The Caroleers' "The Little Drummer Boy" in "stereo": Putting the "junk" in "junk-label Christmas"

 

The "stereo" The Little Drummer Boy (Premier XMS-8)

The mono The Little Drummer Boy (XM-8, but the back jacket indicating a "stereo" issue.

We'll be hearing the disc which came with the pretty awesome Santa Claus cover.  This is one of those rare instances in which a junk-label Xmas jacket looks just as cool--or even cooler--than those of legit caliber.  But there's a bit of incongruity between THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY in big font, right over a picture of Santa.  But buyers of cheap vinyl weren't thinking about such matters--likely, there was an "Only 99¢" sticker on the album, and the purchaser thought, "Hey, Christmas music for only 99 cents. Cool!"  And another junk Xmas album left the racks, later to haunt a 21st-century thrift store.  Where, at the time of this post, thrift managers somehow imagine they can get $5.99 for a mildewed Sergio Franchi disc.

After ripping this and realizing that this is but a reissue of a (presumably) earlier mono LP, I gave some thought to replacing these fake/rechanneled-stereo with the mono ones, but the summed stereo sounds just as lousy as the mono, so...

Oh, and there is selection in actual, true stereo: The excellent Synthetic Plastics Co. title track, one of the best LDB versions ever.  Author and friend Brian McFadden has written about the SPC material which ended up at Premier, and the reasons why, so... just take my word: This is the superb SPC Little Drummer Boy, and in true stereo!  Except I summed the channels to mono.  The thing is, VinylStudio gives me the option of an entire LP in stereo or that entire LP "mixed down to mono."  But I'll stick the true-stereo LDB in an upcoming various-artists extravaganza.  

And then things get mediocre really fast, starting with a so-so Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, which might have succeeded with less sucky audio, and then the most lackluster budget Jingle Bells ever recorded, with polka-quality group vocals that sound slightly hungover.  Next, a hilariously lethargic Deck the Halls (originally, Hall) by another group of polka-background singers who are either 1) just coming out of their hangover or 2) on the verge of passing out in the studio.  We'll never know which.

Then, an inspired and very nicely arranged Twas (sic) the Night Before Christmas, which might have sounded great if it wasn't drenched in echo (the mono cut has the same liability).  This genuinely decent track is followed by a succession of hymnal Xmas songs sung professionally--and in low fidelity--making for typical Side 2 cheap-vinyl filler.  Things close with a decent version of I Heard the Bells originally released by SPC (on Promenade) and credited to the Caroleers--in much better fidelity.  Which seems redundant, since any fidelity would be better than this.

So, save for a few selections, this really does put the "junk" in "junk-label Christmas," but let's consider the highly probable reality that the average purchaser of Christmas material was 1) looking for something inexpensive (and possibly last-minute), 2) didn't especially care about the quality of the performances, and 3) was easily hooked by an awesome cover image like this one.  I know I was hooked when I came across this in the big-city Goodwill, where vinyl is still holding a 99 cents, so imagine the impact of this jacket back in... 1966?  1969?  1972?

It's not unreasonable, in my opinion, to suggest that the combined sales (or, to quote Google's AI, "sheer units") of cut-rate holiday vinyl sold as well or better than major-label LPs.  It's a thought.

But the budgets had pride, and in fact they often touted their second-rate products as superior to regular-priced material from legit outfits.  I doubt we'll ever run across a Have a Crappy Christmas With a Name-We-Just-Made-up Ensemble budget release.

DOWNLOAD: The Little Drummer Boy--Christmas Favorites.zip

The Little Drummer Boy (Coming in true stereo in a various-artists post)

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Jingle Bells

Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Silent Night

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

I Heard the Bells

(The Little Drummer Boy--Christmas Songs for Children--The Caroleers--Premier XMS-8)

Lee

Christmas Everywhere; Christmas Isn't Christmas; All Around the Christmas Tree; more!

 

I have a request for the 1958 Fran Alexandre Christmas Everywhere, and this does seem to be one of my more popular posts.  So I was surprised to discover that there was no working blog link for this number (thanks, Workupload!), so... here it is, along with its flip side, One Star.  Neither number is terribly original, with the first an exercise in how many times the word "Christmas" can be inserted into a set of lyrics--but both are exceptionally well done, with Fran a more than capable vocalist (a contralto, according to my ears).  The uncanny precision of the chorus suggests the multi-tracking of one or two singers (and there's an apparent generational loss as the tracks were "bounced.").  In multi-tracking terms, Christmas Everywhere has a Beach Boys feel--not stylistically but technically.  Back in 2020, there was a 29-comment discussion of the number at this very blog.  Peruse it if you dare!  (No, really, it's went very well.)

This time around, I hear "wow" in the recording--an effect caused by unstable speed.  I had initially sensed (falsely, I think) an edit at each modulation, but I no longer hear anything like that.  I think what we have is a double-tracked lead vocal (as suggested by Brad), and possibly multi-tracked background singers, with everyone very professionally managing the frequent key changes.  Essentially, Christmas Everywhere is like an ultra-simple concept given a very careful and elaborate presentation.  The sense of perpetuum mobile might be the key to the track's genius.  The lyrics tell us that it's "Christmas everywhere," and the music evokes a fast trip across the holiday landscape.  Or whatever I just typed.  ("The holiday landscape"??)

One Star provides a wonderful contrast, since the track is static by comparison, despite a number of modulations (key changes).  The notion of the Star of Bethlehem shining forever is a standard and ancient trope, just as the Nativity was once celebrated by Medieval churches as an event happening just up the hill behind the church, where the congregation could walk and peek in on the holy proceedings.  Linear time is a recent cultural concept.

1952's Christmas Isn't Christmas might be the funniest incomplete-thought holiday title ever.  A perfectly ordinary Xmas number, but unintentionally hilarious (to me, anyway).

Santa Claus is Flying Thru the Sky made the budget-label rounds for years (sometimes with incorrect titles) since coming out in 1950 on Lincoln Records, where it is credited to Loren Becker and Sally Sweetland, with (who else?) Enoch Light.  The composer was Marion Rosette, who (says Discogs) "is best known for the compositions that were featured on the children's television show Captain Kangaroo, including Katie the Kangaroo, City Mouse and Country Mouse, and The Monkey Who Wanted to Fly."  She died in 1991.

And we have a very nice-sounding All Around the Christmas Tree (w: Johnny Stuart, m: Johnny Klein), which first appeared in 1945 on the Sonora label and in a lovely picture envelope/sleeve.  Dick Todd sings with the Mark Warnow and the Hit Parade Orchestra.  Mark was the older brother of Raymond Scott, and he conducted the Your Hit Parade radio orchestra from 1939 to 1949 (the year of his death).  My rip is from an uncredited Value Hit Parade Tunes 78rpm EP.  This was also issued on Royale and Varsity, and who knows where else.  

As for the two 1954 Cliff Martin and The Neighbor's Kids numbers, the label--Pic--had Don Costa, of all people, as the resident conductor.  I'm assuming this is the same Don Costa who was the Director of Artists & Repertoire for ABC-Paramount, and who discovered Paul Anka and is known for his work with Frank Sinatra.  Here, he's backing the Neighbor's Kids.

And three versions of Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride (words: Mitchell Parish): 1) A nice, big-band-ish rendition by Fontanna's Orchestra and Chorus on the ultra-cheap Palace label, 2) the all-time great 1949 Boston Pops rendition (from a 1965 45-rpm reissue), and 3) a gorgeous vocal version by the Crystal Studio Choir on the Audition (Waldorf) label, year unknown.

On a Christmas Morning, recorded on 9/11/1911, might be my favorite "descriptive" Christmas number ever, and it was composed by Lillian Currie, about whom I can find nothing.

Dorothy Collins' Mr. Santa is a take on Mr. Sandman, and it's ripped from a various-artists LP on Coral.  Christmas Shopping, one of two stereo tracks in this list, is a fun 1967 number (which sounds very 1967) written by Bob Ashton and performed by Ralph Carmichael and His Singers.  Bobby Roberts' Jingle Bells, The Best Things in Life Are Free, etc. track is a weird relic from 1958.

Nineteen tracks.  I don't know what happened to number 6, though I hope it went to a happy place.

DOWNLOAD: Christmas Everywhere, more!--V.A.zip

SLEIGHLIST:

Christmas Everywhere--Fran Alexandre, 1958

One Star--Same

Christmas Isn't Christmas--Woody Wooddell and Bailey Sisters, 1952

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer--The Cadillacs, Orch. Dir. Jessie Powell, 1956

Santa Claus Is Flying Through the Sky--Uncredited (Loren Becker, Sally Sweetland With Enoch Light Orch., 1950)

Gee Whiz, It's Christmas--The Beginning of the End (Ray Munnings), 1970

Sleigh Ride--Fontanna, His Orchestra and Chorus

Santa Claus Is on His Way--Cliff Martin and the Neighbor's Kids, Orch. c. Don Costa, 1954

Three Little Dwarfs and Santa Claus--Same

Jingle Bells--The Music City Chorale With Bob Russell (Holiday Hits 902, 1963)

Sleigh Ride--Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, Conductor, 1949

Sleigh Ride--The Crystal Studio Choir (Audition--Waldorf/Grand Award sublabel).

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas--Ruby Wright With Cliff Lash and His O., The Dick Noel Singers, 1957

On a Christmas Morning--Prince's Orchestra, 1911

All Around the Christmas Tree--Dick Todd, Mark Marnow and Orch., 1945 

Mr. Santa--Dorothy Collins, Orch. Dir. Dick Jacobs, 1955

Jingle Bells--Jeanne Privette, RCA Victor Orch., c. Ardon Cornwell, 1951

Christmas Shopping--Ralph Carmichael Singers and Orch., 1967

Medley: Jingle Bells-Just in Time-The Best Things in Life Are Free--Bobby Roberts and His Orch., 1958

Lee

Christmas Holiday Time for Children--Colortone Studio Orchestra and Chorus

 

Colortone: Waldorf, who else?  This LP is yet another variant on a collection which started in 10"-LP form and (who knows?) probably some EP sets, as well.  Naturally, there is no artist credit beyond the fake "Colortone Studio Orch. and Chorus," an aggregation no doubt making appearances across the country when this was put out.  For once, the catalog number gives no clue as to the year--typically, these appeared in two-digit form ("58," "59," etc.).  But I doubt that this LP dates back to 1949 or 1943, and so the 33-4943 is pretty useless as a clue.

An achingly gorgeous rendition of Victor Herbert's Toyland is the highlight of Side A, and I have no idea who sings it.  Happy Days Are Here Again is the one totally-out-of-place track on this LP, and the fidelity is dreadful.  Nothing I attempted was able to save the audio, so I'm just assuming it was badly mastered, badly recorded to begin with, or both.  Stylus width, filter settings, etc., could not save this number.

Jingle Bells is the most aggressively let's-pretend-the-big-band-era-never-expired track, and it features the standard (for the genre) toying around with the rhythms in the Jingle Bells chorus.  You know, to give it a scat or jive quality, Daddy-o (or Mommy-o).   It's a c. 1942 groove, hep cats.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas, its melody from the 1880s, has always been for me about as soporific as ten rounds of Cantique de Noël  played at Larghissimo, but the superlative bass vocal and fancy scoring actually has me liking the number for once--so, congratulations to Colortone for a minor 2025 holiday miracle.  Meanwhile, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus always sucks, and it's only a matter of to what inexcusable extent of suckdom--but this uncredited child singer is only very slightly trying for an "Aren't I cute?" feel, and the arrangement is solid, and it deserves a D+, Leethinks.  Rudolph is similarly unmemorable (save for the Henry Busse-esque muted trumpet solos), with the singer sounding on the verge of dozing off.  An excellent March of the Toys (another Victor Herbert masterpiece) makes up for the three preceding bands, and I might learn to love this rendition.

And, as a big surprise, Christmas Has Come Again manages to worthily follow Toys, and while I should know the German melody from which this was cribbed, I do not.  Feel free to fill me in.  And The Gingerbread Man provides a cute coda, and if you have the time and motivation, check out the hyper-complicated history of this simple fairytale, which sounds like a cute Little Golden Books entry from the 1940s but which goes back a long ways and with umpteen variants.  It's an "accumulative" fairytale, maybe, or something close to same, and in its uncleansed version, the gingerbread man is tricked, and consumed, by a fox.  That couldn't be allowed for the Colortone label, and so the Man manages to get back home.  Where, in all probability, the lonely old woman decides, "This is no substitute for a son, and he won't stay put.  And I'm hungry."  Goodbye, Gingerbread Man.

And this LP pulls the usual trick of crediting P.D. material to label bigwigs.  Thus, Jolly Old St. Nicholas was somehow co-written by Enoch Light.  Surrrrre, it was.  The old arranger-as-the-writer scam.

DOWNLOAD: Christmas Holiday Time for Children.zip FLAC

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

Frosty the Snowman

When Christmas Comes to Our House

Toyland

Jingle Bells

Happy Days Are Here Again

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

March of the Toys

Christmas Has Come Again

The Gingerbread Man

Lee

Down in the valleys: "Death Valley Suite" (Grofe) excerpts: "Desert Water Hole," "Sand Storm," and "Valley of the Sun Suite" (also Grofe)

 

Cold weather coming on, and Christmas arriving in 32 days--so, as a reminder of the summer days of late June to late September, Ferde Grofe's 1949 gem, Death Valley Suite.  The occasion for this post is my eBay acquisition of the Purdue Symphony Band performing the third and fourth movement--a performance I predicted would be terrific--and I was correct.  

So, first off, Desert Water Hole and Sand Storm, from the 1962 A.B.A. Concert, which Google's AI describes as "the American Bandmasters Association (ABA) convention concert program, which the Purdue Symphony Band performed in."  The conductor is Al G. Wright.  

Then the same two movements as conducted by Grofe himself with the Capitol Symphony Orch., which was quite an outfit, despite a cutting review by (I think) Stereo Review when the Angel label reissued Death Valley.  Or maybe the review was in Hi-Fidelity magazine.  I never count on my memory much, since I recall it's pretty vague at times.

Meanwhile, Death Valley will be heading for nice summer-style highs just right for tourists eager to find solace from Jack Frost.  And I have no idea why I typed "solace from Jack Frost," but I did, and I only have myself to blame.  (Or maybe society itself.)

As an added bonus (forgive the redunadncy; bonuses are always "added"), Grofe's wonderful Valley of the Sun Suite, with Ferde conducting the Arizona State College (Tempe) Symponic Orchestra.  And this was my essay when I last posted the work (the zip file since deleted by Workupload): 

"From the mysterioso first movement to the joyous, Johann Strauss-esque (am I allowed to type that?) conclusion, this is mood music of the highest class. Making things more interesting are Grofe's reuse of cues from his 1950 movie score for Rocketship X-M (in The Dam Builders) and the insertion of a chord sequence from his very first work, Broadway at Night (1924), at the beginning of the last movement. Grofe was not shy about reusing material, and why not?  X-M itself reuses a portion of his Symphony in Steel (1935), and his score for The Return of Jesse James (1950) uses the opening section of his Tabloid Suite (for a telegraph office scene)." 

And Google's AI notes that Grofe premiered Sun in 1952, though he composed it in 1957.  That was quite a trick.  Enjoy, and stay warm...

DOWNLOAD: Death Valley; Valley of the Sun.zip

Death Valley Suite (Grofe, 1949)

Desert Water Hole 

Sand Storm

Valley of the Sun Suite (Grofe, 1952 or 1957)

Valley of Ditches

The Dam Builders

Masque of the Yellow Moon

Reclamation's Golden Jubilee 

The Purdue Symphony Band, c. Al G. Wright, 1962; The Capitol Symphony Orch., c. Grofe, 1951; Arizona State College (Tempe) Symphonic Orch., c. Grofe, prob. 1957.

Lee

The return of the 1927 "Pacific 231"!

November 5 1927, to be exact, making this recording 98 years old (plus almost a week)!  

And, since posting this in April of 2016, I realize now that I used the wrong bass turnover.  Though recorded in 1927, this "circle" Victor Red Seal label places this pressing (at the earliest) in 1938.  So, I've used the correct turnover of 500 Hz and a slight treble roll-off, and I think it sounds great.  The original engineers did a fabulous job of microphone placement, and the overall audio detail is superb--keeping in mind that this is from 1927 and not, say, 1957.  From my own collection.

Originally to be titled Mouvement Symphonique, this work was composed in 1923.  Honegger conducted his own recording in 1930.

According to DAHR, the "Continental Symphony Orchestra" was the Orchestre symphonique du Gramophone.
 
I love the way the orchestra speeds through Honegger's work, and flawlessly.  And Arthur's almost-as-wonderful Rugby (Mouvement Symphonique No.2), and his Mouvement Symphonique No. 3 are pretty widely available on vinyl and CD.  

DOWNLOAD:  Pacific 231 (Arthur Honegger).zip

Continental Symphony Orchestra (the Orchestre symphonique du Gramophone), under the direction of Piero Coppola, 11/5/1927.  

Lee

If you want the feeling of floating, buy Super Boron!

 

These are Sohio/Boron radio spots for Ex-tane gas, apparently the ideal winter car fuel.  No idea on the year, but I'm guessing 1962/63.

The ads run the gamut from funny to weird (or both), and there's some unintentional humor in cut 5, a rhythmic narration in which the announcer can't quite find the proper meter--this is followed by a far more successful effort.  The henpecked husband in tracks 3 and 4 sounds familiar--and it turns out to be voice actor Bill Thompson, as identified by Josh.  (Thanks, Josh!)

Help stop hubcap theft, and don't forget to buy Atlas Cushionaire Tires!  

DOWNLOAD: Cleveland Recording Company - Sohio ET #64.flac

Lee

The Return of Halloween 2023, Part 3: Monster-Size Monster tracks! Or, look out for "Lookout Mountain"!

 

I think we all prefer our monsters monster-sized.  So long as they obey.  And so long as they aren't mutant insects...

With Jeane Dixon, break-ins, and seasonal soundalikes out of the way, it's time (just barely) for more of my favorite pieces of tongue-in-cheek terror.  And, for some reason, it was only last nght that I found the recording dates for Haunted House Polka and He's Going to Eat Me Up (thanks, 45cat).  I'd searched for them in the past, but you know how that goes: Locating data is often a matter of using the exact correct phrase or phrase combination, or you're up a haunted creek without a crucifix.  I'm probably showing my age, but I can remember when Google searches were pretty straightforward.  You put in a search phrase, and up popped the object of your search.  That was, what?  1888 or so?

And, save for the creepy Lookout Mountain, the rest of the slaylist is classic October 31 absurdity: Haunted House Polka (1955), The Screemin' Meemies From Planet "X" (Merv's finest novelty, and he made a number of them), Close the Door (a lighthearted take on The Thing), Rip Van Winkle, Munster Creep, In the Hall of the Cha-Cha King (the least dread-invoking title, after Planet "X"), Which Witch Doctor, Funny Farm, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (nothing to do with Robert Louis Stevenson's brilliant novella).  My worn Jekyll copy sounded best with my 1 mil mono stylus, so that's the rip you'll hear.  Also, Spooky Movies, which seems to me a Halloween variation on the "I took my girl to the movies, hoping for romance, but she just wanted to moon over Troy Donahue/Guy Madison" genre, only with monsters the target of her ardor.  (No, not a love for big-screen pirates.)

Bob Hudson's 1966 I'm Normal, and The Napoleon XV Revue's 1975 He's Going to Eat Me Up are our two axe-cellent copycat answers to They're Coming to Take Me Away, though there are other thump-a, thump-a, thump-a, thump-a knockoffs lurking around.  Any number of them, actually, and I have--or used to have--a CD-R of same, though one would have to be strapped down (or in) to take them away in one session.  I mean, to take them in.  Note that the latter contains a phrase not suggested for family listening.

And this is just from my boo-point, but I seriously believe Merv Griffin made the best, most campy novelties of all time, and of course I've included his two moss-terpieces for the season: the above-mentioned Screamin' Meemies and House of Horrors, both penned/co-penned by Doris Roberts.  Another Merv novelty accomplice was the famous Charles Randolph Grean (Quentin's Theme), who produced Merv's RCA hits (during Merv's brief period of chart success) and, far as I know, all of his later special productions, including the immortal Have a Nice Trip (1968), co-written by Charles.

1961's Rip Van Winkle is not so much Halloween in theme but feel, with sound effects fit for the season, and a sufficiently supernatural theme.  And a Halloween without Steve Allen is, well, a Halloween without Steve Allen.  Allen's "rockin'" ghost rocks in the fashion of cool jazz, as we'd expect from Steverino, who was (hardly) one of rock and roll's early champions.

I cited Lookout Mountain as the single credibly creepy title in the mess--er, mix.  That's because there's no lightness in the handling, and, really, it would be a chillingly challenging task to add levity to a narrative about a vengeful ghost coming to kill his widow and her new man.  But, a couple questions, at least: Were the Voodoo (?) hexes love spells which backfired?  And, if they knew the ghost would find them on Lookout Mountain, wouldn't the simplest solution have been to not go there?

And we get a soul version of Buck Owens' It's a Monster's Holiday.  Had I been able to find Owens' own recording (I failed to exhume my copy of same), I'd have made coffin space for it, but...  Oh, and there's an incredible story (thanks, Charlie Christ!) behind The Incredible Shrinking Man, on which Ray Anthony is credited as "Ray Anothony."  This title music, not surprisingly, started as an acetate not related to the film to the tiniest degree.

And the theme from William Castle's The Night Walker (1964) by (who else?) Sammy Kaye, the fondly remembered (by me, anyway) King Kong cartoon theme, and SPC doing some PD-graverobbing (in this case, from Charles Gounod) with The Alfred Hitchcock TV Show (aka, Funeral March of a Marionette).

A demon's dozen today: Thirteen titles!  Well, actually, that was true last post, but I neck-glected to depart that fact.  But, today we have a double demon's-dozen today: 26 grisly groaners!!  So, be careful!  Times two.  

DOWNLOAD: Halloween 2023, Part 3

SLAYLIST

Lookout Mountain--Chuck Miller, 1956

Haunted House Polka--The Cavaliers, 1955

The Screamin' Meemies From Planet "X"--Merv Griffin, 1961

Spooky Movies--Roy Clark, 1963

Thirteen Men--Dinah Shore With Harry Zimmerman's Orch. and Cho., 1958

Close the Door--Jim Lowe With Norman Leyden Orch., 1955

Big Bad Wolf--Don Cherry With Ray Conniff and His Orch., 1958

The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Danse Macabre--Dick Jacobs and His Orch., 1958

Rip Van Winkle--The Devotions, 1961

Munster Creep--The Munsters, 1964

House of Horrors--Merv Griffin, Orch, conducted by Charles Grean, 1962

The Naughty Ghost--Jan August With Vocal Group, 1955

I'm Normal--The Emperor (Bob Hudson), 1966

The Rockin' Ghost--Archie Bleyer Orch. and Chorus, 1956

He's Going to Eat Me Up--Napoleon XV Revue, 1975

In the Hall of the Cha-Cha King--Belmonte and His Afro-American Music, 1955

Tennessee Hill-Billy Ghost-Red Foley With the Anita Kerr Singers, 1951

It's a Monster's Holiday--Chick Willis, 1975

Murder, He Says--Betty Hutton With Pete Rugolo and His Orch., 1951

Which Witch Doctor--The Vogues With Al Kavelin's Music, 1958

The Alfred Hitchcock TV Show--Unkown (Diplomat, 1962)

The Incredible Shrinking Man--Ray Anothony (Anthony) and His Orch., 1957

The Thing--Danny Kaye, Orch. and Cho. Dir. by Ken Darby, 1950

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--The Emersons, 1959

The Night Walker--Sammy Kaye and His Orch., 1965

King Kong--Wade Denning and His Port Wawshingtons, 1966

Lee

Shellac City 2022 Halloween Youtube playlist, 1904-1947

So, I discovered--not to my surprise--that most of my Halloween 78 rpm rips were lost when Workupload had deleted all of my zips--AND when all the zip files on my previous PC's D drive couldn't be retrieved by the Geek Squad.  Sometimes, it doesn't pay to get out of the coffin at sundown...

Yes, a more tragic tale has ere been told.  Well, actually, that would require a hyphen--e'er.  As in ever, except with the v omitted.  No, wait.  It's "ere" in the sense of before.  My bat--er, my bad.  So, no punctuation necessary--my error.  No more tragic tale has before been told.  Or e'er for "no more tragic tale has ever been told."  I'll leave this up to you.

However, my 2022 YouTube Halloween 78 playlist is still in place, and below is the link.  At least, I think it's the link.  Let me be sure.  (Annnnnnnd, no.  I isn't.  Time to create a new link.)  Here we go--this one works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR451Zkh5EA&list=PLZptDb6GpTWgqE6xz9YEfSlqNxRImV0va&index=1

26 acoustic/acoustical and electric 78s, from Spooky Spooks (1916) and Chopin's Funeral March (1909) to Little Nell (1932) and Hooray! Hooray! I'm Goin' Away (1947).  Also, Murder, Witch Hazel, and No! No!  A Thousand Times No!!

And the moral of the season is, Buwa-ha-haaaaa!!

Lee

Music, Music, Music!--Hugo Winterhalter (1958; reissued 1949-1950 tracks)

 

From 1958, one of the weirdest cheesecake covers of all ("Let's put a seemingly nude model in a bathtub holding a trumpet {"A bathtub holding a trumpet?"] with a music stand next to the tub..."), though the model is easy on the eyes, and the composition is excellent (the photo composition, that is--not the sheet music in the stand).  Eight of these ten tracks came out earlier on this 10" album, which had more dignified, but far less fetching, jacket art...

The two extra tracks on the 1958 12-incher--Blueberry Hill and Casey Jones--were previously unreleased, far as I can determine.  And the musicianship throughout the ten selections is superb, with an especially gifted pianist (marvelous on Casey Jones), and someone who might be Paul Whiteman's own Chester Hazlett on "subtone" clarinet.

I've loved this LP since thrifting it approximately forty (!) years ago, and the miraculously fine fidelity gives these sides an eerie edge--to my ears, at least.  Eerie, because the tracks, marvelous as they are, are in a hybrid big-band/easy-listening style which didn't become the 1950s norm, not even by way of Mitch Miller's own solo sides (which evolved into Mitch Miller and the Gang/..and His Sing-Along Chorus).  They hint at an evolutionary path not taken!  Throughout the 1950s, the big-band sound endured, even as it got bigger, and the easy-listening sound also became bigger--and lusher.  These tracks are an oddity in terms of the separate paths taken by EZ and big band, but all the more interesting for being different, I think.

Seven of these ten tracks are covers of numbers that charted in 1949 and 1950: Blueberry Hill--Louis Armstrong with Gordon Jenkins, 1949; Music! Music! Music!--Teresa Brewer, 1949; My Foolish Heart--Billy Eckstine, 1950; The Third Man Theme--Anton Karas, 1949; There's No Tomorrow--Tony Martin, 1950; Casey Jones--Dixie-Aires, 1949; and Jealous Heart--Al Morgan, 1949.

The three non-1949-or-1950-chart numbers (far as I know), are Come Into My Heart, The Glow-Worm (A huge 1952 hit for the Mills Brothers), and Leave It to Love.  However,  Leave It to Love--a 1948 song by Irving Szathmary--was recorded in 1949 by Ralph Flanagan, and appeared in a Jan., 1950 budget knockoff on Varsity by Jimmie Livingston.  Would a budget knockoff have been released had the song not charted?  Not likely.  But then who had the chart hit?  I wonder...

According to the Online Discographical Project's listings, Hugo made twelve solo recordings for Columbia during his brief stay, including two Christmas numbers (Blue Christmas, and You're All I Want for Christmas), with all but four of them showing up here (plus the two previously unreleased numbers).

During his Columbia period (as musical director), Hugo also provided orchestra backings for Doris Day, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Toni Arden, et al.

Side notes: On the original 78 issues, a group called The Five Gems is featured with Winterhalter's orch. on Music! Music! Music!  and The Glow-Worm (with no mention of a chorus).  Also, Hugo's "Chorus" is alternately credited as his "Choir" and "Vocal Group."  Now we know.  So far, I can find nothing about the Five Gems, nor have I seen them credited anywhere but on the two Winterhalter sides.  Given the brilliant piano work on Casey Jones, however, I suspect the Gems participated on it (as well as Glow-Worm).

DOWNLOAD: Music! Music! Music!.zip FLAC

HUGO WINTERHALTER ORCH.

Music! Music! Music!--With the Five Gems (1950)

My Foolish Heart--With Choir (1950)

The Third Man Theme-- With Choir (1950)

Leave it to Love--With Choir (1950)

Blueberry Hill

There's No Tomorrow, V: Johnny Thompson (1949)

The Glow-Worm--With the Five Gems (1950)

Come into My Heart--With Choir (1950)

Casey Jones

Jealous Heart--With Vocal Group (1949)

Hugo Winterhalter, His Orchestra and Chorus--Music! Music! Music! (Harmony HL7078, 1958)

Lee

Various Artists--Sep., 2025: Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, The Penguins, Hugo Winterhalter, The Checkers, Dreamlovers, more!

 

I forgot what "part" I'm at, various artists-wise, so I used the month and year instead.  The usual mix of doo wop, early soul (The Imperials), easy listening, EZ jazz, Dixieland, and Little Red Riding Hood.  Wait... Little Red Riding Hood?

THE BREAKDOWN:

The three Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey sides consist of a so-so So Rare (a stereo remake on the Bihari Brothers' Bright Orange label--so you know it's high end), plus two 1955 sides made for Columbia: Jackie Gleason's own Melancholy Serenade, and the terrific swing selection, Stompin' Down Broadway.  And we have some easy-listening (or EZ) jazz by way of the Columbia Musical Treasuries Orchestra's Call Me and the Moonlight Strings' Don't Go Breaking My Heart (a Burt and Hal classic).

In the R&B-vocal/early soul department: The Penguins' 1954 Hey Senorita (from a typically poorly-pressed SPC collection), The Channels' 1957 That's My Desire, The Imperials' (with Little Anthony) 1958 Two People in the World, and my favorite of the bunch, the pricey collectible from 1959, Teardrops Are Falling, by the Checkers.  Luckily, I ripped it from a thrifted copy of Porky Chedwick Presents His All Time Favorite Dusty Discs, Vol. 2.  I had to do some major audio repair, thanks to a radical crosscut (courtesy of whoever previously owned it, not me), but it's always nice to get a clean-sounding cut out of a not-clean-sounding cut.  And the Imperials and Channels are courtesy of the same Porky LP.  (I've always wanted to type that.)

Then, some 1963 R&B of the Chubby Checker era, by way of the famous doo-wop group, the Dreamlovers (minus the "the") on a 1963 LP which I thrifted in its Columbia Special Products reissue. We get The Slide, Pony Time, and Carole King's Loco-Motion.  Like much twist-era material, it is expertly done but a bit wearing when taken in a full-LP dose.

Next, two Al Caiola pop-instrumental tracks from 1965's Sounds for Spies and Private Eyes: Jerry Goldsmith's famous Theme From "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and Maurice Alfred Cohen's (aka, A. Carr) Man of Mystery (Theme Music of the Edgar Wallace Thrillers).  Two tracks earlier, the virtuoso accordion of Myron Floren impressively rushes through Lover, from 1956's Lawrence Welk at Madison Square Garden.  Re "The Edgar Wallace Thrillers," I think this refers to the British TV series, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1959-1965).

Some fine easy listening follows: The Moonlight Strings' Strangers in the Night (1969), Hugo Winterhalter's version of Mah-Na-Mah-Na (also 1969--the same year the Muppets first used it [on Sesame Street]), plus Frank Chacksfield and His Orch. with I Got Rhythm (1956).  As far as EZ renditions of I Got Rhythm, I prefer Andre Kostelanetz's amazing 1941 rush-through arrangement, though Chacksfield's milder treatment rocks, too.  Or doesn't rock.  Whichever.

And I ripped the artists-unknown Little Red Riding Hood from a Happy Time (Pickwick) LP, the track appearing earlier (?) on a 1960 Hudson label LP.  The Hudson label had been owned by Eli Oberstein, but (far as I know) Eli sold most of his labels to Pickwick in the late 1950s, so Hudson was likely Pickwick-owned come 1960.  Whatever I just typed.  And the fate of the wolf is pretty hilarious in this music-with-narration kiddie Riding Hood variant: I won't give it away, but I'll note that the wolf is neither axed, shot, nor felled with an arrow.  
                                     

DOWNLOAD: VA Sep. 2025.zip  FLAC

Melancholy Serenade--Tommy Dorsey and His Orch. Featuring Jimmy Dorsey, 1955

Theme From "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."--Al Caiola, 1965

Hey Senorita--The Penguins, 1954

That's My Desire--The Channels, 1957

Stompin' Down Broadway--Tommy Dorsey and His Orch. Featuring Jimmy Dorsey, 1955

Call Me--The Columbia Musical Treasuries Orch. (Arr: Ken Woodman), 1968

Loco-Motion--Dreamlovers, 1963

South Rampart Street Parade--Lawrence Welk's Dixeland Boys, 1956

The Slide--Dreamlovers, 1963

Strangers in the Night--The Moonlight Strings, 1969

Teardrops Are Falling--The Checkers, 1959

Two People in the World--The Imperials, 1958

Pony Time--Dreamlovers, 1963

Lover--Myron Floren, accordion, with Lawrence Welk and His Orch., 1956

Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Bacharch-David)--The Moonlight Strings, 1969

Man of Mystery (Theme Music of The Edgar Wallace Thrillers)--Al Caiola, 1965

So Rare--Members of the Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras

Mah-Na-Mah-Na--Hugo Winterhalter and His Orch., 1969

I Got Rhythm--Frank Chacksfield and His Orch., 1956

Rock Around the Clock--Frankie Carle, 1973

Little Red Riding Hood--Unknown (Bedtime Stories and Songs, Happy Time [Pickwick])

Lee

A Great Light Concert--National Opera Orchestra (1953)!

 

That cover and label might necessarily suggest a junk-label product, and we might necessarily conclude that the audio is probably not state of the art.  No, not necessarily.  However, in this case, yes.  A junk label (Eli Oberstein strikes again!), and with less than RCA-quality fidelity, but still pretty decent audio, considering.  Well, fairly decent...

And I thrifted this mainly for 1) the wonderfully chintzy jacket, and 2) the inclusion of Liszt's Chromatic Galop, which I had never before heard.  And it's as amazing as I figured.  And, again, for the early 1950s, the audio is... okay.  Middling.

As far as the sound-editing/-correcting process on my part, the VinylStudio declicking filter did wonders for the many clicks (aka, ticks) and pops.  But I had to spend approx. two hours on manual click repairing.  Was it worth the time?  Well, seeing how this is is a delightful LP and a marvelous example of rack-jobber Classical music, yes.  And I used an excellent after-market stylus and my Stanton 500 cart instead of my terrific AT cartridge, and simply because it's better for junk vinyl.  (The wonderful after-market stylus is, of course, no longer in production.)

The Gramophone label--and all the junky Record Corp. of America rip-offs--fascinated me as a kid.  My maternal grandparents had a number of Gramophone, Varsity, Royale, et al. albums, and I found them quite cool in their cheapness.  Obviously, I still do, and nearly (yikes!) 60 years later.

And... something I still, to this day, find difficult to believe.  Namely, when I first discovered thrifting, ca. 1967, it always puzzled me that the cashiers (always women, all of whom looked "old" to me) had no clue about the difference between, say, a 12-inch 78 and a 12-inch LP.  All they knew was that the "big" records were 25 cents and the "little" records were 10 cents (I think).  Big/little.  And so I hypothesized that, back when long-playing records (including 45s) were introduced, most customers were just as confused as the Salvation Army cashiers.  I figured that people saw no reason to pay $3.98 or more for an LP, and thus was created the market for 99-cent budget vinyl! 

Adding to the confusion caused in the first place by the introduction of 45 and 33 & 1/3 rpm discs, we had RCA trying to hype 45s as the long-playing format of preference (instead of 10" and 12" LPs).  This made sense, in a way, since 45rpm EP albums and boxed sets were analogous to 78rpm albums and boxed sets.

But buyers figured things out eventually, and so RCA's plan failed.

And, last thing, dig the appearance of I've Been Working on the Railroad in Poet and Peasant, and nearly 50 years before that song was penned.  By Facebook "woo woo"-reel standards, this is proof that time travel must be real.  We have the "proof" right here!!

Oh, and of course the "National Opera Orchestra" could be anyone.  And, off the top of my head, I recall that Eli Oberstein recorded in Europe because the musicians worked for a flat fee (no royalties).  I can picture a German musician in his 80s, and somebody asking, "Were you part of the National Opera Orchestra?"  And the old man replying, "The what?"



DOWNLOAD:  A Great Light Concert 1953.zip

Poet and Peasant (von Suppe)

Hungarian March (Berlioz)

Chromatic Galop (Liszt)

Zampa Overture (von Herold)

March Slav (Tschaikowski, sic)

Military March in D (Schubert)

A Great Light Concert--National Opera Orchestra (Gramophone 2044; 1953)

(And there's "art" this time!)

Lee

"Oh Julie" With the Crescendos (Guest Star G-1453; 1962)--in a lossless file!

 

So, I'm back--and I've joined the FLAC community.  A very simple matter of two or three program settings.  And it's almost ironic that I'm utilizing a lossless format for an SPC LP!!  That's almost a contradiction in logic.

But this is great, great stuff.  The Crescendos, though their fame was limited to Oh, Julie, were an unusually talented doo-wop quintet (and they were a quintet, despite the four-member pose used for this LP).  As far as I know, and thanks to my friend Brian McFadden's wonderful Rock Rarities for a Song and the handy listings at Discogs, my guess is that half of these cuts were either demo recordings or simply unreleased Nasco or Scarlet label sides.  In fact, I'm partly echoing one of Brian's conclusions.  Anyway, the Crescendos' only LP, and it's a budget exploitation-product containing a mere eight tracks.  But the music, to my ears at least, is rock and roll gold.

And these guys clearly had fantastic potential, and it's too bad their potential wasn't properly fulfilled.  But they gifted us with these sides, so...  And I've augmented the eight tracks with (you'll never guess) two budget knockoffs--one from Broadway/Eli Oberstein, and the other from Hollywood (original source unknown).  And a reminder that Oberstein's Halo/Ultraphonic/etc. LPs utilized Broadway material (masters released, in turn, on Broadway's "Value" sublabels).  My Halo Tops in Pops LP was too hammered, and so I ripped the first Oh Julie (aka, Oh, Julie) knockoff from a choppy but salvable Value Hit Parade Tunes release (12 Hit Parade Tunes).  This stuff gets complicated.

Where was I?  So, one Nasco cut (the title track), plus three from Scarlet Records.  And the Crescendos' impressive versality shines through in this short playlist, I think--and their supporting harmonies are exceptional.  The female voice which appears on two (three?) cuts belongs to Janice Green.  Now you know.

I honestly never gave Oh, Julie much thought, and it certainly wasn't on my list of favorite 1950s r&r hits.  But it is now.  I have a junk-label gem of an LP to thank for this.  And, actually, the front jacket almost makes this release look like a "legit" one--i.e., from a non-rack-jobber label.  Emphasis on almost.

With each listen, this is becoming one of my favorite LPs.  And... I added an image in 11's Media Player app, but it doesn't seem to have taken.  Ah, the new, totally useless Windows Media Player.  And the FLAC folder link might noy be working properly--let me know.  It seems to be taking me back to my OneDrive folder, which is NOT what I want.

DOWNLOAD: Oh Julie SPC.zip FLAC

Oh Julie (Nasco, 1958)

Julie Anna

Katie Doll

Angel Face (Scarlet Records, 1961)

Without Love

I'm So Ashamed (Scarlet Records, 1961)

Let's Take a Walk (Scarlet Records)

Oh, Julie--The Corwins, 1958 (Value VLP-107)

Oh Julie--(Unknown, from The Nation's 12 Big Hit Recordings, Broadway LPH-139)

Lee

VBR fun...

So, until Monkey D. Sound alerted me, I had no idea my VinylStudio mp3 exports were happening at the near-least VBR (7, to be precise).  That the program has defaulted the VBR thus is kind of mind-blowing--I would think that a medium value would be the default.  To make life even more fun, it turns out that each and every VinylStudio project (album, whatever) has to be individually adjusted.  I'll have to contact Alpinesoft and ask if it's possible to change this setting across the board.

I'm in the process of redoing my last post, but it involves four projects/albums, and a reordering of the track numbers.  With VinylStudio, each snag is a "What's next?" event.  However, the software performs amazingly well, even if it leaves much to be desired in the logical-design realm.

And a "VA" project is totally out of line with VS's chief design, which presumes that the user is digitizing his or her favorite Boomer-rock LP.  Meanwhile, the program is packed with 78-rpm playback curves.  Go figure.

As for me, I don't even have a favorite rock album, and if only because rock is not my favorite music.  In fact, I don't care for most "classic" rock (please don't tell anyone), and I feel no need to conform to the typical tastes of my generation.  Anyway, most of what I do with the program involves bypassing its "album" template.  Namely, I tend to rip one to four tracks per "album," and then simply allow the albums to pile up (30 is the limit).  I don't know or care whether or not the program thinks that I've ripped thirty Led Zeppelin LPs.  With MAGIX, I had to do a degree of "improper" employing of the features, but with VS, that dynamic is epic.  The degree to which I am NOT using the software as intended is almost surreal.  And now this.  A per-album VBR default which is almost the least in that regard.

Did someone decide, "I'm sure our users want substandard mp3s"?  At least MAGIX's mp3 export default was middling, which is logical.  This allowed me to go up or down as I chose.  (I chose "up.")  But, in the meantime, I wasn't making poor-quality mp3s.  The least VBR is 9, and so a 7 is pretty lousy.  Or very, actually.  Well, I have nothing to lose.  But my mind.  I'd add an "in retrospect" observation, but I don't have one at this time!

Lee

Various Artists for August, 2025--Skeeter Davis, Mills Brothers, Peggy King, Sid King, Murray Arnold, Woody Herman, Little Eva, more!

 

You've gotta love that Percy Faith jacket: "How to sell these elegant popular concert numbers to the still-evolving 12-inch-LP market?  Sex!  That's the only way."  The streak up the man's back is the result of the lamp whose glare I couldn't totally suppress--not the photographer's fault.  Anyway, I love that "Get me out of here!" look on the lady's face.  Or, "Darn, I forgot to let the sitter know I'd be this late..."

So, a Golden Records classic, some recently-thrifted shellac, the Mills Brothers doing doo-wop, a couple century-plus-year-old goodies, fine rural '40s gospel, and an authentic Hawaiian number from back when everyone expected that state to become my country's 49th.

And, luckily, there are still local thrifts (two of them) that haven't gotten stupid with their vinyl pricing, and so I've hauled in a decent amount of analog audio since my last "Various Artists" bash (in March).  I think the principal inspiration for this VA post was the atypical appearance of 40 or 50 78s in fine condition at the big city Goodwill--of which I nabbed nine or so.  Also, Hi Yo Silver! simply demands a blog slot.  (And let me check to make sure I haven't already posted it...  Nope; we're good.)  Amazing work by the Arthur Norman Singers and the virtuoso accordionist--plus, surprisingly decent audio from a six-inch Golden Records release.  Audio which sounded dreadful in stereo but just fine with the channels summed.

Ripped in mono from Music from Hollywood is Percy Faith's superb 1953 instrumental version of Song from Moulin Rouge, and from Mantovani's 1962 Moon River and Other Great Film Themes LP, the equally superb Big Country theme.

And, from that recent 10"-shellac haul, the soft and sultry crooning of Peggy King (whose Zero Hour is among my all-time favorite pop gems), with the amusing Gentleman in the Next Apartment, plus Bob Merrill's great Make Yourself Comfortable (made famous by Sarah Vaughan), both 1954.  And Freddy Martin pianist Murray Arnold on the Cardinal label, performing his own Boo Boo Boogie and a boogie-woogie version of Camptown Races.  No record collection is complete without one.

The 1955 Sid King 45 showed up in the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift, and when I saw the title--Sag, Drag and Fall--something told me that I was in for some Shake, Rattle and Roll-style rockabilly.  I was correct.  Fine stuff, with a nice flip.

And a good dance-band version of the famous Black and White Rag (George Botsford, 1908), and though I have no idea who Bobby Mills was, I suspect he may have been European or European-American.  Just a guess from a Discogs listing.  Actually, the label, K and K, was a country operation.  So... dunno.  And we move on with the marvelous West Lawn Polka (1912), by banjo mega-virtuoso Frederick J. Bacon, followed by a 1914 rendition of the National Anthem (another no-collection-should-be-without disc), and great 1946 country gospel by Roy Acuff--That Glory Bound Train.  I was very happy with the 1946 rip, since picking the right Columbia response curve is always a matter of guesswork.

From the RCA Camden Easy to Love Skeeter Davis LP of 1970, Carole King's magnificent 1964 Let Me Get Close to You.  And, further down the list, another Goffin-King classic, Down Home (Little Eva, 1963), from an original, much-played 45 release.

Elsewhere, Neal Hefti and Woody Herman's 12-bar-blues rocker, Blowin' up a Storm (1946, Carnegie Hall), an almost hilariously over-the-top Pink Panther (theme) by the world-famous Columbia Musical Treasuries Orch. (1968), and an I-hoped-it-would-be-better Hugo Montenegro version of Good Vibrations.

From the Tops-related cheapie line Golden Tone, a marvelous budget cover of the Peter Gunn Theme, credited to "The Hi-Tones" (whatever), and from the 49th State Hawaii Record company, Little Brown Gal.  Apparently, Hawaii was in the running for No. 49, until Alaska took that slot.  And two numbers from my mono copy of Dionne Warwick's 1965 Here I Am LP: (Are You There) With Another Girl, and the astounding Lookin' With My Eyes, both Hal and Burt, of course.

Garage-band gold with the Kingsmen's rendition of Money (too bad about the piped-in audience noise), and Paul Revere and the Raiders' 1963 Louie, Louie.  A standard cover tune which, in an under-rehearsed take, was a huge hit for the Kingsmen, of course.  And, back to Bob Merrill, the superb Take Me Along (from a Broadway show), as performed by the Mills Brothers in either 1959 or 1961.  It all depends on whether or not my source LP--the MB's 1961 Yellow Bird--utilized the single release, which I strongly suspect was the case.  From the same LP, MB's excellent Get a Job cover, which may or may not be the 1958 single release.

And who hasn't wanted, more than anything else, to hear Sheb Wooley's rendition of Rawhide?  Well, long no longer--it's here.  Sheb was no Frankie Laine, but his take is decent enough.  We close with the 1971 jazz-rock of Get It On by Chase--a huge hit in my home town of Toledo, and one of my fondest AM-radio memories.  We even had a call-in talk show named after it.

Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD: Various Artists August 2025.zip

The Big Country (Jerome Moross)--Mantovani and His Orch., 1962

Hi Yo Silver!--The Arthur Norman Singers, 1958

Let Me Get Close to You (King-Goffin)--Skeeter Davis, 1964

Sag, Drag and Fall--Sid King & The Five Strings, 1955

Rawhide (Washington-Tiomkin)--Sheb Wooley, 1961

Are You There (With Another Girl) (Bacharach-David)--Dionne Warwick, 1965

Good Vibrations--Hugo Montenegro, His Orch. and Chorus, 1969

Money (Bradford-Gordy)--The Kingsmen, 1964

The Song from Moulin Rouge (Auric)--Percy Faith and His Orch., 1953

Boo Boo Boogie--Murray Arnold Plays 4 Hands, 1954

The Gentleman in the Next Apartment--Peggy King w. Percy Faith and His Orch., 1954

Lookin' With My Eyes (Bacharach-David)--Dionne Warwick, 1965

Take Me Along (Bob Merrill)--The Mills Brothers, 1961

Get a Job--The Mills Brothers, 1961

The Black and White Rag--Bobby Mills and His Orch., 1955

The Pink Panther (Mancini)--The Columbia Musical Treasuries Orch., 1968

Camptown Races--Murray Arnold Plays 4 Hands, 1954

West Lawn Polka--F.J. Bacon, Banjo Solo w. Piano Accompaniment, 1912

The Star Spangled Banner--Victor Mixed Chorus, 1914

Brothers! (Berlin)--Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Vocal w. Orch., 1954

Blowin' up a Storm (Neal Hefti-Woody Herman)--Woody Herman and the Herd (Carnegie Hall, 1946)

But I Don't Care--Sid King & The Five Strings, 1955

Peter Gunn Theme (Mancini)--The Hi-Tones (America's Top Tunes, Golden Tone)

Down Home (King-Goffin)--Little Eva, 1963

That Glory Bound Train--Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys, 1946

Little Brown Gal--Lei Momo Sweethearts w. John K. Almeida's Hawaiians

Make Yourself Comfortable (Bob Merrill)--Peggy King w. Percy Faith and His Orch., 1954

Louie, Louie (Richard Berry)--Paul Revere and the Raiders, 1963

The Story of Billy Bardell (Wooley)--Sheb Wooley, 1961

Get It On--Chase, 1971

Lee