A Special Something - The Ray Charles Singers

California Dreamin'

A Special Something
The Ray Charles Singers
12 Big Beautiful Songs
Musical Arrangements: Ray Charles
Originated and Produced by Loren Becker and Robert Byrne
Recording Engineer: C. R. Fine and George Piros
Stereo and Monaural Mastering: George Piros
Art Director: Daniel Pezza
Command Records RS 914 SD
Grand Award Record Co., Inc.
1967

From the inside cover: Ray Charles, who always writes the arrangements for his Singers, also wrote the orchestra arrangements (except for Cabaret: Dick Hyman wrote this arrangement based on a sketch by Ray Charles). Ray took on the orchestral assignment with a little trepidation.

"The last time I wrote for an orchestra was in 1943 when I was in the Navy." he said. "I know the figures that I want to hear but I'm not always certain what instruments they should be played on. But," he added with a philosophic smile, "maybe that leads to freshness."

From Billboard - July 1, 1967: Here's another winner for the Ray Charles Singers. The combination of full orchestra and voices, lushly blended, provides real easy listening. There's the usual assortment of show tunes, and the recent pop hit, "California Dreamin'," all done in the smooth Ray Charles style.

Music To Watch Girls By
Theme From "The Sand Pebbles" (From "And We Were Lovers")
Little By Little And Bit By Bit
Sunrise, Sunset (From "Fiddler On The Roof")
Bless Your Heart
A Big Beautiful Ball (From "Not With My Wife, You Don't)
Step By Step
California Dreamin'
Cabaret (From "Cabaret")
Walking Happy (From "Walking Happy)
Alfie (From "Alfie")
Birds Of A Feather (Yeh-Yeh-Yeh)

Happy Birthday

Magic Train

Happy Birthday To You

Cover Design: Hobo Arts, Inc.
Funtime Children's Records BR-5008

Old Macdonald Had A Farm
Froggie Went A Courting
Peas Porridge Not
Cassey Jones
Hey Diddle Diddle
Little Tommy Tucker
Did You Ever See A Lassie
Brother John Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Sing A Song Of Six Pence
Magic Train
Follow The Leader
All Around The Mulberry Bush
Happy Birthday To You

Jackie Gleason Presents Lover's Rhapsody

Jackie Gleason Presents
Lover's Rhapsody
Desire - Flirtation - Temptation - Enchantment
Capitol Records LCA 336 - H366
The young lady on the cover is Jane Easton
Photographs by Sid Avery
10" LP Disc
1953

Available from online vendors so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the cover art and jacket notes.

From the back cover: To complement this intriguing work of Jackie Gleason and C. Dudley King, a group of sentimental ballads are universal favorites have been chosen - When Your Lover Has Gone, Tenderly, I'm Through With Love and Dark Is The Night (C'est Fini)

Like the tunes in his successful debut album, Music For Lovers Only, these selections (featuring trumpeter Bobby Hackett) clearly demonstrate Gleason's excellent musical taste. For he is a young man whose entertainment talents extend far beyond the borders of the television comedy field in which he has achieved his fame. And his remarkable show-business versatility finds full expression in this appealing album designed for your most romantic listening moments.

A Rock Blast - Frank Garlock

Side 1 & 2

Sides 3 & 4

The Big Beat
A Rock Blast
By Frank Garlock
Double Record Set
Musical Ministries - Greenville, S.C.
Artists' Records 710526

From the back cover: Frank Garlock, one of America' best-known authorities on the dangers of rock music, has been heard by thousands of young people as well as adults throughout the nation as he has emphatically stated, "Chirst is the Answer." His popular message has been given as often as six times a week to high school assemblies, youth rallies, summer camps, colleges, music clubs, civic clubs, and other groups.

Mr. Garlock is a favorite of young people because he is in tune with young people and their needs. He is the father of two teenagers; a faculty member at Bob Jones University, America's largest fundamental Christian school; a regular speaker at The Wilds, a Christian youth camp; and the teacher of a young adult Sunday school class at Southside Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C., where he is minister of music.

His lecture has produced lasting results, with as many as 100 decisions for Christ being made in single services. After hearing him speak, young people have broken their records of rock music and youth groups have been transformed.

Mr. Garlock is a man of varied talents – an educator, conductor, composer and arranger, tenor soloist, trombone artist, guest lecturer at music conventions, and preacher of the Gospel.

He was born into a musical family of nine children and began playing the trombone at the age of five. By the time he was graduated from high school, he had already played in several symphony orchestras and had been solo trombonist with the New Jersey All-State High School Orchestra and Band.

After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bob Jones University, he earned the master's degree from the Eastman School of Music and has done further postgraduate work, including study with the famed Robert Shaw.

Mr. Garlock is chairman of the music theory department and director of brass ensembles at Bob Jone University. In 1967 he was selected to appear in the publication, "Outstanding personalities in the South." His brass ensembles have received national recognition in recent months. They received a standing ovation at the Southeastern Regional Convention of the Music Educators' National Conference at Daytona Beach, Florida, in May of 1971. His trombone choir was also invited to perform at the first National Trombone Workshop in June of the same year.

Recorded live at the Wick Road Baptist Church in Taylor Michigan. Groups came from as far away as 100 miles to this rally in the Detroit area where 1200 people, mostly teenagers, were crowded into a church which usually seats 800. Because of the overwhelming response to the invitations at the close of the rally, it was impossible to get an accurate count of the decisions made. However, at least 60 teenagers came forward, either to trust Christ as their personal Savior, or to make Him the Lord of their lives. We are praying that many others will make similar decisions as a result of this recording.

Lab '76 - The North Texas State University Jazz Lab Band

Labyrinth

North Texas State University School Of Music
Marceau C. Myers, Dean Presents
Lab '76!
Leon Breeden, Director
Album Design, Liner Notes, Photography: J Frank Lively
Loomis Photo by Gary Rago
Shanklin photo from Dr. Wn. Latham
Distributed by Ray Lawrence LTD., Studio City, California
LJ114
1976

Engineering

Side one:
Love Beams: Omega Audio; Darrell Henke, Engineer
Myth Of Sisyphus: Vestige Recording; Bob Grace, Engineer
Chief's Blues: Alcorn Productions; Jim Alcorn, Engineer
Side two:
Dallasonic Recording: Thom Calceta and Don Smith, Engineers

Personnel

Saxophones: Roger Dismore (Lead)
Dan Higgins (Pete Brewer*)
Steve Spencer
Bev Dahlke

Trumpets
Chuck Schmidt (Lead)
Bill Collins
Ron Bergan (Wayne George*)
Doug Coltman
Clay Jenkins (Mike Davis*)

Piano
Jim Milne (Pat Coil*)

Bass
Marc Johnson (Jim Lacefield, 2nd Bass on "Myth Of Sisyphus)

Drums
John Riley

Guitar
Jim Chirillo (Jett Davang*)

Percussion
Gene Glover
*On "Chief's Blues" Only

The Cover: Those of you who remember the famous "lizard" who appeared on our "Lab '75!" cover will find a relative of his on this year's cover. He's down there in the lower right hand corner, watching the "Monster flute player." (Another visual pun!). Our thanks to Sue Ellen Brown, NTSU senior Advertising Design major, who created the work.

From Billboard - March 19, 1977: This remarkable musical and professional collegiate big band conducted by Dr. Leon Breeden is a model of what contemporary large-scale jazz is all about. Exceptional solos by Dan Higgins, alto; Jim Milne, piano and Clay Jenkins, flugelhorn blend well with adventurous, musically fascinating charts by six different arrangers. A bow, too, to J. Frank Lively's lively annotation, LP design and photos. Best cuts: "Love Beams," "Ballad For Gary," Chief's Blues."

Love Beams
Composer/Arranger Mark Taylor (NTSU) - Dan Higgins, Alto Sax Solo

Myth Of Sisyphus*

Composer/Arranger Paul Loomis (NTSU) - Mark Henderson, Tenor Sax Solo

Chief's Blues
Composer/Arranger Rich Shanklin (NTSU Alumnus) - Roger Dismore, Soprano Sax Solo

Phone A Trois
Composer/Arranger Alf Clausen (NTSU) - Dan Higgins, Alto Sax Solo - Clay Jenkins, Flugelhorn Solo - James Chirillo, Guitar Solo

Ballad For Gary*
Composer/Arranger Alf Clausen - Jim Mike, Piano Solo - Clay Jenkins, Flugelhorn Solo

Labyrinth*
Composer Arranger Jim Milne (NTSU) - Bill Yeager, Trombone Solo - Jim Milne, Piano Solo

Quietly There - Chet Baker

Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most

Quietly There
Chet Baker
Producer: Richard Bock
Arrangers: Harry Betts & Julian Lee
Art Direction: Woody Woodward
Cover Photo: Ken Kim
Engineer: Lanky Linstrot
World Pacific WP-1847
Liberty Records, Inc.
1966

From the back cover: Chet Baker and strings always seem to this writer a natural – if not obvious – paring. The 36-year old Oklahoman is essentially a romantic on his instrument. And since he has forsaken trumpet for flugelhorn, the romantic turn of his musical approach has been that much further evident. The flugelhorn, with its roundness and fullness of tone, lends its character very well to a player with the time to rhapsodize. One recalls that Miles Davis (Chet Baker's stylistic ancestor) took to flugelhorn at a point in his career marking a departure from wholly small group settings and the beginning of adventures in music now considered historic.

So the romantic Chet has ample opportunity here to make the most of the arrangements of Harry Betts and Julian Lee, two of our leading craftsmen in the canny art of orchestration. If an arranger is really good, he can leave his personal mark on the treatment of a song just as indelibly as may a jazz improvisor. Both men are capable of this, and both do so here. Betts has been trombonist with many of the country's top name bands, from Charlie Barnet on through the alphabet. Lee is a gifted Australian who has been a Hollywood resident for several years. Both were assigned a half dozen tunes apiece to dress up for the Baker horn... what they did with them may be summed up in the words: Good Taste. – John Tynan

Early Autumn
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
Forget Him
Christmas Song
Quietly There
Spring Can Really Hang Up The Most
Stranger On The Shore
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
The More I See You
No More Blues (Chega De Saudade)
Message To Michael
(You're My) Soul And Inspiration

Guitars Unlimited - The Barclay Stars

Opus De Funk

Guitars Unlimited
The Barclay Stars
Musical Supervision: G. Levecque
A&R Director: J. Fernadez
Cover Design: Loring Eutemey
Recording Engineer: Gerhard Lehner
Recorded by Barclay Records, Paris, France
Atco Records SD 33-194
A Division of Atlantic Recording, Corp.
1966

Guitar: Francis Le Maguer, Pierre Cullaz, Raymond Gimenes, Paul Piguillem & Victor Apicella
Piano: Raymond Le Senechal or Jacques Danjean
Bass: Paul Rovere or Guy Pedersen
Drums: Frank Houplain

From Billboard - October 22, 1966: Guitarist Doing Right For Barclay - French guitarist Francis Le Maguer has produced a new sound for Barclay Records with an ensemble called Guitars Unlimited.

Le Maguer uses the guitars to reproduce the sound of the various sections of a big band in faithful interpretations of celebrated jazz standards by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and others.

The album has already sold 6,000 copies in three months and is released in the U.S. by Atlantic and in Britain by Philips. Le Maguer plans a follow-up album shortly in which he will feature further Count Basie and Ellington numbers, Sacha Diestel's "The Good Life," and possibly some Lennon-McCartney tunes.

Fantail
Shiny Silk Stockings
Sophisticated Lady
Flight Of The Foo Birds
In A Mellow Tone
Four Brothers
April In Paris
Satin Doll
Take The A Train
Early Autumn
Opus De Funk

Flamenco Festival In Hi-Fi - Nino de Alicante

Fantasia Espanola

Flamenco Festival In Hi-Fi
Nino de Alicante and His Troupe
Design DCF-1046
A Product Of Pickwick Sales Corp. - Long Island City 1, N. Y.

From the back cover: On the Spanish coast of the Mediterranean, there is a seaport famous for its shipments of wines, oil, cereals, fruit and the finest and greatest of all Flamenco performers, Nino de Alicante is his name, and the seaport is known as Alcanite.

Nino de Alicante was born in a cave halfway up the side of a mountain between the towns of Alicante and Aspe. Here, at his mother's knee he learned all the intricacies of Flamenco with its variety of rhythms; the snapping fingers, castanets, hand clapping (palmas) and of course the wonderful soul-stirring heel work (taconeo). Nino grew to become the leader of his troupe because of his great virtuosity.

The discovery and subsequent famous concert tours of Spain and Europe were brought about because of a statue. The famous sculptor Amleto Cataldi of Rome, Italy had gone in his youth to Valencia, Spain and subsequently to Alicante to sculpt some works for an exhibition that was to be held in Paris featuring the best of the Neoclassical school. He tool ill and returned to Rome. Many, many years after his early death, his daughter Eleanora Cataldi, in going through her father's papers, realized that some of his work existed in Alicante. Off she went by ship across the Mediterranean. Arriving in Alicante, she found nothing remained of her father's work, but she discovered Nino and his troupe working in a little side street cafe: As Miss Cataldi explains it... "Flamenco, when heard and seen at it best, is exciting and infectious; it ensnares us with its sound of 'be alive'... 'be happy'... 'live.'"

Here we present Flamenco at its best. A true art form that is exciting to the ear. While listening, Spain will blossom before your eyes. All the romance and mystery is there – If you get the urge to holler "Ole" or "Viva Espana" ... go ahead... it's part of enjoying the listening.

Nino Alicante and his troupe have never appeared in the United States and it gives us great pleasure to bring their first recording to this country.

We guarantee you many hour of exciting listening. Each time you play this record the sounds will develop more and more in your mind. This is something you must share and play for your friends. – Abbot Lutz

Danza Oriental
Fiesta del Rocio
En Un Cuadro Flamenco
Brisas de Malaga
Fragua Audaluza
Albaicin Granadino
Garrotin Feo
Mezquita Cordobesa
Fantasia Espanola

Waltz Favorites - The 77 Strings Orchestra

Danube Waves

Waltz Favorites
The 77 String Orchestra
Golden Tone Hi-Fidelity C4043

Skaters' Waltz
Danube Waves
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Over The Waves
It's A Grand Night For Sharing
Wunderbar
Falling In Love With Love
Beautiful Dreamer
Merry Widow Waltz
Fasciation

Gene Vincent Rocks! And The Blue Caps Roll

Gene Vincent Rocks!
And The Blue Caps Roll
Capitol Records T970
1958

Available from online vendors so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the cover art and jacket notes.

From the back cover: Exciting because the songs, each in a brand new arrangement, range from the frantic Brand New Beat to the inspiring You'll Never Walk Alone and the traditional By The Light Of The Silvery Moon.

Gene Vincent, the young man behind it all, is pretty exciting himself. Untrained, he stepped from Norfolk, Virginia, into national prominence with his first Capitol recording Be-Bop A-Lula. Today, at 21, he continues the same style of singing that zoomed him to the top – a style that's fresh, action-packed and unrestrained.

Exciting too, are Gene's Blue Caps – a group of talented young musicians with a sound that that can set a statue to clapping its hands and tapping its feet.

Finally, there are some particularly unusual and exciting in this album items in this album. One is a modernized Rock n' Roll version of the folk classic, Frankie And Johnnie, with new words by Gene himself. Another is It's No Lie, a new song from Otis Blackwell, who wrote the sensational Teddy Bear and Don't Be Cruel.

It all adde up to an explosive, different kind of musical experience when "Gene Vincent Rocks and The Blue Caps Roll" – for these are 'hits that won't quit."

From Billboard - March 17, 1958: Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps have a hot album here, one that could rack up healthy sales to teen-agers. There are new songs and oldies, ranging from the frantic, like "Brand New Beat," the the quieter , country styled efforts like "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon. Of the new items, "It's No Lie" could get action as a single. A strong new album for Vincent and his Blue Caps.

Brand New Beat
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon
You'll Never Walk Alone
Frankie And Johnnie
In My Dreams
Flea Brain
Time Will Bring You Everything
Should I Ever Love Again
It's No Lie