From the Back Room: Early Ray Charles Singers

Most of the substantial Ray Charles Singers content on this blog has come from their stay on the M-G-M label during the 1950s. Shortly before that, they did some recording for Archie Bleyer and his Cadence outfit, a label that is mostly renowned for early Everly Brothers and Andy Williams records.

Today we have the following sets from Ray's Cadence period. First, there's music from The Pajama Game, the smash 1954 musical from Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. And we have 8 Top Hits, with cover versions of the same year's chart toppers.

The Both Sides Now LP discography suggests this was the first Cadence album.

The Pajama Game

The Pajama Game ran for almost three years on Broadway, but it is best remembered for the film edition with John Raitt and Doris Day as the principals. The other main roles were taken by Eddie Foy, Jr., Carol Haney and Reta Shaw, both in the film and in the original production. Raitt and Janis Paige were the leads on Broadway.

John Raitt and Doris Day play The Pajama Game

For Cadence, Stephen Douglass assumed John Raitt's role of Sid Sorokin - neat casting because Douglass would succeed Raitt in the role on Broadway. Douglass would go on to star in Adler and Ross' other show, Damn Yankees.

Stephen Douglass and Gwen Vernon in Damn Yankees

Babe Williams, the female lead, here is voiced by Dorothy Evans, better known on innumerable budget records as Dottie Evans. (A separate post devoted to Dottie is coming up.)

The Pajama Game concerns the Sleep-Tite Pajama Co. and its union, which is demanding a seven-and-a half cent hourly raise. Sid Sorokin (Douglass) is the new superintendent of the factory; Babe Williams (Evans) the head of the union grievance committee. Love and comic labor troubles ensue.

The Evans and/or Douglass songs are:

"A New Town Is a Blue Town" - Douglass

"I'm Not at All in Love" - Evans and the Ray Charles Singers

"Hey There" - Douglass (it's a duet between Sid and his dictaphone voice; see above)

"Once-a-Year Day" - Douglas, Evans and the Singers

"Small Talk" - Douglas and Evans

"There Once Was a Man" - Douglas and Evans

John Raitt has said that "A New Town Is a Blue Town" and "There Once Was a Man" were ghostwritten by Frank Loesser.

Ray Charles, Dottie Evans

For "Seven-and-a-Half Cents" Evans is joined by Ray Charles, in the role of Prez (Stanley Prager on Broadway), and by the ensemble. Charles is otherwise heard in "Her Is," where he is joined by Audrey Marsh as Gladys (Carol Haney on stage and in the film).

Arthur (Artie) Malvin takes the Eddie Foy, Jr. role of Hines, the "time-study man." His songs are "Think of the Time I Save" and "I'll Never Be Jealous Again," here with Dossie Hollingsworth (Reta Shaw).

Artie Malvin, Audrey Marsh

Malvin was associated with Charles for many years, and had his own group, the Crew Chiefs, an outgrowth of Glenn Miller's AAF band. He made a huge number of budget records.

Audrey Marsh had been a radio vocalist in the 1930s and thereafter. She was the mother of composer-performer Meredith Monk.

One of the hits of the show, "Steam Heat," is performed by Charles, Malvin and Evans. It was a song and dance feature for Carol Haney and ensemble on Broadway and in the movie, with choreography by Bob Fosse.

Another hit, "Hernando's Hideaway," is sung by the Archie Bleyer Chorus with Maria Alba credited with the overly prominent castanet playing. Actually, this selection was recorded and issued as a single before the other numbers. It did well, so the LP followed.

In general, the entire presentation is nicely done, and in good sound.

Note that I prepared this post from a later, full LP Cadence release of The Pajama Game that had more selections than on the cover depicted at top of the post. 

8 Top Hits

8 Top Hits was a title used by Bleyer and then other labels, including Enoch Light with Waldorf. Archie gave himself top billing here, with the Ray Charles Singers, Dottie Evans, Artie Malvin and the others less prominent. Oh well, it was his label.

I'll provide a few words about each of the songs, the original versions, and who performs them here. I remember all these songs even though I was five years old at the time (1954), but then a few of them are well known even today.

All the numbers except "Skokiaan" feature the Ray Charles Singers, with the soloists as indicated.

"The Little Shoemaker" is a novelty based on the French song, "Le petit cordonnier" by Rudi Revil. The story is somewhat reminiscent of a Hans Christian Andersen tale. The US hits were by the Gaylords and Eddie Fisher. In the UK, it was the first chart success for Petula Clark.

Dottie Evans is the soloist on "If I Give Me Heart to You." The most popular versions were by Doris Day and Denise Lor. Jimmy Brewster (a pen name for Decca's Milt Gabler), Jimmie Crane and Al Jacobs wrote the song.

The instrumental "Skokiaan" has a complicated background. It was composed by Zimbabwean musician August Musarurwa, with the title a tribute to a potent home brew thereabouts. The first version released in the US was by Musarurwa and the Bulawayo Sweet Rhythm Band. The most successful cover was probably Ralph Marterie's.

"I Need You Now," written by Jimmie Crane and Al Jacobs, was a chart-topper for Eddie Fisher. Artie Malvin is the soloist on 8 Top Hits.

Versatile Artie did quite a few rock 'n' roll numbers for budget labels. One of the first was the crossover hit "Sh-Boom," written and recorded by the Chords. The Crew-Cuts had a popular cover version.

Dottie Evans gives us a nice treatment of Stuart Hamblen's "This Ole House," which was a massive success for Rosemary Clooney. You can hear the versions of Clooney and Hamblen in this post devoted to Thurl Ravenscroft, who handled the bass refrain of "Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer / Ain't a-gonna need this house no more." Percy Dove does those lines here. One odd note: Dottie's sister Margie Murphy also recorded the song, for one of Enoch Light's budget labels.

Percy Dove, Jerry Duane

Jerry Duane is the whistler in this rendition of "The High and the Mighty," Dimitri Tiomkin's memorable film theme. There are several other versions of the tune available on this blog via a celebration of Tiomkin's pop hits.

Mambo was big enough in the US back then that several songs that tried to cash in on the dance craze. "Papa Loves Mambo" was perhaps the biggest, with Perry Como sounding laid back as always. Here, Artie Malvin does the vocal gyrations. Stuart Foster's competing budget disc can be found here.

It adds up to a nice selection of the largely genteel chart toppers of 1954.

LINK

The Season Begins with the Ray Charles Singers' 'Winter Wonderland'

When I write "the season begins," I mean the Christmas sharity season, not winter. That doesn't start until December 23, unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere.

Anyway, I imagine the many admirers of the Ray Charles Singers will be pleased to see their terrific 1955 Winter Wonderland on offer here. I recall writing at one point that I didn't think I had this record, only to discover that I have two copies. The condition of this one is pristine, as is the music making. And I love the very 50s cover of a very 50s ranch house in the snow.

Ray Charles

Winter Wonderland is not a Christmas LP per se. There are no carols, just paeans to the glories of "Snowfall" and such, even if the words of "Moonlight in Vermont" had to be tweaked to fit the season.

This album generally follows the pattern of others in the series. Vocally, the group tends to present the songs as if they were following a scenario, as on a television show. On the instrumental side, the lead instrument is usually Nick Perito's accordion or Tony Mottola's guitar. On a few songs, Dick Hyman on piano is featured, providing some variety.

For songs, there are the usual seasonal standbys - the title song, "Button Up Your Overcoat," "June in January," "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," "Jingle Bells" and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" 

Interspersed are less familiar items:

• Irving Berlin wrote "When Winter Comes" for Rudy Vallee to sing in the Sonja Henie twirler Second Fiddle. Charles himself has the solo on this LP. (Mary Healy, one of the stars of the film, recorded "When Winter Comes" - her version can be found here.)

• Claude Thornhill's "Snowfall" is well known as an instrumental, less so with the lyrics contributed by Ray Charles himself.

• Al Bryan and Alfred Gumble wrote "Winter" in 1910 and Charles resurrected it for this LP, counterpointing it with a melody of his own invention called "Theme for Indoor Sports."

• "When Winter Comes a-Callin'" is a relatively obscure song by Mack Discant and Joseph Meyer. The liner notes say was then of recent vintage.

• "By the Fireside" is also known as "In the Gloaming (By the Fireside)," "gloaming" being a Scots term for twilight. Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly and Ray Noble wrote it in 1932; Noble's band recorded it with an Al Bowlly vocal.

The vocalists on the recording are Lillian Clark, Kathleen Wallace, Lois Winter, Miriam Workman, Robert Bollinger, Jerry Duane, Edwin Lindstrom, Eugene Lowell, Arthur Malvin, Alan Sokoloff, Michael Stewart and Eugene Steck.

The sound on this record - and the performances - are excellent.

With Winter Wonderland we complete Ray's traversal of the seasons. Here are the others:

• Autumn Nocturne

• Spring Is Here

• Summertime

LINK to Winter Wonderland

'Tis Autumn and the Ray Charles Singers Return

I'm calling a cease-fire to the barrage of "From the Back Room" posts to acknowledge the changing of the seasons by posting another in our series of Ray Charles Singers LPs, in this case Autumn Nocturne.

As with the Spring Is Here and Summertime collections, it presents a well-chosen and beautifully performed array of seasonal specialties - some familiar, some less so. The record dates from 1954.

As with the previous LPs, the cover portrays a couple admiring the wonders of nature. It seems to be the same vista as on the Summertime cover, with autumnal colors added.

Here are a few words about the songs, which in general link the passing of summer with lost love.

The LP's title tune, "Autumn Nocturne" by Josef Myrow and Kim Gannon, had some popularity when written in 1941, but that had waned in the intervening years. Like most of the songs on the LP, it is never heard these days, which makes it all the more welcome. (Myrow also had another season covered with "It Happens Every Spring," lyrics by Mack Gordon.)

"Early Autumn" was first an instrumental piece written by Woody Herman and Ralph Burns for Woody's "Four Brothers" band. Johnny Mercer wrote lyrics for it a few years later, and Woody and Jo Stafford (among others) recorded the new version.

The Ray Charles Singers surround Perry Como, early 1950s

"A Faded Summer Love" is nearly unknown today, but Phil Baxter's song attracted a large number of recordings when written in 1931, deservedly so.

Another piece that is unheard today is "Autumn in Rome." It was new when recorded for this LP. Alessandro Cicognini and Paul Weston wrote the music, Sammy Cahn the words; the number appeared in the film Indiscretion of an American Wife, where it was sung by Patti Page.

"Indian Summer" is perhaps the only misfire on the album, not because of the gorgeous Victor Herbert melody from 1919, or the Al Dubin lyrics from 20 years later. It's because of the annoying, stereotypical tom-tom part in the arrangement.

The most obscure song on the LP may be "When Leaves Bid the Trees Goodbye" by Vee Lawnhurst and Tot Seymour, dating from about 1935.

One of the best remembered songs, conversely, is "The Things We Did Last Summer," a superior work by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn written in 1946 for, I believe, Frank Sinatra.

"'Tis Autumn" is an fine song by Henry Nemo that was somewhat popular when written in 1941, but is now unfortunately obscure. This performance begins with the verse, which is even less heard than the song's chorus.

The justly famous "Autumn Leaves" began life as "Les feuilles mortes," written by Joseph Kosma and Jacques Prévert. It was sung in the film Les portes de la nuit by Yves Montand. Johnny Mercer came up with the English lyrics that were first recorded by Jo Stafford.

"Shine On, Harvest Moon" dates from the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908, where Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth introduced it. Their names are on the sheet music, but many people think that Edward Madden and Gus Edwards actually wrote it - or perhaps Bayes' pianist Dave Stamper. In any case, this LP includes the verse, which I had never heard before.

Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson wrote the poignant "September Song" for Knickerbocker Holiday in 1938. Walter Huston introduced it.

"September in the Rain" is a terrific song that Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote for 1935's Stars Over Broadway, only for it to be used as background music. But a few years later it popped up in Melody for Two, where it was sung by James Melton.

The LP ends with the optimistic "Autumn in New York," Vernon Duke's anthem from the 1934 revue Thumbs Up! This version is good; I also recommend the astonishing Sarah Vaughan recording from 1956.

The singers on this LP include Katie Carnes, Fran Carroll, Miriam Workman, Lois Winter, Lillian Clark, Rae Whitney, Elise Bretton, Marilyn Palmer, Peggy Powers, Barbara Nelson, Artie Malvin, Mike Stewart, Jerry Duane, Steve Steck, Alan Sokoloff, Ed Lindstrom, Murray Kane, Gene Lowell, Clyde Seckler, Gene Steck, Bob Spiro and Rudy Williams. Charles himself has excellent solos in "Faded Summer Love" and "'Tis Autumn."

Among the instrumentalists are Bernie Leighton, piano, George Barnes, guitar, Bernie Kaufman, reeds, and Nick Perito, accordion.

The sound is generally good and the performances all that you may have come to expect.

LINK

The 'Cool Canaries' Chirp with George Shearing

"Cool Canaries" is typical terminology from the 1950s. It lets us know that we're going to hear some singers, and they are cool, man.

And they are cool - Billy Eckstine, Teddi King and the Ray Charles Singers, the latter of whom has appeared here a few times recently.

That said, in the 1950s, "cool jazz" had a specific meaning, and none of these artists will remind you of, say, Chet Baker's balladry.

George Shearing

Even so, they are all talented musicians, appearing here in the company of George Shearing's Quintet, which had a well-defined sound by this time - piano and vibes in unison, often with the guitar along, supported by bass and drums, with frequent solos by the leader.

The recordings date from 1951-54. Let's discuss them by the vocalists involved.

Teddi King

Teddi King

A native of Boston, Teddi King (1929-77) began her recording career with Nat Pierce and His Orchestra in 1949. (I've added two of those songs to the set as a bonus.) She began touring with George Shearing in 1952, when the six songs on this LP were recorded.

The set is successful even though the first item we hear is her weakest performance. King's a singer I admire, but she did occasionally make a meal out of some meager rations. "The Love Nest" was written by Louis Hirsch and Otto Harbach for the 1920 musical Mary, but by the 1950s was best known as the theme of the Burns and Allen Show on television. King takes the opening stanza - "Just a love nest, cozy and warm / Like a dove nest down on the farm" very slowly and intensely, as if it contained some profound meaning. Most of the performance is like that.

Things improve for the other numbers. Next up is "I Wished on the Moon," a standard written by Ralph Rainger and Dorothy Parker for The Big Broadcast of 1936. Bing Crosby introduced it; the first recording was by Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson. Teddi does not suffer in comparison.

Four of the King-Shearing songs were issued on EP in England

"Love (Your Spell Is Everywhere)" (often called "Love (Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere)") comes from the 1929 film The Trespasser, where Gloria Swanson made her talkie debut by singing. The music is by the versatile Edmund Goulding, also the film's director, working with Elsie Janis, who was just as multifaceted, being an actor and screenwriter as well as lyricist. The song is well suited to King's emotive way of singing.

"Moonlight in Vermont" was a relatively new song when Teddi and George recorded it. Margaret Whiting had a hit with it in 1944. It was far and away the best-known song written by Karl Suessdorf or John Blackburn.

The next selection is an obscure one, but still a song that King had in her repertoire for some time. "Midnight Belongs to You" is a song by Clark and Gentile, of whom I know nothing. It's worth hearing in this sincere rendition.

The final number from Teddi is another standard introduced by Bing - "It's Easy to Remember (and So Hard to Forget)." A Rodgers and Hart song, it comes from the 1935 film Mississippi.

The bonus items with Nat Pierce's orchestra are covered at the end of the post.

The Ray Charles Singers

What is notable about the Ray Charles Singers' selections is that they were all written by Shearing himself. Leading off the LP is the most famous song of the group - "Lullaby of Birdland." Shearing wrote the piece for New York's Birdland club to use as its signature instrumental. He recorded it as such in 1952. George David Weiss (under the name B.Y. Forster) wrote the lyrics thereafter, which were first recorded by Ella Fitzgerald in 1954. The song itself was based on Walter Donaldson's "Love Me or Leave Me." Regardless, it's a brilliant, infectious work even if Weiss/Forster's words aren't up to Shearing/Donaldson's music.

Ray Charles in 1975

A few months after Ella's session, Shearing and Charles got together for their recording date, adding three other songs to the schedule along with "Lullaby." The other items were all written by a lyricist I believe to be Bill Hegner. They are attractive numbers that should be better known - "Nothing New Under the Sun," "Slowly but Surely" and "Adieu."

The Charles troupe does not sound much like they do in the albums I have posted already, and while they are highly accomplished and great to hear, they were not a jazz group. For whatever reason, the vocals on all these numbers were buried in the mix, which didn't do justice to either the vocalists or the songs. I've raised the singers' level accordingly.

"Lullaby of Birdland" and "Adieu" were issued on singles, but as far as I can tell this LP was the only outing for the other songs.

Billy Eckstine

Billy Eckstine

Billy Eckstine was associated with the bop movement throughout his early career, leading a big band with luminaries of the new jazz. But on record, his biggest successes were as a balladeer, so when he moved to the M-G-M label in 1947, they recorded him primarily with plush backings provided by Hugo Winterhalter. A string of hits ensued.

In 1951, Eckstine met up with Shearing for what I believe to be their only recordings together. Billy is in sonorous voice for two standards. "Taking a Chance on Love" comes from the 1940 musical Cabin in the Sky. Ethel Waters introduced the Vernon Duke melody, with words by John Latouche and Ted Fetter.

English EP - the two did not sing together; the photo is a composite

Walter Donaldson returns with "You're Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do?)," a 1930 song from Smiles, where it was performed by Adele Astaire and Eddie Foy, Jr. Here, too, Donaldson's work was the basis of a well-known jazz number: "Moten Swing."

Bonus Songs with Teddi King

Teddi King made several recordings with pianist Nat Pierce's short-lived big band in 1949 and 1950. Two of them are included as bonuses.

Nat Pierce

Pierce had organized a stentorian band in the mold of Kenton, with idiosyncratic arrangements reminiscent of George Handy's work with Boyd Raeburn. Surprisingly, this is less noticeable in the jazz piece - "Goodbye Mr. Chops" - than it is in the nominal ballad, Don Raye and Gene de Paul's "You Don't Know What Love Is."

King's vocals are in two different styles as well - Anita O'Day hip in "Goodbye Mr. Chops" and more straightforward, if somewhat mannered, in the ballad. Her approach was more settled when she recorded with Shearing a few years later.

These are nonetheless impressive performances, well recorded for the small Motif label. Internet Archive is the source of the two 78s. The Cool Canaries LP is from my collection.

LINK to Cool Canaries and Teddi King bonus tracks

New Transfer of Shearing's First American Recordings

This unusual cover adorned the LP version of George Shearing's 1947 sessions for the Savoy label - his first American recordings.

I transferred the album many years ago, but have never been happy with the sound. Now I've done a new version with much better sonics, if hardly modern or even good for the time.

This is Shearing before his familiar quintet sound, with only bass and piano backing.

LINK to previous post on Shearing's 1947 recordings

The Ray Charles Singers Proclaim 'Spring Is Here'

The Ray Charles Singers return to tell us that spring is here, just a bit before the calendar does so.

Spring Is Here is a follow-up to my recent post of the singers' 1957 Summertime LP, which was popular with those of you who like good singing or pine for better weather, or both.

In terms of recording dates, this is the second in Charles' traversal of the seasons. It appeared in 1955, following 1954's Autumn Nocturne. Winter Wonderland would arrive in 1956. All will be featured here eventually.

As before, the effect of the Charles group is markedly different from the vocal groups popular in the 1950s, ranging from the Hi-Lo's to the jazz styles of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. This is not jazz, certainly. The liner notes make the case that Charles was attempting to blend vocal and instrumental effects into a new kind of mood music. And yes, as with the Summertime album, the instrumentalists are not just accompanists: their lines are an active part of the scene setting.

Ray Charles frowns at someone's intonation

But my own view is still that the arrangements are influenced by Ray's appearances on Perry Como's television show, where songs would have had to set a scene or carry out a mini-story. The first song, "Spring Is Here," opens with Katie Wallace's acapella singing of "Maybe it's because nobody loves me." The ensemble then enters with the verse. Lorenz Hart's chorus only appears in the middle of the arrangement, with Katie Wallace again soloing.

Also as with the summer LP, the settings reflect the arranger's need to provide a basic scenario for the songs used on the Como show. "Paris in the Spring" starts off with a man and a woman intoning a few French words of love, for example. (It also has a few welcome solo lines for Charles.)

The liner notes do provide the background of the various songs, which frees me from the need to do so. (Let me mention, however, that the sleeve writer did not have the correct order of songs, so that may be a little confusing.) As before, the program includes familiar items interspersed with less-remembered numbers such as "Paris in the Spring," "A Young Man's Fancy," "Lovelier than Ever" (a wonderful song), "June Night" and "When It's Springtime in the Rockies."

Also as before, the singing is superb, the instrumentalists are excellent, and the recording is good. The Columbus Boychoir makes a few appearances. I suppose Ray wanted to use them on "A Young Man's Fancy," but they don't sing as well as Charles' superb professionals.

LINK

It's Summertime - or So the Ray Charles Singers Assure Us

My recent Snowflakes and Sweethearts post from the LeRoy Holmes Singers led to a request for the music of the Ray Charles Singers, who were popular in the 1950s and 60s.

Now, this is not the "Hit the Road, Jack" Ray Charles (born Ray Charles Robinson), but another fellow, born Charles Raymond Offenberg (1918-2015). The latter adopted the "Ray Charles" stage name back in the 1944 when he was doing radio work.

Ray's biggest break was his association with Perry Como, which lasted for 35 years. Charles began recording for M-G-M in 1954, with the LP Autumn Nocturne. He continued through the seasons, along with a variety of other album concepts - Christmas, Paris, etc.

I have three of the four seasonal LPs, which I'll be presenting here, starting with Summertime. I would begin with Winter Wonderland, but that's the record I am missing. (Fortunately, friend Ernie has posted it a number of times, and the most recent post is still available.) 

"Uh, Ray - this is the shoot for the Summertime album"

These records have a fine reputation among fanciers of 50s music like me, and for good reason. They are very polished, imaginative and varied. You know you are in the presence of real professionals.

The singers were a studio group that Ray chose from among the coterie of vocalists for hire. Today's LP, dating from 1957, features Andrey Marsh, Lillian Clark, Lois Winter, Miriam Workman, Alan Sokoloff, Jerry Duane, Stephen Steck Jr., Michacl Stewart and Eugene Steck.

Ray also lists the instrumental combo, also studio stalwarts: Al Klink, flute, Janet Putnam, harp, Nick Perito, accordion, Tony Mottola, guitar, Frank Garitso, Jr. or Bobby Rosengarden, drums, Robert Kitsis or Dick Hyman, piano, and George Shaw or Frank Carroll, bass. The relatively sparse accompaniments work nicely, setting off the vocals.

The first two songs on the LP will not make anyone eager with anticipation - "Summertime" and "Mountain Greenery," two of the most familiar items that Gershwin and Rodgers and Hart ever produced. But the versions here are so well done that they disarm any criticism.

"Mountain Greenery" features by-play among the singers. I suspect this was an arrangement worked out for use on Como's television show, where the singing would have accompanied by some simple staging. "Summertime," too, could have been part of a seasonal medley - as could others in this set.

James Melton serenades Patricia Ellis; Hugh Herbert, Walter Catlett, ZaSu Pitts and Allen Jenkins emote in the margins

The next song, in contrast, was a surprise to me - "Summer Night" by Harry Warren and Al Dubin. The label says it's from a film of the same name, but it actually emanates from 1936's Sing Me a Love Song, where it was introduced by James Melton. I don't recall hearing this song before, and it is quite a find. That's Ray soloing in the recorded performance.

"Breezin' Along with the Breeze" is another old favorite - as old as 1926, in fact. The writers were Haven Gillespie, Seymour Simons and Richard Whiting.

"Lazy Afternoon" is an extraordinary song, the most celebrated selection from The Golden Apple, the marvelous 1954 musical from John Latouche and Jerome Moross, a multitalented composer. An excellent performance from the Charles troupe.

"In the Good Old Summertime," a good old song by Ren Shields and George Evans, is from as far back as 1902. This is another item that would have lent itself to a television production.

Miss Beadell and Miss Tollerton write the tune; Phil Green gets the cover photo

The next song has an unusual history. "Cruising Down the River" was the only hit by Eily Beadell and Nell Tollerton, who won a BBC songwriting contest in 1945 or 46. It was a huge hit then in England, and later for Russ Morgan and Blue Barron in the US. The song is deliberately old-fashioned - it is said that the two authors had concocted it years earlier. It fit the postwar longing for simpler times.

Bernice Petkere and Joe Young's always-welcome "Lullaby of the Leaves" was a favorite of the bands in 1932 and was revived in the 1950s.

"Swingin' in a Hammock" was very popular in 1930, when it was written by Pete Wendling, Charles O'Flynn and Tot Seymour, and then not heard too often until this record. Sue Raney did wonders with it a few years after this LP. (I have a remastered collection of her singles coming that includes the song.)

George Duning's theme from the 1956 film Picnic is most famous in George Cates's hit arrangement (found here), where he combined it with the Hudson-DeLange oldie "Moonglow." But the "Theme from Picnic" can well stand on its own, as it does here.

Mary Boland and Melville Cooper in Jubilee

"Me and Marie" is another unexpected delight, a relatively obscure Cole Porter song from his score for 1935's Jubilee.

"(Up a) Lazy River" was a big favorite of mine in the version by trombonist Si Zentner. But that was in 1961, four years after this record came out. The Hoagy Carmichael-Sidney Arodin song dates from as far back as 1931. It had a revival in the 1950s, which Ray was happy to participate in.

A most enjoyable record in good sound.

LINK