The 'Cool Canaries' Chirp with George Shearing

"Cool Canaries" is typical terminology from the 1950s. It lets us know that we're going to hear some singers, and they are cool, man.

And they are cool - Billy Eckstine, Teddi King and the Ray Charles Singers, the latter of whom has appeared here a few times recently.

That said, in the 1950s, "cool jazz" had a specific meaning, and none of these artists will remind you of, say, Chet Baker's balladry.

George Shearing

Even so, they are all talented musicians, appearing here in the company of George Shearing's Quintet, which had a well-defined sound by this time - piano and vibes in unison, often with the guitar along, supported by bass and drums, with frequent solos by the leader.

The recordings date from 1951-54. Let's discuss them by the vocalists involved.

Teddi King

Teddi King

A native of Boston, Teddi King (1929-77) began her recording career with Nat Pierce and His Orchestra in 1949. (I've added two of those songs to the set as a bonus.) She began touring with George Shearing in 1952, when the six songs on this LP were recorded.

The set is successful even though the first item we hear is her weakest performance. King's a singer I admire, but she did occasionally make a meal out of some meager rations. "The Love Nest" was written by Louis Hirsch and Otto Harbach for the 1920 musical Mary, but by the 1950s was best known as the theme of the Burns and Allen Show on television. King takes the opening stanza - "Just a love nest, cozy and warm / Like a dove nest down on the farm" very slowly and intensely, as if it contained some profound meaning. Most of the performance is like that.

Things improve for the other numbers. Next up is "I Wished on the Moon," a standard written by Ralph Rainger and Dorothy Parker for The Big Broadcast of 1936. Bing Crosby introduced it; the first recording was by Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson. Teddi does not suffer in comparison.

Four of the King-Shearing songs were issued on EP in England

"Love (Your Spell Is Everywhere)" (often called "Love (Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere)") comes from the 1929 film The Trespasser, where Gloria Swanson made her talkie debut by singing. The music is by the versatile Edmund Goulding, also the film's director, working with Elsie Janis, who was just as multifaceted, being an actor and screenwriter as well as lyricist. The song is well suited to King's emotive way of singing.

"Moonlight in Vermont" was a relatively new song when Teddi and George recorded it. Margaret Whiting had a hit with it in 1944. It was far and away the best-known song written by Karl Suessdorf or John Blackburn.

The next selection is an obscure one, but still a song that King had in her repertoire for some time. "Midnight Belongs to You" is a song by Clark and Gentile, of whom I know nothing. It's worth hearing in this sincere rendition.

The final number from Teddi is another standard introduced by Bing - "It's Easy to Remember (and So Hard to Forget)." A Rodgers and Hart song, it comes from the 1935 film Mississippi.

The bonus items with Nat Pierce's orchestra are covered at the end of the post.

The Ray Charles Singers

What is notable about the Ray Charles Singers' selections is that they were all written by Shearing himself. Leading off the LP is the most famous song of the group - "Lullaby of Birdland." Shearing wrote the piece for New York's Birdland club to use as its signature instrumental. He recorded it as such in 1952. George David Weiss (under the name B.Y. Forster) wrote the lyrics thereafter, which were first recorded by Ella Fitzgerald in 1954. The song itself was based on Walter Donaldson's "Love Me or Leave Me." Regardless, it's a brilliant, infectious work even if Weiss/Forster's words aren't up to Shearing/Donaldson's music.

Ray Charles in 1975

A few months after Ella's session, Shearing and Charles got together for their recording date, adding three other songs to the schedule along with "Lullaby." The other items were all written by a lyricist I believe to be Bill Hegner. They are attractive numbers that should be better known - "Nothing New Under the Sun," "Slowly but Surely" and "Adieu."

The Charles troupe does not sound much like they do in the albums I have posted already, and while they are highly accomplished and great to hear, they were not a jazz group. For whatever reason, the vocals on all these numbers were buried in the mix, which didn't do justice to either the vocalists or the songs. I've raised the singers' level accordingly.

"Lullaby of Birdland" and "Adieu" were issued on singles, but as far as I can tell this LP was the only outing for the other songs.

Billy Eckstine

Billy Eckstine

Billy Eckstine was associated with the bop movement throughout his early career, leading a big band with luminaries of the new jazz. But on record, his biggest successes were as a balladeer, so when he moved to the M-G-M label in 1947, they recorded him primarily with plush backings provided by Hugo Winterhalter. A string of hits ensued.

In 1951, Eckstine met up with Shearing for what I believe to be their only recordings together. Billy is in sonorous voice for two standards. "Taking a Chance on Love" comes from the 1940 musical Cabin in the Sky. Ethel Waters introduced the Vernon Duke melody, with words by John Latouche and Ted Fetter.

English EP - the two did not sing together; the photo is a composite

Walter Donaldson returns with "You're Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do?)," a 1930 song from Smiles, where it was performed by Adele Astaire and Eddie Foy, Jr. Here, too, Donaldson's work was the basis of a well-known jazz number: "Moten Swing."

Bonus Songs with Teddi King

Teddi King made several recordings with pianist Nat Pierce's short-lived big band in 1949 and 1950. Two of them are included as bonuses.

Nat Pierce

Pierce had organized a stentorian band in the mold of Kenton, with idiosyncratic arrangements reminiscent of George Handy's work with Boyd Raeburn. Surprisingly, this is less noticeable in the jazz piece - "Goodbye Mr. Chops" - than it is in the nominal ballad, Don Raye and Gene de Paul's "You Don't Know What Love Is."

King's vocals are in two different styles as well - Anita O'Day hip in "Goodbye Mr. Chops" and more straightforward, if somewhat mannered, in the ballad. Her approach was more settled when she recorded with Shearing a few years later.

These are nonetheless impressive performances, well recorded for the small Motif label. Internet Archive is the source of the two 78s. The Cool Canaries LP is from my collection.

LINK to Cool Canaries and Teddi King bonus tracks

New Transfer of Shearing's First American Recordings

This unusual cover adorned the LP version of George Shearing's 1947 sessions for the Savoy label - his first American recordings.

I transferred the album many years ago, but have never been happy with the sound. Now I've done a new version with much better sonics, if hardly modern or even good for the time.

This is Shearing before his familiar quintet sound, with only bass and piano backing.

LINK to previous post on Shearing's 1947 recordings

The Ray Charles Singers Proclaim 'Spring Is Here'

The Ray Charles Singers return to tell us that spring is here, just a bit before the calendar does so.

Spring Is Here is a follow-up to my recent post of the singers' 1957 Summertime LP, which was popular with those of you who like good singing or pine for better weather, or both.

In terms of recording dates, this is the second in Charles' traversal of the seasons. It appeared in 1955, following 1954's Autumn Nocturne. Winter Wonderland would arrive in 1956. All will be featured here eventually.

As before, the effect of the Charles group is markedly different from the vocal groups popular in the 1950s, ranging from the Hi-Lo's to the jazz styles of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. This is not jazz, certainly. The liner notes make the case that Charles was attempting to blend vocal and instrumental effects into a new kind of mood music. And yes, as with the Summertime album, the instrumentalists are not just accompanists: their lines are an active part of the scene setting.

Ray Charles frowns at someone's intonation

But my own view is still that the arrangements are influenced by Ray's appearances on Perry Como's television show, where songs would have had to set a scene or carry out a mini-story. The first song, "Spring Is Here," opens with Katie Wallace's acapella singing of "Maybe it's because nobody loves me." The ensemble then enters with the verse. Lorenz Hart's chorus only appears in the middle of the arrangement, with Katie Wallace again soloing.

Also as with the summer LP, the settings reflect the arranger's need to provide a basic scenario for the songs used on the Como show. "Paris in the Spring" starts off with a man and a woman intoning a few French words of love, for example. (It also has a few welcome solo lines for Charles.)

The liner notes do provide the background of the various songs, which frees me from the need to do so. (Let me mention, however, that the sleeve writer did not have the correct order of songs, so that may be a little confusing.) As before, the program includes familiar items interspersed with less-remembered numbers such as "Paris in the Spring," "A Young Man's Fancy," "Lovelier than Ever" (a wonderful song), "June Night" and "When It's Springtime in the Rockies."

Also as before, the singing is superb, the instrumentalists are excellent, and the recording is good. The Columbus Boychoir makes a few appearances. I suppose Ray wanted to use them on "A Young Man's Fancy," but they don't sing as well as Charles' superb professionals.

LINK

It's Summertime - or So the Ray Charles Singers Assure Us

My recent Snowflakes and Sweethearts post from the LeRoy Holmes Singers led to a request for the music of the Ray Charles Singers, who were popular in the 1950s and 60s.

Now, this is not the "Hit the Road, Jack" Ray Charles (born Ray Charles Robinson), but another fellow, born Charles Raymond Offenberg (1918-2015). The latter adopted the "Ray Charles" stage name back in the 1944 when he was doing radio work.

Ray's biggest break was his association with Perry Como, which lasted for 35 years. Charles began recording for M-G-M in 1954, with the LP Autumn Nocturne. He continued through the seasons, along with a variety of other album concepts - Christmas, Paris, etc.

I have three of the four seasonal LPs, which I'll be presenting here, starting with Summertime. I would begin with Winter Wonderland, but that's the record I am missing. (Fortunately, friend Ernie has posted it a number of times, and the most recent post is still available.) 

"Uh, Ray - this is the shoot for the Summertime album"

These records have a fine reputation among fanciers of 50s music like me, and for good reason. They are very polished, imaginative and varied. You know you are in the presence of real professionals.

The singers were a studio group that Ray chose from among the coterie of vocalists for hire. Today's LP, dating from 1957, features Andrey Marsh, Lillian Clark, Lois Winter, Miriam Workman, Alan Sokoloff, Jerry Duane, Stephen Steck Jr., Michacl Stewart and Eugene Steck.

Ray also lists the instrumental combo, also studio stalwarts: Al Klink, flute, Janet Putnam, harp, Nick Perito, accordion, Tony Mottola, guitar, Frank Garitso, Jr. or Bobby Rosengarden, drums, Robert Kitsis or Dick Hyman, piano, and George Shaw or Frank Carroll, bass. The relatively sparse accompaniments work nicely, setting off the vocals.

The first two songs on the LP will not make anyone eager with anticipation - "Summertime" and "Mountain Greenery," two of the most familiar items that Gershwin and Rodgers and Hart ever produced. But the versions here are so well done that they disarm any criticism.

"Mountain Greenery" features by-play among the singers. I suspect this was an arrangement worked out for use on Como's television show, where the singing would have accompanied by some simple staging. "Summertime," too, could have been part of a seasonal medley - as could others in this set.

James Melton serenades Patricia Ellis; Hugh Herbert, Walter Catlett, ZaSu Pitts and Allen Jenkins emote in the margins

The next song, in contrast, was a surprise to me - "Summer Night" by Harry Warren and Al Dubin. The label says it's from a film of the same name, but it actually emanates from 1936's Sing Me a Love Song, where it was introduced by James Melton. I don't recall hearing this song before, and it is quite a find. That's Ray soloing in the recorded performance.

"Breezin' Along with the Breeze" is another old favorite - as old as 1926, in fact. The writers were Haven Gillespie, Seymour Simons and Richard Whiting.

"Lazy Afternoon" is an extraordinary song, the most celebrated selection from The Golden Apple, the marvelous 1954 musical from John Latouche and Jerome Moross, a multitalented composer. An excellent performance from the Charles troupe.

"In the Good Old Summertime," a good old song by Ren Shields and George Evans, is from as far back as 1902. This is another item that would have lent itself to a television production.

Miss Beadell and Miss Tollerton write the tune; Phil Green gets the cover photo

The next song has an unusual history. "Cruising Down the River" was the only hit by Eily Beadell and Nell Tollerton, who won a BBC songwriting contest in 1945 or 46. It was a huge hit then in England, and later for Russ Morgan and Blue Barron in the US. The song is deliberately old-fashioned - it is said that the two authors had concocted it years earlier. It fit the postwar longing for simpler times.

Bernice Petkere and Joe Young's always-welcome "Lullaby of the Leaves" was a favorite of the bands in 1932 and was revived in the 1950s.

"Swingin' in a Hammock" was very popular in 1930, when it was written by Pete Wendling, Charles O'Flynn and Tot Seymour, and then not heard too often until this record. Sue Raney did wonders with it a few years after this LP. (I have a remastered collection of her singles coming that includes the song.)

George Duning's theme from the 1956 film Picnic is most famous in George Cates's hit arrangement (found here), where he combined it with the Hudson-DeLange oldie "Moonglow." But the "Theme from Picnic" can well stand on its own, as it does here.

Mary Boland and Melville Cooper in Jubilee

"Me and Marie" is another unexpected delight, a relatively obscure Cole Porter song from his score for 1935's Jubilee.

"(Up a) Lazy River" was a big favorite of mine in the version by trombonist Si Zentner. But that was in 1961, four years after this record came out. The Hoagy Carmichael-Sidney Arodin song dates from as far back as 1931. It had a revival in the 1950s, which Ray was happy to participate in.

A most enjoyable record in good sound.

LINK