Where else but Hollywood would someone get the idea of making a movie called the Jazz Singer - and then cast a non-singer in the title role.
That's what the Warner Bros. did in this, the middle version of the tale of the cantor's son who wants to sing My Mammy (Al Jolson version)/Living the Life I Love (Thomas version)/Love on the Rocks (Neil Diamond version).
Well, at least Neil and Jolie were famous singers. Danny Thomas, star of the 1952 version, was a comic actor. I haven't seen this edition, so I can't tell you how convincing he is in the role, but I have heard this 10-inch LP (or EP set, in this case) and can tell you his singing is more enthusiastic than virtuosic.
The real singer in the cast is Peggy Lee, who was coming off her big hit with Lover, where her languid manner contrasts with Gordon Jenkins' Latin-style arrangement to great effect. That song was so popular that it was interpolated into the film, which also featured one of Lee's best compositions, This Is a Very Special Day.
The album above is one of those non-soundtrack soundtracks, in which the star remakes the songs from the film with a studio orchestra. Thomas cut these eight sides with Frank DeVol for RCA Victor. Peggy Lee was a Decca artist at the time, and she recorded Special Day and I Hear the Music Now for that company.
This package includes the Danny Thomas LP along with the three Peggy Lee songs mentioned above. As always on this blog, unless noted otherwise, all recordings are the original issues from my collection.
