The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I bought a hand full of Guy Lombardo and Xavier Cugar records along with some Les Brown and other bands, Ray Noble, Russ Morgan and some bands featuring Doris Day or Dinah Shore, this weekend.

I will be conducting my taste testing this week.
Initial report: enjoyed the Xavier Cugat record with a female singing in Spanish.

Dinah Shore got her start with Cugie. Doris Day was with Les Brown.

I began reading the book "Jazz Singing" and the author has no good words for Guy Lombardo and worse for The Andrews Sisters, The Ink Spots, and Vic Damone and little good to say about Dean Martin.

He loves Bing Crosby and likes The Boswell Sisters and has a lot good to say about a pair of singers I do not know: Kay Starr and Jo Stafford.

He goes on for several pages on Kay Starr - the white Dinah Washington.

And back to Decca: the author credits Jack Kapp for the "Sing the Melody" Decca mantra and the corresponding bland Decca music.

Kay Starr was good. Jo Stafford did some good stuff with Tommy Dorsey. Incidentally, the song "Yes, Indeed!" is a great jazz/ swing number written by Sy Oliver when he was Tommy Dorsey's arranger. He and Jo sing the lyrics to each ther, which was a real scandal in 1941- a black guy singing a duet with a white girl. Tommy didn't give a damn.

Two really great white girl jazz singers that never get any credit were Helen Ward and Anita O'Day. Edythe Wright was no slouch, either. Her jazz sides with Dorsey's "Clambake Seven" were great.

It seems to me that this author likes exactly the kind of music that I dislike: that is the late and weary and to some degree cheesy swing of the '50s-'60s (with exceptions, of course). I'm surprised about his positive notes about the Boswell Sisters, which seems to be in contrast with his other opinions. In any case I would personally (my taste...) take his remarks with much skepticism.

Jo Stafford was indeed fairly famous also in Italy at her times, I think some songs by her were featured in movies. I suppose she did some good things with Tommy Dorsey, but if my memory doesn't fail I remember discarding many of her late solo records as unimpressive stuff, much outdated in style with no possibility of ever reaching "evergreen" status. Cheesy stuff of the '50s that is.

Although we're much off-topic, since this tune has been mentioned, I can't refrain writing that Yes Indeed interpreted by Frank Sinatra, despite having beeg recorded as a lesser song and never released as single as far as I know, is possibly my favourite song by him, thanks also to a very catchy and remarkably brilliant orchestra arrangement.

That author either hasn't heard both early and late songs of each of the singers mentioned, or he simply lets personal likes and dislikes get in the way of objective analysis. All of the singers mentioned have recorded great records, but also run off the mill commercial records. Just listen to early Ink Spots like "Alabama Barbecue", no comparison to their 1940s records. On the other hand I will not purchase any more Bing Crosby records - except from the 1920s or maybe early 30s. Can't deal with the amount of Schmaltz.

To be fair to all these artists, they were trying to make a living. Who could blame black artists like the Ink Spots for milking a commercial success when they were able to make a living from it? We can't forget that these artists didn't make the millions of modern pop stars, when they did not sell records they could not feed their families. And after all, people then were buying these "cheesy" records, they were not recorded for today's collectors. All these artists started out trying to find their niche to make money and then they milked it as long as they could. That is true for a Paul Whiteman, as well as for Bing, the Andrews Sisters, Jo Stafford, and many others. Why are some of the records we love today so rare? Because they were not finding an audience and simply didn't sell.

Andreas

Stafford was originally trained as an opera singer and embodied may traits of bel canto singing. No surprise she was popular in Italy.

Is this the book? https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN ... andards-20

My first Lombardo record was Br 4823 (Stormy Weather / Stay out of my dreams, 1933) one of the soft style. But it was my first contact with this style and I loved it. That was in 1997. Later came some more records, not very good, until British Columbia 5823 arrived (Sweethearts on parade / My blackbirds are bluebirds now, 1928) which I found interesting.
Later I discovered Hal Kemp, another exponent of this soft style, but reaching the perfection in the synchronization of instruments, and oh! those perfect diction vocalists... I later discovered that the good John Scott Trotter was pianist and arranger for Kemp, and so I could establish the musical similitudes and subtle connections with my all-life beloved records of Bing Crosby accompanied by John's orchestra. Those wind arrangements... That discovery brought me peace and musical understanding. Still, there must be a connection with Lombardo too... May it be?
And finally I acquired in later years Vi 25210 (The broken record) and Br 6714 (Inka dinka doo, 1933), much sought after. I also love them. Lately, a bunch of records brought another Lombardo surprise, French HMV K 8052 with a very interesting Victor recording of Bei Mir bist du schon (mx 017718). I love this record too.
And there is the funny mention of Lombardo in the Bing Crosby and Johnny Mercer recording:
mr gallagher and mr shean (as sung by mr crosby and mr mercer) (ed gallagher, al shean, johnny mercer adapt) — BING CROSBY & JOHNNY MERCER V + VICTOR YOUNG SMALL FRYERS — de 1960 — Mx. dla 1298 e — Rec. 1938 07 01 la

Your right for people my age its just not New Years Eve without that Guy Lombardo sound at midnight. I met him and had a record signed by him in around 1959 when I worked for a department store that he was promoting a new release for in the record department. I find all the periods of his music to be interesting. Usually it has that distinctive sound that tells you it is one of his bands arrangements. I do have a few albums from the 45 era where he did show tunes and such, they for some reason aren't quite as musically satisfying to me as some others. Maybe that is because the style of music changed so much it was hard to transfer his sound to it? Still he is a favorite of mine after all these years.