Sam's 'Mood to Be Wooed' Plus Singles

With this LP, one of the most dynamic of all performers, Sammy Davis, Jr., turned reflective for the first time. For Mood to Be Wooed, a 1957 Decca release, the singer is backed only with a solo guitar, played by noted studio musician Mundell Lowe.

Davis returned to this concept in 1966 for a better-known Reprise album, albeit with a new song list. There, he was accompanied by Laurindo Almeida.

This post combines the Decca LP with six single sides from the same label that haven't had an official re-release for several decades.

Mundell Lowe

For his Decca repertoire, Davis turned to his great friend Frank Sinatra for inspiration. Most of the songs on the LP are associated with Frank. He had recorded one number ("Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered") only a few months earlier in conjunction with his lead role in the film of Pal Joey. Jimmy Van Heusen wrote "I Could Have Told You" for a 1953 Sinatra single. Frank had featured three of the other songs on his moody 1955 LP In the Wee Small Hours - including "This Love of Mine," which he co-wrote. And he had recorded several of the other numbers back in the 1940s.

I also suspect, without any evidence, that Davis' sparse accompaniment was inspired by Sinatra's chamber music LP, Close to You, recorded in 1956 with the Hollywood String Quartet and a few winds and brass.

Sam had an extroverted style, so even in Mood to Be Wooed he never seems as inward as Frank was in the latter's more subdued recordings during this period. In "What Is There to Say" (not really a ballad anyway), Davis can't resist belting out "what is there to DO-HEE-YOU-HOO-HOO" in the climax of the song. A similar use of melisma, a stylistic trademark of his, pops up several times in this collection.

But don't let me make too much of these matters. Mood to Be Wooed is a very good record, well sung and nicely accompanied by a talented guitarist. (FYI - two Mundell Lowe LPs appeared here in 2019, courtesy of David Federman.)

Davis at about the time the LP was recorded

Bonus Singles

The bonus singles all date from 1955. I remastered the files from lossless originals found on Internet Archive. These are all fast-paced numbers with big-band backings, and provide quite a contrast to the Davis-Lowe LP.

"It's Bigger Than You and Me" was a Styne-Robin song written for the musical film version of My Sister Eileen. There it was introduced by Jack Lemmon, who made several albums as a singer and pianist. He is, however, no match for Sammy, who is fully in his element, and enjoying terrific backing by Sy Oliver. This single was apparently released before the film, which the label identifies with its working title, Here Comes Eileen.

The flip side of "It's Bigger" was a cover of an early Gilbert Becaud song with new English lyrics, called "Back Track!" The exclamation point is fully warranted as Davis is at his exuberant best.

Bob Russell's "Circus" is a standard pop number of the time, well backed by Oliver. Another ephemeral number is "Dangerous," which was co-written by guitarist Billy Mure. The bombastic arrangement is by Morty Stevens.

Davis returned to Sinatra territory with his cover of "Adelaide," which Frank sang in the then-current film version of Guys and Dolls. This piece is much better suited to the Voice in character as Nathan Detroit than to Mr. Entertainment.

The final number is "All About Love," which Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon wrote for Eddie Fisher to perform in Bundle of Joy, the film Fisher made with then-wife Debbie Reynolds. It's a tricky melody, which Davis just about negotiates successfully. In truth, the performance and the Morty Stevens arrangement are better than the song.

The sound on the LP and singles is good; please forgive some slight background noise at the opening of the album. The download includes several short reviews and a vintage ad.

My friend John Morris asked for this transfer a while back; happy to provide it for him and anyone else interested.

'All the Way' with Sammy, Plus Bonus Singles

I haven't featured Sammy Davis, Jr. here much before, so I hope today's post makes amends. It includes his 1958 LP All the Way . . . and Then Some! with a substantial bonus of nine relatively rare single sides, also from Davis' time at Decca.

I transferred the LP for my friend John Morris, who is assembling all Sammy's recorded output. I then added the singles from lossless needle drops on Internet Archive that I remastered.

My previous Davis post involved his brief contribution to a PanAm promotional LP.

All the Way . . . and Then Some!

In the time-honored record company practice, the title of this LP is different from front cover to back cover to liner notes to label. (That's OK, I'm not entirely consistent myself.) I'm going with the front cover title, with standard capitalization.

The LP consists of the usual 12 tracks, assembled from six 1957-58 recording session with five different arrangers - Morty Stevens, Sonny Burke, Dick Stabile, Russ Garcia and Jack Pleis. In other words, it's not the sort of cohesive entity that Davis' great friend Frank Sinatra was putting out at the time. Usually when this is the case with an LP, the tracks are collated from previously released singles. But all of these songs were first issued on this LP and contemporary EPs.

I don't mean to signal that it's a bad record - far from it. Davis was almost as engaging on record as he was on stage - and he was famed as one of the world's greatest live entertainers. That said, it's hard to convey Sam's multiple talents on record - dancing, playing drums and trumpet, impressions and comedy along with the singing. But Davis did incorporate his gift for mimicry onto the occasional record, to the extent of producing an All Star Spectacular of impersonations for Reprise in 1961.

This particular LP starts off, in fact, with a credible impression of Frank Sinatra singing his then-current hit, "All the Way." After finishing the song, "Frank" dismisses conductor Nelson Riddle with the wish that he "sleep warm" (the title of a Sinatra-Riddle single and LP track). Davis then enters in his own voice and asks Frank to leave the band behind so he can do his own version of the song - which is more uptempo.

The LP follows "All the Way" with "Look to You Heart," a Sinatra song from several years earlier. Davis then leaves the Voice's repertoire behind in favor of an unlikely resurrection of Jane Powell's "Wonder Why" from the 1953 film Rich, Young and Pretty. It's good!

The balance of the songs are standards, with the possible exception of 1934's "Stay as Sweet as You Are," a Revel-Gordon tune from College Rhythm. As usual, Davis is effective whether in lyric or swinging mode.

Sammy Davis and Eartha Kitt in Anna Lucasta

The recording of the first track here ("They Can't Take That Away from Me") took place just as Mr. Wonderful, the Broadway show that had been written for Davis, was closing in February 1957. The last song recorded was "All the Way" in May 1958, after which Davis left for California and a starring role in the film Anna Lucasta, opposite Eartha Kitt. Later that year, he was Sportin' Life in the film version of Porgy and Bess.

Decca Singles

Unlike the LP's material, the songs from the singles are largely unfamiliar. I chose singles that the online Davis sessionography says haven't had an official re-release.

First up is "The Red Grapes," a Ross Bagdasarian tune. This recording, from a 1954 session, came after Bagdasarian's first big success as a songwriter, "Come on-a My House," but before his hits with "Witch Doctor" and the "The Chipmunk Song." Sy Oliver is the maestro for the Sammy single.

The four succeeding songs, all dating from 1955, are directed by Morty Stevens. "A Man with a Dream" comes from Victor Young's short-lived Broadway musical Seventh Heaven. Next are two duets with Gary Crosby - "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive" and "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar," the Ray McKinley specialty. Sam and Gary have no special chemistry, but the results are not unpleasant, and Sammy manages to work in an excellent Louis Armstrong impression. These are the only two records that Crosby and Davis made together.

Frank and Sam

The final song from 1955 is notable as a Jimmy Van Heusen-Sammy Cahn song written for Sinatra that Frank never released. It is "The Man with the Golden Arm," a title song manque for the film of the same name that starred Sinatra. The music for the film was by Elmer Bernstein and was superb. The Van Heusen-Cahn song was designed as a promotional song for the film. Frank recorded it, but it went unreleased until the 90s. Odd - it's a good song, and Davis does it beautifully, a few intonation problems aside.

Mr. Wonderful: Olga James, Sammy Davis, Chita Rivera

As 1956 began, Davis was preparing the Broadway show that was built around his talents, Mr. Wonderful, which opened in March and ran for nearly a year. In the run-up to the opening, Decca had him record the Jerry Bock-Lawrence Holofcener-George David Weiss songs from the score, including "Jacques d'Iraque." This take is different from the one that appeared on the cast album. Morty Stevens - who also did some of the arrangements and conducted the Broadway show - is again the leader of the band.

Peter Cadby's "'Specially for Little Girls" is a sensitive song done beautifully by Sammy with Sy Oliver conducting. At about this time, Cadby scored a children's film sponsored by the American Jewish Committee. This song may be from that film.

"Good Bye, So Long, I'm Gone" and "French Fried Potatoes and Ketchup" are the final two songs in this set, both from May 1956. They are essentially R&B numbers that David handles very nicely, particularly the latter item, which also was done by Amos Milburn for Aladdin. Sy Oliver is again in charge of the band.

The sound both on the LP and the singles is more than adequate.

Pavane for Two Dead Airlines

I enjoy at least some promotional LPs, and here are two good ones, both honoring now-defunct airlines.

Above we have "The Name of the Game Is Go," issued to celebrate a new advertising campaign, circa 1970, for Pan Am, at the time the largest international airline serving the U.S. The audience was likely travel agents, among others.

Below is a 1965 LP, "Images in Flight," which took the unusual step of having three conservative American composers gussy up the Eastern Airlines theme music into an aural travelogue depicting some of the destinations Eastern served. The cover notes imply that the record was a giveaway for Eastern employees, but I have seen the LP many times over the years, so I suspect its circulation was wider.

Both albums come from a time when air travel was rather more glamorous than it is nowadays. My own flying experience spans the period from when these records were issued until today, and I can tell you the only things I don't miss from those earlier days are cigarette smoke in the cabin and the less sophisticated weather forecasts of the time, which often led to bumpy if not dangerous flights.

But rather than going off into a reverie about the old days, let's look at each of the albums in turn.

Pan Am

The Pan Am record is listed online as coming from 1969, but since it references the Boeing 747, which Pan Am did not fly until 1970, I believe it is from a little later. The first side is devoted to several iterations of "Name of the Game is Go" advertising spots, which feature the catchy theme developed for the campaign and various versions of the clever lyrics. Each spot ends with a segue into the older "Pan Am Makes the Going Great" tagline music.

As usual with advertising jingles, the composer and copywriter for the "Name of the Game" spots are anonymous. However, "Goin's Great" music is also present in two recordings made of the music as adapted into song form, as performed by Sammy Davis, Jr. and Steve Allen circa 1969. The credits ascribe the music to Stanley Applebaum and lyrics to Sammy Cahn. Allen helpfully quotes "Shortnin' Bread" in his piano solo, suggesting where Applebaum may have found inspiration.

Gatefold - click to enlarge

The album's covers and gatefold display the ad campaign's print element. The artwork is by Henry "Hank" Syverson, a cartoonist with a very distinct style who worked for magazines and advertisements.

The music, arrangements, lyrics and artwork are all redolent of the time, and were largely aimed at the tired businessman looking to get away from it all. As was the custom then, women were mainly stereotyped as housewives.

Note (October 2024): this LP has now been remastered.

LINK to The Name of the Game Is Go

Eastern Airlines

The Eastern LP is the result of a collaboration between the airline and Andre Kostelanetz, a high-toned mood music maestro and the conductor of the New York Philharmonic's pops concerts. Kostelanetz then commissioned three reputable composers - Alan Hovhaness, Paul Creston and Henry Cowell - to produce a suite, "Images in Flight," making use of the airline's theme music. As with the Pan Am music, the composer of the Eastern theme is anonymous.

The result, as recorded by the New Yorkers in 1965, is surprisingly palatable in its easy-going way. The album is filled out by an instrumental version of the Eastern theme music, called "Bermuda Concerto" for some reason, as arranged by Clay Wernick (I believe) and performed by studio pianist Dick Hyman and the Kostelanetz ensemble. The balance of the LP consists of reissued Kostelanetz sides mainly on the travel theme.

The sound on these records is generally above average for promotional items, which often have dim sonics. The "Images in Flight" suite sounds quite good.

Note (October 2024): this LP has now been remastered.

LINK to Images in Flight