Stuart Foster - A Fine, But Forgotten SInger

The subject of today's post, Stuart Foster (1918-68), is a former big-band vocalist who was not even that well known during his heyday, and recorded only sporadically under his own name. He was featured, however, on records by bandleaders as diverse as Guy Lombardo and Gordon Jenkins, and had a long career as a studio singer. Foster was much more talented than his reputation would suggest, as I hope you will agree after sampling his output.

Foster had a strong voice, even throughout his range, excellent diction and superior intonation. While a forthright singer, he also was sensitive to words.

For this post, I've combined 12 single sides that he made with assorted bandleaders from 1944 to 1953, together with a 1954 EP issued under his own name. These provide a good overview of his accomplishments.

Early Career and Singles

Foster's first professional gig was as a singer for the Ina Ray Hutton band, starting in 1940. When Hutton disbanded in 1944, he joined Guy Lombardo. Our playlist starts with two Lombardo singles. "The Trolley Song" comes from Meet Me in St. Louis; in that movie, Judy Garland's ride was exhilarating, while Lombardo's band just lumbers along, as was its habit. Foster does fine, though.

"Poor Little Rhode Island" is a Cahn and Styne song from another 1944 film, the Kay Kyser vehicle Carolina Blues. Foster is again encumbered by the clunky Lombardo Trio, but the song is a good one. It presumably was the inspiration for the slightly later "Rhode Island Is Famous for You" (from Dietz and Schwartz' Inside U.S.A., which can be found here).

We'll skip over Foster's 1944-48 residency with Tommy Dorsey, which has been covered in reissues of Dorsey's records, and move on to 1949, when the singer joined Russ Case in the M-G-M studio for three songs. The first, "A Thousand Violins," comes from the Bob Hope film The Great Lover. It was among the many songs that Livingston and Evans contributed to the movies of the time.

I can't say much about the pop tune "All Year 'Round," but "Mad About You" is a Victor Young-Ned Washington song written, appropriately enough, for Gun Crazy. Sinatra also recorded this number; Foster's interpretation is not inferior.

The following year, M-G-M had Foster join another dance maestro, Shep Fields, for a go at "Today, Tomorrow and Forever." By this time, Fields had ceded his "rippling rhythm" bubble-machine gimmick to Lawrence Welk, so this is not a bad outing, if hardly a swinger. Foster is excellent, as you should be able to discerned through the coos of his backing choir.

In 1951, mood-music maven Hugo Winterhalter brought Foster on board for four songs recorded for RCA Victor. The first is a Cy Coben compose-by-numbers piece called "The Seven Wonders of the World." The vocalist shines against Winterhalter's lush background.

Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain wrote "Alice in Wonderland" for the movie of the same name. It's a lovely song, and is one of Foster's best records.

The vocalist's final two items for Winterhalter are in the semi-folk vein that was popular following the Weavers' big 1950 hit, "Goodnight, Irene." Frank Loesser wrote "Wave to Me, My Lady" back in 1946 for the country market, where it became a number three hit for Elton Britt. Foster is entirely convincing in this song - as he is on the flip side, "Across the Wide Missouri." The latter is a folk song usually called "Shenandoah," although here the songwriting team of Ervin Drake and Jimmy Shirl have attached their names to it. This effort is probably a cover of the Weavers-Terry Gilkyson record.

Foster was very well matched with the trumpet and big band of Billy Butterfield for "Baby Won't You Say You Love Me." Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon wrote the song for Betty Grable's Wabash Avenue, which improbably co-starred Victor Mature.

The final single is from 1953, and is one of Foster's best. "Secret Love" was written for Doris Day to sing in Calamity Jane, and it would be hard to top her legendary performance, but Foster comes close, aided by Gordon Jenkins' backing.

The Camden EP

The final batch of Foster performances are from a late 1954 EP that RCA issued on its Camden budget label. "Today's Hits" was a catch-all title that the company used for extended-play cover versions of the then-popular tunes. These were presumably RCA's method for counteracting the cheapo labels that had tried to succeed in the low-price niche.

We've had three such EPs on the blog before: 1955 and 1956 entries from another big-band fugitive, Bob Carroll, plus a Gisele MacKenzie disc that also dates from 1955.

Foster's EP starts with "I Need You Now," little remembered today but a number one hit for Eddie Fisher in 1954. "Count Your Blessings," in contrast, is a beloved evergreen introduced by Bing Crosby in White Christmas. I can't imagine anyone being unhappy with Foster's sensitive cover.

"Papa Loves Mambo" was a major hit for Perry Como. Foster's version shows off his fine sense of rhythm. The song "Teach Me Tonight" entered the charts several times in the early 50s; the song's appearance here was probably inspired by the Janet Brace or Jo Stafford recordings, or both.

The anonymous backing on the EP is by a small combo or combos.

I hope this has been a good introduction to a talented artist. The singles were remastered from lossless needle drops on Internet Archive. The EP is from my collection.

Also featuring Foster, I also have two Camden LPs from 1957 with the hits of the day, along with two albums of Broadway show tunes done by producer-arranger Dick Jacobs for Coral late in the 1950s. I may share these at a later date.

Billboard ad, January 1, 1955

An Easter Bouquet from Buster

Buster looks a little glum here, doesn't he? Not that the Great Stone Face smiled much, and really there may not seem to be much to grin about these days. But it is spring, and with it comes the Easter holiday, a celebration of renewal that is all the more pertinent in a time of pandemic.

To help make the time pass, I've put together "Buster's Easter Bouquet of Hits" themed to the holiday. As usual it is an eclectic bunch, including 32 samples of jazz, country, pop, polka, boogie, religious material and ethnic fare. Believe me, my designation of most of these as "hits" is more than a little optimistic. But they all have their points of interest, which I elucidate below, covering the collection in chronological order.

The first item is the oldest record ever presented on this blog. It is "Hosanna," an Easter song dating from 1901-4. The exact date is uncertain because Columbia recorded it with two different singers at different times, using one on some pressings and the other on others. I believe this singer is Bernard Bégué, a Met baritone who somehow makes this lugubrious hymn even more dreary. Not a stellar start to the collection, I know, but historically notable.

The prolific tenor Harry Macdonough recorded "The Palms" twice, once in 1906 and once in 1913. I believe this transfer emanates from the latter date, and is taken from a circa 1920 pressing. Macdonough was the head of Victor's New York studio in addition to being one of its top artists. Again, this is hardly what you would call lively, but things improve later on.

Joel Mossberg

But not right away. I wanted to include a few items from the important ethnic catalogs that the record companies were building at the time. The first is "Hosianna Davids Son" from the Swedish-American baritone Joel Mossberg. It dates from 1916.

Next we have a pleasant spring interlude, complete with bird calls, called "Down In Lily Land at Easter Time," with your guides Billy Burton and James Hall (pseudonyms for the popular recording artists Charles Harrison and Andrea Sarto, the latter of whom appeared in my Valentine collection). This comes from 1917.

"The Old Rugged Cross" is one of the most famous songs associated with Easter. Here is an 1921 recording from Oscar Seagle, a prominent musician and music teacher active in the early 20th century. He looks kind of rugged himself, I'd say.

Oscar Seagle

From 1922 comes the Trinity Quartet, another busy recording ensemble, here comprising soprano Lucy Marsh, contralto Elsie Baker, tenor Lambert Murray and baritone Clifford Cairns. Believe me, these folks were all over the Victor catalog for some time. They present "Christ the Lord is Risen To-day," an Easter song penned by Charles Wesley some 200 years earlier.

Another ethnic number for you - "Zlozcie Troski (Take Care)," a Polish song with Karol Dembek singing and Wincenty Czerwinski speaking, dating from 1922. I wanted to include this because of the Lady Liberty motif on the OKeh label. Immigration to the U.S. was becoming much more restricted during these years, with increasingly stiff quotas being imposed several times.

Frieda Hempel

The prominent German soprano Frieda Hempel regales us with "Alleluia - A joyous Easter Hymn" on a 1924 HMV recording with an anonymous backing.

Finally we come to a lively number that could actually be called popular, even if not strictly (or at all) Easter-related. It is "Hallelujah!" from the Youmans-Grey-Robin score for the 1927 Broadway smash Hit the Deck. Our rendition is courtesy of two of the busiest recording artists of the time - the talented tenor Franklyn Baur and Victor director of light music Nat Shilkret. Note that although Shilkret is credited on the label, the ledgers say that Leonard Joy directed the session. Regardless, it's a wonderful song.

The Westminster Central Hall

We're back in England for the next number, coming from the Choir of the Westminster Central Hall, a prominent Methodist church in London. Arthur Meale directs a good 1928 reading of "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

Also from England, an old friend, tenor Steuart Wilson, who has appeared on this blog before. Here he takes up "This Joyful Easter-tide" in an arrangement by Arthur Somervell. I believe the anonymous accompanist is Gerald Moore. This comes from circa 1929.

Sir Walford Davies, 1929

One of my favorite numbers from this collection is the Sir Walford Davies Easter processional "O Filii et Filiae," conducted by the composer in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. As usual with such on-site recordings of processionals, the choir sounds distant at first, becoming more prominent as the hymn proceeds. Here, the engineer made them much too dim, so I have adjusted the gain so you can at least hear what is going on. The recording dates from 1931.

Clifton Webb, 1934

One of the two most famous pop songs associated with Easter comes from 1933 and the Irving Berlin revue, As Thousands Cheer. Introducing the "Easter Parade" were Clifton Webb and Marilyn Miller. Webb was a song and dance performer on Broadway for many years before moving to Hollywood. Victor had him record the song with Leo Reisman's orchestra.

Recognizing a good thing, Berlin reused "Easter Parade" in films several times - in Alexander's Ragtime Band, Holiday Inn and the 1948 picture named for the song. The music has a back story as well - Berlin first published it 1917 with different lyrics, "Smile and Show Your Dimple."

Webb and Reisman weren't the only contenders in the "Easter Parade" of recordings, of course. Brunswick had Freddy Martin and his soupy saxes step in for a Vocalion release that same year. An enjoyable effort, with an uncredited vocal trio, presumably plucked from the band.

Warwick Braithwaite

It wouldn't be Easter without a go at the "Halleujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. This 1939 recording surprisingly comes from the Sadler's Wells Chorus and Orchestra, whose main stock-in-trade was opera, not oratorio. It's a good effort, led by the then Sadler's Wells music director, Warwick Braithwaite - very broad and grand, the sort of thing you seldom hear these days.

Now we return to the other "Hallelujah!", the one from Hit the Deck. Bandleader Will Bradley revived the song for a 1939 Columbia flagwaver featuring drummer Ray McKinley. The arranger was Leonard Whitney.

Will Bradley

Kenny Baker

In a much different vein is a 1942 release, "Easter Sunday with You," from tenor Kenny Baker, who made his name on Jack Benny's radio show, then appeared in many films. Harry Sosnik leads the band in this Don Reid-Henry Tobias song. Baker made a specialty of such sweet, sincere material, in later years moving into the religious repertory. He was a fine singer.

Guy Lombardo and his brothers are most associated with New Year's Day, certainly, but they also had a shot at other holidays. Here is their 1945 plea, "I Want a Bunny for Easter," with the usual stiff vocal from a band trio. This number was from songwriter Dave Franklin, whose big hit that year was "Lily Belle."

One of the best records in this set is "Hallelujah Morning" from the Brown's Ferry Four, one of the first country super groups. The Four consisted of the Delmore Brothers, Grandpa Jones and generally either Merle Travis or Red Foley (sources differ on who appears on this recording). The Four recorded sacred material for King in the late 40s, including this Alton Delmore composition in 1946. This particular pressing has some 78 noise, but it is far superior to the commercial reissue, which is cut, off-pitch, over-filtered and has had echo added.

Freddie Mitchell could and did make anything into a boogie, and here he turns "Easter Parade" into "Easter Boogie," attributing the composition to himself and two other folks, not including Irving Berlin. It's characteristic, with the usual tinkling from the upright piano and honking from the tenor sax. Those tinkles and honks comes to us from 1949.

Vaughn Monroe

I am not a fan of the moaning of baritone Vaughn Monroe, but here he does well by an unfamiliar seasonal tune, "It's Easter Time," dating from 1950. He is backed by the Moon Maids and the Moon Men, who were named in honor of his first big hit, 1941's "Racing with the Moon."

The other big Easter song, leaving aside "Easter Parade," is "Peter Cottontail" (formally, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail"), from the team of Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. They also wrote "Frosty the Snowman," thus providing anthropomorphic kiddie tales for two different holidays. The hit version of the Easter song was by Gene Autry in 1950, but I am partial to the work of a lesser singing cowboy, Jimmy Wakely, who was one of Capitol's biggest stars. His relaxed baritone is just right here, as always.

1950  Billboard ad

I can't resist adding another "Peter Cottontail" to the pile, this one from the usually swinging and swaying but here mostly bouncing Sammy Kaye and his vocal Kaydets. Sammy's Columbia record appeared in 1951 - late to the party but welcome nonetheless.

Tommy Sosebee

Country singer Tommy Sosebee was dubbed "The Voice of the Hills" by his management or the Coral record company - and he did have an excellent voice, in fact, displayed well in his 1951 recording of the unfamiliar "She's My Easter Lily." Well worth hearing.

Record mogul Norman Granz started a fashion for jazz soloists appearing with string accompaniment when he paired Charlie Parker's alto sax with a bed of strings in 1950. Trumpeter Roy Eldridge got this treatment in 1952 with a recording of "Easter Parade" with lush backing from arranger George "The Fox" Williams. It's not the most successful example of the genre, but not displeasing either.

The Anita Kerr Singers (Kerr at front)

I am a great admirer of the singer-arranger-composer Anita Kerr, who brings us an Easter hymn, "The Strife is O'er, the Battle Won," adapted from Palestrina. But this 1952 record is just not one of her best. A shame because she made so many good ones!

In a much different vein is "The Bunny Hop," a hit for Ray Anthony in 1954. But here we eschew Ray's Capitol platter in favor of Lee Roy and His Band, on the Epic label. "Lee Roy" was in fact Ray's brother, who sometimes played baritone sax in Ray's band. I find this sibling record rivalry to be odd, to say the least. I do love the song, though.

Duke Ellington

Capitol was not above making the great Duke Ellington record some lesser material during his tenure with the label. Case in point is the "Bunny Hop Mambo" from 1954, which is just what is seems to be, only disjointed on the Duke's end. The "hop-hop-hop" in this one is more like "lurch-lurch-lurch."

Fortunately, Frankie Yankovic's "Bunny Polka," also from 1954, is not the "Bunny Hop" in disguise, but rather a piece by the bandleader and his arranger, Joe Trolli. This is not one of the Polka King's most regal accomplishments, but pleasant even so.

Country pop singer Rusty Draper had a number of big records for Mercury in the mid-50s. The unfamiliar "Easter Mornin'" from 1954 was not one of his  successes, but entertaining in its unassuming way. The conductor is famed producer Hugo Peretti.

I hope you will not mind one final reprise of "Easter Parade," in a smooth arrangement for the Men of the Robert Shaw Chorus, here conducted by Ralph Hunter, who succeeded Shaw as conductor of the Collegiate Chorale at about the same time as the record came out (1954).

Our final number is the little-noticed "Two Easter Sunday Sweethearts," the flip side of English singer Vera Lynn's 1954 pressing of "Du Bist Mein Liebshoen." But even "Du Bist" was a minor record compared to Lynn's big hit that year, "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)." In the ad at bottom, Lynn arrives on the HMS Queen Elizabeth bearing a big present of "If You Love Me" for the American market, with the other record tucked in her handbag.

I hope everyone has a good holiday. We always host a family gathering on Easter Sunday, but not this year. Facetime will have to do. I am grateful even so for all the blessings that have been bestowed on me over the years, not the least of which are the loyal readers of this blog. My best to you all.

1954 Billboard ad (click to enlarge)

More Aafje Heynis and "Haunted Heart"

Let me clarify the header - Dutch contralto Aafje Heynis does not attempt the Dietz-Schwartz semi-standard "Haunted Heart." She leaves that fine number to several great pop singers. Instead, she favors us with an Elgar song cycle.

To clarify further, this post is a follow-up to my two most recent items - the contemporary recordings of the 1948 Dietz-Schwartz revue Inside U.S.A., and a 1962 Brahms collection featuring Heynis, the Vienna Symphony and its chief conductor, Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Ilene Woods

First, Inside U.S.A. and its ballad "Haunted Heart." In the comments of my post, I decided to include a link to my remastering of a Frank Sinatra aircheck from Your Hit Parade. (Sinatra never did a commercial recording of the song, to my knowledge.) Old friend David Federman one-upped me (actually five-upped me) by posting contemporary versions from Bing Crosby, Don Rodney with Guy Lombardo, Jo Stafford, Margaret Whiting and the very young Ilene Woods (soon to be the voice of Cinderella). The latter is particularly interesting because it includes a vocal bridge that I have not heard in any other recording. I've now added Frank to the Federman collection, and included a fresh link in the comments to this post.

Aafje Heynis

Meanwhile, reader Andrew alerted me to the existence of an 1962 aircheck of Heynis as the soloist in Elgar's cycle, "Sea Pictures," Op. 37. I quickly hunted it down, remastered what I found and am pleased to offer it to all of you who were enchanted by Heynis' singing in the "Alto Rhapsody." She is accompanied by the Netherlands Radio Orchestra under its chief conductor, Henk Spruit. The sound is good quality mono. Here, too - as always - the link is in the comments.

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Christmas Cheer from Decca

Decca's Christmas compilation for 1950 brought together the Andrews Sisters and Danny Kaye, with backing by Guy Lombardo that would have been considered corny even 60 years ago, and a few songs from Dick Haymes.

I have nothing against the other artists, but my real interest here is the items featuring Dick Haymes. They include "The Christmas Song," then new, and "Christmas Dreaming," a fine song that should have become a holiday standard. The arrangements for Haymes are from Gordon Jenkins, and they are worth listening to on their own merits.

Most of the Andrews Sisters cuts are not overly familiar (all the better for that). They are joined by Danny Kaye for one song, and Danny and Patty Andrews do "(All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth." It ought to be unlawful to for adults to do kiddie voices; the results are toe-curling.

Good sound for the period.

Haymes the hat model