Kay Armen Sings to No One but You

I had a request from long-time reader Ravel for something by the pop singer/actor Kay Armen. I hope he (and you) will find this 10-inch LP from 1955 to be appealing. Armen had a lovely alto voice, with good intonation, excellent diction and an enveloping warmth, all on ample display here.

Kay Armen

M-G-M records couldn't make up its corporate mind about the title of the LP. Called Sings to No One but You on the cover, the label tags it as Kay Armen Sings and the notes on the back cover claims it is By Candlelight.

Nicholas Brodszky plays for no one but Mario Lanza

By whatever name, the album's theme is actually the melodies of M-G-M tunesmith Nicholas Brodszky, who wrote all the songs here, even though that fact goes unmentioned on the cover. Seven of the eight items were composed for M-G-M films, four with lyricist Sammy Cahn. The only exception is "I Just Love You," which he did with studio producer Joe Pasternak as a present for the latter's wife.

Brodszky was mainly active in the 1950s, passing away at a relatively young age in 1958. He is best known for the Mario Lanza hits "Be My Love" and "Because You're Mine," both of which show up here. I am more fond of "Wonder Why," which Jane Powell introduced in Rich, Young and Pretty, and "No One But You," which was sung by the relatively obscure Carlos Thompson in Flame and the Flesh. The soundtracks to Rich, Young and Pretty and Flame and the Flesh have appeared on this blog in years past.

Armen was not a prolific recording artist. Her first recordings were on Decca in 1943, then a few with Guy Lombardo in 1945. She also did various sides for RCA, King, London and Majestic. Her only LPs seem to be this one, an inspirational LP for M-G-M and a Tin Pan Alley LP for Decca, which I have if there is interest.

Hit the Deck's "Ciribiribin" sing: Vic Damone, Jane Powell,
Tony Martin, Kay Armen, Russ Tamblyn, Debbie Reynolds

These days Armen is perhaps most noted for her role in Hit the Deck, which is plugged on the back cover of this LP. (She played Vic Damone's mother, even though she was only 12 years older than he was.) As a bonus, I've included her two songs from the film, "Ciribiribin," taken from the soundtrack LP, and "Hallelujah," from the soundtrack itself (the LP's version cuts Armen's chorus). Among others, you will hear Damone and Tony Martin on these songs. Hit the Deck was Armen's only film in the 50s, but she was on TV as a guest singer and actor both, and also appeared in a few later films.

The cover of this LP is a striking example of the 50s idea of romance. A couple smooching on the floor with their M-G-M records, him in a suit, her in pearls and a voluminous skirt, with a four-times life-size Armen monitoring the proceedings from the wall. I could not like it more!

LINK

Rich, Young and Pretty

Would that Rich, Young and Pretty - or any of the three - applied to the proprietor of this blog, but no. It instead refers to the star of this M-G-M musical of 1951, the glorious Jane Powell.

On this soundtrack LP, Jane shares the singing chores with Danielle Darrieux and Fernando Lamas (with him, the listening also is a chore). Vic Damone was the love interest in the film, but was under contract to Mercury at the time, so does not appear here.

Powell has most of the numbers, notably "Wonder Why" and "Dark Is the Night." Those songs and most of the others are by Nicholas Brodszky (his Flame and the Flesh was featured here recently) and the ubiquitous lyricist Sammy Cahn.

By the way, the orchestrations here are by M-G-M stalwarts Leo Arnaud and Wally Heglin. David Rose conducts.

LINK to Rich, Young and Pretty (remastered in ambient stereo)

Flame and the Flesh

Here's a real obscurity - a soundtrack EP from the 1954 film Flame and the Flesh. The songs here are by Nicholas Brodszky (his name is spelled various ways in various sources) with Jack Lawrence's lyrics.

Brodszky's main claim to fame was working on several popular Mario Lanza vehicles, including The Toast of New Orleans with its big hit Be My Love. The RCA LP from that film will probably be making an appearance here later on.

Brodszky did not have Lanza to work with here. Instead the star/singer was Carlos Thompson, an Argentinian actor of Swiss-German extraction who here was playing an Italian. Thompson could not provide Lanza's volume, but his singing was convincing enough for his role as a saloon singer. (I haven't seen the film so can't attest to his acting. Thompson did play the lead in several Hollywood films in this period.)

The plot was one that had been used for two earlier films - Thompson dumps good-girl Pier Angeli for bad-girl Lana Turner. Eventually the bad girl does the noble thing and clears out so the good girl can have her man back. It's not real deep.

Apparently the curvaceous figure on the right is supposed to be Turner, who undyed her blond hair for this film; presumably for the publicity. (Do I seem cynical?) And just so that there is no doubt from her posture that she is a bad girl, she is leaning on a streetlight. The demure figure on the left is Angeli.

The songs are tuneful enough, so if you like The Toast of New Orleans, The Student Price, Love Me or Leave Me, Rich, Young and Pretty or Serenade - all Brodszky's work - you should try this. Rich, Young and Pretty also will be featured here soon.