Buster's Unusual Spring

If your heart doesn't go dancing at the thought of another spring-themed compilation, I hope this collection, "Buster's Unusual Spring," will at least start your feet tapping.

In these 28 selections, I've avoided the usual spring songs - "Spring Is Here," "It Might as Well Be Spring," and so on - in favor of more esoteric fare. Multiple genres are represented - pop, classical, jazz and country among them. I myself was unfamiliar with most of these numbers. The best known are probably "It Happens Every Spring" and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" - and you will recognize a few classical melodies in new settings.

As usual, the recordings are discussed below in chronological order.

The first selection is the only acoustic recording in the set, and a late one at that - it's from 1926 and the technology-challenged Gennett label. Chic Winter (other sources say it's Winters) and orchestra offer the peppy "Spring Is Here" (not the Rodgers and Hart song). Winter(s) led a fancy outfit that was in residence at the impressive but long-gone Hotel Gramatan in Westchester County, north of New York City.

The following year, HMV had the incomparable John McCormack in London's Queen's Hall for a session devoted in part to settings by Granville Bantock of poems by Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (the name itself is poetry) that were based on ancient Chinese texts. "A Dream of Spring" is from a work by the eighth century writer Ts'en Ts'an. McCormack sings with his usual penetrating intelligence, sympathy for the text, sweet tone and faultless diction.

Harry McClintock by R. Crumb

We abruptly switch genres from Sir Granville to the musings of Haywire Mac, the author of "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Here, under the name of Radio Mac, the America folk singer Harry McClintock presents the "Hobo's Spring Song," done for Victor in 1929. Mac was a colorful character who was a member of the International Workers of the World and spent time as a union organizer.

Harold aka Scrappy aka Burt

Also from 1929, we have tightly-muted trumpeter Henry Busse with orchestra and the much-recorded vocalist Scrappy Lambert under the name Burt Lorin. They offer up "Like a Breath of Spring-Time," which makes me wonder when "springtime" became a compound word. The song comes from the lost film Hearts in Exile, which was issued both as a silent and a talkie. Presumably the song was more effective in the latter version. By the way, this song was also recorded by Dr. Eugene Ormandy's Salon Orchestra before the conductor went uptown.

From 1930, Waring's Pennsylvanians give us "It Seems to Be Spring," written for the film Let's Go Native. With a title like that, the movie had to be offensive in some manner, but the plot summary just sounds inane, as does the casting - Jack Oakie and Jeanette MacDonald. One hopes that MacDonald rather than Oakie introduced the song. In either case, they had to be better than the anemic Three Girlfriends who assist Fred Waring on the record.

"Spring in Manhattan" of 1934 is one of the earlier releases from the Liberty Music Shop label, which specialized in cabaret music. Most of its artists were familiar from New York nightlife, but here, despite the song's title, we have Los Angeles' Bruz Fletcher, who recorded very little but has a following even today. Fletcher's song comes from the album above.

Ray Noble

We now transport you from Manhattan to France for "Paris in Spring," which Mack Gordon and Harry Revel wrote for the film of the same name. Despite the titles of movie and music lacking the definite article, Al Bowlly sings "Paris in the spring." The South African vocalist had come to the US with English bandleader Ray Noble, who assembled a superb American band. The troupe began recording in 1935, including this fine song, here in a wonderfully polished and presented arrangement with a characteristic vocal by Bowlly, an exceptional singer. Noble was to stay in the States, but Bowlly moved back to England in 1937 and perished in the London blitz.

Ella and Chick

"I Got the Spring Fever Blues" is from 1936 and and the band of Chick Webb with the young Ella Fitzgerald sounding surprisingly like Connie Boswell with a touch of Mildred Bailey. Ella is great, and the band, led by the short-lived drummer Webb, is as well. In the ensemble are such luminaries as Taft Jordan, Teddy McRae and Sandy Williams.

Peg LaCentra

Another great band was led by Artie Shaw, here with one of his first recordings, also from 1936. At this early date Shaw was known as "Art Shaw." Some of you may be familiar with "There's Frost on the Moon (Spring in My Heart)," which turns up in Christmas compilations. Shaw already had started incorporating strings in his arrangements - unusual for a swing band at the time. One of the violinists here was Jerry Gray, later a famed arranger for Glenn Miller (who himself was a Ray Noble sideman and played trombone on the "Paris in Spring" date above). The success of the Shaw record, though, is largely due to the excellent singer Peg LaCentra.

Teddy Wilson

Moving to 1939, we hear the evocative song "Some Other Spring," from the band of pianist Teddy Wilson and vocalist Jean Eldridge. Billie Holiday fans will likely be familiar with her Columbia recording of this song. Although Holiday made many great recordings with Wilson earlier in her career, she had moved on by this point. Eldridge was a sensitive singer, but didn't have a strong voice. Wilson's piano is excellent, as always.

Fletcher Henderson

The fashion for adapting classical airs for swing numbers was in full flower when Benny Goodman and band decided to adopt Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" for a 1939 record with a Fletcher Henderson chart. I can't imagine the composer approving this version, but he had been gone for almost a century at the time. More than 80 years later, we can enjoy both Mendelssohn's piano piece and the Goodman-Henderson swing interpretation.

Earl Robinson and Paul Robeson

A very different "Spring Song" comes to us from the great Paul Robeson and frequent collaborator Earl Robinson, working with Harry Schachter. Robeson and Robinson had their biggest success with "Ballad for Americans" in 1939. "Spring Song," an anti-war ballad, was issued in 1941 during the run-up to the American involvement in World War II. Robeson and Robinson were Communists, a group that wanted to keep the US from waging war on Germany, which had signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviets in 1939. "Spring Song" was released shortly before the German invasion of Russia.

Jerry Mazanec

From 1942, Jerry Mazanec and his Bohemian polka band regale us with "Spring Awakening." I believe Mazanec was from Cleveland, but his more traditional approach soon was supplanted on Columbia records by the propulsive Slovenian band of that city's Frankie Yankovic, who became nationally popular after the war.

Larry Green led a Boston society band in the Eddy Duchin mold. He offers "Spring Is Really Spring This Year" (as opposed to being autumn, I suppose). It's a nice song and the leader's florid Carmen Cavallaro-style piano playing occasionally gives way for a good Gil Phelan vocal. This one comes from 1946; I have a Green LP on Vik from about 10 years later, but it tells us nothing else about him.

Charlie Spivak

The trumpeter Charlie Spivak was at the helm of a swing band for many years and many recordings, among them "Spring Magic" from 1946. You will immediately recognize the melody for this one. Alexander Borodin invented it for one of his string quartets. Alec Wilder rudely appropriated it without attribution for this pleasant tune with vocal by Jimmy Saunders and the Stardreamers. Several years later, Wright and Forrest borrowed the same melody for "And This Is My Beloved" from Kismet.

Old friend Johnny Johnston peeks in with "I Bring You Spring" with the assistance of the Crew Chiefs and bandleader Sonny Burke. This is a good tune with a sonorous vocal that wasn't included in my 2019 compilation of Johnston's recordings. It comes from 1947.

Hal McIntyre

That same year, excellent Hal McIntyre band featuring the sorely underrated vocalist Frankie Lester produced an M-G-M single of "Spring in December" - another song that features in holiday compilations. Some of Hal's later recordings have appeared here.

Fans of Frank Sinatra and Dick Haymes may be familiar with "It Happens Every Spring," which originated in the 1949 film of the same name. The tune is nothing special, but Mack Gordon's lyrics paint a charming American scene at mid-century. This interpretation is from the future talk-show host and media mogul Merv Griffin, working with Freddy Martin's band.

Bill Farrell

The talented but now-forgotten vocalist Bill Farrell sings "Spring Made a Fool of Me" with support from Russ Case. Farrell, supposedly discovered by Bob Hope, had been listening to two other Bills - Billy Eckstine and Billy Daniels - but his singing is nonetheless impressive. He recorded for a few labels circa 1950, then made a few albums for Dobre in the 1970s.

At the same time and also for M-G-M, Russ Case recorded instrumentals under his own name, including an inoffensive "Symphony of Spring," which is our next selection.

In December 1951, Mercury invited Paul & Roy the Tennessee River Boys (seems like there should be some punctuation in there) to Nashville's Tulane Hotel to set down their own "Spring of Love." Paul & Roy were in the Bill Monroe bluegrass mold, minus the banjo. Good stuff.

Early the following year, the popular Four Aces Featuring Al Alberts did "Spring Is a Wonderful Thing" for Decca. Al's vocal gyrations have never been a favorite of mine, and here he is at his most elaborately emotive.

Back to the country genre for the Maddox Brothers and Rose and their "The Time Is Spring." This comes from 1953 and a group that is always entertaining, here supplemented by guitarists Joe Maphis and Johnny Bond.

The Four Freshmen

The Four Freshmen and the illustrious arranger Nelson Riddle turned their attentions to Matt Dennis' excellent ballad "Love Turns Winter to Spring" for a 1954 release on the Capitol label.

Next, an obscurity - the multi-talented Ken Moore, who not only sang and played the piano on "Spring May Come," but wrote the piece and released it on his own Lucky label in 1954. Billboard called it "listenable after-hours wax" and so it is.

Kitty Kallen came out of a big-band background for a successful solo career, with her biggest hit being "Little Things Mean a Lot" in 1954. "Come Spring" is from the next year, about the same time that Kallen began having the vocal problems that impeded her career for several years. I don't know if this is why Decca turned the vocal reverb up to 11 for this record; I do know that the sound would be better without the intrusion.

Jimmie Rodgers

Bobby Troup's touching song "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" is perhaps better known as the reworked Beach Boys tune "A Young Man Is Gone," yet another James Dean homage that is beautifully sung but pointless. The Boys' harmonies were modeled on those of the Four Freshmen in that group's recording of the original. Here we have the excellent folk-oriented pop singer Jimmie Rodgers backed by Hugo Peretti. His rendition was on the flip side of his big 1957 hit "Honeycomb."

Our final selection will be familiar - perhaps overly so - to any fan of the cabaret singer set. It is "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," a wonderful Tommy Wolf-Fran Landesman song that is done perfectly by jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. This is taken from the singer's 1962 LP Rah, which I have featured in its unexpurgated version. (See the post for an explanation.)

Except for the final number, these files have been remastered from lossless needle drops found on Internet Archive.

Hope your spring is going well; it snowed here today.

Classical Kern: The Vocal Recordings

Jerome Kern by Bettina Steinke (National Portrait Gallery)

For at least the first 60 years of the last century, it was not unusual for classical vocalists to sing popular songs. Those days, singers could appear at the Met, in film, operetta and on the radio performing a variety of repertoire.

Record companies were keen to exploit the fame their artists had developed through radio or film, so it became common for these singers to adopt songs that suited their styles and had popular appeal. What better source than the rich catalogue of the beloved songwriter Jerome Kern, who wrote in a style that was close to the operettas that most of these singers had appeared in.

Today's post presents 13 of those crossover classical-popular vocalists in the Kern repertoire, via recordings dating from 1919 to 1951. We start with an album by mezzo Risë Stevens, and continue with singles from John McCormack, Lawrence Tibbett, Lily Pons, Richard Tauber, Grace Moore, Eleanor Steber, Gladys Swarthout, Jeanette MacDonald, Lauritz Melchior, Dorothy Kirsten and William Warfield. Finally, we have a reupload of an album by Irene Dunne, who appeared in several Kern films.

This is a companion to my recent post of the Show Boat Scenario for Orchestra from the Cleveland Orchestra and Artur Rodziński.

Risë Stevens in Songs of Jerome Kern

When her Jerome Kern album was recorded in 1945, Risë Stevens had achieved so much notoriety than Hollywood had cast her as an opera singer in Bing Crosby's 1944 film Going My Way. She had already been at the Met for six years by that time, and was to continue throughout the next few decades.

The Kern songs formed the first album she would make with the Shulman brothers - Alan providing the arrangements and Sylvan conducting them. The Shulmans were notable crossover artists themselves - when they were not performing in the NBC Symphony, they formed one half of the Stuyvesant String Quartet and were the motive force behind the jazz group the New Friends of Rhythm. Alan wrote for both classical and pop ensembles.

The New Friends of Rhythm: Alan Shulman is the first violin, Sylvan the cellist

The second album by Stevens and the Shulmans (Love Songs from 1946) has appeared on this blog already and can be found here. You also can hear her in songs by Victor Herbert and in the elusive 1945-46 set of excerpts from her signature role, Carmen.

For her Kern album, Stevens selected prime examples of the composer's artistry; only "Don't Ever Leave Me" might not be considered among his greatest hits. It is, however, one of his best songs and is especially well done here. Overall, I find the performances pleasing, although critics of the time took issue with both the singer and the accompaniments. The New York Times insisted that Stevens was "an operatic singer and not a crooner." And the formidable Max de Schauensee in The New Records declared that he had never heard such "elaborately saccharine arrangements." (He was not paying attention to the pop music of the time - swooning romanticism was the vogue.) Well, for what it is worth, I enjoy the singer and her accomplices a great deal. It helps to have songs the quality of Kern's compositions.

Stevens was popular with the advertisers as well as the record buyers. Below, she touts GE radio-phonographs: the better to hear her with.

Please forgive some surface noise on a few cuts.

Kern Songs by Classical Vocalists

John McCormack

Risë Stevens was not the first operatic vocalist to turn to the Jerome Kern songbook for material. The tradition goes back as least as far as 1919 and the incomparable John McCormack. All the singers below had an active career both in opera (or at least operetta) and popular songs, the bridge usually being either radio or films, and often both.

The earliest recording in the group is also perhaps the least well-known song. "The First Rose of Summer" comes from the 1919 show She's a Good Fellow, with book and lyrics by Anne Caldwell. John McCormack (1884-1945) made his record the same year, with his usual exceptional diction, control and involvement. The acoustic recording is one of the best of its kind. More McCormack can be found in these earlier blog collections.

Lawrence Tibbett

By 1932, baritone Lawrence Tibbett (1896-1960) had managed to become not only a star at the Met, but in films and on radio. Victor had taken notice, and he was often in its studios from 1926 on. In 1932, the Camden crew had him set down two songs from Kern's new show Music in the Air: "And Love Was Born" and "The Song Is You," both with Oscar Hammerstein's lyrics. The latter became much more popular, but our selection today is the less often heard "And Love Was Born." We'll hear "The Song Is You" in a later recording.

In 1935, Kern was in Hollywood composing for the film I Dream Too Much, starring the unlikely couple of Lily Pons (1898-1976) and Henry Fonda. Columbia brought the coloratura (Pons, that is) to the studio with her future husband Andre Kostelanetz and a male chorus to perform two of the songs, "I Dream Too Much" and "I'm the Echo (You're the Song that I Sing)." Lyricist Dorothy Fields worked with Kern on this score.

Richard Tauber

Kern then moved on to the film musical High, Wide and Handsome, again with Hammerstein. The 1936 production starred the radiant Irene Dunne, who introduced both "Can I Forget You?" and the immortal "Folks Who Live On the Hill." (Oddly, neither appeared in Dunne's 1941 Kern album, discussed below.) To represent the score, we turn to the elegant German singer Richard Tauber (1891-1948), who recorded "Can I Forget You?" in London, where he was making films and where he soon would reside. Tauber's intimate singing is ideal.

Gladys Swarthout

Kern adapted his 1933 Broadway musical Roberta, with lyrics by Otto Harbach, for a 1935 film starring Dunne, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Dunne got to sing two of Kern's greatest songs, "Yesterdays" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," and the latter made it into her Decca album. Our version comes from 1942 and the excellent mezzo Gladys Swarthout (1900-69). This recording was part of the album Gladys Swarthout Singing Musical Show Hits.

Grace Moore

Next we turn to Kern's greatest score, Show Boat and the magnificent "You Are Love," here in a version by the "Tennessee Nightingale," Grace Moore (1898-1947). It may be ironic that Moore would perform songs from this show - she reputedly would not appear on stage with black performers. Moore had made her Broadway debut in 1920 in Kern's Hitchy-Koo. It wasn't until several years later that she appeared on the opera stage. Her greatest success was in films. This disc dates from 1945, just a few years before her death in a plane crash.

Jeanette MacDonald RCA promo

Jeanette MacDonald (1903-65) was another performer whose greatest successes were behind her when she recorded "They Didn't Believe Me" in 1947 with Russ Case. MacDonald had no operatic experience, but became famous in films opposite Maurice Chevalier and then in a series of operettas co-starring her lifelong companion Nelson Eddy. "They Didn't Believe Me" is the earliest composition in this set. It comes from 1914, when it was interpolated into the Broadway production of The Girl from Utah. This recording shows off MacDonald's great charm.

Eleanor Steber

Now let's return to Roberta and perhaps my own favorite Kern song, "The Touch of Your Hand," here in an exceptional 1947 performance by soprano Eleanor Steber (1914-90), who was beginning to make a mark both on the operatic stage and on the radio. The song comes from the Broadway score of Roberta; it did not make it into the film. Steber's accompaniment is led by the ubiquitous Broadway maestro Jay Blackton. The soprano has appeared here previously via the first recording of Samuel Barber's remarkable Knoxville: Summer of 1915, which she commissioned.

At long last we return to Music in the Air and a rendition of "The Song Is You" by the vocally and physically imposing Lauritz Melchior (1890-1973). In 1947, the Danish titan had left Wagner behind for a second career in Hollywood as a singing character actor. His studio, M-G-M, kept him busy recording as well, pairing him with Georgie Stoll for this production. Melchior also occupied his time endorsing products, including at least two brews, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Rheingold (below). I like to think he switched to the latter because of his Wagnerian background, but it probably had more to do with free beer. You can hear more from Melchior in these earlier posts.

Dorothy Kirsten

One of the finest crossover artists was Dorothy Kirsten (1910-92) who was equally at home on the opera stage, records or radio programs with Frank Sinatra. Her emotional involvement is evident in "Why Was I Born?" from Sweet Adeline, a 1929 Kern-Hammerstein production. This 78 dates from 1949, and has a backing by John Scott Trotter, Bing Crosby's longtime music director. Kirsten had appeared on Crosby's radio program, and was to make a guest appearance in his 1950 film Mr. Music.

William Warfield in Show Boat

I have saved the best for last. To me, one the greatest recordings of all time is William Warfield's performance of "Ol' Man River" in the 1951 film version of Show Boat. The vocal quality, emotional involvement, control, and sheer beauty of his singing are overwhelming. His tempo is slow but the concentration and tension never slacken. I've featured all his early Columbia recordings here; this single came out on M-G-M. Kern wrote the song for Paul Robeson - and his version appeared on the blog many years ago, but it was not finer than this.

Performances of Show Boat and its songs have always been sensitive, increasingly so as time goes on. Please see this 2018 Boston Globe article for an illuminating discussion of some of the issues faced by performers and their views of the subject.

Reup: Irene Dunne in Songs by Jerome Kern

Irene Dunne's 1941 album of Kern songs may not have been the most popular item I've ever posted here, but it surely is among my favorites. I have remastered my old transfer in honor of this Kern celebration; it is available here.

Unlike the artists mentioned above, Dunne never appeared in opera or operetta. She had wanted to become an opera singer when young, but was told her voice was too small. She did well, however, as a singing lead in films, then achieved her greatest successes in screwball comedies, where she excelled. She was an endearing performer.

Melchior touted beer; Dunne stuck to cola

Let's Sing a Quasi-Irish Song with Buster

And now, to mark the upcoming feast of St. Patrick, I present an Irish-themed compendium that has nothing to do with that good saint and very little to do with Ireland itself. While each selection is Irish-related in some way, it is usually the Irish or Irish music through the lens of American or English composers and performers - with the notable exception of the great Irish tenor John McCormack. Apropos of its varied ingredients, I am calling this collection "Buster's Irish Stew."

As usual, I'll present the 32 selections chronologically, reaching back to the early years of last century for the oldest specimens.

Peter Wyper

Our first number, an "Irish Jig," comes from 1909 and the Scottish accordionist Peter Wyper. He was supposedly the first accordionist to make records, so now you know who to blame.

The following year, two of the big stars of the early recording scene, the Americans Steve Porter and Billy Murray, combined for the vaudeville routine "Irish Wit," with a snappy tune sandwiching fast-paced ethnic repartee.

American banjo virtuoso Fred Van Eps is next with his 1911 record of "Irish Hearts." Van Eps was the father of jazz guitarist George Van Eps.

Fred Van Eps at the recording horn

Vaudevillian Ada Jones was last heard on this site in a German dialect number; on this 1911 record she has been transformed into an Irish lass, telling her "German dunce" boyfriend that "You Will Have to Sing an Irish Song" to have a chance with her. Albert Von Tilzer ("Take Me Out to the Ball Game") was the songwriter.

Billy Murray turns up again in 1912 with a tune called "If It Wasn't for the Irish and the Jews," reminding us that "without the Pats and Isidores you'd have no big department stores," among other benefits provided by these two ethnicities. Presumably the Victor company hoped to sell these platters in both Irish and Jewish neighborhoods, and the department stores run by Pat and Isidore.

Cigarette card from 1914

The great John McCormack makes the first of several appearances in this collection with the traditional song "Molly Brannigan." The recording dates from 1913, although this pressing comes from 1920.

Among his other accomplishments, the American songwriter and singer Chauncey Olcott wrote two enduring standards - "My Wild Irish Rose" and "When Irish Eyes are Smiling." In 1913, Olcott recorded the first named for Columbia.

Olcott was an polished vocalist but no John McCormack, who did his own version of "My Wild Irish Rose" for Victor in 1914. The song dates from 1899, when it was heard in the Broadway play A Romance of Athlone. Coincidentally, McCormack himself was from that Irish town.

One of Australian composer Percy Grainger's most famous compositions was his setting of the Irish reel "Molly on the Shore," dating from 1907. Originally for string quartet or string orchestra, Grainger later obligingly arranged it for orchestra, wind band, and violin and piano, missing an opportunity to capture the big kazoo-player market. In this 1916 recording, American violinist Maud Powell is heard with pianist Arthur Loesser, the half-brother of songwriter Frank Loesser.

Maud Powell in 1914

John McCormack returns with Chauncey Olcott's other big success, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," in a 1916 recording for Victrola. The orchestral accompaniment is led by the immensely prolific Victor staff conductor Rosario Bourdon.

Two years later, McCormack was in a New York studio with the less-familiar "My Irish Song of Songs," which name-checks all the familiar Irish tunes of the time. Josef Pasternack, another Victor music director, leads the band.

Arthur Pryor in 1920

We skip ahead to 1923 for a two-sided medley from Arthur Pryor's Band, "Reminiscences of Ireland." One of the tunes is "Irish Washerwoman," which will turn up twice more later in the playlist. The Pryor Band first became famous under the leadership of Arthur's father, Samuel. Arthur took over its leadership after his father's death. A trombone virtuoso, Arthur had been in Sousa's Band for 12 years, rising to become its assistant conductor.

Bartlett and Robertson

Ireland has been the source of inspiration for many composers, none more so than the English composer Sir Arnold Bax. Among his many works with an Irish theme is 1916's "Moy Mell (The Happy Plain)" for two pianos. Performing in this 1927 recording are the eminent wife and husband duo of Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson. The two were closely associated with Bax's music, although he did not compose this work for them - it was written for Myra Hess and Irene Scharrer.

One of the leading chamber ensembles of the day was the Flonzaley Quartet, who recorded an "Irish Reel" in 1927 for Victor. The arrangement is by second violinist Alfred Pochon. The other side of the record (not in the playlist) was Pochon's arrangement of the spiritual "Deep River" - much different from the Flonzaley's usual diet of Beethoven and Haydn.

The Flonzaley Quartet

Perhaps the best known (and most parodied) sentimental song in the repertory is "Mother Machree" by the well-known songwriters Chauncey Olcott, Ernest Ball and Rida Johnson Young. Again, this was an American song of theatrical origin, coming from the 1911 Broadway play Barry of Ballymore. John McCormack is heard in his second recording of the piece, dating from 1927.

Mother Machree song card, c1939

Albert Sammons by
Alexander Akerbladh

Grainger's "Molly on the Shore" was popular with violinists, but not all used his arrangement. In 1928, the superb English instrumentalist Albert Sammons recorded Fritz Kreisler's version, which Grainger reputedly hated. No accompanist is named on the label and I haven't able to discover who the pianist might be.

Also in 1928, John McCormack recorded the wrenching ballad "The Irish Emigrant," written in the mid-19th century by Lady Dufferin and George Barker. This is a remarkable record, surely the best of this group.

"The Irish Emigrant" cigarette card

Moving on to 1936, we have the lighter-hearted "Laughing Irish Eyes" from veteran American bandleader Johnny Johnson, with a pleasing vocal by Lee Johnson. The budget label Melotone records issued this disc.

English violist Watson Forbes recorded William Alwyn's "Two Folk Tunes" in 1940 with harpist Maria Korchinska. The composer contrasts a Norwegian tune with an Irish air. Forbes was a distinguished figure, but he is not note-perfect here.

Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears by Cecil Beaton

Last October I discussed John McCormack's recording of Yeats' "Down by the Salley Gardens" in the setting by Herbert Hughes. Benjamin Britten set the poem under the title "The Sally Gardens" in his first volume of Folk Song Arrangements. In this 1944 recording the composer accompanies Peter Pears.

Charlie Spivak

James Royce Shannon's "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" was written for a 1914 Chauncey Olcott show, Shameen Dhu. It did well at the time in Olcott's recording, and its popularity was renewed when it was included in Bing Crosby's 1944 film Going My Way. The playlist has a relatively unfamiliar instrumental version from big-toned trumpeter Charlie Spivak and his band.

In 1945, Boyd Neel took his orchestra into Decca's West Hampstead Studios for our final version of "Molly on the Shore," in Grainger's arrangement for strings.

The next year, comic Morey Amsterdam (last discussed here for not having written "Rum and Coca-Cola") decided to revive an old vaudeville song, "With His Wonderful Irish Brogue," which dates back to at least 1918. This was for the small Crown label.

Fred Lowery

"My Wild Irish Rose" returns in a version from Fred Lowery, probably the most recorded and popular whistler of all time. A big-band veteran, Lowery would achieve his greatest hit with "The High and the Mighty" theme in 1954. This one has the same eerie quality that helped make "The High and the Mighty" a success.

It wouldn't be an Irish-themed collection without hearing from Bing Crosby. I've included one of his lesser-known songs, "My Girl's an Irish Girl," the flip side of "Galway Bay," a 1948 coupling. Victor Young leads the band.

John McCormack died in 1944, and in 1948 another Irish tenor, Michael O'Higgins, put out the tribute song "When McCormack Sang Mother Machree" on the small American Beauty Recordings label. O'Higgins was a music professor at the University of Dublin.

Glamorous Freddy Morgan

In 1949, Spike Jones wreaked his usual havoc with "MacNamara's Band," featuring a decidedly inebriated sounding "I. W. Harper and The Four Fifths" on vocals. (I. W. Harper was a then-popular bourbon.) I believe "Harper" is actually Freddy Morgan. The conceit here is that MacNamara heard Spike's records and decided to imitate his sound, at which point the Irish deported him.

At long last, we come to our first version of "The Irish Washerwoman," a traditional tune played throughout the British Isles. Here we have Leroy Anderson's arrangement from his Irish Suite, written for the Boston Pops and Arthur Fiedler. This recording dates from 1950. You can hear Anderson's own version of the Irish Suite via this post. I've newly remastered the sound both of that recording and its companion, a Fiedler collection of Leroy Anderson compositions.

The Pinetoppers

"The Irish Washerwoman" returns disguised as an "Irish Polka" in our next selection, dating from 1952. The artists were the country group The Pinetoppers, who were led by songwriter Vaughn Horton, the author of "Mule Skinner Blues," "Sugar Foot Rag" and "Mockin' Bird Hill," not to mention Louis Jordan's classic "Choo-Choo Ch'Boogie." The "Irish Polka" is attributed to "Paddy Hogan." My guess is Hogan was Horton under another name.

Perhaps fittingly, we close our collection with a song that has nothing whatsoever to do with Ireland or Irish music, but does lend its name to this collection. "English Muffins and Irish Stew" was a pop song by the well-known writers Moose Charlap and Bob Hilliard, here recorded by Brooklyn's Sylvia Syms. Unaccountably, it turns out to be a mock calypso!

The Cash Box, July 28, 1956

As usual with these collections, the raw material came from lossless needle drops found on Internet Archive and refurbished by me. The sound is quite good - even for the records that are now 100+ years old.

A pleasant St. Patrick's Day to all from your one-quarter Irish blogger!