Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper--Sacred Songs (Harmony HL-7233)--Classic bluegrass gospel!

 

This morning, the return of ten superb 1949-1953 bluegrass gospel sides by Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper.  The original post and file are long-gone, but you'll be hearing a new rip in (you'll never guess) a higher bitrate.

"Country gospel" would also suffice as a label for these sides, though I think they lean very much toward sacred bluegrass.  Wikipedia reports that Wilma and Stoney had much success on the Hickory label in the late 1950s and early 1960s--these are all earlier Columbia sides, and I found no instance of these tracks on CD, so... I consider them cleared for posting.

These gems are classically old-fashioned and "old time" (aka, old timey)--we're in the realm of Carl Story and the Lewis Family.  The standard bluegrass gospel themes are here--a mother song (Mother's Prayer, 1950), preparing-for-Heaven numbers (I'm Taking My Audition. My Lord's Gonna Shake My Hand {1951 and 1952}), crucifixion-related songs (Thirty Pieces of Silver, The Legend of the Dogwood Tree, Walking My Lord up Calvary Hill {1949, 1950 and 1951}, the "are you going to Heaven?" theme (Will the Lord Let You In, 1954), and the requisite what's-the-matter-with-this-world tune, titled (sure enough) What's the Matter With This World.  

Superb stuff, and beautifully remastered in 1960 by Columbia for its Harmony label (it was my great luck to land a mono copy), and if there's better bluegrass gospel out there, I certainly haven't heard it.  My thanks to Josh for reminding me I have this LP.

In the playlist below, I added the original years of issue.  Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD: Sacred Songs--Wilma Lee and Stony Cooper (Harmony HL-7233)

Are You Walking and A-Talking for the Lord (1953)

He Will Save Your Soul (1949)

Will the Lord Let You In (1952)

What's the Matter With This World (1949)

The Legend of the Dogwood Tree (1950)

My Lord's Gonna Shake My Hand (1952)

Mother's Prayer (1950)

Thirty Pieces of Silver (1949)

I'm Taking My Audition (1951)

Walking My Lord up Calvary Hill (1951)

Sacred Songs--Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper (Harmony HL-7233)

Lee

Almost-fake hits: Designed for Dancing--Tommy Tucker and Shep Fields (prob. 1952 and 1953)

 

Keeping with the subject of sublabels and hit parade covers, here are two 10" Lion Records LPs from (best guess) 1952 and 1953.  And you know you've always wanted to hear Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing Your Cheating Heart.  You're just kidding yourself to pretend otherwise.

At first glance, these would seem to fit in with the fake hits of the budget/cheapie labels (Parade, Waldorf, Royale), especially with the "Tops in Pops" subtitle on the Fields LP.  And, to an extent, I think they do, despite the fact that these are big band covers vs. sound-alikes--after all, the aim, in both cases, is to exploit the hit parade.  The comparison seems reasonable to me, though maybe I've been doing this for too long.  One problem, though, with the big band hit-parade cover versions: Come about 1955, songs like Tutti Frutti, Don't Be Angry, Speedo, and Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On were entering the charts (rock and roll, they called it), none of which would have sounded right with either Fields or Tommy Tucker--or even Frankie Carle and Ralph Flanagan, who were doing hit parade LPs at RCA Victor (or Sammy Kaye, who did at least one hit parade EP for Columbia).  Ralph Marterie or Buddy Morrow, maybe, but none of those guys.  Then again, Sammy Kaye did cover The Great Pretender on Columbia's Today's Top Pops (Columbia CL-2571; 1956).  But the rock and roll of 1957 and 1958?  Get a Job, At the Hop, Great Balls of Fire, Little Darlin', School Days, Short Fat Fannie?  The hit parade was becoming a place for teens.

Anyway, I'm getting a little off topic.  It's just that these two LPs got me to thinking about all the "adult" pop artists who covered hit songs in the 1950s and, especially, the 1960s and 1970s (Billy Vaughn, Ferrante and Teicher, Percy Faith, 101 Strings, David Rose, Roger Williams, etc., etc.)--and about how selective they tended to be, especially when it came to not doing Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, or the Who.  The entry of rock and roll/rock into the charts created interesting issues for the cover-version industry.  Except, of course, for the jobber-rack labels, all of which mimicked whatever happened to be in the charts, regardless of who put it there.

Anyway, despite the de-noising challenges presented by these LPs (a lot of stray clicks and bumps to remove, even after a pass though VinylStudio's filter), I found them highly enjoyable--at times, a real kick.  Besides the aforementioned Lawrence Welk-esque rendition of Your Cheatin' Heart, there's a particularly lively and interesting Jambalaya cover by Tommy Tucker.  And while Welk is the first bandleader I associate with Shep Fields,  I think it's fair to say that Fields engaged in an usual amount of style-hopping--he was like four or five bands in one.  Part Welk, part Carmen Cavallaro, part Freddy Martin, even part Tommy Dorsey.  The musicianship strikes my ears as very solid, and even the accordion-on-extra-caffeine player, whoever he was, seems to have had impressive licks, though he zips through his arpeggios and chromatic runs so swiftly, it's hard to be totally sure.  Fields' failure to settle on a single style makes what would otherwise be ultra-"sweet" band boredom quite an adventure.  Or whatever I just typed.  Anyway, the tracks on Fields' Tops in Pops appear to date from early 1953, so we'll go with that year.

Tommy Tucker's orchestra has much less of an all-over-the-place sound, and his solid covers of 1952 hits like Wish You Were Here, You Belong to Me, Maybe, and I Went to Your Wedding (though I can't get the Spike Jones parody out of my head) make for highly enjoyable background music.  On both collections, the arrangers put loving care into their charts.

The "Designed for Dancing" series was pretty extensive, with at least twenty titles in all, and though it mostly avoided early rock'n'roll, there was a version of Sh-Boom by Henry Jerome that I'd love to have. However, I'm not about to pay the current Discogs price.

To the fun almost-fake hits:

DOWNLOAD: Designed for Dancing--Tommy Tucker Orchestra, Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orch. (1952 and 1953?)

TOMMY TUCKER ORCHESTRA

Wish You Were Here

Walkin' My Baby Back Home

You Belong to Me

Jambalaya

Somewhere Along the Way

Maybe

I Went to Your Wedding

Meet Mister Callaghan

SHEP FIELDS AND HIS RIPPLING RHYTHM ORCHESTRA

Till I Waltz Again With You

Your Cheatin' Heart (Williams)

How Do You Speak to an Angel?

Pretend

Side by Side

Have Your Heard

You Win Again (Williams)

Congratulations to Someone

Designed for Dancing (Lion E70001/Lion E-70008; 1952 and 1953?)

Lee

The Blazers: Rock and Roll--Ten Big Hits in Hi-Fidelity (Harmony HL-7103; 1958)

 

In regard to all the cheap labels I stuck up during Xmas, RobGems68 asked if I've ever given blog space to the major label cheapies like Camden/RCA Camden, Harmony, and (I suppose) Lion--and forgive me if I'm incorrectly paraphrasing you, Rob.  But the answer is, I haven't given them enough of a spotlight, with some exceptions, like this post.  Today's offering should make up for this to some degree--it features the Blazers, which Discogs identifies as "Studio group including American musicians active in France," including lead singer Frankie Tucker. The label is the Columbia budget label Harmony, and, as we might expect, the tracks are very professionally done--maybe too much so.  Which might explain my problem with them--I find them a bit lacking in spirit; a bit boring (Get a Job, in particular, a tune which should practically propel itself).  I guess I'm too used to the superbly arranged, not-quite-rock-and-roll rock and roll covers on Enoch Light's Waldorf labels, as well as the often sloppy but fun SPC fakes (which usually showed up on the Promenade label), not to mention the stuff that showed up on Broadway and Value Hit Parade Tunes (which ran the gamut from fine to pretty bad).  These performances lack a certain edge; they're almost phoned in.  But, of course, that's simply my impression.  It's what's known as a subjective truth, which is a fancy term for an opinion.  Just my take--neither factually right nor wrong.

Just, I guess, to remind the buyer that he or she is getting a budget product, Columbia only included ten tracks--so there.  And, I just can't pinpoint why these tracks miss the mark with me, because on a purely technical level, they're superior, save maybe for some weak vocals.  None of the collision of tempi one hears on SPC cheapies, for example, and overall a sound very much like the originals.  Well, except for the absence of female voices on Short Shorts, which sort of hurts the effect.  Lovers of authentic Short Shorts covers (you know who you are) won't be happy with this one, I don't think.  One track that almost rocks a lot: Don't Let Go, a superior Jesse Stone number.  Again, though, something's missing.   The Stroll almost makes it, too.  Maybe it's simply that the genuine cheapies--Promenade, Broadway, 18 Top Hits, etc.--were simply better at being cheap.  Studio musicians assigned to the Harmony label may have wondered what they did to tick off their bosses.  They may not have been giving their best.

Eager to hear feedback on this.  For some, these tracks may work beautifully.  The album might rock the house.  Me, I give this a C+.  I was expecting more drive and excitement, I guess.

In the years to come, Columbia would put out some very fun record club fake-hit collections, including at least one reissue of a U.K. Invasion-era budget gem.

Oh, and cover photographer Fons Ianelli is known for being part of the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit during WWII.  Check out his outstanding wartime photos in Google Images.

DOWNLOAD: Rock and Roll by the Blazers (Harmony HL-7103; 1958)

Big Guitar

Get a Job

Raunchy

The Stroll

"7-11" (Mambo No. 5)

Walkin' With Mr Lee

Short Shorts

Slow Walk

Don't Let Go (J. Stone)

Walk On

Lee

Christmas for Christ (probably) 1972--"Time to Get Together"

 

A happy one day after Epiphany!  Meanwhile, thanks to this (and a second) Goodwill-thrifted LP, I now know about the United Pentecostal Church International's home mission fundraising event called Christmas for Christ.  December 17th is the date, and though the inside cover shows money raised for 1973 ($500,000), I'm guessing that this is a projected amount.  I'm going with the front cover, with its photograph depicting a $10,000 check being written to the Home Missions Department--the date: December 17, 1972.  That, plus I have the 1973 CFC LP, and this isn't it.  So, 1972 is my guess.

A glance at the track list reveals that, despite the "Christmas for Christ" theme, the music is not directly related to the holiday--or related at all, for that matter.  This had me puzzled at first.  But the whole idea behind CFC is that the bulk of one's Christmas giving should go to Christ--i.e., to the UPCI--and since Christmas is all (or nearly all) about gifting, the tie-in is logical.  There's also a calendrical logic, since Dec. 17th is close to end of the calendar year, and what better time to talk about future growth ("The Future Is Now")?  So, despite the absence of Nativity-related songs, Christmas for Christ is an ideal Christmas event.  I assume it's still going on in the UPCI.

The songs are very pleasant country gospel--again, with no direct tie-ins to the holiday--and both sides conclude with impassioned, almost frenetic mini-sermons (with music), the second ("The Future Is Now") leaving me lost in its onslaught of metaphors.  That's not a criticism; it's just that I'm not used to this style of preaching.  It's certainly effective.  I can't imagine the preacher putting anyone to sleep.

With its nontraditional Christmas offerings, this LP makes for a neat change of Christmas-posting pace, and I always enjoy learning things about other denominations.  Christmas for Christ was a completely new one on me, as traditions go...

I'm tempted to use "Christmas for Christ" as the label, but it's not really clear if there's a label name at all.  So I simply stuck to the catalog number (LPS-1003).  In the dead wax are the matrices LH-9154 and LH-9155.  The gatefold cover is copyrighted by Unipak, something I noticed as I searched in vain for a label title.

DOWNLOAD: Christmas for Christ 1972

If the Whole World Would Love Him--Murrell Ewing, Bobbie Shoemake, Wanda Phillips    

I Was Born to Die Till Jesus Came--Bobbie Shoemake

Do It Now--Robbie and Arlen Guidroz

Through It All (A. Crouch)--Murrell Ewing, Joan Ewing, Wanda Phillips

Narration: The Future Is Now--Kenneth Phillips

I Need the Prayers of Those I Love--Bobbie Shoemake, Wanda Phillips

I'll Have a New Body (L. Presley)--Murrell Ewing, Bobbie Shoemake, Wanda Phillips

Don't Let Me Stray Too Far From Calvary--Joan Ewing

I Could Never Outlove the Lord--Robbie and Arlen Guidroz

Narration: Time to Get Together--Kenneth Phillips

Christmas for Christ 1972 (LPS-1003; 1972)

Lee

Not your everyday Christmas audio relic: Billy Four--A Record for Christmas (1948)

(A repost from 2019.  I don't find many home recordings in my thrift searches, and this one is pretty special and, I think, worth a re-up.)

Once upon a time, people used disc-cutting machines to cut their own discs.  Eventually (during the 50s?), people switched to magnetic tape for home recording.  That's the history as I know it--it's probably a bit more complicated than that.  But here's a home-made Christmas disc by a very young man named Billy.  I know this, because on the second side Billy introduces a piano piece (nothing I recognize; sounds like a by-ear number) with the words, "This is Billy, making you a record for Christmas of (in?) 1948."  Thus, I know the recording year.  Of course, Billy could have simply been the engineer, but I suspect he's the ivory tickler, at least on side 2.  He's a decent player for a kid.

I'm designating the piano solo as side 2 because it contains no writing on the label (some random logic for you, there); the flip (above) lists White Christmas and Jingle Bells as the pieces, and what looks like "Billy Four" as the artists.  So I'm assigning it side-1 status.  Problem is, there are only two musicians--tenor (?) sax and piano, so maybe "Four" (or "Lour"?) is Billy's last name.  Will we ever know?

Condition isn't very good (Maybe I should have employed some hiss filtering), but I used the curve marked "AFRS Transcriptions #1" in my VinylStudio program, and it brings the music out loud and clear over the disc noise.  AFRS, of course, is Armed Forces Radio Service, which eventually became Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), or "A-Farts," as we called it in the Navy.  I remember from my days on my first ship (a long-gone Fast Frigate) that AFRTS would send us videos to play over the ship's closed-circuit system.  Typically, these consisted of semi-successful syndicated series from who-knows-where.  (One of them seems to have been made for Australian TV.)  And there were movies, of course.  One night, I was on video duty in the ET compartment, running a program for the crew while watching a tape on another machine.  Meaning to fast-forward the other tape, I accidentally fast-forwarded the AFRTS program.  Knock on the door--a crewmember.  "Could you please reshow the last five minutes or so?" he asked.  Oops.

AFRTS programs always included Navy recruiting spots, and you can imagine the responses they received in our TV lounges.  Anyway, of course this disc has nothing to do with AFRS, but the curve sure matches up beautifully.  Groove to the holiday sounds of the Billy Four.



To Billy and the Billy Four: A Record for Christmas of 1948





Lee