Showing posts with label Charioteers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charioteers. Show all posts

16 October 2008

The Charioteers


The Charioteers made many excellent records in the 1940s, some of them collected on this very early Columbia LP.

Forgotten today, the group was prominent in the post-war era, regulars on Bing Crosby's radio show and making records with the likes of Frank Sinatra.

The Charioteers started out as a gospel group and made records in the 1930s for Vocalion. Signed to Columbia in 1940, they began recording pop music in a style similar to the Ink Spots.

The group's lead vocals were by Billy Williams, who went on to form a group under his own name in the 1950s, and to have a big solo pop hit with I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter in 1957.

This was quite a good group. Most of these sides have not been re-released, to my knowledge.

The cover is an example of Columbia's first generic house style.

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