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
I didn't think he was on Columbia long enough to release even this little bit. Thanks for saving it from oblivion.
ReplyDeleteWhen you teased about pre-RCA Hugo, I wondered if it was a Harmony budget collection; I remember a Hugo title advertised on the back on one of the Harmony albums I owned, and this could be the album that was mentioned. Looking forward to listening to it. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteListened to a good portion of this, and I like quite a bit of it. You can certainly hear on "My Foolish Heart" and "There's No Tomorrow" portions of the sound that he would become famous for in the decade to come. "Glow-Worm" is an amazing accordion workout, "Leave It to Love" is classic, excellent Easy Listening, while "Blueberry Hill" brings to mind Gordon Jenkins' one-finger piano playing. Will be looking for this one, for sure. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteErnie,
ReplyDeleteSure! And I'm going crazy, trying to remember where and when I thrifted this. It might have been a San Diego swap meet find during my final Navy months. Too bad I don't keep a record of my records...
musicman1979,
Yes, the accordion work is amazing, as is the piano work on "Casey Jones." Glad you enjoyed. And, yes, some of the tracks point to Hugo's style to come, while others (e.g., Jealous Heart) are stuck in time--in a good way. Oh, and I thrifted (or flea-marketed) the 12-incher before discovering the earlier 10-inch "House Party" LP.