The Nearly Complete Sun Valley Serenade

For some time now, the erudite Dave Weiner has been providing session-by-session commentary on the civilian recordings of the Glenn Miller band on Dave's blog, Community Swing.

This has been a real pleasure for me, a Miller fan since I was 10, and when Dave recently covered the songs from the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade, I decided to do a post of my own. This for two reasons: one, these were among the first Miller items I owned myself, and two, the soundtrack recordings exist in a variety of versions, which Dave neatly straightens out, enabling me to assemble a coherent and nearly complete package.

We start with RCA Victor's 10-inch soundtrack LP, which belatedly came out in 1954 as part of the blitz of Miller recordings that RCA reissued in the wake of The Glenn Miller Story. In 1959, 20th Century Fox issued a Miller soundtrack set that included some but not all of this material - and added one item that isn't found on the RCA edition.

The RCA LP is unusual in that it includes the first version of the gorgeous Harry Warren-Mack Gordon ballad "At Last" (yes, the Etta James song), cut from this film only to turn up in the second Miller pic, Orchestra Wives. Here's Dave: "It’s a great arrangement by Jerry Gray and Bill Finegan, done here as a rhythm ballad, vocalized by Lynn Bari and John Payne. Payne sings for himself, rather reedily and Bari is doubled, as usual, by Pat Friday." I might add that Pat Friday was a superb singer who unfortunately is quite unknown these days. The Pat Friday-Ray Eberle version of "At Last" in Orchestra Wives is even better than this one. Friday, Payne and the Modernaires also do another beautiful Warren-Gordon ballad, "I Know Why" in Sun Valley Serenade.

The RCA LP includes the complete eight-minute "Chattanooga Choo-Choo." It starts with the familiar Tex Beneke-Modernaires vocal, followed by a long section featuring Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers. This is as seen during the film, but minus the sound of the brothers' tap dancing. (Their routine is astonishing, by the way.)

Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers

The album contains what Dave calls the best-ever version of Miller's famous "In the Mood," among several outstanding band features, including Jerry Gray's terrific "The Spirit Is Willing."

But as I mentioned, the RCA LP is not complete. It did not contain the snatch of Miller's theme "Moonlight Serenade" as heard in the movie. So I have added that song from the Fox soundtrack album (which did not contain this first rendition of "At Last" and had truncated versions of "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" and "I Know Why").

Another song, "The Kiss Polka," appears in the film but is not played by the Miller band. However, the band did make a commercial recording of it that I have appended to the download.

I say my version is "nearly complete" because there is one song that was cut from the movie and has never been released. It is called "The World Is Waiting to Waltz Again." Dave, however, has somehow come up with the recording, and it can be heard via his blog post discussing Sun Valley Serenade.

The RCA LP has excellent sound, and is better than the Fox edition, which adds unneeded reverb. The soundtrack also is superior to the Victor commercial recordings of the early 40s. One final note for those who might be curious: the strange whistling sounds heard under the muted trumpet solos during "The Spirit Is Willing" are on both the RCA and Fox records.

Note (July 2023): I have now added an alternate take of "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" to the download, cleaned up from a long-ago bootleg. You will note that Tex's whistling intro is different from the version used in the film. Please excuse the pitch instability and noise on this outtake. Also new in the download is a long document about the film from the American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Below, the Miller band as seen during the film, with Lynn Bari as vocalist, John Payne as pianist, the sections all mixed up.

More from Sauter-Finegan, Florence Henderson and Bruno Walter

More today from the Satuter-Finegan Orchestra, Florence Henderson and Bruno Walter (not together, I should add). These are quick follow-ups to some of the posts that have appeared here in recent months. I'd like to say you have been clamoring for them, but that wouldn't be true, so I'll just say that I hope some of you enjoy them!

A few words about each (you can tell I am tired of writing about these particular artists):

Sauter-Finegan Orchestra - Concert Jazz. This is the troupe's fourth LP (I have the third but can't find it), and it follows a familiar path, with some compositions by the individual maestros, some vocals, including an odd version of John Henry, and interesting arrangements. Great sound, a Jim Flora cover and a scan of the second cover, depicting Sauter and Finegan on stage. Recorded in 1954-55.

Florence Henderson - The Best from Fiorello! and The Sound of Music. My first post by the future Mrs. Brady was surprisingly well received by people who didn't know she sang, or who knew she sang but had never heard her do so. Like that initial LP, this album has potted versions of two Broadway hits of the time (1960) - Fiorello! and The Sound of Music. Henderson once again sounds like Mary Martin, which is especially appropriate in the latter score. The Sid Bass arrangements are loungy, which isn't to my taste in this repertoire.

Bruno Walter/Philadelphia Orchestra - Beethoven Symphony No. 6. Another installment from Walter's Beethoven cycle of the 1940s. Here he takes a break from the New Yorkers, and travels to Philadelphia and the Academy of Music for January 1946 sessions. This to my ear is a less successful performance and recording than the efforts with the PSONY, but enjoyable enough. Below, a Columbia ad from 1946 touting this new release among others. The transfer is from an early LP.

Soundtrack Reups and Remasters

A few of these soundtrack reups are requests, but most of them are just the result of me wanting to improve the sound on some of my old projects. These are all remastered, and the sound is generally much improved.

Links to all items are in the comments to this post.

Aladdin (promo). The excellent promo record for the 1958 CBS television presentation of Cole Porter's Aladdin, with an intro by the composer.

Alexander the Great. Mario Nascimbene's thunderous 1956 score. Has a great cover image of Richard Burton plotting to take over the world while wearing blue diapers and a blond wig. (Really.)

Barabbas. More glorious noise from Nascimbene, this time in stereo. No Burton, though. This transfer is new to this blog.

Flame and the Flesh. Obscure 1953 soundtrack EP with music by Nicholas Brodsky. The "flesh" here is Lana Turner, "predatory adventuress of all the capitals of Europe," who unfortunately does not appear on the EP. Carlos Thompson does.

Summer Love. Something of an homage to the recently deceased Rod McKuen, who appears here as "Ox," a member of a rock group called "Jimmy Daley & the Ding-a-Lings." Music by Henry Mancini. I am not making this up.

Sunny Side of the Street. Songs from the 1951 film by Frankie Laine and Billy Daniels, who appeared in the flick, although these aren't the soundtrack recordings, if that makes sense. The cover features giant heads of the singers jutting out from a shocking-pink apartment building. 

Victor Young - For Whom the Bell Tolls; Golden Earrings. Atmospheric 40s scores by the great Victor Young in excellent sound from an early LP.

Tammy and the Bachelor; Interlude. This one was actually in my past batch of reups, but I thought I would throw it out there again because there is a new link. Music by Frank Skinner.

Meredith Willson's 'Chiffon Swing'

There was a great amount of interest in my previous post of Meredith Willson's band recordings, so here is another set by him.

That first group collected concert pieces. This album assembles pop songs and a few classical adaptations under the confounding banner of "Chiffon Swing." I'm not sure what the "chiffon" signifies, but I can report that there is little "swing" to be found herein.

Meredith Willson

What you will discover is some enjoyable light music, with imaginative if slightly dated arrangements. Willson does particularly well with the Chopin and Tchaikovsky pieces. It's usually a dreary experience when dance bands take on the classics, but these efforts are enjoyable.

Also of note is Willson's own composition "Thoughts While Strolling," which comes from his O.O. McIntyre Suite. (McIntyre was a then-famous syndicated newspaper columnist.) Willson himself is the flute soloist in the piece. He was an accomplished instrumentalist who had labored in bands as diverse as those of Sousa and Toscanini (the New York Philharmonic).

These recordings all are from March 1942, and originally were issued in a 78 set. This 10-inch LP comes from 1949. Decca's sonics are pleasant but opaque.

Jean Sablon on Capitol

About a year ago I began featuring the American recordings of French crooner Jean Sablon. The series started with 1942 and 1946 collections on Decca, moved on to 1938-47 RCA Victor sides, and here concludes with Sablon's 1952 album for Capitol.

This set is just as good as the other LPs, so needless to say I recommend it. The singer is in good voice. The highly sympathetic accompaniments are by Skitch Henderson and orchestra, plus an anonymous vocal troupe.

Jean Sablon

The sound is excellent on these sides, which made up a 10-inch LP presented here in its dual-EP form. Although the front cover only mentions six songs, eight are indeed included. This fact is helpfully mentioned on the back cover, although it does not go on to specify what those eight songs are. I have included label scans to clarify matters.

The wonderful cover art may be the best thing about the package. I think that's a hat on her head; at least the placement would indicate as much.

Note (May 2025): this has now been remastered in ambient stereo.

LINK

Mahalia Jackson - First LP on Apollo

This LP is titled, "Queen of the Gospel Singers," and Mahalia Jackson certainly was that in postwar America.

A powerful singer and commanding presence, she came to fame via the recordings heard on this, her first long-playing album. It collects eight of the sides that the small Apollo label made with her beginning in 1946. Pride of place is given to "Move on Up a Little Higher," her breakthrough 1947 single. The other songs are hardly less fine, saturated with her intensity and sincerity.

At a recording session

The accompanists on most of these items are Mildred Falls, piano, and Herbert James Francis, organ, with guitar added on some songs.

The recording quality is just to my taste, giving the listener a real sense of what it was like in the studio with Jackson and the musicians. (Please forgive the occasional pops that the record has acquired over the years.)

This LP came out in 1954, just before the singer moved on to Columbia Records. If there is interest, I also have her second Apollo collection, "In the Upper Room."

Reups by Request: Rodzinski, Lili Kraus, Fran Warren, Frank Skinner Soundtracks

I've been busy with some reups as a result of requests - a bunch of recordings by Artur Rodzinski with the New York and Cleveland Orchestras, pre-war Lili Kraus in Bartok, Fran Warren singles, and two tuneful film scores from Frank Skinner.

The Skinner and Kraus LPs and some of the Rodzinski tracks have been remastered. In general, this has improved the sound, but the Rodzinski items were by and large never very good sounding, whether from the original recordings or the quality of my copies (or transfers!). You may need to exercise some sonic tolerance for these.

Tonight's offerings:

Bartok Piano Music - Lili Kraus (remastered). Her 1938 recordings for Parlophone - I believe this may be the only 20th century music she recorded.

Tammy and the Bachelor; Interlude (remastered). Frank Skinner's beautiful 50s scores. Tammy includes the Debbie Reynolds hit song; I've added the McGuire Sisters' recording of the Interlude title song as a bonus.

Fran Warren - RCA Victor Singles. I compiled this tribute post upon the death of Warren, one of my favorite pop vocalists. Excellent sound.

Bizet - Carmen Act III Prelude (Rodzinski) (remastered). This is from 78 and actually has better sound than the Bizet LP below.

Bizet - Symphony (Rodzinski) (remastered). Columbia recordings with the New Yorkers.

Prokofiev - Symphony No. 5 (Rodzinski) (mp3). More with the New York PSO.

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2 (Rodzinski) (mp3). Ditto.

Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet, 1812 (Rodzinski) (remastered). With the Clevelanders and better sounding than some of the others.

Wagner - Siegfried Idyll (Rodzinski) (remastered). And back with the New York ensemble.

FYI - a further Rodzinski recording, the Franck symphony with Vienna forces, is still available. See the comments to this post for links to all these items.