Sunday morning gospel: The Mortonaires--Keep on Praying

(Reposted from 2008)

I love glee club renditions of gospel songs, and the Mortonaires of the Morton (Illinois) Apostolic Christian Church may be the example of what I'm talking about. With this LP we get four-part close harmony smoothly rendered by a male chorus, good fidelity (by privately-produced-LP standards), a magnificent playlist, and front and back jacket art that puts the g in generic. But imagine the opposite (great cover, lousy music). I'll stick with this combination.

Hard to pick my favorites, though among them would be Home of the Soul, My Sins Are Gone, and When the Sunset Turns to Gold. So I guess it wasn't so hard, after all.

Directed by Melvin D. Rein. First tenors: Kenneth Getz, Henry D. Grimm, and Vernon Schumacher. Second Tenors: Robert Frank, Carl Frautschi, Harry Getz, Albert E. Hunziker, and Carl Wyss. Baritones: Wayne Rocke, Gene Witzig, and Harold Witzig. Basses: Howard Getz, Marvin Getz, Phillip Getz, and Howard Leman.

Looks like the Getzes are quite a musical family....

Click here to reach playlist: The Mortonaires--Keep on Praying.

PLAYLIST--THE MORTONAIRES: KEEP ON PRAYING

Keep on Praying
Wonderful
We Shall Shine as the Stars
Only a Touch
Just a Little Talk with Jesus
Hold to My Hand
Home of the Soul
'Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Pause for a Moment of Prayer
Kneel at the Cross
How Beautiful Heaven Must Be
My Sins Are Gone
A Closer Walk with Thee
Over in Glory
Precious Memories
When the Sunset Turns to Gold



Lee

Mitch Miller, Part 7--Rock Along with Mitch! (Part 2)

"Miller resisted the rise of rock ‘n’ roll in a fierce and outspoken way."--Bloomberg.com

So fiercely did Mitch resist the music that Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put a Spell on You was released on the Epic label during his reign, a song later voted one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll." So determinedly that Buzz Clifford's million-selling Baby Sittin' Boogie was released on Mitch's home label, Columbia, in 1961. Today's playlist features fifteen more musical examples of this type which can't possibly exist, but which do. I couldn't have ripped them, otherwise, and you know it's not me singing and playing on these.

Click here to hear: Rock Along with Mitch! (Part 2)

PLAYLIST--All from Columbia label, unless otherwise noted.

STROLLIN' AND BOPPIN' (Conniff)--Jimmy Richards (Ray Conniff), 1957
I'M ALL RIGHT NOW (H. Carter)--Jerri Adams w. Ray Conniff, 1957
GO, BOY, GO--Carl Smith, 1954
ROCK 'N' ROLL-Y POLY SANTA CLAUS--Lillian Briggs, 1955 (Epic)
BABY SITTIN' SANTA--Barry Richards, 1962 (Epic)
EDDIE MY LOVE--Lillian Briggs, 1956 (Epic)
PEANUTS--Little Joe and the Thrillers, 1957 (Okeh)
WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOIN' ON--Big Maybelle, 1955 (Okeh)
CALDONIA--Chuck Willis, 1952 (Okeh)
I FEEL SO BAD--Chuck Willis, 1954 (Okeh)
THREE-WAY LOVE (Conniff)--Ray Conniff, 1957
I'LL BE SITTIN', I'LL BE ROCKIN'--Larry Darnell, 1952 (Okeh)
DON'T BE CRUEL--Stan Freeman and the Twisters, 1960
THE TWIST--Stan Freeman and the Twisters, 1960
ANGEL OF LOVE--The Four Voices w. Ray Conniff, 1957



Lee

Mitch, Part 6--Faux Mitch

You know that you've always wanted--nay, needed--three cheap label cover versions of Mitch Miller's big 1955 hit, Yellow Rose of Texas. Denying it will get you nowhere. Well, we have those three versions for you today. Along with two cheap covers (each) of two other Mitch hits, Children's Marching Song and Song for a Summer Night.

And we have cheap covers of such Mitch-produced smashes as Cry, Jambalaya (Jo Stafford's pop version), High Noon, and Come On-a My House. With Jambalaya, we have a rip of a cover of a cover (Sally Sweetland covering Jo Stafford covering Hank Williams). Something else you've always wanted but never dreamed of downloading. Until now.

I ripped these from 45s (8), 78s (2), and one LP (1).

Click here to fulfil your destiny: Mitch Miller, Part 6--Faux Mitch


YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS--The Toppers (Tops)
CHILDREN'S MARCHING SONG--Promenade Orch. and Choir (Promenade)
SONG FOR A SUMMER NIGHT--The Toppers (Tops)
CRY--Mimi Martel and the Toppers (Tops)
THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS--The Brigadiers w. Enoch Light Orch. (18 Top Hits)
YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS--Jerry Rudolph and His Radio & TV Orch. (Today's Records)
HIGH NOON--Artie Malvin w. Enoch Light Orch. and Chorus (Waldorf)
JAMBALAYA--Sally Sweetland w. Enoch Light O. and Chorus (Waldorf)
CHILDREN'S MARCHING SONG--The Nation's 18 Big Hit Recordings (Palladium)
SONG FOR A SUMMER NIGHT--Fred Miller Orch. (Hep)
COME ON-A MY HOUSE--Elliott Everett and His Orch., w. Vocal Refrain (Royale)


Lee

Mitch, Part 5A--Why Mitch was the Anti-Christ

In The New Republic, David Hajdu channels my late parents and writes about the late Mitch Miller. A large sample:

"Since Miller died, this week at age 99, I've been thinking about him for the first time since that day, and I've finally come up with something nice to say. First, a brief reminder: As the head of production at Columbia Records in the 1950s, Miller made almost nothing but demeaning commercial pap. His contempt for the pop-music audience was so complete that he could not bear to listen to the records he produced. The damage he did in the genre of traditional pop is so profound that Miller should be inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his pivotal role in making rock necessary. That in itself is one fortunate, if wholly inadvertent, consequence of his awfulness."

We have the two classic Mitch pop narratives, combined: 1) Mitch ruined pop music, and 2) Mitch made the rise of rock inevitable. 1) dates from Mitch's time at Columbia and 2) was invented by the rock press at some later period, to be carried on dutifully and 24/7 by the entire media.

Elsewhere in the short essay, another going theme--that of Miller being the first modern record producer, a la Phil Spector. Specifically, the "first auteur of the sound studio." Sorry about that, Milt Gabler, Charles Grean, Richard Hayman, Hugo Winterhalter, and Jimmy Carroll.

Recently, I talked about how the history of praise music is being written around rock--so, it seems, is Mitch's obit. In case anyone asks you what Mitch's obit and praise music have in common.

Mitch, Part 5--I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover

It was close to the end of the decade, and the big band era was winding down, and a musician whose last name starts with M. accidentally discovered that old hits like Baby Face and Paddlin' Madeline Home, when performed in a community-sing fashion, had major hit potential. Of course, I'm talking about Art Mooney, whose 1947 hit version of I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover sounds a lot like Mitch Miller's sing-along sides from ten years later:

I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover--Art Mooney, 1947.

Mooney did a number of other records in this vein, but at the moment I don't have any of them.

And here's a 1952 78 with something of a Mitch sound--it's the Knightingales, on the Skylark label:

Brighten the Corner Where You Are--The Knightingales, 1952.

This could have used some echo, but it's still a good example of pre-Mitch sing-along, even if the harmonizing could have been tighter:

Let's Harmonize--Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye, 1949.

This next example, also from 1949, might help support my theory that musicals had a big influence on the sing-along genre. Lyrics by Johnny Mercer:

The Big Movie Show in the Sky (from Texas, Little Darlin')--Blue Barron O., 1949.

This last example is the most remarkably close to sing-alongs to come. It features the Be Kind to Your Web-Footed Friends number everyone associates with Mitch and in nearly the exact same style. And it's from 1954, on the Essex label, and by Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy. Charles (The Thing) Grean gets co-writer credit, and I suspect he did the producing. I pretty much regard Grean as the novelty innovator of the post-WWII period, which should not be taken as an attempt to get Mitch's critics to switch their object of annoyance.

Crazy Mixed Up Song (Grean-Javits) Peter (Lind Hayes) and Mary (Healy), 1954.


Lee

Mitch, Part 4--Rock Along with Mitch! (Part 1)

Washington Post: "With a deep antipathy for rock-and-roll -- he turned down Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly for contracts with Columbia -- Mr. Miller preferred an older style of pop music based on jazz and the classics."

Cleveland Examiner: "He famously hated rock 'n' roll, and many music fans of the postwar generation never forgave him."

And so on. As we all know, Mitch never allowed rock and roll on his labels (Columbia, Epic, Okeh). So, today's playlist can't possibly exist. Please enjoy it, anyway. My favorites include the Rock Around the Clock clone, Rumble Boogie (Don Cherry, 1955) and Rosemary Clooney's 1951 Shotgun Boogie, with its country/R&B arrangement (led by Mitch Miller, no less). I decided to repeat the two Sid King tracks, so as not to leave them out of the rock-along.

To the Mitch: Mitch, Part 4--Rock Along with Mitch, Part 1

PLAYLIST (All Columbia label, unless otherwise noted).

SHOT GUN BOOGIE--Rosemary Clooney, Mitch Miller, 1951.
RUMBLE BOOGIE--Don Cherry, Ray Conniff, 1955.
WHAT'S UP DOC--Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, 1962. (Okeh)
RIGHT STRING BUT THE WRONG YO YO--Same. (Okeh)
BIG GUITAR--The Blazers, 1958.
WALKIN' WITH MR. LEE--The Blazers, 1958.
HAMBONE--Red Saunders and His Orch., 1952. (Okeh)
BLUE SUEDE SHOES--Sid King and the Five Strings, 1955.
LET 'ER ROLL--Sid King and the Five Strings, 1955.
POP, LET ME HAVE THE CAR--Carl Perkins, 1958.
LEVI JACKET (AND A LONG TAIL SKIRT)--Same.
THE GLIDE--Don Cherry, Ray Conniff, 1958.
THIS LITTLE GIRL (Goffin-King)--Dion, 1963.
STOMP AND WHISTLE, Harry James O. w. Buddy Rich, vocal, 1954.


More to come!

Lee

Goodbye, organized religion

When a vampire novelist, based on her experiences as a Catholic, declares organized religion "disputatious" and quits being a Christian, then I guess I have no choice but to follow suit. I refer, of course, to the intellectual colossus known as Anne Rice-a-Roni, whose unhappiness with religion has Leonard Pitts, Jr. concluding that Anne's disenchantment is completely understandable. After all, Anne's a famous celebrity. Not that this has anything to do with it. Anyway, writes Pitts: "Organized religion, Christianity in particular, is on the decline, and it has no one to blame but itself: It traded moral authority for political power." We did? Really? So, for instance, when Pastor Mary recently communicated the official UMC stance on global warming--namely, that we're to accept the phenomenon as real and to work toward its solution--she was obviously playing politics. Of course, I'll have to ask Leonard what political affiliation our atmosphere belongs to. I would have said none, but what do I know? I'm not even a celebrity, let alone a famous one.

Pitts: "Christ didn't fail (Rice-a-Roni), she said. Christianity did." Well, how do you like that? Needless to point out, not failing Anne Rice is one of the central goals of organized religion--"We will not fail Anne Rice" is something you'll hear at just about any modern sermon. (Usually accompanied by fist-banging.) And did we listen? Did we obey? Heck, no. Typical of us organized Christians.

With a mere 76 percent of Americans identifying themselves as Christians, the religion is doomed. I'd give it five minutes, tops. It'll probably be gone by the time you read this.

Sunday morning gospel--The Primitive Baptist Radio Singers

I originally posted this music in a shorter form (and to zero comments) in 2007. This time, more selections, PLUS the sermon.

Some truly amazing music by the Primitive Baptist Radio Singers of The Baptist Bible Hour. This LP was released on the Sovereign Grace Recordings label, and, though I no longer have the vinyl, I saved the tracks to cassette years ago for my foster parents. It's a good thing I did. From that cassette come today's tracks, all recorded (when, I have no idea) at the Cincinnati Primitive Baptist Church.

I love their mission statement, which I quote from their website: "We place our emphasis on praise rather than programs, Scripture rather than sentiment, love rather than law, and compassion rather than competition." Who can argue with that?

Pictured above is my copy of their hymn and tune book, though mine appears to not be the current one in use. Yes, those are shape notes.

The Singers are unaccompanied, and the playlist includes a fuguing tune (When I Can Read My Title Clear) straight out of the all-time great 19th-century tunebook, Southern Harmony. Just as old is Brethren, We Have Met to Worship (a.k.a. Holy Manna). The rest are unknown to me, but I plan to learn more about them. Let's just say these songs have enjoyed their share of performances over many dusty decades.

I've always wanted to type "many dusty decades."

To the Primitive Baptist Radio Singers: Baptist Bible Hour

(To Our Redeemer's Glorious Name mislabled as Glorious Love on mp3--sorry!)

PLAYLIST

BAPTIST BIBLE HOUR INTRO--Singers, Lasserre Bradley, Jr.
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY--Primitive Baptist Radio Singers
REQUEST FOR DONATION--Elder Lasserre Bradly, Jr.
SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPHERD LEAD US--PBRS
PRAYER--Elder Lasserre Bradley, Jr.
WHEN I CAN READ MY TITLE CLEAR--PBRS
SERMON BY ELDER LASSERRE BRADLEY, JR.
TO OUR REDEEMER'S GLORIOUS NAME--PRBS
A FEW MORE YEARS SHALL ROLL
SING OF HIS MIGHTY LOVE
THY PRAISE OH LORD
CAST DOWN BUT NOT DESTROYED
PEOPLE OF THE LIVING GOD
THE LAND OF BEULAH
THE LORD HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO ME
THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
JESUS BEFORE THEY FACE I FALL
BRETHREN WE HAVE MET TO WORSHIP
THE LORD JEHOVAH REIGNS
IN MERCY LORD, REMEMBER ME
THY PEOPLE LORD
CEASE YE MOURNERS
THE DOXOLOGY
GRACE IS FREE
JESUS I MY CROSS HAVE TAKEN
HOLY SPIRIT FAITHFUL GUIDE

CINCINNATI PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH
(SOVEREIGN GRACE RECORDINGS LP-121)




Lee