Ezio Pinza Sings and Sells

After a career on the opera stage, bass Ezio Pinza (1892-1957) moved on to films, Broadway and the recording studio in the postwar years. Today's post is devoted to that late period in his career. We have five LPs - an expanded version of Ezio Pinza Sings "Enchanted Melodies", a promotional record for Magnavox from about 1956, and remastered versions of Ezio Pinza in Opera, Broadway and Hollywood and the LPs from Pinza's films Mr. Imperium and Tonight We Sing.

Ezio Pinza Sings "Enchanted Melodies"

I first posted this 10-inch record 15 years ago, but decided that it warranted a new transfer. My pithy comments back then were that the LP makes reference to Pinza's big hit "Some Enchanted Evening" in its title without actually including the song. Instead this 1950 album resurrects some items that Pinza had recorded for Columbia at various times in the 1940s.

I wrote, "In truth, it makes an attractive if not enchanted program, and gives the singer ample opportunity to display all his best qualities. The cover is by Alex Steinweiss, who thought that Pinza would look good with green skin and teeth."

Nor were the reviewers back then entirely enchanted by the program. One called the Fleger and Holmès songs "hardy veterans of the women's club recital circuit." But the opera excerpts were met with acclaim: regarding the Rossini aria, one reviewer gushed "at no time that I can remember was he more subtle in conveying the meaning of the words" and "The voice is mellow, round and luscious." The accompanist in the songs is Gibner King, who worked with Pinza for many years.

Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza in South Pacific

In addition to the eight selections on the LP, I have added six additional songs from the same period - including "Just a Kiss Apart" from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and "Bali Ha'i," which Pinza did not sing in South Pacific, but which Columbia had him record anyway. He did of course sing "Some Enchanted Evening," and I have made up for Columbia's oversight in compiling the Enchanted Melodies album by including it in this augmented package.

The LP is from my collection; the extras are courtesy of Internet Archive. The sound is very good in ambient stereo.

LINK to new transfer and bonuses

"I Hear Music . . . " (Magnavox Promo)

In late 1955 or early 1956, the Magnavox high-fidelity people hired Pinza to narrate a record of selections from the RCA Victor catalog while touting the many virtues of the equipment. The excerpts included orchestral works conducted by Toscanini, Reiner, Fiedler and Stokowski, and opera arias with Cellini and Perlea accompanying leading voices of the time. The Stoky selection is his peculiar Beethoven Pastoral Symphony with actual sounds of nature added to the orchestral effects the composer had written.

Florence Henderson and Ezio Pinza - opening night of Fanny

Pinza himself is heard in his solo from the Broadway musical Fanny (music and lyrics by Harold Rome), which ran from late 1954 to late 1956. It certainly is not the best thing Pinza ever sang; the music is unremarkable and the lyrics were perhaps suggested by Goodnight Moon, which was published several years earlier. Well, at least Pinza's last act was a great success.

In addition to the record, which was provided to buyers of Magnavox equipment, Pinza appeared at magazine ads for both the company's hi-fi sets and its televisions. The example below is from late 1955.

About two-thirds of the way through the record, either RCA ran out of excerpts or Pinza ran out of things to say. He then turns things over to George Melachrino and his strings, who play five selections without commentary. 

Back in 1954, RCA had inaugurated its LPM series of 12-inch popular LPs by releasing seven Melachrino albums, all but one with the title beginning "Music for ...", including such gems as "Music for Faith and Inner Calm" and "Music for Courage and Confidence." The series culminated in "Music to Help You Sleep," which sums up the soporific effect of the Melachrino manner. The Magnavox selections are drawn from this series.

Some of the Melachrino LPs were expanded versions of previously released 10-inch albums. I suspect that the Magnavox promo itself was originally intended to be a 10-incher, then was inflated to 12 inches at the last minute, necessitating including the "Music for" excerpts.

This curiosity is from my collection. It was apparently owned by someone who couldn't afford another record after buying the pricey Magnavox console, and so played it so much it became remarkably noisy. I've managed to remove 99 percent of the crackle, so the sound is now reasonably good. This comes from my collection.

LINK to Magnavox promo LP

Ezio Pinza in Opera, Broadway and Hollywood 

RCA Victor took over Pinza's recording contract from Columbia in 1950 or 1951, and this LP is among the first fruits of that new partnership. I posted it in 2011, noting that the bass's career as a Hollywood leading man began with Strictly Dishonorable, where he plays to type as an amorous opera star.

"There is no soundtrack album from Strictly Dishonorable," I wrote, "but this RCA Victor 10-inch LP from 1951 includes an aria from Gounod's Faust that Pinza sings in the film, although this is not the same version. Otherwise, the LP is split down the middle between Pinza's operatic repertoire and pop songs. He is in fine voice for all, but is more comfortable with the operatic material. His phrasing in the pop songs is foursquare, and he sounds under rehearsed. Only in 'The Way You Look Tonight' does he go below the surface, and in that he captures some of the ardor that made him so magnetic in South Pacific."

I've now remastered the LP in ambient stereo, and edited the original article to include a few photos of Pinza in Faust and The Marriage of Figaro.

LINK to original post

Mr. Imperium

Pinza's second film was Mr. Imperium: "Once again playing to type, Pinza is a playboy prince who becomes romantically entangled with singer Lana Turner," I wrote in 2011.

The songs from the film include a few by Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields - "My Love and My Mule" is not their best work, I'd say. But then there is Augustin Lara's wonderful "You Belong to My Heart," so that helps matters.

On the LP, the Turner numbers are taken by RCA contractee Fran Warren, although Trudy Erwin dubbed them for the film. You can hear Erwin's work in the recent comprehensive post devoted to her, including a song that I strongly suspect was slated for the film but not used.

The original post of Mr. Imperium also has been augmented with new photos, with the sound thoroughly overhauled and now in ambient stereo.

LINK to original post

Tonight We Sing

Pinza's final film was 1952's Tonight We Sing. Here's how I described the proceedings when I first wrote about in in 2010: "The film is a biopic on impresario Sol Hurok. Why anyone would want to watch a movie about a concert promoter is beyond me - I guess it was just a way to string together musical sequences featuring Hurok's attractions such as Ezio Pinza and Roberta Peters. That's them acknowledging the unseen audience on the cover above as Jan Peerce looks on from the prompter's box. (Poor Peerce didn't actually get into the film, although his voice did.)"

Pinza as Chaliapin, mink and all 

This LP does include the songs directly from the soundtrack, which include Gounod and Puccini arias, along with some Mussorgsky, necessary because Pinza was playing his basso predecessor Feodor Chaliapin, who specialized in Boris Godunov. Back in 2010 I commented that the film made the bass look like a blustering fool. Someone wrote in to point out that Chaliapin was, in fact, a blustering fool. 

You don't have to wade through the film, of course, to enjoy the singing on this effective LP. Once again, the sound has been completely updated and is now in ambient stereo.

LINK to original post

Lisa Kirk - More RCA Victor Singles

About five years ago, I presented 24 RCA Victor single sides from Broadway star Lisa Kirk, who had featured roles in Kiss Me, Kate and Allegro. Now I have 22 more from the same period, meaning that we've covered all or substantially all of her output for that label.

Here's some of what I wrote about her in 2017:

At least once before on this blog, I've proclaimed my allegiance to Lisa Kirk and the cause of seeking more recognition for her as a singer. The Broadway artist whose superb renditions introduced "The Gentleman Is a Dope," "Always True to You in My Fashion" and "Why Can't You Behave" ought to be more recognized as a master of the craft.

Before she became an RCA artist, Kirk came to public attention via her first Broadway appearance, in the 1947 Rodgers-Hammerstein show Allegro. In that show, she was the lovelorn nurse to the show's protagonist, Dr. Joe Taylor. Her version of "The Gentleman Is a Dope" is the high point of the cast album.

The next year she was cast in the important role of Lois Lane in Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, in which she introduced "Always True to You in My Fashion" and "Why Can't You Behave" (as well as "Tom, Dick or Harry").

After that, Kirk was less seen in Broadway and more on television and in nightclubs, although in 1963 she replaced Janis Paige as a lead in Meredith Willson's Here's Love and in 1974 had a featured role in Jerry Herman's Mack and Mabel.

Kirk was with RCA from late 1949 to 1953. Today's selections are primarily from late 1949 through early 1951, with a few from 1952-53.

The first number in this group (and Kirk's first single) is "Charley, My Boy," an oldie from 1924 made popular by Eddie Cantor and revived in 1949 by the Andrews Sisters. Kirk has just the jaunty approach this piece needs. 

The flip side is "Shame on You," which was the greatest hit by Western Swing's Spade Cooley, back in 1946. I'm not sure why RCA wanted to revive it with a boogie-woogie beat and hand-clapping by the Three Beaus and a Peep, but here it is. Kirk's coy vocal doesn't work as well as Tex Williams' deadpan original. Henri René is the maestro here and on the majority of records below.

Billboard ad, March 11, 1950

"Dearie" was opportunity for a comic duet with another star RCA vocalist, Fran Warren, arguing about who's older. It's fun, although Kirk is the better actor. The B-side, "Just a Girl that Men Forget," is another battle of the divas, also enjoyable. Victor often paired Kirk with other singers - last time out we had Bob Haymes and Don Cornell. 

In "Sweet Promises and Good Intentions," the Three Beaus, a Peep and hand-clapping return for yet another light number. Nice tune, but it does not make the most of Kirk's talents. Its discmate, "Kiss Me," also lightweight, is better suited to Kirk's style, without any other voices or hand-clapping.

Speaking of Eddie Cantor, as we were a few paragraphs ago, he pops up for Lisa's next single, "The Old Piano Roll Blues" coupled with "Juke Box Annie (Doodle-Oodle-Oo)." Victor enlisted Sammy Kaye's orchestra for the backing. Kirk and Cantor are surprisingly compatible. "Juke Box Annie" was the plug side, and a hit in the various versions on the market. "The Old Piano Roll Blues" is fine, but it uses a strange sounding piano. But please, RCA, enough of the novelties!

Oh well, the quasi-gospel "Faith and Determination" was next on the recording docket, and the hand-clapping returns, although the Beaus and Peep have ceded the mic to the talented Honeydreamers. The flip, "Love Me a Little Bit" is a continental-style production, complete with accordion and violin. Very well done.

One of the stand-outs in the set is the little-known "Love Like Ours," taken from Dimitri Tiomkin's music for the Marlon Brando melodrama The Men. The words are standard-issue, but the material is well-suited to Kirk's abilities. The flip side is "I Didn't Slip, I Wasn't Pushed, I Fell," a popular item in 1950 that Lisa does nicely. (She should have slammed the studio door on the whistler, however.)

Kirk is outstanding in "Gotta See Ya Once More," although René's gimmicky orchestration is not entirely welcome. She reaches back to the '20s again (actually, 1918) for the coupling, "Ja-Da." Not sure why Victor kept having her record songs from a quarter-century earlier, but she is very good here, too, showing off her sense of rhythm. René's band provides a suitable Dixieland backing.

Finally, Victor handed her the sheet music for a standard! "I'm in the Mood for Love" is not a great song, but well suited to Kirk's strengths. The backing is another (and better) Jimmy McHugh item, "I Can't Believe You're in Love with Me," which is one of the best pieces in this collection. Kirk is splendid but the anonymous backing is just OK. She recorded six McHugh songs at the same time, presumably for an album, although I don't believe it was issued as such.

Her next song is another welcome respite from the novelties and the hectic pop screamers we are about to encounter. While not a standard, it is a good song by Ralph Freed, "I Thought of You Last Night," here in a sensitive performance backed by the excellent David Terry. On the pop charts, I believe that the Jeri Southern single did a little better.

The Freed number is backed by "Look Up," an attractive, hymn-like song by Joop de Leur and Harold Rome. I suspect that Rome's contribution was English lyrics to the Dutch composer's tune. Rome had done this for other songs, notably Henri Laurent Herpin's "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings." Kirk is completely convincing here.

Now on to the noisy numbers, staring with "Boomerang," a loud Leon Pober item that was making the rounds in 1952. This commotion was backed, appropriately, by "Hurricane," a Janice Torre-Fred Spielman storm front that passes over in a few minutes, thankfully. Kirk belts as required. Interestingly, the anonymous chart uses a figure that is identical to one that would resurface in the James Bond theme a decade later.

"Catch Me If You Can" features Lisa being coy with a backing male quartet. "Do you wanna?" she asks. "Yes, we wanna!" they reply. And so on. She even asks them if they wanna see her etchings. (Addendum - frequent commenter Boursin informs me that the vocalists are the Ray Charles Singers and the band is none other than the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra!)

This nonsense is backed with one of her finest records, which fully shows what she could accomplish with the right material. It is the rueful Bernstein-Comden-Green ballad "O-HI-O" from Wonderful Town, then (1953) on Broadway. It's superior material, and Kirk is exceptional in it. 

"O-HI-O" is sung by the character Ruth in Wonderful Town, one of the roles most associated with Rosalind Russell. I can't help but speculate that Kirk would have been right for the role as well. As it was, she ended up dubbing most of Russell's songs in the movie version of Gypsy a decade later.

The exigencies of the commercial market meant that talented singers like Kirk were assigned the current pop songs and novelties in a search for a hit. It often was fruitless for both artist and label, although it is fun to revisit the pop tunes from mid-century, and it always is a pleasure to hear from Lisa Kirk.

The previous Kirk recordings came from my collection. Most of these present records have been remastered from the massive Internet Archive of 78s, with the addition of a few from my collection and a few other lossy originals. The latter sound good, although with some sacrifice of detail and warmth.

Kirk models the Playtex company's products for a 1949 ad

Fran Warren - RCA Victor Singles

I've been a fan of Fran Warren's singing since hearing her record of "A Sunday Kind of Love" with Claude Thornhill's band many years ago. So much so that I started collecting both the singles she made with the bandleader, and her later solo efforts on RCA Victor, M-G-M and other labels.

Today we'll examine some of the singles that RCA recorded with Warren, who passed away a few weeks ago. The singer joined RCA in 1948, shortly after leaving Thornhill's employ. Victor had high hopes for her; one of her first releases for the company was of two songs from Irving Berlin's new show, Miss Liberty, which RCA promoted with a publicity shot with Berlin himself. Warren went on to record some 60 sides for Victor in the space of three years, before she was let go.

This post concentrates on some of the less frequently seen RCA recordings, and includes four of the duets Warren made with Tony Martin during this period. All the solo sides are taken from unplayed store stock and have excellent sonics.

Following are a few words on each of the selections.

We start with "There's No Getting Away from You," which is from a 1948 musical, As the Girls Go, by Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh. Even though it's forgotten today, the show ran for over a year on Broadway. Fran was added to the cast of the show during the run, replacing Betty Jane Watson in a leading role and singing this song.

"Now That I Need You" is a Frank Loesser song from the 1949 film Red, Hot and Blue, intro'd there by Betty Hutton.

"You're in Love with Someone" is from the Crosby film vehicle Top o' the Morning. Its flip side, "Envy", is a proto-lounge rhumba.

These first four sides all have good, but anonymous backing.

Next we have four songs with veteran crooner Tony Martin, which are backed by Henri René, an RCA staff arranger-conductor.

Irving Berlin's gorgeous waltz "Together" gets an intimate reading by the pair, who turn this song of regret over lost love into a straightforward love song. The flip, "Speak a Word of Love", is indifferent but pleasant.

Next up is Warren's second biggest hit, "I Said My Pajamas (and Put on My Prayers)", a silly novelty of love-intoxication that could only be from mid-century America. Martin - in his late 30s - must have loved the juvenile lyrics. On the other side is "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You", an early crossover country hit written by Scotty Wiseman of Lulu Belle and Scotty.

René continues providing the backing for the dramatic "Don't Say Goodbye", another rhumba, and "Ho Hum, It's Spring", a characteristic 50s confection ("daffodils are daffodilling, butterflies are butterflying") which Fran does beautifully.

"Cloudy Morning" is an unusual but lovely song that shows off Warren's sensuous lower notes. Arrangement is by Charles Naylor, although René conducts, as he does on the flip side, the waltz "When We're Dancing", which has a Hugo Winterhalter arrangement.

Winterhalter takes over the baton from here on out, and is at the controls for "Hands Off My Heart", a standard ballad done well by Fran, who treads carefully with the melody line, which has a few tricky patches.

The other side is a cover of Ruth Brown's R&B hit, "Teardrops from My Eyes". Pop singers seldom do justice to this kind of shouting rhythm song, but Warren handles it as well as most.

The overwrought "I Love You Much Too Much" is next, backed by "Don't Leave Me Now", an OK ballad that Fran does extremely well. She wasn't getting great material at this time.

To that point we have "Here Comes the Springtime and There Goes My Heart!", a bouncy Meredith Willson product that would be tolerable except for the "ho-dalee, hi-dalee, hay" business.

Things improve on the other side with "When Does This Feeling Go Away?", which Hugh Martin wrote for the 1951 show Make a Wish, where it was introduced by Stephen Douglass.

"January, February, March" is a giddy, galloping, lovestruck novelty. It's a wonder that Fran didn't lose her breath.

The final song is an oddly old-fashioned arrangement of a love song called "Any Time at All". Its celesta accompaniment and do-do-do-ing vocal backing could have been lifted from a Sinatra recording from the mid-40s. That's not to say I don't love it - it's great.

These 20 songs show off the various facets of Warren's art, including her ability to connect with a variety of material, and her smoky vocal quality, possibly influenced by the Camel cigarettes she endorsed (see below). This period was probably the high point in her career, although she went on to be a well-respected artist for many years.

There are four more RCA sides available on my other blog, where I also will post her first record, made with Charlie Barnet's band, in the near future.

Ezio Pinza and Mr. Imperium

Another installment in our ongoing series looking at Ezio Pinza's career as a movie star following his retirement from the operatic stage. Here we have the quasi-soundtrack from his 1951 starring vehicle Mr. Imperium. (It's a quasi-soundtrack because the songs were remade in the studio for RCA Victor.)

Once again playing to type, Pinza is a playboy prince who becomes romantically entangled with singer Lana Turner (dubbed by Trudy Erwin). Apparently Pinza tried to make life imitate art, but Turner would not succumb to his royal presence.

I have watched some of the film (just enough to get a sense of Pinza's performance), and can report that you will not see such broad acting outside of an Abbott & Costello comedy. If you want to sample the movie yourself, it's available on Internet Archive.

The good news is that some of the songs here are by Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields, a self-recommending pair, although this is hardly their finest work. On "Andiamo" and the unpromising "My Love and My Mule," Pinza is joined by RCA contractee Fran Warren (billed as "Fran Warren, soprano" for the first and surely the last time). Fran was from the Bronx and probably had never been within a thousand miles of a mule. She was, however, a good singer who even so sounds distinctly thin next to Pinza. By the way, despite what Wikipedia tells you, Lana Turner's songs in the film were dubbed not by Warren but by Trudy Erwin.

Fran Warren

Also to be heard from Pinza  are three songs chosen, no doubt, for their potential as a "Some Enchanted Evening" blockbuster - "Yesterdays," "September Song" and Augustin Lara's superb "You Belong to My Heart" - all highly enjoyable. The singing is magnificent.

Pinza never did become a movie star, but he made the most of his time in the spotlight - in the liquor ad below, he is shown in one of his Mr. Imperium costumes (click to enlarge). This transfer is from a mint 45 box set and has very good sound. Note (May 2024): it has now been remastered in ambient stereo and the sound is better than ever.

LINK