Volume Eleven-Ten Years On

Two posts in one day?  I must be coming down with something.  Anyway, this is the penultimate installment in the For Hi-Fi Living series.  It's also the second collection from Tony Osborne, and also the return of the interludes between songs that were so prevalent in the early volumes but haven't been seen in a bit, this time performed by a celeste.  This one could almost be subtitled "The Songs Of Mack Gordon & Harry Warren" since I think 4 of the 12 songs are written by the pair.  Surely that's not a coincidence, but I find no mention of it on the sleeve.  Perhaps they had a publishing deal with RCA at the time.  And David Rose shows up twice! Anyhow, please download and enjoy Tony Osborne And His Orchestra-A Trip To Romance (RCA Custom RAL-1011, Mono, 1957).

1. The Moon Was Yellow
2. The More I See You
3. Romance
4. You'll Never Know
5. Serenade In Blue
6. Holiday For Strings
7. Fools Rush In
8. Love Me Or Leave Me
9. Our Waltz
10. Little White Lies
11. I Had The Craziest Dream
12. A Little Bit Independent.

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If this is your first time encountering this series, here at the links to the earlier volumes. Get 'em while they last, I don't know if they'll be back in another ten years!
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2
3
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5
6
7
8
9 
10

Painted Passions

Here's a special little treat for you all, if you're paying attention.  I was cleaning up the computer room and found this record that I had set aside to record some time ago, then forgot about.  But here it is in all it's mid-century glory. Discogs tells me this is the second cover, probably a reissue from later on in the fifties, but I still like it.  And as a special bonus, I've dropped in digital versions of all the paintings that are covered here in audio versions! (Though I'm not certain I got the correct Gabrielle by Renoir, he seems to have done quite a few of them.) So download and listen as you look!  This is Henri René And His Orchestra-Passion In Paint (Famous Paintings Set To Music) (RCA Victor LPM-1033, Mono, 1955). I love these experiments of lists set to music. I've got quite a few of them, but this is one of my favorites. And as far as the paintings go, the only one I've seen in person is the Dali, when it was on display at his St. Pete museum alongside the similar Disintigration of Persistence of Memory.  They're both very small.  I may have seen Madame X more recently, but I'm not certain of it.

1. Nude Descending The Stairs (Marcel Duchamp)
2. Gabrielle In An Open Blouse (Pierre August Renoir)
3. The Birth Of Venus (Sandro Botticelli)
4. The Nude Maja (Francisco Goya) (Says Maya on the label, but I think that's incorrect)
5. Girl Before Mirror (Pablo Picasso)
6. At The Moulin Rouge (Henri Toulouse Lautrec)
7. Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci)
8. L' Absinthe (Edgar Degas)
9. Nude On Cushion (Amedeo Modigliani)
10. Madame X (John Singer Sargent)
11. Olympia (Edouard Manet)
12. The Persistence Of Memory (Salvador Dali)

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The Answer!

I have made a discovery that will rock the world!  Many of you are probably familiar with the Phil Harris classic "The Thing" (1950), but the identity of what's in the box Phil finds on that beach has long been a mystery.  Well, I've figured it out.  It turns out the answer is in a song that Phil released the year after "The Thing" came out.  That other song is "Oh, What A Face" from 1951. It's not very PC, but maybe not as bad as some of it's contemporaries.  I've uploaded both songs so you can give them a listen and see if you agree with me.  Just listen to the end of "Oh, What A Face" and you'll see it lines up pretty well with what happens in The Thing.  Give it a listen, then tell me what you think in the comments!

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And now that I have your attention, I have a request.  I've been trying to put together the complete Phil Harris discography on RCA Victor.  I had a couple of good weeks after several years of putting together a record here and there, and I found almost 20 records that I needed, either stuff that was completely new or 7" 45 RPM versions of things I previously had on 10" 78 RPM.  Thinking I must be getting close to having it all, I spent a few hours making a list of all the records I still need to find, and it turns out I'm quite a way from having the complete collection.  Perhaps you have something from the list below?  If so, let's talk.  Some of these things I've never heard, some of them I just want an original single of, on 45 if possible, but many of them came out before the 45 was invented, so I'll take what I can get.

47-2770 Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens b/w Woodman, Spare That Tree (1949)

47-3064 Row Row Row b/w I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None O’ This Jelly Roll (1949)

47-3216 Chattanoogie Shoe-Shine Boy b/w That’s A Plenty (1950)

47-3260 Smoke Smoke Smoke (That Cigarette) b/w Crawdad Song (1950)

47-3781 Play A Simple Melody b/w On The Mississippi (1950) Looks like I have this one!

47-4124 The Letter (with Alice Faye) b/w Possibilities (1951)

47-4224 Golden Train b/w Tennessee Hill-Billy Ghost (1951)

47-4584 Hambone (with The Bell Sisters) b/w Mama’s On The Warpath (1952)

47-5615 Take Your Girlie To The Movies (If You Can’t Make Love At Home) b/w I Know An Old Lady (1954)

20-2163 It’s A Good Day b/w The ‘Possum Song (1947) I have this one, is it on 45 anywhere?

20-2198 Poppa Don’t Preach To Me b/w Necessity (1947)

20-2401 Fun And Fancy Free (B-side is by Louis Prima)

20-2614 One More Time b/w Old Time Religion (1947)

20-2715 He’s His Own Grandpa (I’m My Own Grandpa) b/w Never Trust A Woman (1948)

20-3393 The Mountaineer And The Jabberwock b/w Elmer And The Bear (1949)

47-3477 Thank The Man Upstairs b/w I Wish I Were A Goldfish (1949)

20-3708 God’s Country b/w Lazy River (1950)

47-3825 Dig-Dig-Dig Dig For Your Dinner b/w I’ve Been Floating Down The Old Green River (Jul 1950)

20-4225 The Musicians b/w How D’ye Do And Shake Hands (both sides with Betty Hutton, Dinah Shore & Tony Martin) (1951)

47-4750 Potato Chips b/w Under The Lamp Post (1952)

47-4993 Piece A-Puddin’ b/w Hi-Diddle-Diddle (both sides with The Bell Sisters) (Oct 1952)

WBY-87 The Thing (with sound effects) b/w The Mountaineer And The Jabberwock (1958)

599-9048 If You Got Someplace To Go, Go Ahead b/w Pass Around The Basket (two tracks from The RCA Victor Platter Party SPD 6) (1955)

Not a list for the faint of heart, that's for sure, but I think I'm more than halfway. Any help is much appreciated!Once I get the whole collection, which is running about 100 tracks, I think, well, that's going to be a nice share, don't you think?

Volume Ten-Ten Years On

Here I am again, back with another installment in the For Hi-Fi Living series.  This one is quite different from anything else in the series because it's performed on the organ instead of using an orchestra. The name on the front cover is Jocelyn McNeil, but popular scuttlebutt is that this is actually well-known organist George Wright.  You never know how true these stories are, but it's certainly not the first artist in this series that performs under a pseudonym.  This is actually not the record that I bought over a year ago when I found all twelve records in the series in one go.  I found this copy yesterday at a dollar record sale up in St. Pete.  And it looked like it was in really good shape and happened to be the very next installment in the series, so I went ahead and picked it up.  Some of the records I have in this series aren't in the best shape, especially the covers, but I thought this one was pretty nice.  And I think the music came out pretty good.  Download it and let me know what you think!  This is Jocelyn McNeil At The Pipe Organ-Very Hi-Fi Organ (RCA Custom RAL-1010, Mono, 1957).

1. Who's Sorry Now?
2. Sophisticated Lady
3. Pavanne
4. Star Dust
5. The Creole Love Call
6. Home
7. Blue Mirage
8. Jealous
9. I Got Rhythm
10. Emaline
11. Stormy Weather
12. The Dream Of Olwen

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PS-I originally wrote that Dick Leibert was the famous organist moonlighting as Jocelyn McNeil, but someone pointed out that I was mistaken.  It's most likely George Wright, another prolific organist.

The earlier shares are right here, in case you missed them:
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3
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5
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7
8
9

Volume Nine-Ten Years On

No, I haven't given up on this series.  I've just been asleep since Christmas.  All that Christmas sharity can take a lot out of a guy.  But I'm back, with yet another installment of the long-term project of sharing all twelve record in this series.  Today it's volume 9, the second set from Jack Say, who some say is actually Jacques Ysaye from France.  I don't know that for fact, but it wouldn't be the only entry in this series released under a pseudonym.  All the tracks on this volume are written by Irving Berlin, who I'm sure you're familiar with, so I won't tell you who he is.  Anyhow, if you want more info, I suggest you look back at the original post of this record, which was now closer to 11 years ago instead of ten.  Time flies when you're having fun.  This is Jack Say And His Orchestra-The Girl That I Marry (The Music Of Irving Berlin) (RCA Custom RAL-1009, Mono, 1957).

1. Soft Lights And Sweet Music
2. Remember
3. Cheek To Cheek
4. How Deep Is The Ocean
5. Say It Isn't So
6. Blue Skies
7. Say It With Music
8. Always
9. Lady Of The Evening
10. The Girl That I Marry
11. A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
12. All By Myself

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If you missed any the earlier volumes in this great series, here are the links to each of them:
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Hopefully I can get the last three of these up in a reasonable amount of time.  Maybe.

Twelve Drummers Drumming

Hello!  And welcome to the 12th day of Christmas!  Or Epiphany Eve as it's sometimes called.  Or Little Christmas Eve. Women's Christmas Eve?  Or January 5th, your choice.  Whatever you call it, it's cold outside!  And on the last day of Christmas, I bring you a little Eddie Lawrence, AKA The Old Philosopher.  Once you've heard one of his routines, you've pretty much heard them all.  Just in case you miss a little something in the first one here, there's another one on the flip side for you.  I think I actually shared the A-side of this single with you one time during Christmas in July, so it must have appeared on LP at some point, but this time it's from a smaller, faster record with two dissimilar sides.  Someday I should put together a whole collection of similar songs, but they might wind up all being records by Eddie...  Anyhow, here's Eddie Lawrence-That Holiday Spirit b/w The Merry Old Philosopher (Coral 7" 45 RPM 9-61915, Mono, 1957).

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As it happens, I recently traveled through the town of Tarpon Springs, a Greek community with perhaps the largest Epiphany celebration in this country.  Their tradition is to toss a cross into the local waterway, and boatloads of chosen male children jump in after it.  Whoever comes up with it is given a special blessing and gets all sorts of special chores for the next year.  This statue is out front of the sponsoring church and I happened to catch a picture as we drove by.  As it happens, Epiphany tends to fall on one of the coldest days of the year, and this year is no different.  But I don't think they've ever canceled it or moved it, or even changed the time to later in the afternoon.  I can also remember times in the past where pranksters have salted the water the night before with handfuls of duplicate crosses, leading to no end of confusion.  There have also been fights, tussles and outright unpleasantness over the cross, so it's the same as everything else.

(I just looked it up, and I guess the jumping in the water bit is tomorrow, not today.  I've never actually been, maybe I should jump in the car and head up there...)

Eleven Pipers Piping

Nothing too exciting tonight, I'm afraid.  A 1979 single from Vic Damone, something that I shared the album version of back during Christmas In July.  But I dug up my copy of the single, and I think the A side is a studio version of the track, while the B side seems to be the same thing as found on that LP.  I think it's a nice little song, and hopefully you'll enjoy it.  This is Vic Damone, Arranged & Conducted By Norm Geller With The Sal Carson Orchestra-Christmas In San Francisco b/w Christmas In San Francisco-Live Performance (Rebecca 7" 45 RPM 715, Stereo, 1979).

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Ten Lords A'Leaping

Trying to get this up before the new X Files starts in a few minutes...  I wanted to call this an early single from Jimmie Davis, but checking out his discography, I see stuff going back into the Twenties, so 1953 is hardly early.  I was previously only aware of his two 1960's vintage Christmas albums, and a single Christmas track from the '80s, so this came as quite the surprise when I found it.  For those who don't recognize the name, Jimmie Davis was a country singer who later turned to more religious fare, in the meantime serving two non-consecutive terms as governor of Louisiana.  Not a bad CV!  I don't believe that either of these tracks turned up in his later work, though I did spot a 1957 Christmas single that appears to have been re-recorded on one of his two holiday LPs.  And the songs here are pretty good, I was quite happy about what I found when the needle hit the groove.  This is Jimmie Davis-Christmas Choo Choo b/w I Love To Ride With Santa Claus (Decca 7" 45 RPM 9-28912, Mono, 1953).  You'll notice that the Anita Kerr Singers are credited on side 1.  I guess they are the ones making the train noises... If you want more train songs for Christmas, you can visit my earlier post this year, or maybe head on over to Lee's place for one of his shares earlier this season.

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Nine Ladies Dancing

Tonight's share is brought to you courtesy of Mr. Rosemary Clooney, Jose Ferrer!  As near as I can tell, this was Jose's second Christmas record.  The first he shared with Rosie, but this one seems to be all his.  Well, not all.  The flipside is ambiguously credited to "The Ferrers", which sort of implies maybe he and the Mrs. and some kiddies sing on it, but all I can hear are some generic kids.  So I'm thinking that was just a marketing gimmick.  Anyhow, this is a nice bit of Christmas music from one of my favorite labels, though it's more spoken than sung.  Ferrer was an actor, not a singer, that's why he chose a recitation here, and a famous one at that.  Nice picture sleeve, too!  Please enjoy Jose Ferrer-Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus b/w The Ferrers-Conducted By Darol Rice-Santa's Marching Song (RCA Victor 7" 45 RPM 47-7823, Mono, 1960).

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Looks like his son, Miguel, passed away in 2017. He was a regular on NCIS: Los Angeles. I wonder if he was one of The Ferrers on the flip side?

Eight Maids A'Milking

For your New Year enjoyment, here's a Christmas character you've probably never heard of before.  Sure, you've heard of Rudolph, Frosty, Uncle Mistletoe and about a million others, but Jake?  Nope.  I'm thinking maybe he's the somewhat sleazy half-brother of Suzy Snowflake, but I don't know that for a fact.  And bonus points for the Chipmunk-esque vocals here!  Welcome to 2018!  This is Bobby Star-Jake The Flake b/w Vel-Mars-Jingle Bells (Continental Arts 7" 45 RPM 575, Mono, 1964).

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Seven Swans A'Swimming

One that's been sitting here on my desk for literally years, waiting it's turn to be ripped and shared, is this 45 by Mike Douglas.  I shared the song on an album with you years ago, but the flipside appears to be an extended version with the background voices and some extra piano bits that's a nice addition to your collection.  (And if you don't remember that album, you might want to check the comments, just sayin'.) The label on this 45 is Image, but the LP label is Word.  That made me think this might be a re-recording until I found an article in Billboard mentioning that Image had sold the single to Word, so there you are.  Oh, and the name Lee Pockriss pops up again here, as both songwriter and arranger/conductor.  Small world.  This is Mike Douglas-Happy Birthday, Jesus b/w Mike Douglas Chorale-Happy Birthday, Jesus (Image Records, A Division Of AudioFidelity Enterprises 7" 45 RPM IM-3032, Stereo, 1979).

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Six Geese A'Laying

Another day after Christmas, another Christmas 45.  And this time, it's a typical '50s kiddie vocal, but one that you haven't heard a million times.  No idea who Paul O'Keefe was, or who he grew up to be, but the songwriter on both sides is Bob Hilliard, who I believe is a lyricist of some note. (Co-writer on the flip side is Lee Pockriss, also a writer of some note.) Everest was a minor player in the record business, though they did put out some good stuff over the years.  I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, and I'm running a little late this morning, but it's worth a download and a listen.  I say that about most all of my shares, don't I?  Well, I guess it's true.  Please download and enjoy Paul O'Keefe-(Santa Claus) What Would You Like For Christmas b/w A Baby In A Basket (Everest 7" 45 RPM 9-19322 Promotion Copy Not For Sale, Mono, 1959).

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Five Golden Rings

Some days, even I'm surprised at what I already own but don't know about.  While cleaning out a box I had to move today while getting a new A/C installed, I found a small handful of singles I'd bought at Fantasyland Records in Atlanta a few years back.  The record you see here was in that stack, and I guess I wasn't intrigued enough at the time to play it.  Well, I played it tonight, and it is great!  It's a short cocktail party hosted by Bing Crosby and his special guests are The Lennon Sisters.  All of the music played seems to be from their records, but the spoken word bits in between are great, and Bing reads a short story that I've not heard before.  They also tell us all about how great Country Beautiful magazine is, but it must not have been that great because as far as I can tell, it's no longer with us.  I dated this to 1962 based on the RCA pressing data, and that feels pretty close.  I couldn't find hide not hair of this record on the internet, which is just the sort of thing I love to share with you around here!  I'm sure this came in a sleeve way back when, and I'd love to find that, too, but in the meantime, you can listen to Christmas Party-Holiday Songs By Bing Crosby And The Lennon Sisters For Country Beautiful (RCA Victor Custom Record Dept. 7" 33 RPM NO8Q-4527/4528, Mono, 1962).  FYI, Bing sings White Christmas and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen here, while The Lennon Sisters sing Winter Wonderland.  There's lots of talking over the music, so I didn't split anything out, it's just Side 1 and Side 2.  Can anyone ID that instrumental version of White Christmas that opens the record?  It's typical late 50's-early 60's sparking Beautiful Music stuff.

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Four Calling Birds

Another 45 for you, a pretty obscure one at that.  No hits on the artist, no hits on the producer/songwriter (Otis Fuller), or at least no hits other than this record.  The catalog number on the label doesn't even match anything else in the Dig discography.  Maybe it's a bootleg, but I can't imagine why anyone would fake something like this.  Is Jewel related to Guy?  If so, I couldn't find any info online.  This is another one I'm hoping someone can come along and fill me in on.  Enjoy Jewel Lombardo-Christmas Melody b/w Christmas Lullaby (Dig ZY-95006 7" 45 RPM, Mono).  Everything in the discography appears to have been released between 1955 and 1957, so this is somewhere in that period most likely.

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Three French Hens

It's been a great year for singles around here, and tonight is certainly no exception to that.  I've got a huge pile of 45's that I'm always adding to, and I'm always saying I need to record more of it.  The stuff I've shared this year has made exactly no dent in the pile, but it's better than nothing.  This 45 tonight is something I didn't even know I had, but I found it tonight while trying to clean out a box of stuff  I bought a while back.  Turns out the A-side of this single is a track that wasn't on Booker T. & The M.G.'s great Christmas LP (though the B-side is from that album), and it features Isaac Hayes on piano, so I'm pretty surprised it's as obscure as it is.  Do yourself a favor and download Booker T. & The M.G.'s-Winter Snow b/w Silver Bells (Stax 7" 45 RPM 45-236, Mono, 1967). Plenty of organ here, but no chimes, sorry.

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Two Turtle Doves

Happy Boxing Day, or, of you prefer, the second day of Christmas!  Wasn't sure if I'd be able to get anything up for you today, as I was busy boxing up records all day to make some room for the new AC unit.  But I've done all I can do since I ran out of boxes.  Hopefully I can finish up tomorrow and get the install scheduled.  Hoping to get this taken care of before the year ends, but I'm running out of time.  Anyhow, I've got this little seven inch record for you tonight, featuring four songs.  No picture sleeve, I'm afraid, so there's a lot of info missing, but everyone loves a little souvenir from one of the famous TV preachers.  This time it's Oral Roberts.  And the share is Bob Daniels & Abundant Life Choir-Season's Greetings From Oral Roberts (Abundant Life Recordings 7" 33 RPM No Number, Mono, 1961).

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful
2. Silent Night
3. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
4. O Holy Night

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No White Christmas

Here's another single for you, something a little out of the ordinary, a little newer than the usual share around here, but something I think you'll enjoy nonetheless.  I saw this single shared out at another blog, and realized that I had seen it somewhere recently.  Turned out it was in the stack of random stuff I had bought at Banana's recently, but hadn't listened to it yet.  It just happens to be a very early synth record, one of the very first Christmas records I've ever heard that sounds like this.  Just download it, you'll see.  We didn't get a White Christmas today here in Central Florida, but you get one from me.  This is Camille-White Christmas b/w Snowbelle (EMI 7" 45 RPM EMI 5014, Produced For Camille By Karl Jenkins, Mike Ratledge And Mike Thorne, Stereo, 1979).  If anybody knows anything about this single, please share, it's a bit of a mystery.

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The Voice Of Christmas

One of my favorite finds this year was a V-disc from World War II featuring a track by Bing Crosby.  I see these V-discs every once in a while, but this is the first time I've ever seen a Christmas one. I'm sure there are plenty of them out there, and people have collected them up and put together collections and done all sorts of things with them, but this is the first one I've ever done anything with, and I'm sharing it with you guys for Christmas.  I'm writing this up ahead of time, but shortly after Midnight Christmas morning, this is going to pop up at the blog as my gift to you.  I had a little trouble getting the EQ right on this one, so I had to get a little help from my friends Lee (at Music You Possibly Won't) and Buster (over at Big 10-Inch Record).  I don't remember who's work I used, so I'm going to credit them both and thank them very much for their help.  These records were new technology at the time and the sound isn't what you might hope for, but it's performances you're unlikely to find elsewhere. Bing only sings one song here, the other two are just by 'Chorus And Organ', not a very popular group, I'm afraid.  But it's Christmas.  So Merry Christmas to you!  This is V-Disc No. 48 (V-Disc VP 140/141, Mono).

1. Bing Crosby, Chorus And Orchestra-Silent Night
2. Chorus And Organ-Joy To The World
3. Chorus And Organ-It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

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A Christmas Riddle

Perhaps to make up a bit for that last post which featured no Nelson Riddle Christmas music whatsoever, here's a brand new rip of his 1970 Christmas LP for Avon.  I happened to stumble across a nice clean copy of this yesterday, complete with some inserts that I don't think I had the last time I ripped and shared this in 2006.  There's a custom inner sleeve and two different letters from Avon President Fred G. Fusee for your enjoyment.  Oh, and some music, the only solo Christmas music recorded by Nelson Riddle, as far as I know.  Well, he did The Christmas Song on a tribute to Nat King Cole, but this is a full album.  Perhaps a few years after his heyday, but it's still well worth a listen!  This is The Nelson Riddle Orchestra And Chorus-Avon Wishes You A Happy Holiday and A Joyous New Year (Avon AV 10170, Stereo, 1970). I think there's more Avon in the archives here, if you're interested.

1. Happy Holiday
2. Angels We Have Heard On High
3. O Holy Night
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
6. Carol Of The Bells
7. Ave Maria
8. Here We Come A-Caroling
9. What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
11. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
12. Do You Hear What I Hear
13. Go Tell It On The Mountain

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And if anyone is looking for the traditional Christmas Eve visit from The Sugarplum Fairy, look here.

Not Christmas, Part 2

Here's another entry into the new series of Christmas records that don't have any Christmas content.  This time it's from the fine folks at the National Tuberculosis Association and their annual Christmas Seals campaign.  You get two 15 minute radio shows featuring Patti Page and Nelson Riddle (separately, not together) telling you all about the joys of using Christmas Seals, but not using any Christmas music to do so.  To say I was disappointed by that is an understatement.  But there's still some good stuff here, if only for the spoken word bits.  Just remember, if you're going to pay big bucks for part of this series on eBay, you may not get what you're after.  This is For Christmas Seals 1958-The Patti Page Show/The Nelson Riddle Show (National Tuberculosis Association J8MR-8705/8706 (Style B), Mono, 1958).

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