Ronnie Deauville - The Early Recordings, Vol. 1

Today almost unknown, the gifted vocalist Ronnie Deauville had a short career disrupted by accident and illness. While he was unquestionably a Sinatra disciple, what set him apart was a hushed intensity and sincerity - even when singing with the big bands where he made his living.

This new series will present almost all of his early recordings - his commercial and transcription discs with Ray Anthony, most of his solo output, and airchecks with Anthony and Tex Beneke. The three-part series will include 60 recordings in all, covering the years 1947-51.

This first volume has Ronnie's solo and Ray Anthony discs from the 1940s, along with a Beneke aircheck from 1948, for a total of 24 songs.

About Ronnie Deauville

Born in 1925, Deauville became interested in singing in the Naval Air Corps during the World War II, with his particular inspiration being Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey band.

His first professional engagement following the war was with Glen Gray, followed by dates with Tex Beneke's band. He also spent a productive period with Ray Anthony's emerging ensemble, eventually building a nightclub career. He endured two huge setbacks in 1956 - a serious car accident, soon followed by a case of polio that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Eventually he resumed his singing career, but his paralysis made singing difficult. Deauville passed away at the age of 65 due to cancer.

The Super Disc and Signature Recordings

Billboard, February 7, 1948

A one-off 1947 recording for the small Super Disc label was apparently Deauville's first. Backed by pianist Ram Ramirez's combo, he recorded the Jimmy Van Heusen-Eddie DeLange standard "Deep in a Dream," a rapt performance that immediately demonstrated his special qualities as a singer. 

The backing was "Mad about You," which Super Disc considered the plug side, possibly because Ramirez co-wrote it. The record was released in December 1947 to some acclaim. The hit recordings of "Mad about You," however, were by Herb Lance and the Five Changes and by the Ravens.

Meanwhile, Ronnie had joined the band of Ray Anthony, who had a recording contract with another small label, Signature. The 1948 Musicians Union recording ban was closing in on the industry, so the band spent December 30, 1947 in the studio.

Deauville was featured on two items - the standard "Bye, Bye Blues" from 1930, along with one of the singer's finest records -  Leon René's "Gloria," which had been recorded previously by crooner Bob Hayward and by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, with a vocal by Charles Brown.

Billboard, September 11, 1948

Deauville's intense version is clearly an interior monologue - "She's not in love with you," he tells himself. All other recordings seem impersonal next to his. The backing is largely celeste with rhythm, with Anthony allotted a trumpet solo.

Ronnie would record "Gloria" twice more - once as a solo for Mercury (also in this set) and once as a Lang-Worth transcription, which will be in a future post. The song would later become a doo-wop classic in a somewhat different form. A new post on my other blog presents all the versions of "Gloria" mentioned above - along with a competing version of "It's Too Soon to Know," discussed below.

Also on the same date, the band recorded another ballad, "Passing Fancy," by Bob Hilliard and David Mann. Its coupling was "Peace of Mind," an ephemeral song by Murray, Goldman and Lawrence.

Signature, which must have seen something in Deauville, had him record as a solo artist as well as with Ray Anthony. First was a cover of the Perry Como hit "'A' You're Adorable," where Ronnie is joined by the Riddlers vocal group and the Bob Curtis Quartet. Next was a version of the Franco-American hit "Comme Ci, Comme Ça," also with Curtis.

Deauville's next record, with Ray Bloch, was a real departure - "Someday" from Rudolf Friml's operetta The Vagabond King. Ronnie's voice was made for the microphone, not the stage, but he is convincing in the piece, aided by a lush backing by Bloch's band. The yearning quality in Deauville's voice is just right for Brian Hooker's lyrics.

Bloch and Deauville also revived the excellent Robin-Rainger song "With Every Breath I Take" to good effect. This reading is very Sinatra-like, but the song was actually introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1934 film Here Is My Heart. Frank himself didn't record it until 1956.

The Mercury Recordings

The Mercury label released 10 recordings by Ronnie, eight of which are in this collection. These are of uncertain provenance. All except the last coupling have no accompaniment information. These may have been Signature recordings that Mercury acquired - or may even have been sourced from another label. 

"It's Too Soon to Know" was a giant R&B hit in 1948 for the Orioles, whose manager, Deborah Chessler, wrote the piece. It's the kind of material that was suited to Ronnie, and his reading holds up well. (The recordings by the Ravens and by the Orioles are discussed in a post on my other blog.)

Mercury also released a version of "Gloria," with the accompaniment primarily guitar and clarinet. This is probably not an alternate take from the Signature session.

"In the Rain" is a lovely song, the sort of ballad that was made for Ronnie. I believe this may have been a cover of a Gladys Palmer release on the Miracle label.

Another cover was "Recess in Heaven," which Johnny Getz wrote for Willis Threats to record. The hit version was, however, by Dan Grissom.

Much different, although still a cover, is "Brush Those Tears from Your Eyes," by Al Trace, Oakley Haldeman and Jimmy Lee, which was first recorded by Evelyn Knight.

Billboard January 8, 1949

Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote the sublime "I Only Have Eyes for You" for Dick Powell to introduce in the 1934 musical Dames. Powell didn't record it until 1947, which disc may have stimulated Ronnie's recording. The Flamingos were to have a huge hit with the number in 1959.

Kurt Weill wrote one of his best songs, "Here I'll Stay," with Alan Jay Lerner for their 1948 concept musical Love Life. The song's earnest quality is perfect for Deauville.

Ronnie was apparently the first to record Gordon Burdge and J. Russel Robinson's "Portrait of Jennie," but another artist known for his quiet sincerity, Nat King Cole, had the hit.

Deauville apparently also recorded two songs for Mercury with Mitch Miller, but I have yet to come across them.

Airchecks with Tex Beneke

In 1948, former Glenn Miller vocalist/tenor saxophonist Tex Beneke was the leader of the official Miller ghost band. Deauville often performed with the band, with one of their broadcasts yielding six songs for this set.

Leading off, fittingly, is the Miller specialty "Moonlight Cocktail" from 1941. Ronnie was a very different singer from Ray Eberle (who recorded it first) and sounds a little ill at ease.

Tex Beneke

More in Deauville's line was "Laura," the eerily romantic song from David Raksin and Johnny Mercer. For some reason the arrangement keeps interrupting with loud snatches of Debussy.

"Encore, Cherie" is a song by Alice Simms and J. Fred Coots that Beneke had recorded with vocalist Garry Stevens. Here, Ronnie does it admirably.

Another Miller favorite is next - "Serenade in Blue" by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, which is more suited to Deauville' strengths than "Moonlight Cocktail." Ronnie's lack of range trips him up at the close of the song.

Charles Trenet's "Beyond the Sea" has a haunted quality that suited Deauville very well.

The final song in this set, "Dreamy Lullaby," was a Frankie Carle specialty that the bandleader wrote with George Weiss and Bennie Benjamin. As the title may suggest, this was just right for Ronnie.

Next in this series will be a set of Lang-Worth Transcriptions and a group of airchecks, both with Ray Anthony and dating from about 1950.

LINK

From the Back Room: Sue Raney Singles

This is another post resulting from my offer of the contents of Buster's Back Room. One of the most requested was Sue Raney, a gifted singer who has never achieved the renown she deserves. Sue is one of our greatest living vocalists, although her name would surely be unfamiliar to most people.

Here we are concentrating on her early years, when she already was a voice with few peers, collecting all her non-album singles for Capitol, along with some singles from the Imperial label, plus a bonus obscure release from 1974.

This post is an expanded and reworked version of one that I published many years ago. There are 23 songs in all.

Capitol Singles

The first Capitols

Raney was first heard on a record issued by small label from Kansas City (which I do not have). She was signed by Capitol in 1956, when she was about 17. Here first release seems to be from the Ray Anthony-Mamie Van Doren filmic escapade The Girl Can't Help It. Sue was allotted a number called "Ev'rytime," not to be confused with Martin and Blane's "Ev'ry Time." Sue is superb in this good song from Tony Iovello and Mel Levine, backed by Ray's orchestra. It's an amazing performance for a 17-year-old.

Soon thereafter, the label issued the "promotional debut record" above, with one of the cool picture labels it was then using for some promos. The initial plug side was "What's the Good Word, Mr. Bluebird," a conventional period pop item; still, it is not unattractive.

Capitol also promoted its discmate (see below), the title tune from the teen-angst weepie The Careless Years, which Sue handles nicely. IMDb tells us that this was heard on the soundtrack as well, where she also did something called "Butterfingers Baby," but I somehow let that number slip through my fingers and you won't find it here. (Actually, I don't think it was issued on record.)

Picture sleeve for DJ copy

"Please Hurry Home" and "Don't Take My Happiness" were next, followed by her vocal chorus on a Nelson Riddle record of "Til There Was You," an excellent version that was issued before The Music Man opened on Broadway. All these predate Raney's first LP.

The year 1958 brought "My, My, How The Time Goes By" and "Periwinkle Blue," followed by 1958's "The Restless Sea" (quite wonderful) and "Ever," Raney's own composition.

Then in 1959 there were "I Don't Look Right Without You" and "Swingin' In A Hammock." From 1960, backed by Bill Holman, we have "Biology," "Too Soon," "One Finger Symphony" and "The Word Got Around." 

"Biology" is a raucous quasi-rocker, "Too Soon" a pleasant ballad. In general, these singles attempted to hit the halfway point between vocal pop and rock. They are enjoyable although the rock instrumentation and backing singers seem more dated than, say, Nelson Riddle's chart for "'Til There Was You." Bob Bain's rockabilly-style guitar solo in "Don't Take My Happiness" is very enjoyable, though.

Imperial Singles

In the 60s, Raney moved on to Philips for one LP and no singles (as far as I can tell), then to Imperial for several LPs and a clutch of 45s. My collection of the Imperial singles is not complete but does include six songs.

The first such item is "Try to See It My Way," a Bacharach-David song from the TV special On the Flip Side, beautifully done. It was backed by "There Goes My Everything," a country song that became a pop hit for Engelbert Humperdinck.

Next is the title tune to the 1967 suspense film Wait Until Dark, a fine Mancini composition with Livingston and Evans supplying the words. It was backed by "Parade (A Banda)," a hectic Brazilian song that was popular back then. The latter does provide an opportunity for Sue to demonstrate her vocal chops.

The best number in this group - at least to me - is her version of "Knowing When to Leave," a Bacharach-David song from the 1968 musical Promises, Promises. Her subtle singing, even amidst the busy Bill Byers arrangement and cramped recording, is a wonder. Too bad it's backed by the worst song in the bunch, the lamentable flower-power tune "Early Morning Blues and Greens."

Finally, on the obscure Alithia label, there's a bonus cut of Raney's own "Never Say Goodbye" from 1974. The song is good, but the backing, with its loud electric bass and soul-style backing group, screams the early 70s, which to me is not a good thing.

Please note: I mentioned that I was going to add two transcriptions, from Sue's appearances on The Navy Swings and Treasury Department Guest Star programs, but it slipped my mind that these did not contain unique material, only cuts from Sue's first two Capitol LPs. So I have not included them.

LINK to Capitol and Imperial singles

Ray Anthony, Billy Eckstine and Christmas Seals for 1954 and 1957

A Christmas Seals appeal from 1954

Here's a second set of holiday materials from the Christmas Seals people, from both 1954 and 1957. From the former year, we have bandleader Ray Anthony in a Christmas show, another selection of Christmas Seals promos from the celebrities of the day, and the official Christmas Seals song, as presented by Kitty Kallen.

For 1957, there is the Christmas Seals song for that year as presented by Billy Eckstine along with several lead-in promos, and additional renditions by George Beverly Shea, Sister Rosetta Sharpe and the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister.

Christmas Seals materials from both 1954 and 1957 have appeared her before. From 1954, we've had programs from Eddie Fisher and Tennessee Ernie, along with celebrity spots (find these here), and last year's post of shows featuring Julius La Rosa and Jack Benny (which are here). From 1957, we have had shows starring Lena Horne and Gordon MacRae (here).

The Ray Anthony Show

Ray Anthony completes my cache of Christmas Seals shows from 1954 (well, except for Guy Lombardo, which I haven't transferred). Ray was riding high in 1954 with one of the most popular bands in the land.

His program for Christmas Seals was one of those where the celebrity just spins his current records, with no pause for Christmas music. For Anthony, this went so far as programming his hit "The Bunny Hop." (Perhaps he thought he was doing an Easter Seals show?)

A how-to on the Bunny Hop (click to enlarge).
Don't get so carried away that you knock over the Christmas tree.

Two of Anthony's other selections were dances, too - "Cat Dancin'" and "Dance My Heart." Finally, he added "Say Hey" - a tribute to center fielder Willie Mays, overshooting the baseball season by a few months.

The performances are good (they are Ray's Capitol recordings) and the sound is, too.

LINK to Ray Anthony Show

More Celebrity Spots from 1954

This group of 10 celebrities is composed mainly of actors, with the addition of Eartha Kitt and Eddie Fisher, best known as singers.

Robert Stack, Eartha Kitt

Once again, the notables make their support of Christmas Seals known, in spots that last from 20 seconds to a minute.

Here is the complete roster of participants: 

• Robert Stack
• William Bendix
• Mona Freeman
• Eartha Kitt
• Eddie Fisher
• Celeste Holm
• George Murphy
• Gene Raymond
• Barbara Stanwyck
• Loretta Young

Celeste Holm, William Bendix

LINK to Celebrity Spots

The 1954 Christmas Seals Song

The official Christmas Seals song for 1954 didn't get much traction in the market and is little remembered, although it was written by one of the finest songwriting duos of the time - Matt Dennis and Tom Adair.

Kitty Kallen had the honor of recording the number, but on the picture sleeve above, Decca oddly decided to emphasize the flip side, "Baby Brother (Santa Claus, Dear Santa Claus)," issuing the song in its children's series, to boot.

I suppose Kallen was chosen because her child-like voice was suited to "Baby Brother," but this could have and should have been much better.

I have shared this record before, but this version is newly refurbished.

LINK to 1954 Christmas Seals song

The 1957 Christmas Seals Song

For 1957, Christmas Seals adopted an existing song, "If I Can Help Somebody," written by Alma Bazel Androzzo in 1946 and recorded soon after by Turner Layton, a songwriter ("After You're Gone, "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans") and cabaret performer.

Alma Bazel Androzzo

Androzzo (1912-2001) was born in Tennessee but lived a good part of her life in Pennsylvania. "If I Can Help Somebody," her most famous song, was taken up by such luminaries as Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr. A recording by tenor Josef Locke enjoyed some success in 1951.

Billy Eckstine

For Christmas Seals, there were at least two versions of the song in the market and on radio shows. The first is what is being featured today - the recording by the sonorous Billy Eckstine. Mr. B is strikingly fine in this version, sincere and convincing.

Mercury promotional cover

Mercury sent the record out to radio stations with four different promotional messages to introduce the record - by Sarah Vaughan, Patti Page, Eckstine himself, and bandleader David Carroll.

My friend Ernie alerted me that there was another promotional version issued at the same time, this one by gospel singer George Beverly Shea. I don't have the promotional material, but I have added Shea's rendition to the package.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, George Beverly Shea

The song's simple but inspiring message was taken up by many other gospel singers. I've also added the contemporary recordings by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister. The Statesmen performance features their tenor, Rosie Rozell.

Here are the opening lyrics of the song, which demonstrate why the work was appealing to the Christmas Seals people, and to many singers through the years:

If I can help somebody, as I travel along

If I can help somebody, with a word or song

If I can help somebody, from doing wrong

No, my living shall not be in vain

LINK to 1957 Christmas Seals song 

Christmas with the Postwar Bands

The Ray McKinley Band

Interest in America's big bands tailed off in the postwar years, but the most popular bands were still active in the recording studio. And of course they produced that staple of the music industry, the holiday release, whether covering an old favorite or introducing the latest work from one of America's tunesmiths.

In today's post we'll look at 14 of these seasonal specialties. The recordings include both the newest songs and perennials revisited by the upcoming bands.

We'll concentrate on the postwar years, but let's start with two items from the late-war era.

Charlie Spivak

Charlie Spivak's band is largely forgotten, even though he was prominent and popular for quite a period. In 1944, he came out with the new song "A Wonderful Winter (For You and Me)" by Marty Symes and Al Kaufman. It went nowhere on the charts, but still it's a pleasant outing in the hands (lips?) of trumpeter Spivak and singer Jimmy Saunders. Alvin Stoller is the drummer in this band - he will appear at the end of this post in an unfamiliar role as vocalist in a Billy May number.

In early 1945, Les Brown's band was covering a good song with a holiday (or at least winter) veneer, "Sleigh Ride in July." Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke wrote the piece for Dinah Shore to introduce in the film Belle of the Yukon. The popular version of the song was by Bing Crosby, but Brown's Gordon Drake does it well, too.

Les Brown, Jack Haskell

The following year, Les came back with a two-sided Christmas offering. One side was the new "Christmas Song," presented by his popular vocalist Doris Day. It was backed by "When You Trim Your Christmas Tree," a worthy outing by Doris' male counterpart, Jack Haskell. I may have shared this item a long time ago, but it's worth a revisit. In later years, Haskell had a fair amount of success on television.

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" has become one of the most popular songs of the season. (Second Hand Songs lists 1,295 versions!) The first recording was by Bing in 1943, and there was a well-received release by Perry Como three years later. In 1947, the song was taken up by vocalist/bandleader Eddy Howard, who had a big hit the previous year with "To Each His Own." Eddy was not without his vocal mannerisms, but his reading of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is sincere and affecting.

Eddy Howard, Ray McKinley

Ray McKinley had a long career as bandleader, and before that was a noted drummer-singer with Jimmy Dorsey and Will Bradley. McKinley was a close friend of Glenn Miller, co-led the Miller AAF Band following Miller's disappearance, and later fronted the Miller ghost band. Even so, the arrangements for his own postwar band betrayed little Miller influence, being done by the noted Eddie Sauter and Deane Kincaid. There is an extensive survey of McKinley's postwar recordings on this blog, but today we'll just sample one - a new song for 1948 called "Little Jack Frost Get Lost" by Al Stillman and Segar Ellis. Ray is the vocalist, and manages as usual to be stylish even though he had very little range.

An Amos Milburn recording session

Johnny Moore's Three Blazers had a hit in 1947 with "Merry Christmas, Baby," with a vocal by Charles Brown. In 1949, another piano-playing singer, Amos Milburn, tried to duplicate this success by pretty much duplicating the song, rearranging the title into "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby." It's a basic blues number, but tuneful and well done. The label credits "Amos Milburn and His Chicken-Shackers," not because they had opened a restaurant, but because they had recently enjoyed a chart success with "Chicken Shack Boogie."

Harry Prime

Ralph Flanagan led one of the first and most successful Miller-clone bands. In 1949 RCA Victor was giving him a big push on its Bluebird budget label, including his Miller-esque disc of "White Christmas," with an sonorous vocal by Harry Prime. Victor issued a series of promos at the time, including a Flanagan intro to this record. You can find it on my other blog. The bandleader also has been a frequent visitor on this site.

Freddie Mitchell

Tenor sax playing bandleader Freddie Mitchell could and did turn anything into a boogie, particularly after his 1949 success with "Doby's Boogie," named in honor of Cleveland Indians outfielder Larry Doby. For the holiday season that same year he came out with the "Jingle Bell Boogie," which works much better than you might expect, particularly if you have a taste for rip-roaring tenor saxes and plinkety-plunk upright pianos. The other side of that disc was the "Auld Lang Syne Boogie," which I uploaded several years ago. Sixteen more Mitchell sides (including "Doby's Boogie") can be found here.

Ray Anthony, Ronnie Deauville

Peter De Rose and Carl Sigman penned "A Marshmallow World" in 1950. It's a winning song, and while never a huge hit, did attract the attention of some heavy hitters, including Bing and Vic Damone. Our entry will be the version by the Ray Anthony band, another part-time Miller clone outfit that was very popular for years. The vocal here is by Ronnie Deauville, a particular favorite of mine. I devoted several posts to him and his sad story in the early days of this blog.

Louis Jordan

"May Every Day Be Christmas" is a sentiment that has long been a popular with songwriters (and others). This 1951 iteration is by alto saxophonist and vocalist Louis Jordan, one of the greatest hitmakers of the postwar era. Here he fronts a big band plus organist Wild Bill Davis. The earnest results are quite a contrast with such jaunty Jordan hits as "Five Guys Named Moe."

Tex Beneke and Cash Box ad

Also in 1951, Tex Beneke came out with a two-sided Christmas special - "The Santa Claus Parade" and "A Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus." By this time, Tex had left the Miller scene behind and was making records for M-G-M without a trace of Glenn's trademark sound. These two are engaging novelties from the saxophonist-vocalist, whose other work can be found here.

Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan

As the 1950s wore on, bands tried to distinguish themselves by trying something different - in the case of Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan's band, it was to drop any pretense of playing for dancers, rather presenting themselves as a concert ensemble. The musical results were often exciting, but seldom commercial - not pop enough to be popular and not classical enough to attract the high-toned crowd. The band's 1952 Christmas issue is a good example of the Sauter-Finegan approach - a winning arrangement of the "Troika" movement from Sergei Prokofiev Lt. Kije Suite, called "Midnight Sleighride" by the arrangers. Prokofiev's piece has become associated with the season, and the band's sleigh bells point up that connection. The Sauter-Finegan Band has been featured here several times.

Billy May

Finally, Billy May's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo" from 1954. This was one of May's contributions to the mambo mania of the time. Drummer Alvin Stoller does a knocked-out Perez Prado routine - instead of Prado's "ugh" he shouts "May!" and a number of other interjections, some I can even understand. The chart's slurping saxes were characteristic of May and well suited to this kiddie favorite.

May was another bandleader (his was a studio band) who had a Miller connection - he played trumpet in the band (as did Ray Anthony). Bill Finegan was a Miller arranger. As noted, Ray McKinley was in the AAF band and later led the Miller ghost band. Tex Beneke was in the prewar band and led the official Miller band postwar.

These selections were remastered from needle drops found on Internet Archive. The sound is generally vivid, as is often the case with old 78s (believe it or not).

LINK

The Marvelous Jo Ann Greer

Jo Ann Greer (1927-2001) was a talented artist whose work took place mostly behind the scenes - as a band singer and ghost vocalist for Hollywood stars. As such, she has never received the acclaim her skills should have ensured.

Today we have a good portion of the songs she recorded with several bandleaders, what may be her only single as featured artist, and several examples of her dubbing assignments for the movies. The single sides (and a few album cuts) number 19 in all, spanning 1952-55. These are supplemented by eight soundtrack vocals dating from 1953, 1957 and 1959.

I might as well state at the outset - as I sometimes do with these compilations - that Greer was not often given the best material. But even in the most ephemeral items, she shows remarkable presence, infallible rhythm and diction, excellent intonation, and a vibrato that she uses very effectively. Given good songs, she is extraordinarily impressive.

1952-55 Recordings

Jo Ann's recordings are almost all in a band context, where extroversion and projection were almost a necessity.

Her earliest records come from 1952 and the Sonny Burke band. The first item is "I Wanna Love You," a relentlessly repetitive riff that she shares with a pair named Hub and Hubbie, about whom I know nothing. (Update: reader lafong has discovered that the two were probably songwriters Don Raye and Gene De Paul.) 

The flip is "I'll Always Be Following You," an OK Bernie Wayne tune done in duet with Don Burke, an experienced band singer. Greer is confident and forthright even on her earliest records.

Sonny Burke and band

Burke was a mambo popularizer; his Mambo Jambo album has appeared here. Greer was the soloist on his "(Me with) Mambo on My Mind," built on a familiar riff. Hub and Hubbie assist.

The above records were for Decca, which soon had Greer record her first and (I believe) only solo single. For the plug side, she turned Kay Swift's rhythm number "Fine and Dandy" into an overwrought torch song, before increasing the tempo. "I Love to Hear a Choo Choo Train" is a novelty built on another familiar riff. It begins with the usual train effects. Peggy Lee's ex-husband, Dave Barbour, is the bandleader.

Jerry Gray

Jo Ann came into her own in two early 1953 songs with Jerry Gray, who didn't ask her to tackle novelties or mambos, or turn fast songs into slow ones. "My Heart Belongs to Only You" is a superb reading of a song that was making the rounds that year. "No Moon at All" is a great David Mann-Redd Evans song from 1947 that she does wonderfully.

At about the same time, Greer joined the Ray Anthony band for a short but productive spell. With her first number, "Wild Horses," she is back in novelty territory. The problem is not that she did this material poorly; rather, it's that it is poor material. The horse number is backed by "You're a Heartbreaker," a cover of a country ballad that's handled well.

Dick Stabile

Anthony recorded for Capitol, and while Jo Ann was on the rolls there, bandleader Dick Stabile borrowed her for his recording of "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street," which was Gene Austin's first hit, back in 1925. This is a beautiful reading, if you can tolerate Stabile's piercing alto. Coincidentally, Greer had dubbed the songs for Gene Austin's daughter, Charlotte, in the film Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder in 1952.

Stabile's recording credits go back to the 1930s, but most of his studio work was as the bandleader for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. You may know him at sight; he plays the bandleader for Rosemary Clooney's number "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me" in White Christmas.

Greer's final two recordings with Ray Anthony were her most successful on the charts. First was one side of a two-sided novelty smash. "The Hokey Pokey" and its discmate "The Bunny Hop," enlivened dances and wedding receptions for many years.  

Jo Ann's vocal charisma mightily contributes to the success of "The Hokey Pokey's" repetitive silliness. That's the bandleader calling out the bodily parts; his lack of presence sets off Greer's confident singing.

We're back in the 1920s for "That's My Weakness Now," which had been introduced by Betty Boop herself, Helen Kane. Greer could hardly be more of a contrast as she duets beautifully with Marcie Miller. This propulsive reading has a nice arrangement, too.

The Les Brown band with Jo Ann Greer, c1957

Later in 1953, Greer moved on to the Les Brown band, where she was to work for three decades. It's said that Sonny Burke recommended Greer to Brown. I believe that Jo Ann replaced the excellent Lucy Ann Polk, who has been heard on this blog with her family group the Town Criers and Kay Kyser.

Greer's first recording with Brown was Irving Berlin's "Sittin' In The Sun," which was written for White Christmas but not used. The song also was recorded by Frankie Laine at about the same time.

In September 1953, soon after Jo Ann joined Les' crew, the band recorded a live date at the Hollywood Palladium that Coral issued on two LPs, with one of her vocals on each disc. For the first, Brown programmed the oldie, "Back in Your Old Back Yard," scored by the talented Skip Martin. Les himself, along with his arranger Ben Homer, wrote the other song, "Sentimental Journey," his longtime theme that is also closely associated with his mid-40s vocalist Doris Day. Greer does it beautifully; she's a bit more extroverted than Day, as was her manner.

Let's move on the Les Brown singles from 1954. First is another train song, "Susquehanna Transfer," a very good swinger that Jo Ann does with a great deal of personality. Yet another is "Sentimental Train," a lovely tune once you get past the freight-train open, which arrangers seemed helpless to resist. The writer was Carroll Lucas, a former Sammy Kaye arranger.

"The Man That Got Away" is a Harold Arlen-Ira Gershwin song written for the latest iteration of A Star Is Born and made famous by Judy Garland, a star if there ever was one. Greer is not intimidated; she makes use of her vibrato here to give the song a great deal of passion. Band vocals don't get much better than this.

"Lullaby of Birdland" is a George Shearing standard from 1952 that the pianist wrote for the famous New York club. Shearing used the harmonies of Walter Donaldson's "Love Me or Leave Me." Brown's 1955 recording opens with an attractive sax chorus. Greer's vocals swing strongly. She could do it all.

Work for Films and Television

Jo Ann worked closely with Rita Hayworth on three films in the 1950s. In this set, we have recordings from two of them, Miss Sadie Thompson from 1953 and Pal Joey from 1957.

Jo Ann scaled her voice back when she did vocal doubling for the breathy Hayworth. Her projection is much less than she typically used in a band context, making her manner more confidential. "The Heat is On" in Miss Sadie Thompson and both of the Pal Joey tracks have voice introductions from Hayworth; you will notice how closely Jo Ann matches her voice to Rita.

The Sadie Thompson songs are good ones, written by Lester Lee and Ned Washington. The second is "Sadie Thompson's Song," sometimes called "The Heat Is On."

Pal Joey was a 1940 Rodgers and Hart show, recast as a Sinatra vehicle. Hayworth plays his foil Vera Prentice-Simpson, a former burlesque dancer, at least in the film adaptation. Hayworth's "Zip" number was inspired by the act of the "intellectual stripper," Gypsy Rose Lee. ("Zip! I was reading Schopenhauer last night. And I think that Schopenhauer was right.") "Zip" is mainly notable for its witty lyrics. The character's more enduring song is "Bewitched," which Greer sings wonderfully well.

In 1959, Jo Ann was enlisted for the vocals on an episode of a new televised crime drama, The Naked City. Her character is a young singer in New York; Greer dubs four George Duning songs with words by Ned Washington (again). The first two are good. "Somewhere, Wisconsin" provides the character's back story, and "Five Minutes After Forever" tells of her love for a young cowboy. The title of "Live Dangerously" provides all you need to know about it. And in the contrived "Solid Food, Solitude and You" she pledges to go off with the Westerner. All are nicely done, and Jo Ann, as always, is in great voice.

Jo Ann Greer

Elsewhere on this blog you can find the complete soundtrack LPs for Miss Sadie Thompson and The Naked City.

A few more Greer dubbing assignments, for Hayworth, June Allyson and Esther Williams, can be heard on YouTube, followed by a 1991 club appearance.

These recordings come from my collection and the Internet Archive. The sound is excellent in all cases. The download includes brief Cash Box or Billboard reviews of most if not all of the singles.