Sunday morning gospel: The Phipps Family--Only Through Grace

As the liner notes tell us, "The Phipps Family that recorded the songs on this album are like many other people in America, descendants from England to early America who settled here in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky and known as the Anglo Saxon heritage." Any questions?

Several of these are unaccompanied solos, as opposed to unaccompanied group harmony, giving things a Folkways-label feeling. And, sure enough, the Phipps Family discography includes LPs on that label. Coincidence? (I think.) At any rate, it's hard to imagine the family--even at a Folkways session--being stopped and asked, "Can you please sound more old time? I mean, what you're doing is great, but it needs just a touch of down-home."

Great stuff, and I managed to procure this at eBay for not much money. I completely expected competing bids, but they never happened.

To the Phipps Family: Only Through Grace

PLAYLIST

ONLY THROUGH GRACE*
GOD IS GETTING WORRIED WITH YOUR WICKED WAYS**
THE BEAUTIFUL AND BLEST FOREVER*
AMAZING GRACE**
I AM SATISFIED WITH JESUS**
TWO ROBES*
BRIGHT CITY*
WHEN I CAN READ MY TITLE CLEAR**
THIS LIFE IS WONDERFUL**
DAY IS BREAKING IN MY SOUL*

*By A.L. Phipps; **Arranged by A.L. Phipps

(Pine Mountain 127)



Lee

Big Rock 'n Roll Hits, Vol. 2--Tony Collins and His Orch. featuring vocal stars of Radio and Television

"Rock! Rock! Roll! Roll!" with Tony Collins and His Orch. featuring vocal stars of Radio and Television, courtesy of the 10" Promenade label LP pictured above. Certainly, Tony Collins and His Orch. has (have?) been seriously underrepresented in the music blogosphere, and MY(P)WHAE hopes to correct that injustice. It doesn't help things much that Promenade didn't even mention Tony or his orchestra on the front cover. Or the back, for that matter (which is blank). I truly think it's possible that, despite all the indications to the contrary (the bright jacket art, adjectives like "big" and "full length," and all the "!" marks), this was actually a very cheap production. We have to remain open to that possibility.

True story: I very nearly mislabeled the folder for this zip file as "Big Rock n' Roll Hits, Vol. 2" instead of "Big Rock 'n Roll Hits, Vol. 2," but I noticed my mistake just now and corrected it. Whew! Close one.

So, what about the music? Well, decent covers all, especially R-O-C-K and Long Tall Sally. This version of R-O-C-K, by the way, is the same one credited to the Four Jacks w. Herbie Layne's Orchestra on the Gateway Top Tune and Big 4 Hits labels. I hope Tony Collins didn't sue.

To the extent that it's possible to get good sound out of a Promenade label LP, I was able to do so by playing this with my 2.5-gram Stanton stylus. Despite some surface hiss, details are crisp and the bass is bouncy (bouncy?). Boomy. Whatever.

It's nice to see vocal stars of radio and television getting some record work--it just goes to show that you could be outspoken and employed in show biz back in those days. (Rim shot) Thank you.

To the rock 'n roll: Big Rock 'n Roll His, Vol. II

PLAYLIST

LONG TALL SALLY
EDDIE MY LOVE
SEVEN DAYS
R-O-C-K
THE MAGIC TOUCH
ROCK RIGHT
I'LL BE HOME
WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE

Tony Collins and His Orch. featuring vocal stars of Radio and Television (Promenade 6017, 10")


Lee

1982 Baldwin Grand

I received an email from Richard, in which he states:

"This is a strange question, but I have a 1982 Baldwin grand with Ferrante & Teicher's signature and drawing on the plate, and it will be for sale shortly. I'd like to find out if there are any F&T fans or fanatics who might be interested in such a piano, so if you can point me in any direction, that would be appreciated. I have pictures if that should be requested."

This sounds to me like it was a promotional deal, as in a celebrity endorsement. It doesn't sound like an uncommon item, especially, but then I'm no expert on the matter. Anyone heard of this? Or in need of one?

I'm curious to find out what it is, exactly. Again, I'm guessing a celebrity endorsement.


Lee

"I Vow to Thee My Country"

Robert Cottrill has filled me in on I Vow to Thee My Country, the hymn based on a famous section of the "Jupiter" movement of Gustav Holst's Planets suite, which (the hymn, that is) I featured in a recent Sunday Morning Gospel. The hymn tune is called "Thaxtad," and it can be heard (and the score downloaded) at the coolest stop in cyberspace, Cyber Hymnal (where Robert has contributed a great deal).

In addition, Robert has written an entry about Gustav Holst and Thaxtad at his blog, Wordwise Hymns: Today in 1934

The transcription is note-perfect. Thanks, Robert!


Lee

Pop Hits on Two Pianos--Whittemore and Lowe

Pop Hits on Two Pianos (1959, above) is an LP reissue of the 1946 78 rpm album Two Grand (minus The Continental), on which duo-pianists Arthur Whittemore and James Lowe are backed by Russ Case and his Orchestra. You can see the original cover here.

The LP also features three selections originally released as singles and featuring Arthur and James without orchestra--1947's Malaguena, and 1948's Liebestraum and Ritual Fire Dance. When digging up the dates for these, I discovered two recordings of Liebestraum in the pianists' 78 discography, but I'm almost sure our version is the 12" Red Seal recording from 1948, given the track's playing time of 4:35.

Weirdly enough, RCA re-recorded Two Grand circa 1952 with a new orchestra (led by Victor Allesandro) but kept the same title and track line-up. In the case of the 45 rpm boxed set, they even used the same cover art: Two Grand--45 rpm boxed set.

Consequently, there was a time when I thought the 45 set was a reissue of the 78 set. Very sneaky, RCA. Very, very sneaky. But I know better now.

It's amazing to hear how far four-hand piano music of the pop and semi-Classical type had evolved by the mid-1940s, especially given the way that such pop-instrumental fare is typically treated like a thing of the 1950s (or, anymore, the 1960s). And Whittemore and Lowe weren't even the first ivory-tickling duo on the block. And I can't believe I just typed "ivory-tickling duo." (Hey, only 5 matches on Google.)

Anyway... to the 1946-1948 duo-piano gems: Pop Hits on Two Pianos--Whittemore and Lowe.

TRACKLIST--Athur Whittemore and James Lowe, duo-pianists

IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT
LOVER
THE SONG IS YOU
THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME
BRAZIL
FALLING IN LOVE WITH LOVE
THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC

(With Russ Case and His Orch., 1946)

RITUAL FIRE DANCE--1948
MALAGUENA--1947
LIEBESTRAUM--1948



Lee

Memorial Day 2010

Click here to hear: Memorial Day 2010

PLAYLIST

OVER THERE FANTASIE (Grofe)--The United States Army Band, 1975.
THE LONGEST DAY (Anka)--Same.
SEMPER FIDELIS (Sousa)--Ferrante and Teicher, 1952.
WE LOVE THE U.S.A. (Sousa)--June Browne, Marion Vincent, Bruce Foote, James Dailey
ETERNAL FATHER STRONG TO SAVE--Bruce Foote
HIGH FLIGHT (J.G. Magee, Jr.-M. Conrad)--Bernie Knee
THE SPIRIT OF THIS LAND--Charlie Rogers
THE HOME ROAD (John Alden Carpenter)--Richard Rivers
HYMN FOR THE NATIONS (Beethoven)--Adele Norman, Helene Hekman, Earle Wilkie, Richard Rivers
COME JOSEPHINE IN MY FLYING MACHINE--Spike Jones and His City Slickers, 1942.


Lee

Sunday morning gospel: Smith's Sacred Singers (1926-1934)

It's been a year or so since I've devoted a post to this terrific gospel singing group--so, here they are again, with the addition of two 1934 titles on the Montgomery Ward label (which, I'm guessing, are Bluebird label reissues). Note that Montgomery Ward credits them as "Smith Sacred Singers," thus saving money on the "'s." The 1934 Pictures sounds remarkably like their 1926 smash-hit version, though it's neither the same nor an alternate take.

The other titles on our playlist are repeats, though (as ever) in new rips. Sound quality runs the gamut from outstanding to yikes! and somewhere in between. If I were more awake, I'd probably have more to say about these, but I'm not.

Oh, except that Gospel Waves reminds me a great deal of R.E. Winsett's Jesus Is Coming Soon, which in turn reminds me of George Harrison's I Got My Eyes Set on You. Maybe that was better left unshared.

To the tunes:

To the 78s: Smith's Sacred Singers--12 sides (1926-1934)

PLAYLIST (SMITH'S SACRED SINGERS)

PICTURES FROM LIFE'S OTHER SIDE, Montgomery Ward M-4804, 1934.
WHEN THEY RING THE GOLDEN BELLS, Same.
LIFE'S RAILWAY TO HEAVEN, Columbia 15159-D, 1927.
JESUS PRAYED--Same, 1926.
MY LATEST SUN IS SINKING FAST (ANGEL BAND)--Columbia 15281-D, 1928.
PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD--Same.
HE WILL SET YOUR FIELDS ON FIRE--Columbia 15144-D, 1927.
I WILL SING OF MY REDEEMER--Same.
THE HOME OVER THERE--Columbia 15329-D, 1928.
DELIVERANCE WILL COME (PALMS OF VICTORY)--Columbia 15329-D, 1928.
GOSPEL WAVES--Columbia 15208-D, 1927
HE BORE IT ALL--Same.


Lee