"Duke of Earl" on Promenade

 

It satisfies some weirdness in me to title a post "'Duke of Earl' on Promenade."  A part of me must like awkward post titles.  Maybe it's something I'll outgrow, but I don't know--I'm 63, after all.  Anyway, Duke of Earl on the Promenade label is what we get, and more--and I just remembered that I was going to check to see if I have the Promenade envelope that came with the Duke of Earl set (Promenade A-54-20).

I checked, and no, I don't.  The closest thing I have is the envelope for set Promenade A54-17.  Click on link to see it at my "text" blog.  I love the blurb on the A-54 series envelopes: "Listen to this!  The Top Tunes of Today....the Top Recording Artists of T V, Radio and Movie are YOURS at this sensational price.  You just can't equal this quality!"  Well, yeah, you can even exceed it--by buying the original hits.  But, true--you couldn't beat the price.  "Make sure to ask for only PROMENADE."

Record store clerk: "Can I help you?"  Buyer: "I want only PROMENADE!"  Clerk: "Huh?"

So, we get six tracks, none of them carrying a credit, from Promenade EP A-54-20 2, which was the second disc in the two-disc issue A-54-20, with "20" being the 20th issue in set 54.  Wow, this label kept busy.  And you just couldn't equal the quality, either.  In addition to the six tracks from A-54-20 2, we get four tracks from Promenade EP NRR-2, including Bill Marine's Heartbreak Hotel, which we previously heard on that Eddie Maynard LP which doesn't feature Eddie Maynard.  Right now, I'm pinching myself to see if I'm sane.

And, to make things crazier, I included four tracks from the Top 6 Hits series, which was put out by the Startime Record Corp., apparently as a Pepsi premium (Music for Those Who Think Young).  They duplicate four of the Promenade A-54-20 titles: The Twist, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Duke of Earl, and Break It to me Gently, and, interestingly, all but Duke of Earl sound like the same people and arrangements, but in different performances.  The Startime Lion Sleeps Tonight, Twist, and Break It To Me Gently are RCA Victor Custom releases, but there's no dead wax martix #.  However, there's a "12-61," which I'll take as the release date.  The other Startime EP that I sampled--matrix MX 10295/96--is definitely 1961.  Well, if it's an RCA Custom job, which it likely is.

The Teresa Brewer hit (A) Sweet Old Fashioned Girl, by Bob (Sparrow in the Treetop) Merrill, is a cool response-to-rock-and-roll novelty by a composer who had actually anticipated the Elvis Presley onslaught to come with a bluesy number called Tell Me, Tell Me, recorded by June Valli in 1954, and whose Make Yourself Comfortable of the same year (a big hit for Sarah Vaughan) featured the standard doo-wop I-vi-ii-V structure.  I like Bob Merrill, who don't get no respect.

And, though you probably know this, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, aka, Wimoweh, aka Mbube, was recorded in the pre-Elvis era by the Weavers, among others.  Here's the 1939 South African original on Youtube.

Dear Ivan is a dumb but interesting Jimmy Dean number, and Tutti Frutti is a cover of the Pat Boone record, so don't expect any wildness in Bill Marine's performance.

And I remain puzzled to this day about what the heck Duke of Earl (1962) is actually about--assuming it's about something.  I guess it doesn't matter, since the song is so incredibly catchy and cool.  You'll notice the Promenade label for A-54-20 2 has no performer credits, but that was not a standard thing--some of the label's EPs from this period do include credits.  And I have a couple that feature credits on one side but not the other.  But you still couldn't equal Promenade quality.  According to Promenade.

Enjoy these fun fakes from SPC's Promenade EP sets and from whoever was providing the fakes for those Pepsi premiums.  And, as ever, there's no way to write about these things in a fashion that sounds rational.  But I try.

DOWNLOAD: Duke of Earl, and more

The Twist--Unknown (Promenade A-54-20 2)
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Same)
Duke of Earl (Same)
Unchain My Heart (Same)
Break It to Me Gently (Same)
Dear Ivan (Same)
Dear Ivan (Jimmy Dean)--Unknown (Top 6 Hits, Record 1--Startime MX 10295/96; 1961)
Duke of Earl (Williams-Edwards)--Same
Break It to Me Gently (Lampert-Seneca)--Same
The Lion Sleeps Tonight--The Elektras (Top 6 Hits, Record 6--Startime 1545; 1961)
The Twist--Mr. 5 by 5--Same
Tutti Frutti (La Bostrie-Penniman)--Bill Marine, Promenade Orch. and Chorus (Promenade NRR-2; 45 rpm EP)
Sweet Old Fashioned Girl (Bob Merrill)--Laurie Leslie, Promenade Orch. and Chorus (Same)
Treasure of Love (Stallman-Shapiro)--Carter Farriss, Promenade Orch. and Chorus (Same)
Heartbreak Hotel (Axton-Durden-Presley)--Bill Marine, Promenade Orch. and Chorus (Same)

Lee