Gordon Jenkins - The 1942 Capitol Recordings

By 1942, Gordon Jenkins was still only 32 years old, but had already enjoyed considerable success as a songwriter and arranger. He started contributing charts to the well-known Isham Jones orchestra when he was just 22, and began writing both music and lyrics for hit songs soon thereafter.

Jenkins had, however, made only a few records as a bandleader - I can only find four sides backing Martha Tilton on Decca in 1941. 

He finally came into his own as a recording artist with the founding of Capitol Records in April 1942. As one of the label's earliest signings, Jenkins led several sessions in June and July of that year, both under his own name and with his orchestra backing Capitol vocalists. This burst of activity was to be short lived - the first recording ban intervened, choking off most sessions from August 1942 to November 1944. Jenkins eventually ended up with Decca. He devoted his first date there, in December 1945, to one of his most famous creations, Manhattan Tower. Jenkins enjoyed great success with Decca, remaining there until 1955, when he joined "X" Records.

This post compiles 17 of the 22 Capitol records that Jenkins made in 1942. The five remaining titles can be found in my 2019 Johnnie Johnston compilation.

I am again indebted to collector extraordinaire and frequent collaborator Bryan Cooper for his help in assembling this program.

Time to Dance with Gordon Jenkins

Eight of Jenkins' 1942 sides can be found on the Capitol LP Time to Dance with Gordon Jenkins, which I posted back in 2009. I've now remastered this early 10-inch LP, which provides the first eight songs in this post.

Connie Haines

Although the album identifies all eight songs as Jenkins recordings, some were issued on 78 with him as assisting artist to a vocalist, with the rest under his name as bandleader.

For example, Don Raye and Gene de Paul's "I'll Remember April" was originally issued as a Martha Tilton record, with Jenkins and his orchestra as backing artists. Similarly, "At Last" and "Be Careful, It's My Heart" came out with Connie Haines as the main attraction. Johnnie Johnston was the primary credit on the 78 issue of "That Old Black Magic." 

All three of those songs derived from current films. Amazingly, the superb "I'll Remember April" is from Ride 'Em Cowboy with Abbott and Costello (eek!). Harry Warren's "At Last" comes from Glenn Miller's Sun Valley Serenade. Haines is good on "At Last," but you must hear the fabulous original soundtrack version sung by Pat Friday. Finally, Bing Crosby introduced "Be Careful, It's My Heart" in Holiday Inn.

As I mentioned above, Jenkins backed Johnnie Johnston on five other Capitol recordings - "Dearly Beloved," "Easy to Love," "Light a Candle in the Chapel," "Singing Sands of Alamosa" and "Can't You Hear Me Calling Caroline" - which can be found in my Johnston compilation.

Bob Carroll

The rest of the songs on the Capitol LP featured Jenkins in the leading role. Three are instrumentals: "Always," "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," and "Paradise," the latter of which does not seem to have been issued at all before appearing on the LP.

"Chasing Rainbows" has an uncharacteristic arrangement, starting off with a brass fanfare and quickly subsiding into a quasi-baroque chart with Jenkins (presumably) on the harpsichord. This must be one of the earliest appearances of the harpsichord on a popular record. I'm not sure if the arrangement is supposed to represent Chopin, who wrote the melody, but if so, Jenkins undershot the mark stylistically.

"There Will Never Be Another You" is another Harry Warren-Mack Gordon song, this one from Sonia Henie's skating spectacular Iceland. The recording has a vocal by the excellent Bob Carroll, a Charlie Barnet alumnus. (Some of Carroll's later records are collected here.)

The 1942 78s

With the help of Internet Archive and Bryan Cooper, I've assembled what we think are the balance of Jenkins' issued recordings from Capitol that date from 1942.

In tandem with "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," "He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings" made up Jenkins' first record as a leader and one of the first Capitol issues. Connie Haines was the sensitive vocalist on the latter song.

Next we have Ferde Grofé's "Daybreak" with a vocal by Bob Carroll, which was the flip side of "There Will Never Be Another You." Carroll returned for Holiday Inn's "White Christmas" and for "Heaven for Two," a fine Don Raye-Gene de Paul song written, improbably, for Hellzapoppin'.

Six Hits and a Miss

Jenkins also helmed four songs for the vocal group Six Hits and a Miss. "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," one of Cole Porter's better songs, was introduced in Something to Sing About by Don Ameche, who did sing, sort of. The septet also appeared on the wartime novelty "Would You Rather Be a Colonel with an Eagle on Your Shoulder or a Private with a Chicken on Your Knee," "Bye Bye Blackbird" and another Raye-de Paul song, "Two on a Bike."

None of the Six Hits and a Miss songs are characteristic of Jenkins' later work or even the charts elsewhere in this set. "You'd Be So Nice" starts off with a semi-Dixieland chorus, sliding into the smooth vocal. "Would You Rather Be a Private with an Eagle on Your Shoulder or a Chicken with a Banjo on Your Knee," sounds more like the fare that John Scott Trotter was producing for Crosby than the approach Jenkins adopted for his other Capitol arrangements. "Bye Bye Blackbird" also is atypical, although here the group name checks Jenkins and he responds with a typically spare piano solo. "Two on a Bike" even has a Tex Beneke-style whistling chorus.

Six Hits and a Miss were originally Three Hits and a Miss before inflation set in. The group was formed in 1937 with Martha Tilton as lead voice, but the talented Pauline Byrns took over the following year and was still in that slot when these records came out. The group was ubiquitous on the radio during the war years.

Martha Tilton

Along with Jenkins, Tilton was one of the first Capitol artists. Jenkins' final 1942 recording for Capitol was their collaboration on "Comin' Through the Rye," where Martha somehow makes Robert Burns sexy.

Most of the other arrangements are a cross between the dance-band charts Jenkins would have produced for Isham Jones or Shep Fields and the more lush string sound he would use for Sinatra and others in the 1950s and later.

As was the general practice back then, when the singer was primary on the label, he or she took the first chorus. When Jenkins was billed as the main artist, a band chorus came first. The vocalist would sing a chorus, dance-band style. Jenkins' single-finger piano solos can be heard on both the vocalist-led and bandleader sides.

The sound on most of these records is very good. The download includes brief Billboard reviews for most of these songs.

One final note: Jenkins apparently was not an exclusive Capitol artist - he also led the band for a June 1942 Dinah Shore session for Victor. I am preparing a post of the six resulting songs for my other blog. These include "He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings" and "Be Careful, It's My Heart," both of which he also recorded for Capitol at about the same time, but with much different arrangements.

Despite what the Billboard ad above implies, Jenkins
apparently did not back Tilton on Moondreams

The Warm Voice of Hal Derwin

I am sure I have a few of Hal Derwin's Capitol 78s, but I paid him little mind until my recent post of the first Buddy DeSylva tribute album. There, Derwin contributed a most pleasing account of "When Day Is Done," so I decided to look at his recorded legacy more closely.

Today's post, consisting of 25 Derwin single sides from 1946-49, is the result of that examination. Most of these little-known recordings are distinguished by Derwin's warm, relaxed vocals - in the vein of Crosby or Como, and not markedly inferior to them, either. The set also includes two pleasant instrumentals from the big band that Derwin was leading at the time. And it also includes the sole single by an odd Capitol all-star ensemble called Ten Cats and a Mouse, which included Derwin. In total, the collection includes all but six of the songs that Derwin recorded for Capitol.

Hal Derwin is answering fan mail -
or so his publicist informs us

Derwin (1914-98) apparently started off as a vocalist (he was in a trio with Lee Gillette, himself later associated with Capitol), but also played guitar at times when he was with several bands, including Shep Fields and Artie Shaw (where he was called Hal Stevens). I'll post a few of his Shaw records later on. Derwin eventually got the call to record for Capitol, and formed his own band at about the same time.

Fortunately for him, his first record - "The Old Lamplighter" - did well, and that set Derwin up for a three-year run in the Capitol studios. The flip side of the record - "I Guess I'll Get the Papers and Go Home" - may bear some explanation to any young readers. "Papers" refers to newspapers, now scarce, but then plentiful. In the major cities, publishers would time the first edition of the morning paper to his newsstands at about midnight. So theoretically, one could finish a lonely evening by picking up the papers and heading home.

Next in queue is Lecuona's "Another Night Like This," from Dick Haymes' film Carnival in Costa Rica, featured here in the soundtrack rendition. Derwin does well by it, even if he is not in the Haymes class. The coupling is "You'll Always Be the One I Love." The romantic backing on these earliest records is by the busy maestro Frank De Vol.

"It Might Have Been a Different Story" and "You Can Take My Word for It, Baby" are two pop items of the day, the latter also recorded by a bouncy Frank Sinatra.

At this point (1947), Derwin switches to his own band for backing, along with a vocal group. For "An Apple Blossom Wedding" and "Blue and Broken Hearted" the vocal assistance is by Gloria and Diane, of whom I know nothing. (If I were to speculate wildly, the Gloria might be Gloria Wood.)

For "How Lucky You Are" (also done by Buddy Clark) and "On the Avenue," Gloria and Diane are supplanted by the Co-Eds. In turn, they were replaced by the Hi-Liters for "My, How the Time Goes By" and "The Little Old Mill" (another song that Clark put out). The Hi-Liters stayed around for "The Dream Peddler" and "You're Too Dangerous, Cherie." The latter song is "La Vie en Rose" in English mufti - and another Clark specialty.

Hal Derwin and two unidentified members of the Hi-Liters.
That could be Gloria Wood on the right.

Derwin reached back to 1932 for the old favorite "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye," which came out then on a memorable Boswell Sisters disc that he does not surpass (who could?). The flip is "Worry Worry Worry."

Capitol assembled the Ten Cats and a Mouse is October 1947 to play "Ja-Da" and "Three O'Clock Jump," the latter credited to "Felis Domestica." The trick here is that the musicians all play instruments other than their specialties. So, for example, trumpeters Billy May and Bobby Sherwood take up the trombone, lamentably. The best soloist is surely Benny Carter on tenor saxophone, but this is a bit of a cheat, since Carter played that instrument (and several others, including trumpet) regularly. The inaudible drummer is Peggy Lee (presumably the Mouse). Derwin plays guitar.

In addition to its Buddy DeSylva tribute album, Capitol included Derwin in a Jerome Kern memorial package in 1947, assigning him one of my favorite songs, "The Touch of Your Hand," an quasi-operetta piece that is not suited to the singer's style.

We move on to 1948 and "Melody Time" from the Disney film. The backing was an instrumental from Derwin's band, "Always," from Irving Berlin and 1925. The group sounds very good; I suspect it was a studio ensemble rather than a road band.

Derwin's last solo in this set is another lonely-guy song, "I Go In When the Moon Comes Out." Capitol coupled it with an instrumental of "Louise."

The final, 1949 recordings were two enjoyable duets with ex-Goodman singer Martha Tilton, both backed by Frank De Vol. The dance novelty "Ballin' the Jack" was coupled with Derwin's own "Take Me Back," a nostalgic number that features an unconvincing "soft-shoe" solo probably played by the drummer. It's nicely done, even so.

Derwin had his limitations, and his band was nothing to set the pulse racing, but at his best he was a smooth and very pleasing singer who deserves to be remembered. After his Capitol stint, he continued to lead a band for a piece, and eventually landed back at Capitol in an A&R role.

These records were obtained from lossless needle drops on Internet Archive, as redone by me. The sound is generally very good.

The First Buddy DeSylva Tribute Album

A few days ago, I published a private record that Capitol issued to commemorate the 1950 death of Buddy DeSylva, one of its founders.

At that time, I lamented the fact that Capitol didn't see fit to use its own artists to celebrate DeSylva's songwriting career rather than repurposing a radio show from seven years earlier.

Buddy DeSylva examines his catalog. "Mother Me,
Tennessee" and the other songs here
did not make the cut for this collection.

Two friends of the blog, Bryan and Randy, quickly drew my attention to the fact that Capitol had indeed issued an earlier DeSylva tribute using its own stars, back in 1947.

I felt a little embarrassed by my forgetting this album, particularly because I have a copy of it in my collection. I told Bryan that I could not transfer it, however, because my 78 turntable is having speed-regulatory seizures. So Bryan sent along a link to an Internet Archive transfer, which I have remastered for this post.

Promo in Capitol News

The Capitol set is called Somebody Loves Me: The Beloved Songs of Buddy DeSylva - no doubt especially beloved at the company because he was chairman of the board. But I will admit that he wrote lyrics for many excellent songs, and this collection does a good job at presenting eight of them.

Among those who contributed vocals were Johnny Mercer, Peggy Lee, Nat Cole and Margaret Whiting. They may need no introduction, but here are a few words about the other artists involved.

Andy Russell was a fine balladeer who had many hits for Capitol. Russell's popularity waned in the 1950s, when he relocated to Mexico. Even though he was born in Los Angeles and spoke little Spanish, he was of Hispanic descent and quickly became a star in Latin America, returning to the US (and Capitol) in the 1960s. He performs one of DeSylva, Brown and Henderson's best songs, "Just a Memory."

Martha Tilton and Johnny Mercer

Martha Tilton came to prominence as a Benny Goodman band singer in the late 1930s. She joined Capitol early in its history, and here is paired with company mogul Johnny Mercer for another DeSylva, Brown and Henderson item, "If I Had a Talking Picture of You."

Clark Dennis was a radio singer who made records for Capitol from 1946-50. You can read more about him via this post on my other blog. He also has appeared on this blog, providing vocals for a 1939 Paul Whiteman set. On this album, he sings the famous DeSylva-Brown-Henderson waltz, "Together."

If Hal Derwin's vocals did not dazzle you,
his outfit's clashing patterns would

The most obscure name in the lineup may be Hal Derwin, but his easy manner is perfectly suited to "When Day Is Done." Derwin was a bandleader during the 40s and 50s, but I believe he recorded for Capitol solely as a vocalist.

Capitol repurposed the inside front cover of this 78 set as the front cover of the later 10-inch LP. That image and other photos and scans are in the download, including a Capitol News article announcing the project. The ad below comes from the June 1947 Capitol News.

Ernie Felice at Capitol, 1947

Jazz accordionist Ernie Felice first came to public notice as a member of the Benny Goodman Quintet in 1947. Benny was just then embarking on a record deal with Capitol, and was able to get Felice a contract there as well.

Capitol was enthusiastic about the young instrumentalist. It not only recorded him with Benny and Felice's own group, it featured him with Martha Tilton, the Pied Pipers and vocalist Joe Alexander.

All this happened in the same year, finishing with a flourish in the last few days of December as the record companies rushed to finish as many sessions as possible before the Musicians Union instituted a recording ban to commence on New Year's Day 1948.

This post takes you through Felice's 1947 activities at Capitol, adding his sole V-Disc, which also was recorded that year. Most of these transfers come from the vast reaches of Internet Archive, but all have been suitably remastered and the sound is uniformly excellent.

If you haven't heard or heard of Felice, I can promise you that he is a virtuoso on his instrument, an imaginative soloist and a powerful swinger.

Felice's first session with Goodman was on March 7, resulting in a single of "Street of Dreams." This was soon followed by "How High the Moon," "Music Maestro Please" and the terrific "Bannister Slide." As you will note on the labels of these early recordings, the accordionist was then using the original spelling of his last name, "Filice." He changed it late in the year.

From Capitol News, April 1947

Felice's own quartet was in the studio at about the same time. It featured clarinetist Dick Anderson with a rotating bassist and drummer. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and "Carolina Moon" were followed by a coupling of "O Solo Mio" and a wonderful reading of Zez Confrey's "Stumbling."

"Accompaniment Styled by Ernie Filice"

Felice backed up former Goodman vocalist Martha Tilton on two titles: "All of Me" and "Every So Often." The latter is a little known but very fine Johnny Mercer-Harry Warren song. Although I've collected vocal records for several decades, I've never paid much attention to Tilton. My mistake - she's very appealing here.

The Pied Pipers had struck out on their own after leaving Tommy Dorsey, and soon joined Capitol. Felice backed the quartet (who then comprised June Hutton, Hal Hopper, Chuck Lowry and Clark Yocum) on their coupling of "I Have But One Heart" and "The Lady from 29 Palms." For those not familiar with California locales, 29 Palms is an oddly named city near San Bernardino.

Joe Alexander

Capitol added Felice to Dave Cavanaugh's group for a single side with baritone Joe Alexander, who made about 20 sides with the label in 1946-47. Capitol billed the singer as its answer to Billy Eckstine, but to me he sounds more like Don Cornell, then with Sammy Kaye, or even (horrors!) Vaughan Monroe. Irving Berlin's "I Never Had a Chance" is a good song, though, and Alexander does it well.

The balance of the singles in this set were released in 1948, although recorded in late 1947. Along with instrumental takes on the standards "Street of Dreams" and "Love Me or Leave Me," there are two amusing vocal novelties. One is titled "Woo-Ca-Ma-Choo-Ga" on the label and "Woo-Ga-Ma-Choo-Ga" in the ad above, which is how Felice sings it. (He and Anderson helped write it, so they ought to know.) The other is "Oodles of Boodle and Batches of Cash." Both are very similar to the type of material in the Page Cavanaugh Trio's book at the time. Both groups were Los Angeles-based, and both ended up in Soundies and the like, and in supporting roles in the output of the Hollywood film factories.

From Capitol News, October 1947

On YouTube, you can see Felice's group backing the Pied Pipers in "Dream" and the wonderful June Christy in "Sposin'" and "Taking a Chance on Love." Felice also appeared in the Jane Froman biopic With a Song in My Heart backing Susan Hayward (dubbed by Froman) in "It's a Good Day."

The final item is a V-Disc version of Duke Ellington's "Solitude." I believe this is the master issued on Capitol 486 and later on the LP Cocktail Time, with the addition of a spoken introduction by Felice. "Solitude" would hardly be my first choice as a record to appeal to lonely soldiers, but it does have a slow and muted introduction that facilitated the overdub of Ernie's introductory message.

The Cocktail Time LP came out in 10-inch form in 1950, expanded to 12-inch in 1955. It includes some of the items in this collection, plus others. Capitol also released Felice's Accordion Powerhouse in 1952, another 10-incher. I have both LPs and can transfer them if there is interest.

Beside Capitol, Felice recorded for the short-lived F and P label that he started with Les Paul, for Liberty with a group called the Hi-Fi's and for RCA Victor, all in the 1950s. I may post a few of these items on my singles blog.

The download includes more Felice ephemera from this period, including a publicity photo of his group with what appears to be a dead mule - one of the strangest promotional pictures I have ever seen.

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