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Saturday, June 13, 2020

Folk Rock Hits - Billy Strange

Eve Of Destruction
Folk Rock Hits
The Big Sound Of Billy Strange And His Guitar
Produced by Gene Norman
Engineering: Dave Hassinger
Album Design: Peter Whorf Graphics
GNP Crescendo
GNP 2016
1965

Personnel:

Guitars: Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco, Jerry Cole
Bass Guitar: Carol Kaye
Percussion: Julius Wechter
Piano, Organ & Harpsicord: Al De Lory
Harmonica: Ben Benay
Drums: Hal Blaine

From Billboard - October 30, 1965: Billy Strange's funky guitar work is admirably suited for the repertoire, the new folk-rock songs. Of course, there's Eve Of Destruction," and Bob Dylan and Donovan entries. "Later On" and "Let Your Love Hang Down," two of Strange's compositions are in the same groove.

Eve Of Destruction
You've Got Your Troubles
Summer Nights
It Ain't Me Babe
Do You Believe In Magic
Later On
Like A Rolling Stone
You Were On My Mind
Colours
All I Really Want To Do
The Bells Of Rhymney
Let Your Love Hang Down

The Music Of Jerome Kern - The Melachrino Strings

Yesterdays
The Music Of Jerome Kern
The Melachrino Strings and Orchestra
Cover Photo: Carl Fischer
RCA Victor STERO LSP-2283
1961

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
The Last Time I Saw Paris
The Night Was Made For Love
The Song Is You
Yesterdays
All The Things You Are
Lovely To Look At
Long Ago And Far Away
The Touch Of Your Hand
I've Told Every Little Star
They Didn't Believe Me
The Way You Look Tonight

You Better Know It!!! - Lionel Hampton

Taste Of Honey
You Better Know It!!!
Lionel Hampton
With Clark Terry, Ben Webster, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton & Osie Johnson
Producer: Bob Thiele
Cover Design: Robert Flynn / Viceroy
Cover Photograph: Charles Stewart
Cover and Liner Photos: Charles Stewart
Liner Design: Joseph Lebow
Album Title Suggested by Barbara Kumit
Recorded October 26 and 29, 1964
Impulse! 90757
A Product of ABC- Paramount Records, Inc.

Personnel:

Lionel Hampton: Vibraphone; Vocals and on Swingle Jingle, Piano
Clark Terry: Trumpet
Ben Webster: Tenor Saxophone
Hank Jones: Piano
Milt Hinton: String Bass
Osie Johnson: Drums

From Billboard - March 6, 1965 Hamp at his best... surround by outstanding sidemen: Clark Terry (trumpet), Ben Webster (tenor sax), Hank Jones (piano), Milt Hinton (bass), Osie Johnson (drums). Hamp's vibraphone is as vibrant as ever and as a bonus, he sings on three cuts. Solid musicianship and the lighthearted touch that experienced veterans can bring to jazz are both evident.

Ring Dem Bells
Vibraphone Blues
Tempo's Birthday
Sweethearts On Parade
Pick A Rib
Trick Or Treat
Cute
Swingle Jingle
Taste Of Honey

Up With People

A New Dimension
Up With People
Pace PS 6110
Distributed, Marketed and Promoted by Buddah Records
Buddah Records is a subsidiary of Viewtex, Inc.
1970

Man's Gotta Go Somewhere
The Wonder Of It All
What Color Is God's Skin
A New Dimension
John David Sebastian Smith
Up With People!
Morning Of Time
Thinking About The Days Ahead
Walk On Through
I Get A Kick Out Of Life
You Are What You Do
It's Happening

Heartaches And Tears - Jean Shepard

So Wrong, So Fast
Heartaches And Tears
Jean Shepard
Produced by Ken Nelson
Capitol Records T 1663
1962

From Billboard - March 3, 1962: The thrush wrings the deepest kind of emotion and pathos out of these kind fine country weepers. The tones seem particularly warm and full of meaning in such songs as "How Long Does It Hurt," "So Wrong, So Fast," "Second Best," "Go On With Your Dancing," and the familiar oldie, "Jealous Heart." Gal gets most out of all of them in a moving performance. Good business indicated in the rural marts.

How Long Does It Hurt (When A Heart Breaks)
Leave Me Alone
Go On With Your Dancing
I Don't Remember
Are You Certain"
Would You Be Satisfied?
So Wrong, So Fast
Second Best
I Lost You After All
I'd Like TO Know (Where People Go)
If You Were Losing Him To Me
Jealous Heart

Whispering Hope - Jo Stafford & Gordon MacRae

Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere
Whispering Hope
Jo Stafford & Gordon MacRae
Orchestra Conducted by Paul Weston
Produced by Ralph O'Connor
Cover Photo: George Rodriquez
Capitol Records T1696
1962

From Billboard - April 7, 1962: A fine flock of religious tunes are sung with feeling and warmth by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae on this attractive new recording that could sell, to both religious and pop fans. The tunes include the title song, plus "Beyond The Sunset," "Abide With Me," "It is No Secret," "Rock Of Ages" and "The Old Rugged Cross." Very tasteful recording

Whisper Hope
Abide With Me
In The Garden
Beyond The Sunset
Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere
It's No Secret
I Found A Fiend
The Old Rugged Cross
Rock Of Ages
Star Of Hope
Now The Day Is Over
A Perfect Day

Here's Teresa Brewer

Lover Come Back To Me
Here's Teresa Brewer
Cover Photo: Hal Buksbaum
Vocalion STEREO VL 73847
A Product Of Decca Records
1973

Just In Time
Lover Come Back To Me
Day By Day
Honeymoon
Last Night On The Back Porch (I Loved Him Best Of All)
They Can't Take That Away From Me
The One Rose (That's Left In My Heart)
(When We're Alone) Penthouse Serenade
When I Lost You
Ma (He's Making Eyes At Me)

Roy Acuff

Take My Hand Precious Lord
Roy Acuff
Hilltop Records STEREO JS-6028
A Product Of Pickwick International

From the back cover: As an envoy at large Roy, with his beloved Smokey Mountain Boys, entertained American servicemen in virtually all the action theaters of World War II. In later years, Korea was a focal point for his activities and more recently, he visited revolution-torn Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, where he could hear the whine and whistle of bullets as he sang his famous country music songs. Most recently, as he received from serious injuries sustained in the line of duty – motoring from one appearance to another – he eagerly contemplated a week-long Christmas 1965 tour of the Vietnamese theater of operations.

During World War II, Roy made the acquaintance of Chicago songwriter, Fred Rose, and ultimately made the initial investment which set Rose up in a Nashville-based music publishing business, Acuff-Rose Publications. To this day, Acuff retains his interest in the firm, which is now operated by the late Fred Rose's son, Wesley Rose.

When the Country Music Association in Nashville inaugurated the now famous Country Music Hall of Fame several years ago. Roy was one of the first three names to be elected to the Hall. Bronze plaques honoring Acuff, along with the late Fred Rose and the late Hank Williams, were suitably dedicated and will hang in the Hall of Fame when construction is complete.

Though Acuff has been an active participant in country music since 1932 he remains a kingpin in the field, even though he will occasionally admit to being "a little tired" after one of his extensive tours. Yet his recordings remain treasured items for all collectors. Folk critic, Robert Shelton, of the New York Times, recently described Acuff this way: "His magic has not last its luster. He has one of the most affecting voices in American country and folk music, a high tenor that quavers with feeling, penetrates with its clarity, moves one with its sincerity. – Ten Grevatt, Music Business Magazine


How Beautiful Heaven Must Be
Jesus Died For Me
Shake My Mother's Hand
Take My Hand Precious Lord
Where The Soul Never Dies
Thank God
I Can't Feel At Home In This World
Legend Of The Dogwood Tree
Where Could I Go But To The Lord
Build Me A Cabin In The Corner Of Glory Land

Latin ala Lee! - Peggy Lee

Hey There
Latin ala Lee!
Broadway Hits Styled With An Afro-Cuban Beat
Produced by Dave Cavanaugh
Capitol Records STEREO ST 1290
1960

From the back cover: The genuine Afro-Cuban sound of Jack Marshall's orchestral backing is no mere accident. The fine Latin instrumentalists who perform on this album were gathered from the vast pool of musical talent in the Los Angeles area, and they succeed in giving these great arrangements an authentic South of the Border flavor. Trumpets, guitars, and an agile flute section create some really exciting effects, and all tracks feature the solid backing of four Afro-Cuban drummers, allowing Peggy to relax against the staunch rhythm contingent and concentrate her emotional fire on the musical and lyrical challenges present. The tasteful use of male voices creates still another fine background effect that helps to provide a melodic magic carpet for this trip from Broadway to Latin America.

Heart
On The Street Where You Live
Till There Was You
I Am In Love
Hey There
I Could Have Danced All Night
The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
The Party's Over
Dance Only With Me
Wish You Were Here
C'est Magnifique
I Enjoy Being A Girl

Friday, June 12, 2020

Andre Kostelanetz Plays The World's Greatest Love Songs

Shadow Of Your Smile
Andre Kostelanetz Plays The World's Greatest Love Songs
Produced by Two Macero
Gatefold 2 Disc Set
Columbia PG 32002
1973 CBS, Inc.

Theme From "Romeo And Juliet"
I Wish You Love
What Kind Of Fool Am I?
Try A Little Tenderness
We've Only Just Begun
I Can't Stop Loving You
The Shadow Of Your Smile
It's Impossible
One Less Bell To Answer
Yesterday
The Look Of Love
Strangers In The Night
Love Is Blue
The Sounds Of Silence
This Guy's In Love With You
Theme From "Love Story"
Try To Remember
What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
Till There Was You
Love Me With All Your Heart

Current Cuts 1971

Here's That Rainy Day
Current Cuts 1971
Produced by Creed Taylor
Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder
Album Designed by Bob Ciano
CTI Records
A Division of Creed Taylor, Inc.

Theme From Love Story - Afro Classic - Herbert Laws
Children's Games - Stone Flower - Antonio Carlos Jobim
Here's That Rainy Day - Straight Life - Freddie Hubbard
Fire And Rain - Afro Classic - Herbert Laws
Andorinha - Stone Flower - Antonio Carlos Jobim
Sugar - Sugar - Stanley Turrentine
How My Heart Sings - Montreaux II - Bill Evans
Follow Your Heart - Joe Farrell Quartet
Straight Life - Straight Life - Freddie Hubbard

Provocative Percussion - Enoch Light

Song Of India

Love For Sale

Provocative Percussion
The Command All-Stars
Enoch Light And The Light Brigade
Produced and Originated by Enoch Light
Cover Art by Josef Albers
Command Records STEREO RS 806 SD
Award Publishing Corp. New York, N. Y.
1959

From the back cover: Josef Albers, one of America's foremost contemporary painters, was born in Westphalia, Germany in 1888. After studying in Berlin, Essen and Munich he taught at the famous Bauhaus school from 1923 - 1933. When the Bauhaus was closed by order of the German government in 1933 Mr. Albers came to the United States to head the Art Department of Black Mountain College where he remained until 1950. After leaving Black Mountain, Mr. Albers took over the direction of the Department of Design at Yale University. At the present time, Mr. Albers lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut.

From the inside cover: The all-important percussion section is made up of Terry Snyder, Willie Rodriguez and Artie Marotti with Leonard Calderon filling in for Rodriquez on some selections. The remainder of the rhythm section consists of Bob Haggart, bass, Tony Mottola, guitar and Moe Wechlser, piano, while Charles Maganate and Dominic Cortese alternate on accordion.

The melodic body of the All-Stars comprises four woodwinds (Ezelle Watson, Stanley Webb, Russ Banzer and either Milt Yaner, George Dessinger or Bernie Kaufman) and one brass instrument – Bobby Byrne, trombone, on Song Of India, You're The Top, Blues In The Night and Mad About The Boy; Urbie Green, trombone, on S'Wonderful, Love For Sale, Mood Indigo and Ain't Misbehavin'; and Pee Wee Erwin, trumpet on Somebody Loves Me, Perhaps-Perhaps-Perhaps, The Man I Love and Fascinating Rhythm.


You're The Top
Somebody Love Me
Blues In The Night
Perhaps - Perhaps - Perhaps
Love For Sale
Fascinating Rhythm
S'Wonderful
Mood Indigo
Ain't Misbehavin'
The Man I Love
Song Of India
Mad About The Boy

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Miriam Makeba

Mbube (with The Chad Mitchell Trio)
Miriam Makeba
With The Belafonte Folk Singers
Conducted by Milt Okun
Guitar: Perry Lopez
Produced by Bob Bollard
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City
Recording Engineer: Bob Simpson
RCA Victor LSP-2267
1960

From the back cover: TIME, The Weekly New Magazine, February 1, 1960:

Singer Miriam Makeba Xosa tribeswoman (full name: Zensi Miriam Makeba Ogwashu ogu vama yi keti le nenxgoma sittu xa saku aga ba uknutsha sithathe izitsha sizi Khalu sivuke ngomso sizi chole ezo zinge knayo zinga hikho nfalo singamalamu singa mangamla nagithi), is probably too shy to realize it, but her return to Africa would leave a noticeable gap in the U.S. entertainment world, which she entered a mere six weeks ago...

At Manhattan's Blue Angel, a smoky, low-ceiling saloon-for-sophisticates, she is delighting the customers with the songs and styles she learned as a child. In her high, sweet, reedy voice, the knowing can hear many echoes – of Ella Fitzgerald, whose records she bought as a child, of Harry Belafonte, who helped her get started in the U.S. – but she singe like no one else.

Click Of Corks. The close-cropped, wooly head and the sleek white Fifth Avenue gown come from different worlds, but the combination has charm and grace of its own. In the ballad, she maintains the clean, classic phrasing of a church singer, she can be roguish in a West Indian ditty about a naughty flea, and she can make a... lament of A Warrior's Retreat Song... When Makeba sings or talks in her native Xosa dialect, its expressive staccato clicks sound like the popping of champagne corks. Though she tries many styles, she never signs the Afrikanner songs of white South Africa. ("When Afrikanners sing in my language," she says, "then I will sing in theirs.") But whatever mood she assumes, Miriam Makeba maintains a simple and primitive stoicism that sets her sharply apart from the emotional, often artificial style of American Negro singers.

The Show Went On. As remarkable as anything about Makeba is the fact that, however arresting her talent, she managed to sing her way out of the anonymity of South African Negro life. Helping her mother in various servants' jobs around Johannesburg, Miriam sang in school, at weddings and funerals. If she could get close to a radio, she tuned in the native songs played on Johannesburg radio stations. "Anyone who sings, makes music," says she, "as long as it' good to my ear."

At 17, she began singing at benefits – some nights for Negroes, some nights for whites. Soon she joined a traveling group call The Black Manhattan Brothers (eleven mean and Miriam), and for three years she barnstormed all over Rhodesia, the Belgian Congo and South Africa. "The bus often broke down," Miriam remembers, "and after the first five months I was crying all the time. But they kept telling me the show must go on. We always managed to get there on time."

Miriam finally left the group to join a touring musical variety show, then got the female lead in a Negro jazz opera called King Kong (based on a true story of a prizefighter who killed his mistress). In 1958 restless Singer Makeba applied for a passport, and after a year's wait she was on her way to London. From there she moved on to Manhattan's downtown Village Vanguard, then uptown to the Angel.


From Billboard - October 17, 1960: The young African folk singer has become a fixture at New York Clubs here she has built a devoted following. Her style, which combines deep sincerity with a strong jazz feelings, is shown off beautifully in the collection, which stress native African songs, with a sprinkling of other folk items. Strong backing by the Belafonte folk singers adds to the disk.

The Retreat Song (Jikele Maweni)
Suliram
The Click Song
Umbome
Olilili
Lakutshn, Ilanga
Mbube
The Naughty Little Flea
Where Does It Lead?
Nomeva
House Of The Rising Sun
Saduva
One More Dance (and Charles Coleman)
Iya Guduza

Monday, June 8, 2020

Judy Lynn

The Big Cry
Judy Lynn
Vote The No. One Most Promising New Country and Western Singer
Produced by Pappy Daily
Cover Design by Norman Art Studio, Chicago
United Artists Records
UAS 6342
1964

From the back cover: Rarely in the history of show business has any one new performer created as much excitement and word of mouth comment as the lovely and vibrant Judy Lynn. Long a favorite of patrons of top night clubs in Nevada, Miss Lynn has earned for herself, through her ability as a singer and entertainer, titles such as "America's Western Sweetheart," "Miss Show Business," and "Miss Personality." According to Gene Tuttle of the Las Vegas Sun she has outdrawn some of the biggest names in show business on the Las Vegas-Reno Lake Tahoe Circuit.

Judy Lynn's first title was "America's Champion Girl Yodeler," an award she won in 1953. She moved on to bigger things the following year when she shared emcee chores with Les Paul and Mary Ford on the famous Grand Ole Opry's first coast-to-coast network TV production from Nashville. A year later she entered her home state's beauty contest and easily won the title of "Miss Idaho of 1955."

Since then Miss Lynn has appeared in clubs and on tours with such well known entertainers as Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, Red Foley, Rex Allen, Eddie Fisher and Mitch Miller. She toured the country with the Judy Lynn Show, playing the entire United States,
most of its territories and many foreign lands. She also played a score of state fairs. – Bob Rolontz

My Tears Are On The Roses
How Foolish Can I Be
Tell Mother I'll Be There
Go On Teardrops
Little Blue Reflection
You Cross My Mind
How Lonely Is Lonesome
Antique In My Closet
The Big Cry
The Letter
I'll Pick Up My Heart
Some Kind Of Fool

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Secret Agent File - Billy Strange

Our Man Flint 
Secret Agent File
Thunderball
The Big Sound Of Billy Strange and His Guitar
Cover Design & Photo: Peter Whorf Graphics
Engineering: Lanky Linstrot
GNP Crescendo Records GNP 2019
1965

Thunderball
A Man Alone (from The Universal Pictures Release, "The Ipcress File"
9th Man Theme
I Spy
Theme From The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (from The MGM TV Series "The Man From Uncle")
The James Bond Theme
Our Man Flint (from The 20th Century Fox Production "Our Man Flint")
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
Run Spy, Run
Get Smart
007 Theme
Goldfinger

Put The Blame On Mame - Somethin' Smith And The Redheads

Put The Blame On Mame
Put The Blame On Mama
Somethin' Smith And The Redheads
Orchestra Direction by Jay Raye
Photo: Tommy Waddleton, Black Star
Epic LN 3373
1957

Seven Years With The Wrong Woman
Lies
My Melancholy Baby
Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home
Put The Blame On Mame
Cruising Down The River
You Always Hurt The One You Love
'Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
You Can't Be True, Dear
Honey
You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You
Mandy

Big Spender - Peggy Lee

I Must Know
Big Spender
Peggy Lee
Produced by David Cavanaugh
Engineer: John Kraus
Cover Photo: John England
Capitol Records ST 2475
1966

From Billboard - April 6, 1966: Miss Lee comes up with a winner in this fresh package of bright new tunes, mostly from current Boardway musicals. Her recent single "Big Spender" is among the standouts which includes a smattering of exceptional standards such as "It's A Wonderful World" and "Let's Fall In Love." Her unique and exciting style is in full swing in the rousing finale of "Gotta Travel On."

Come Back To Me
You've Got Possibilities
It's A Wonderful Life
I'll Only Miss Him When I Think Of Him
Big Spender
I Must Know
Alright, Okay, You Win
Watch What Happens
You Don't Know
Let's Fall In Love
Gotta Travel On

Bossa Nova USA - Dave Brubeck

Theme From June
Bossa Nova USA
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Columbia Records CL 1998
1962

From the back cover: BOSSA NOVA U.S.A. is primarily a jazz album, which occasionally acknowledges with gratitude the cool wave from Brazil. Washed up on Yankee shores in late 1962, bossa nova almost succeeded in flooding the music marts before it began to "settle in." Absorbed into jazz, bossa nova, in some form, is here to stay, just as the tango once made its way into jazz to pop up in early New Orleans renditions of "St. Louis Blues." We had waited too long for bossa nova, or some kindred rhythm, to capture the imagination of the public. The search for a different beat was apparent in my own work and that of other jazz composers and performers. The bossa nova spirit has been bubbling under the surface in jazz for the past ten to fifteen years, occasionally bursting through with Latin accents, African rhythms and even Oriental and Indian-influenced jazz.

In 1951 I wrote an article in Down Beat Magazine: "I would not be surprised to hear a jazz musician, who had been exposed to Chinese music, use devices from the Oriental system while improvising a chorus. It is fitting that the country which has been called 'the melting pot of the world' should have s its most characteristic art form a music with as mixed a parentage as jazz... New and complex rhythms patterns, more akin to the African parent, is the natural direction for jazz to develop... Contemporary jazz is concentrating a great deal of its effort toward rhythmic improvisation, borrowing heavily from South American music and primitive rhythms... Jazz hears all, plays all of the sound language which makes up America. What Comes out can no longer be branded by regional, racial nor eventually even national titles.

After a decade of watching the globe shrink, I would alter this statement only by emphasizing the world-wide concept. Of all the exotic elements that have come into jazz recently it is bossa nova that strikes the fancy of musicians and public alike. It happened, I believe, because bossa nova contained within it much of our own heritage, but spoken with a difference – a new "bossa."


From Billboard - December 29, 1962: Brubeck's bossa nova plunge was inevitable and he makes it a solid one with this fine outing. Side as a great percussion backing and the Brubeck-Desmond sound is much in evidence. Watch this; it could gather pop as wall as jazz loot. Flip is "This Can't Be Love".

Bossa Nova U.S.A.
Vento Fresco
Trolley Song
Theme For June
Coracao Sensível
Irmao Amigo
There'll Be No Tomorrow
Cantiga Nora Swing
Lamento
This Can't Be Love