Yet further proof that Elvis invented rock and roll

A hit for Lillian Briggs in 1955, I Want You to Be My Baby bears out what we've been told about the Fifties, pop-chart-wise--namely, that nothing rocked before Elvis.

Thank God Elvis enjoyed pop fame in 1956-otherwise, snoozeworthy stuff like this would have been all that people had to die to. Heck, who could dance to this? And what was with the orchestra? Were they asleep on the gig?

Jeesh. You'd think they could swing a twelve-bar blues like this, but it took Elvis to show the white folks the way....

Oops--the Overdone Sarcasm Police are coming for me. Let's get to the track:

I Want You to Be My Baby (Jon Hendricks)--Lillian Briggs with O.B. Masingill Orch., 1955. From Epic label 78.

You only think that rocked. No fair cranking it up, either.


Lee

More mellow sounds!--Alfred Newman, Columbia Salon Orch., Columbia Concert Orch., Kitty White!

Yup, more mellow sounds--as in, additional mellow sounds. As opposed to sounds that are more mellow than the previous ones.

What I just typed.

Last time, I mentioned Alfred Newman's 1931 vintage lounge classic Street Scene, and now we're going to hear Alfred's own 1946 recording for the Majestic label. Majestic was in that crappy group of labels that included Varsity, which is why this side, despite being in excellent condition, sounds pretty bad. I did what I could with it. I swear I did:

Street Scene (A Sentimental Rhapsody; A. Newman)--Alfred Newman and His Orchestra, 1946. From 78 on the crappy Majestic label.


















Too recent for ya? Fine. We've got two gems from 1926, and another from 1941. The 1941 isn't in the greatest shape (someone must have loved it, judging by the number of plays), but the fidelity is downright remarkable. Years ago, I decided that high fidelity, as we know it, was invented around 1941. Later, I decided my claim was ridiculous. Now I'm back to thinking I was right. We'll start with it. Ignore the surface issues, if you can, and savor the great sonic quality and range:

In a Persian Market (Ketelbey)--Columbia Salon Orchestra conducted by Mortimer Palitz, 1941. From Columbia 78.

I didn't know they could record things that well in 1941. Hopefully, I'll find a decent-condition copy someday, the Shellac God willing. Now for 1926:

La Paloma (The Dove) (Yradier)--Columbia Concert Orch., 1926. From Columbia 78.

The Trailing Arbutus (Friedman)--Columbia Concert Orch., 1926. From Columbia 78.

Now I don't know whether or not these next two titles by Kitty White qualify as mellow--it's a tough call. Compared to death metal, yes. Compared to the average, drums-slamming TV ad, yes. Compared to The Trailing Arbutus, maybe not. These calls are always approximate.

According to the IMDb,, Kitty White is the "vocalist in club (opening credits) (uncredited)" in the 1955 film Kiss Me Deadly. And what could be more ironic than showing up uncredited in the opening credits?

The first number has nothing to do with our lovely and dynamic Secretary of State. Mack David, in case you're wondering, was Hal's older brother (the lyricist, not the computer).

Rice (Mack David)--Kitty White with Hugo Peretti and His Orch., 1955. From Mercury label 78.

The Impatient Years (Cahn-Van Heusen)--Kitty White with Hugo Peretti and His Orch., 1955. From Mercury label 78.

We close with the Lettermen's ultra-mellow version of Jerry Samuel's The Shelter of Your Arms, which was a hit for Sammy Davis, Jr. Two years later, Samuels wrote and recorded the decidedly unmellow They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!

The Shelter of Your Arms (Jerry Samuels)--The Lettermen, 1964.


Lee

Mellow sounds for Thursday--There's something about an Acquaviva side

It's Thursday. And, more importantly, it's mellow music time.

Actually, the first one is sort of semi-mellow:

Jato (Busch)--Lou Busch and His Orch., 1956. From Capitol 45.

I think you'll agree, after listening to this next one, that there's something about an Acquaviva side:

A Man with a Dream (Young-Unger)--Acquaviva and His Orch.; arranged by Jimmy Mundy, 1956. From MGM 45.

Next, George Gershwin's not very well known Song of the Flame. One of those "I thought I knew all of his songs, but I guess not" numbers. It's from 1925, and this recording is from 1956 or (more likely) 1957:

Song of the Flame (Gershwin-Harbach-Hammerstein-Stothart)--David Whitehall and His Orchestra, circa 1957. From RCA Camden EP.

Here are three more easy excellent-listening sides by Whitehall. I mean, three more excellent easy-listening sides by Whitehall, starting with David Raskin's Laura, which sounds complicated as heck until you figure out the simple modulation scheme. Took years for me. For years, too, I couldn't listen to any recording of Laura without hearing Spike Jones' version in the back of my ears ("Bromo Seltzer, Bromo Seltzer, Bromo..."):

Laura (Mercer-Raskin)--David Whitehall and His Orch., circa 1957.

If you thought that was good, wait until you hear Whitehall's version of the 1928 vintage lounge classic Manhattan Serenade, a light instrumental piece this blogger rates up there with Alfred Newman's Street Scene (1931). Some people know this from the Tom and Jerry cartoon Mouse in Manhattan:

Manhattan Serenade (Harold Adamson-Louis Alter)--David Whitehall and His Orch., circa 1957.

One more EZ gem by David:

Love Is the Sweetest Thing (Ray Noble)--David Whitehall and His Orch., circa 1957.























Lee

Happy Birthday, Bev! Or, Rudy in the Sky with Friskies

I'm getting more music together as we speak. Groggy weather today--85 for the high (!), and a storm that just hit. Felt it coming all day. We're getting the least of it where we are. Which is fine with me.

Of course, the moment I typed that, the rain picked up considerably. As if to mock me. (Knock it off, weather.)

It's Bev's Birthday, and I made her some custom e-cards. Rudy the kitten stars in all of them. You saw Rudy's battle with Rodan. Now behold Rudy in the Sky (with Friskies) and Rudezilla!!

The Rudezilla e-card was a challenge, since I had to make it appear that Rudy's head is coming out from between the battered buildings. How to align everything precisely with my simple software, I wondered? Solution: two copies of the main image, so that I could "restore" the right-hand portion after attaching Rudy's head and neck. I simply cut and pasted from the second (still-intact) image. Then I switched R.'s image to black and white.

Bet you can't tell that Rudy was lying down and yawning when I took his photo....

Lee

Rudy vs. Rodan