Mervelous!

Ten more Merv masterpieces (Mervs-terpieces?), all from 78s in my collection. At the moment, ten or so shellac Mervs are hiding on me, but I will find them. They are here. Someplace.

Meanwhile, we have these terrific titles to savor. I Don't Want a Thing to Remind Me of You is making its second appearance, and in a much better-sounding file. This is the recording that I believe to be a demo from 1944. That would (possibly) make it the earliest Merv recording on the planet.

And it's only available at... MY(P)WHAE!

Oh, and let me note that my Box.net downloading bandwidth is maxed out at the moment--that's why I'm using 4shared for this. My Box b/w should refresh any time now. At which point, I'll go back to using it.

To the Merv....


Click here to reach folder: 'S Mervelous!

PLAYLIST

LOVE IS SUCH A CHEAT--with Freddy Martin O. and The Martin Men, 1949.
MAMBO JAMBO--with Freddy Martin O. and The Martin Men, 1950.
THE BLOSSOMS ON THE BOUGH--with Freddy Martin Orch., 1949.
1400 DREAM STREET--with Freddy Martin Orch., Martin Men, 1949.
IF YOU DON'T HUG'ER BY NINE O'CLOCK--Freddy Martin Orch. and Ensemble, 1952.
ETERNALLY (Griffin-Taylor)--with Hugo Winterhalter Orch., 1951.
MY ONE, MY ONLY, MY ALL (Livingston-Evans)--Freddy Martin Orch., Martin Men, 1949.
SAM'S SONG--Freddy Martin Orch. and The Martin Men, 1950.
IF I FORGET YOU--with Hugo Winterhalter Orch., 1951.
I DON'T WANT A THING TO REMIND ME OF YOU--1944.


More to come!


Lee

Merry Mervmas!

Link to folder: Merry Mervmas!

TRACKS:

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas--Merv Griffin, 1966.
Merry Christmas Polka--Merv Griffin w. Martin Men and Freddy Martin's O., 1949.
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town--Arthur Treacher, 1966.
A Child's Christmas in Wales (Dylan Thomas)--Merv Griffin, 1966.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer--Arthur Treacher, 1966.
Sleep My Child (Mary's Vision of Love)--Merv Griffin, 1966.
Twelve Days of Christmas--Merv Griffin, 1966.
White Christmas--Merv Griffin, 1966.
Christmas City (Peterson)--Merv Griffin.
The Story of the Christmas City--Merv Griffin with Maureen Reynolds.
Christmas Time--Merv w. Martin Men and Freddy martin's O., 1950.
Sleigh Ride (Anderson)--Merv w. Martin Men and Freddy Martin's O., 1950.



Lee

Yet more Merv....

As you can probably tell, this blog is in Merv Mode for the time being, which means that other things will have to wait, including the Sunday Morning Gospel series. Though we DO have Merv singing the spiritual Streets of Glory in today's playlist--a very good version, too. It holds up way better than most 1963 hurry-up-let's-cash-in-on-your-recent-hit recordings.

Nearly everything being written about Merv has been positive--sometimes, overwhelmingly so. I plan to link to some of these pieces, including an inspiring post about "Brother Merv"'s important role in getting the United Negro College Fund telethon going.

As for Merv's private life, I firmly believe it was just that. Private. Those who have chosen this occasion to malign the man (and for no good reason) have themselves to live with, which is the greatest punishment I can think of. Some folks, you feel sorry for in their having to be them.

Nine of today's tracks come from Merv's 1963 Cameo LP, Merv Griffin. Of the bunch, Marching to Pretoria is my favorite, I think.

From the 1976 two-record set As Time Goes By comes the slow version of Merv's Theme, which was called Dream Theme. Apparently, this isn't an easy thing to find, game-show-theme-wise. Well, here it is. Also, a nice version of the Bacharach-David classic The Windows of the World, and my all-time favorite version of As Time Goes By. And we have three more Merv-written instrumentals: January, February March; Frisco Disco; and Monterey.

Oh, and Merv's version of P.S. I Love You (and not the Mercer-Jenkins song), which I like a lot, if only because it features a very original spin on the tune. That, and because it's by Merv, By Merv. To the Merv.

Click here for folder: Yet More Merv!

PLAYLIST:

The Piano Roll Blues, 1963.
Sally Don't You Grieve, 1963.
Streets of Glory, 1963.
Marching to Pretoria, 1963.
No Letter Today, 1963.
Roger Young (Loesser), 1963.
Rambling Rose, 1963.
I'm a Twelve O'Clock Fellow, 1963.
I'm Sorry I Made You Cry, 1963.
Piano, 1976.
I've Chased Enough Rainbows, 1976.
The Windows of the World (Bacharach-David), 1976.
Jean (McKuen), 1976.
As Time Goes By (Hupfeld), 1976.
Dream Theme (Griffin), 1976.
Monterey (Griffin), 1976.
P.S. I Love You (Lennon-McCartney), 1976.
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (Gibb-Gibb), 1976.
Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song, 1976.
Janurary, February March (Griffin), 1976.
Frisco Disco (Griffin), 1976.
Down Yonder (L. Wolfe Gilbert), with The Martin Men and Freddy Martin's Orch., 1951.


Lee