. 

Vaughan was the first to record Arnold Horwitt and Richard Lewine's "Gentleman Friend." A number of vocalists have take it up in succeeding years. Sarah is entirely engaged in the number, and Jones' pianism dovetails nicely with her singing.

Michael Edwards and Bud Green wrote "Once in a While" back in the 1930s. Tommy Dorsey made it a hit in 1937, and it's been popular ever since. This too goes well.

"How Am I to Know" by Jack King and Dorothy Parker comes from 1929. It isn't much of a melody and Vaughan's recording wasn't issued at the time. The double-time section doesn't help,

The 1948 Choral Session

Nat Cole had the foresight to record "Nature Boy" in late 1947, when he could employ Frank DeVol's orchestra as backing. When it became a hit for him during the musicians' strike in 1948, competing pop singers searched for choirs who could provide accompaniments for their cover versions. Vaughan came up with the Earle Rodgers Choir, who otherwise did not record, as far as I can tell, nor were they credited on the label. This turned out to be a polished version of Eden Ahbez's greatest hit.

Jimmy Dorsey wrote "I'm Glad There Is You" with Paul Madeira in 1941, recording it late that year, with a Dee Parker vocal. (Correction: musicman1979 points out the 1941 recording was with Bob Eberly. There was a 1946 remake wit Dee Parker.) 

Sarah sings the elaborate verse, which is not often heard, and then executes a remarkable segue into the chorus. It makes for a spectacular chose to her time with Musicraft.

Vaughan began recording with Columbia in January 1949.

Most of these transfers are from the original 78s, with a few from vintage LPs and bootlegs. Musicraft's sound was variable; I've done my best to clean up and clarify what you hear.

One note: you may notice that a few of the songs here are taken from M-G-M releases. These were Musicraft masters that M-G-M licensed for a time following the former label's 1949 bankruptcy. Later on, those masters were licensed for release on Allegro and Royale LPs.

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