Buddy Clark at Christmas

My friend Ernie and a few other kind folks let me know that the Internet Archive uploaded quite a few Carnation Contented Hour radio shows with Buddy Clark, one of my favorite singers. Among the shows was a Christmas program dating from December 20, 1948. It was the final Christmas of Clark's life: he was to die in a plane crash the following October, at the peak of his popularity.

Today's post combines a cleaned-up version of the Carnation show with bonuses of a Clark Christmas single and a duet with Doris Day, both from shellac.

The Carnation Contented Hour

Carnation has made condensed milk products for well over 100 years, and sponsored the Carnation Contented Hour on network radio from 1931-51. The hour was "contented" because Carnation's milk came "from contented cows," whose emotional health apparently was rigorously monitored. Also, Carnation optimistically called baby-feeding time "the contented hour."

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Carnation's ads generally plugged the radio show, at least in the fine print. This was common back when advertisers sponsored complete shows. Another Carnation ad below is themed to Christmas, and depicts cute kids who were as interested, improbably, in Carnation's gelatinous "Christmas Tree Salad" as they were in the gifts under the spruce. "Jiminy Christmas!" they exclaim. "Presents ... and Santa Claus ... and exciting things to eat!"

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Ken Darby

For the radio show at hand, Clark was assisted by the Ken Darby Singers and the Ted Dale Orchestra. Darby even then was a well-known vocal arranger. His singers had backed Bing Crosby on the original 1942 "White Christmas" single and the 1947 remake. Darby was to go on to win three Academy Awards for his arrangements.

The program mixes holiday fare with other items. Clark sings "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Silent Night" and "White Christmas." Darby and singers perform the tiresome "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and Dale's crew presents "Winter Wonderland" and "London Bridge." I don't believe the latter is the Eric Coates composition with the same name, but I could be wrong. In any case, the arrangement shows off quite a Coates influence.

NBC's caricature of Clark didn't look a thing like him

In addition to the Christmas numbers, Clark performs "My Darling, My Darling," a song from Frank Loesser's current Broadway show Where's Charley? Buddy's duet with Doris Day was then on the market. (Their Columbia 78 is one of the bonus items mentioned below/)

The sound on the show is quite good, after some finagling, except for rustle during the first few minutes.

Bonus Singles

Clark recorded only two Christmas songs for commercial distribution: a coupling of "Winter Wonderland" and the "Merry Christmas Waltz," both done for Columbia in June 1949 with Ted Dale's band. I posted this single way back when, but I've included a new version in the download.

As mentioned above, I've also included Buddy's commercial recording of "My Darling, My Darling," to go with the radio performance.

The download also includes a Radio Album article about Clark's family finding a new home on the West Coast. Production of the Carnation Contented Hour had moved from New York to Los Angeles before the 1948 season.