Kookin' For Kookie

Sometimes the things I find in my record collection surprise even me. I remember buying this record, but I had forgotten it until I found it again a couple of days ago while looking for something to listen to. At the time I bought it, I thought it was just a rip-off LP, capitalizing on the popularity of the TV show, since all of the tracks besides the title song were written by either Frankie Ortega or Sy Oliver. Well, turns out I was wrong. Way wrong. Frankie Ortega and his trio were the house band at Dino's, the hangout for the folks on 77 Sunset Strip (and apparently owned in real life by Dean Martin). Check it out, Frankie is actually listed on the IMDB because of it. So I was glad that I picked up this LP and played it. It's great, jazzy stuff, played by The Frankie Ortega Trio, with backing from Sy Oliver And His Orchestra. There's some really swingin' stuff here, some smooth stuff, too. Even one track that sounds to my ears like Fever, but claims to be an original. So if you're into late 50's sound, this record may well knock your socks off. Oh, and it's in stereo! So here, go get The Frankie Ortega Trio With Sy Oliver And His Orchestra-77 Sunset Strip And Other Selections (Jubilee SDJLP 1106, 1959). Dig it!

Don't forget the Warner Brothers Stars Christmas LP I shared with you last month, as well as the single from Ephrem Zimbalist, Jr. Those'll get you more fun from the stars of 77 Sunset Strip.

Update-9 May 07-Turns out that I originally recorded this record in two track mono instead of stereo. I realized this when I went to record their previous LP, Swingin' Abroad. I've just now uploaded the stereo version, so if you grabbed it earlier, you might want to get it again. It sounds a lot better now. Sorry about the mixup.

Frank, Frankie, Frankest

I thought I had enough Frank Ortega music to last me a lifetime. I shared out his great 77 Sunset Strip (featuring Sy Oliver) LP with you a while back, then more recently I gave you a second LP, Swingin' Abroad, that wasn't quite as good. Imagine my shock when I stumbled across this third LP last week. It's in a sleeve that's closer to paper than cardboard, and I almost flipped past it for that very reason. But something made me look, and there it was. Turns out that this is a Canadian pressing, which helps explain the odd sleeve. It's pretty straightforward piano noodling, so you might not enjoy it if that doesn't sound like your cup of tea. This one actually predates those other albums by quite a bit. But if you're a completist, then you know you need to download Frankie Ortega And His Group-The Piano Styling Of Frankie Ortega (Imperial LP 9025, 1956).

Christmas In July 2008-Day 20

Are you ready for day 20 of Christmas in July? Well, ready or not, here it comes. Tonight you get six different versions of the Irving Berlin chestnut, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm. I don't know how you can go wrong with this track. I already brought you five other versions this month, so this post brings the total to eleven different versions!

Version one is actually a medley of Say It Isn't So, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm and Isn't This A Lovely Day (To Be Caught In The Rain) by The Melachrino Strings And Orchestra from The Ballads Of Irving Berlin (RCA Victor LSP-2817, 1964).

Version two is by 101 Strings from their album The Best Loved Songs Of Irving Berlin (Alshire S-5005). Is there any song that the 101 Strings didn't cover somewhere? I doubt it.

Version three is by Ray Noble And His Orchestra from We Danced All Night (RCA Camden CAL 380).

Version four is by organist Jesse Crawford and comes from the album Poet At The Pipe Organ (Decca DL 8565).

Version number five is by blog favorite the Frankie Ortega Combo and the LP Twilight Time (Masterseal MS-83). I should record this whole LP and share it out at some point. For more Frankie Ortega, check out here, here and here.

Lastly, version six is by The Francis Bay Big Band and an LP entitled either A Salute To Les Brown or Sentimental Swingers (Omega OSL 25), depending on where you look. Gotta love budget records.

That's it, nothing too exciting. Here's the download link, go get 'em, tiger! For more holiday goodies, check out this day in 2006 and 2007.

More From Frankie, Errr, I Mean Frank

Tonight's share is the follow-up to a record I brought you a few months ago. This is The Frank Ortega Trio-Swingin' Abroad (Jubilee SDJLP 1080, 1958). As I mentioned before, Frankie and his boys were the house band at Dino's, the hip club from 77 Sunset Strip. On this LP, he goes by Frank instead of Frankie, so maybe he's loosened up a little bit by the time he landed that gig. The music here is a little sparser since it's just the trio without benefit of a big band behind them, but they are no less energetic. If you have any doubts, listen to this version of Sabre Dance. It's rocks! Don't miss The Third Man Theme, either. No zither to be found on this version. Oh, and this time around, the record is in Stereo-Sonic Sound. This is one of the records that I recorded while my PC was recording only in mono, so I had to go back recently and rerecord the whole thing. You'll be able to tell the difference on this one quite easily. Hmmm, I bet I need to go back and rerecord 77 Sunset Strip, too, if I can find it in here...

Update-I re-recorded the other Frank Ortega LP and uploaded it, so if you follow the link above, you'll get a nice stereo copy of a great piece of music. Enjoy!