Today is my annual "No way I can be that old!" day (67, this time around), so I'm celebrating with more various artists. That is to say, with another various-artists post. "More various artists" is kind of awkward--it could suggest artists who are more various, whatever that might mean. And, of course (and for what it's worth), variety can only exist within a group of things. We had a manager who bragged that the company has "many diverse individuals," and I wondered if he meant people who exist simultaneously in multiple dimensions.
So... after I assembled this list, I searched for a common theme or two. Or three. As in, are there any? And one theme is early rock and roll--The Dreamers'535 (with that wonderful electric guitar distortion that graced so many blues and doo wop sides, and which Stan Freberg irreverently described as the "Howdy Doody button"); the Regents'Barbara Ann B-side, I'm So Lonely; and the honking-sax magic (always wanted to type that) of Red Prysock on the Mercury label, from the 1957 LP The Beat. This is where rock and roll and R&B become the same thing--In fact, the honking-tenor-sax r&r of Hal Singer, Big Jay McNeely, Wild Bill Moore, and other 1940s rockers was enjoying a second wave in the wake of Elvis, or whatever I just typed. If I'd had it handy, I would have snuck in Harry James' 1939 Back Beat Boogie, which would have fit like a glove with latter-'50s instrumental rock. But my 45 rpm copy is stuck away someplace in my maze of 45 boxes. In the closet. Behind the row of records blocking the door. In there somewhere. Laughing at me.
And, speaking of rock and roll finding its way into the pop charts (we were?), we have some excellent examples of "pop" vocalists helping toward that objective, with both June Valli and Guy Mitchell touching on the style. First, June (whom I've referred to at this blog as RCA's "pre-Elvis Elvis") with a rocking Strictly Sentimental and a habanera/tresillo (3-3-2 beat) Leiber-Stoller number, Will You Love Me Still, which anticipates Brill Building pop to come. Very Under the Boardwalk-esque, even if Jerry and Mike had nothing to do with Boardwalk. Then, Guy Mitchell plunging into rockabilly on Crazy With Love, the B-side of the magnificent 1956 Singing the Blues. Didn't anyone notice, at the time, that Guy had taken that plunge? Guy almost, but not quite, wandered into the same zone the next year with Hoot Owl, the flip of Rock-a-Billy. Fourthly, Eileen Barton with a rock and roll remake of 1950's If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake. (And that 3-3-2 beat, again.)
And there's the theme of Boomer Top 40 rendered in an EZ vein (yes, you can quote me), an area often covered here. Namely, Paul Mauriat with a delightful beautiful-music rendition of Penny Lane (maybe the best EZ Beatles cover of all time), plus two selections which reveal the soul of Mauriat: In the Midnight Hour and I Heard It Through the Grapevine. These can be regarded as skillfully rendered massed-strings soul, and therefore ingenious. Or they can be regarded as skillfully rendered massed-strings soul, and therefore hilarious. Same premise, two parametrically opposite conclusions.
In a category by itself, there's Jackie Lee's wonderful 1961 remake of Isle of Capri Boogie, with a Mysterioso organ to out-Mysterioso 96 Tears. A wonderful almost-rock-and-roll performance which ranks with the almost-rhythm-and-blues of Jimmy Dorsey's 1957 So Rare. And I'll stand by whatever I just typed.
More mellow sounds with Engelbert Humperdinck delivering an excellent rendition of the Carole King-Gerry Goffin Yours Until Tomorrow (1967); the great Ray Charles Singers with their smash hit Al-Di-La, plus an interesting take on Do You Want to Know a Secret--one of the first adult-pop covers of the Fab Four; Freddy Martin and the terrific Artie Wayne presenting an ultra-smooth rendering of the Chopin-derived A Song to Remember (1945); and Martin's semi-mellow 1950 Misirlou, one of the very best big band/pre-surf interpretations of this Middle Eastern classic.
And three selections in a showtune vein: Don Cherry's I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine, Jo Stafford's If I Were a Bell (from Guys and Dolls), and a spectacular semi-Kostelanetz helping of Vincent Youman's Great Day by Russ Case and His Orchestra. Had Andre mixed swing with strings, he'd have sounded like this 1954 recording.
Carmen Cavallaro's 1951 Deep Night returns, and it's pure exotica, even if it's not from the islands. It has that sound, nonetheless--the flute, female chorus, and the Afro-Latin rhythms do the trick. Cavallaro, as always, is fabulous. "Samba Voodoo With Female Sextette," explains the jacket.
Oh, and a 1959 Jean Goldkette recreation of My Pretty Girl, from the original charts (says the liner notes). For once, a "'20s in hi-fi" attempt that sounds like the '20s in hi-fi. To be fair, though, the Peep Hole 8 (!) deliver a not too anachronistic Diga Diga Doo from the 1958 Pickwick LP The 20's Roar Back. So, the themes are: Retro 1920s, Samba Voodoo, showtunes, early r&r, "pop" which touches on r&r, and Jackie Lee's class-by-itself Isle of Capri Boogie. Plus, Tony Bennett, Don Cherry, and a great 1956 rendition of Alfred Newman's 1931 Street Scene.
DOWNLOAD: Various Artists, Part 2--Red Prysock, June Valli, Guy Mitchell
I'm So Lonely--The Regents, 1961
How-Ja Do, How-Ja Do, How-Ja Do (If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake)--Eileen Barton, 1955
Strictly Sentimental--June Valli With Joe Reisman's Orch., 1957
Will You Love Me Still--Same
A Song to Remember--Freddy Martin Orch., V: Artie Wayne, 1945
Misirlou--Same, V: Stuart Wade, piano: Barclay Allen
Foot Stompin'--Red Prysock and His Orch., 1957
535--Dreamers, 1955
Crazy With Love--Guy Mitchell With Ray Conniff and His Orch., 1956
In the Midnight Hour--Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra, 1969
I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine--Don Cherry With Ray Conniff and His Orch., 1956
If I Were a Bell--Jo Stafford With Paul Weston and His Orch., 1953
Yours Until Tomorrow--Engelbert Humperdinck, 1967
Al-Di-La--The Ray Charles Singers, 1964
Great Day--Russ Case and His Orch. and Chorus, 1954
Street Scene--Joe Lipman and His Orchestra, 1956
Deep Night (Samba Voodoo With Female Sextette)--Carmen Cavallaro
My Pretty Girl--Jean Goldkette and His Orchestra, 1959
Penny Lane--Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra, 1967
I Heard It Through the Grapevine--Same, 1969
Isle of Capri Boogie--Jackie Lee, 1961
Happiness Street (Corner Sunshine Square)--Tony Bennett, 1956
He's a Real Gone Guy--Red Prysock and His Orch., 1957
Hoot Owl--Guy Mitchell With Jimmy Carroll, 1957
Diga Diga Doo--The Peephole 8, 1958
Lee