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SIDE ONE
1941-1943
RIDING HIGH WITH THE BIG BANDS
It was the best of times . . . it was the worst of times. ... We emerged from an agonizing Depression, only to be plunged into World War II. We had enjoyed our precious few years of peace and recovery even as the lights were going out in Europe. And those memories lingered while we set about arming and recruiting and digging in for the long years of a war on two fronts. Even as the war deepened and came to touch us all, we found random hours of escape at the movies, watching Orson Welles as Citizen Kane or Greer Garson as Mrs. Miniver. Swing was still King, and we danced whenever we could to some of the greatest hits of the big bands.
Why Don't You Do Right?
(McCoy)When Norma Dolores Egstrom joined Benny Goodman's band in 1941, the first thing she did was become Peggy Lee. Then she set about making hit records. One of her biggest was this million seller, originally performed by Lil Green. Peggy and Benny performed this hit in the film Stage Door Canteen.
Who Wouldn't Love You
(Ca fey-Fischer)Among the most popular radio programs of this era was Kay Kyser's College of Musical Knowledge. It mixed music, audience participation, the suspense of the quiz show and a whole lot of fun into a deft package that made easy listening week after week. But in addition to performing as a show band, Kay Kyser's orchestra also played for dancing and made hit records like this happy, lilting ballad with charming vocalizing by Harry Babbitt and Trudy Erwin. It became Kyser's forth million seller!
Sleepy Lagoon
(Lawrence-Coates)Harry James had been the exciting brass soloist in Benny Goodman's band before he cut free to launch his own career as a leader. But it wasn't until Harry added a string section and featured his soaring trumpet sound on pretty ballads that he exploded into top popularity. Harry still blew hot, of course, but when he played pretty, as he did on this lovely Eric Coates melody, he thrilled the dancers and the listeners... and racked up record sales in the millions.
All or Nothing At All
(Lawrence-Altman)In June 1939, Harry James caught a radio broad- cast from the Rustic Cabin in Englewood, N.J., and liked what he heard of the singing MC. Since he needed a vocalist, James went out to the club and auditioned the young crooner in person. The rest is show business history: Frank Sinatra joined the James band, made his first recordings in a matter of weeks and started his spectacular rise to stardom. Although this song was recorded shortly after the singer joined the band, it didn't become a million seller until several years later when it was reissued to ride the crest of Sinatra's then exploding popularity.
A String of Pearls
(Gray)Arranger Jerry Gray composed this catchy instru- mental for the Glenn Miller band to show off the Miller saxophones. It was one of Miller's biggest, most durable hits. Benny Goodman "covered" the Miller hit with this sparkling Mel Powell arrangement that romps along, laced together by Powell's fleet piano and studded with glistening solos by Goodman, tenor saxist Vido Musso and trombonist Lou McGarity. This Goodman version is, literally, a whole new piece of music . . . and that's what Swing was all about.
Pistol Packin' Mama
(Dexter)Every so often a song so catchy, so daffy, so com- pletely different catches the public fancy and be- comes, however briefly, a giant hit. Cases in point include ''The Music Goes 'Round and Round", "Mairzy Doats" and this Country-Western offering by Al Dexter. It marked one of the rare times in those days that a country tune crossed the line and became a million seller . . . something that happens much oftener these days.
SIDE TWO
1944
THERE GOES THAT SONG AGAIN
It had been a long, heartbreaking, tear stained war. But with the Allied invasion of the European continent on June 6, we sensed that the tide was turning at last. Another indication was the historic meeting at Dumbarton Oaks that established the United Nations as a concept. When we could, we lost ourselves in such sentimental movies as Going My Way with Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald and None But the Lonely Heart with Cary Grant. Oklahoma! signalled the start of a new era of Broadway musicals: the Rodgers and Hammerstein Era. And though the big bands were still making hit records, singer Frank Sinatra's opening at the Paramount Theater in New York gave them all pause. More than 30,000 shrieking fans showed up and 400 police had to answer the riot call!
I'm Beginning to See the Light
(James-Ellingtorl-Hodges-George)Harry James always had an ear for a good tune, and when he heard this one played as an instru- mental by the Duke Ellington band he sensed it would make a great pop song for his new vocalist, Kitty Kallen. When the musicians' union ended its recording strike, this was the first song Harry recorded. He was right. It was a smash hit, despite the fact the James trumpet is heard only very briefly in middle register just before Kitty sings. The third composer involved in the hit is Ellington's star saxophonist Johnny Hodges, and Don George wrote the lyrics.
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
(Berlin)Les Brown's band traveled thousands of miles on one-nighters at army camps and dance halls all during the war years. Whenever possible, the band squeezed in recording sessions; on just such an occasion they filled out part of their studio time by cutting this arrangement of an Irving Berlin tune they'd been playing a lot. Several years later Les played the song on the air and requests for it came flooding in. The band's recording company called Les and urged him to cut the record. "Look in your files," Brown replied. They did, and that's how some million sellers are born!
There Goes That Song Again
(Cahn~fyne)The durability of Kay Kyser's band lay chiefly in its ability to adapt and change and grow with the times. At first, the band was famous for such zany novelties as "Three Little Fishes." Later, Kyser dropped the novelties and gimmicks - like announcing the song title and singer in the middle of the arrangement-and set about trying to please dancers. This smash hit is what resulted. The singer is Georgia Carroll, who is now Mrs. Kyser.
Bijou
(Burns)In the early 1940s, Woody Herman began assembling bright young musicians who were influenced by the new music called "be bop," and by the com- positions of Igor Stravinsky and Alban Berg, among other modern composers. When they finally came together in what was dubbed "Herman's First Herd," they produced big band music of unparalleled excitement. This rhythmic, often startling, rhumba-a' -la-jazz by the band's pianist and chief arranger Ralph Burns was typical of the power they generated. The lazy, burry-edged trombone is Bill Harris'. The tune's title was, according to Burns, the name of a friend's cat.
Walter Winchell Rhumba
(Morales)One of the great show bands of the era was, unquestionably, the Xavier Cugat orchestra. Dazzling in their scarlet band jackets and white ruffled shirts, the band played pulsing Latin tunes under the baton of the gyrating, smiling maestro. This Cugat best seller is a bright example of Cugat's style, a tribute via some "Turkey in the Straw" phrases to the gadabout gossip columnist so popular in the 1930s and '4 Os. Cugie introduced it in the film Holiday in Mexico.
My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
(Curtis-Mizzy)When Doris Day left the Les Brown band to get married, Les had the feeling she'd be back one day. And Day did come back one day in 1943 to cut some of her biggest hits and launch the career that led her to Hollywood, movies and TV. This pretty love song was perfect for the Day style and her wholesome appeal. Another former band singer, Marion Hutton of the Glenn Miller orchestra, introduced the song in the film In Society.
SIDE THREE
1945 WE'LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN
The year of victory! Germany surrendered on May 7,'Japan on Sept. 2. But the bombs that dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki left us with a problem bigger than World War II: The Atomic Age and the A-Bomb. Flying was headline news: a plane flew eastward around the world in 149 hours, 44 minutes; another one flew westward in 96 hours, 50 minutes. The world was growing smaller. Our boys were coming home. For the first time in far too long, we had peace. The big bands were riding high; but such former band singers as Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee and Doris Day were beginning to outpull and outsell their one-times bosses. Change was in the air!
Laura
(Mercer-Raksin)The Woody Herman Herd not only blew loud and hot, but also soft and cool, as this million-selling record clearly demonstrates. The melody was writ- ten by David Raksin as the title theme for the mystery film Laura. Throughout the picture it floated like a piece of pale gauze turning in the air, perfectly attuned to the film's ambiance. It grew so popular, Johnny Mercer wrote words and it became one of the big hits of the year. The vocal and the lovely alto sax solo are by Woody. Cole Porter once said, "The song I would most like to have written is 'Laura.'"
It's Been a Long, Long Time
(Cahn-Styne)Perhaps no song better expressed the feelings of wives and sweethearts everywhere as their men came home. Kitty Kallen and Harry James worked their magic formula again for this smash hit, and alto sax star Willie Smith tossed in a half chorus of jaunty jazz to make the whole thing jell.
We'll Be Together Again
(Laine-Fisher)This plaintive song was the anthem of the late war years, when we could taste the end coming and when lovers everywhere remembered how things were before the shooting started. Singer Frankie Lame wrote the words to music composed by his pianist and musical director, Carl Fischer. Lame, on the threshold of his great success, could look back on a career of singing that included succeeding Perry Como in the Freddy Carlone band.
Caldonia
(Moore)Like Topsy, this "head" arrangement of an old blues just grew each time the Herman Herd as- saulted it. The unison trumpet passage, about halfway through, was lifted from another Neal Hef ti arrangement and used here because, accord- ing to Woody, "Neal thought it would fit here, too." Only the opening 12 bars and the closing eight were actually scored by arranger Hefti. The band put together the rest, including the solos by tenor sax man Flip Phillips, trombonist Bill Harris and Woody on clarinet.
Shoo-FIy Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
(Gallon Wood)For a singer who was auditioned and turned down by Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey, Dinah Shore really made it big. She got her break when she made some records with Xavier Cugat, and caught on as a studio singer both in records and radio. This novelty hit for Dinah ex- tolls Southern cooking, a normal thing for a native of Tennessee to do.
Autumn Serenade
(Gallop-Ge Rose)Peter De Rose, composer of "Deep Purple," cre- ated the haunting melody of this lovely song, and the James trumpet was never more beautifully displayed. Corky Corcoran played the tasty tenor sax solos. The arrangement was a typical James production, dramatic and pointed at displaying the solo horns. No vocal; none needed.
SIDE FOUR
1946-1947 LOVE SOMEBODY
Peace, it was wonderful! But A-Bombs still rum- bled as we tested them at Bikini Atoll in the Pa- cific. And a novelty was beginning to catch on. It was called "television." Coupled with the in- credible popularity of singers, TV helped sound the big band death knell. Annie Get Your Gun, Brigadoon and Finian's Rainbow had us hum- ming Broadway show tunes. We went to the movies and cried at The Best Years of Our Lives and thrilled to Laurence Olivier in Henry V. Henry Ford died, leaving an estate estimated at 700 million dollars! The music business action was now almost all with the singers.
Linda
(Lawrence)Who knows how many girls there are in their mid- dle 20s today who were named Linda as a direct result of this record? Perhaps thousands, because the song was so catchy and the vocal by Buddy Clark so beguiling. "Linda" quickly became a standard. Ray Noble and his orchestra supply Buddy's backing and Anita Gordon, herself a fine singer, is the perky voice of Buddy's dream girl. Until 1947, when he made this recording, Clark had been the focus of a small but faithful fan club; his success with "Linda" increased the size of this club tremendously.
Peg 0' My Heart
(Bryan-Fischer)Originally written in 1913, this song has been a family singing favorite down the years. But in 1947 it really came into its own. The huffing, chuffing sound of Jerry Murad's Harmonicats suited the tune perfectly, and it became a million seller. Murad was born in Turkey and came to the United States at the age of six. He picked up the harmonica in high school, and soon was one of Borrah Minnevitch's Rascals. In 1944 he teamed with a couple of friends to form the Har- monicats. Before they had been together a year, they had recorded "Peg 0' My Heart" and were international stars.
Love Somebody
(Whitney-Kramer)Shortly after Doris Day left the Les Brown band for the second time, somebody had the bright idea of pairing her on records with Buddy Clark. This cute duet became Doris' second million seller. Qnginally, Dons was named Doris Kappelhofi, but bandleader Barney Rapp changed her name to Doris Day because of the way she sang "Day after Day." Buddy Clark finished law school and went right into singing. He was very popular on radio and records, but until "Linda" and this rec- ord, he hadn't really made it big.
Rumors Are Flying
(Benjamin Weiss)One of Frankie Carle's biggest hits was this pretty postwar ballad about love's rumors, not war's. Vo- calist Marjorie Hughes is actually Frankie s daughter. Mrs. Carle slipped a demonstration record, which their daughter had cut, into a pile of similar recordings from singers auditioning for a spot with the Carle band. "I liked the record," Carle recalled years later, "and when my Mrs. said it was my daughter . . . I gave her a three months' tryout, and had her change her name to Marjorie Hughes." With Marjorie in the vocalist's chair, the Carle band enjoyed many hit records, and this one was among the biggest.
Woody Woodpecker
(Tibbles (dress)Although it seems unlikely that a song about a cartoon character could become popular, this kooky little ditty not only became a million seller for Kay Kyser, it was nominated for an Academy Award! The tune was introduced in the cartoon film Wet Blanket Policy and, somehow, caught on. The woodpecker laugh, of course, made it a juke box favorite and a disc jockey's delight.
How Are Things in Glocca Morra?
(Harburg Lane)When Buddy Clark finally happened, he happened big. It seemed that everything he touched turned to a smash hit. An excellent example of why is captured in this lovely song from Finian's Rainbow. Neither E. Y. Harburg nor Burton Lane, who wrote the music for the Broadway musical, is of Irish background, yet in their score they created many pieces that sound like authentic Irish songs. Such a song is "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" whose imaginary locale captures all the wistful poetic sentiment and atmosphere of the rural Irish countryside.
SIDE FIVE
1948 TENNESSEE WALTZ
The world was choosing sides between the East and the West. We were rocked by Norman Mailer's novel, The Naked and the Dead. We were spellbound by Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston in Treasure of Sierra Madre and by Lau- rence Olivier in Hamlet. On Broadway, Where's Charley and Kiss Me, Kate were opening a new era of musical glory. The musicians' union went on a recording strike Jan. 1 that lasted 15 months, but all that did was make secure the hold the singers had on the record business. It was now all singers... every bit and every hit! On June 21, Dr. Peter Goldmark of the Columbia Broadcast- ing System demonstrated the radical new long- playing record. The Big Band Era closed, but a new era of recording began.
Baby, It's Cold Outside
(La esser)
Buddy Clark teamed with Dinah Shore and the magic happened again: another big hit! Originally a party song written by Frank Loesser and per- formed by him and his wife, the tune was finally obtained for public performance and was used in the ifim Neptune's Daughter, where it was sung by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban. It went from being a private party joke to receiving an Academy Award!
It's Magic
(from Romance on the High Seas) (Cahn~Styne)Doris Day sang this tune in her very first movie, Romance on the High Seas, and it not only be- came a hit and was nominated for an Academy Award, but was Doris' third million seller. It also made her an international star because the film played successfully all over the world, and the record followed along in its wake. Doris sang the song again in 1951 in the motion picture Starlift.
My Happiness
(Peterson-Bergantine)Hardly anyone had heard of Jon and Sondra Steele until this blockbuster exploded into the ranks of the million sellers. Then, it seemed, Jon and Sondra were all anyone heard. They have had many hits and near hits since this record, but none so big or so lasting. Buttons and Bows (Livingston-Evans) Dinah Shore racked up her second million seller with this whopper from a Bob Hope movie, The Paleface. It's a cute song with whimsical and west- ern overtones. Dinah makes the most of it, and undoubtedly her hit helped the song achieve an Academy Award. She recorded the song the last week of December 1947, beating two deadlines: (1) a ban on recording that began on December 31 and (2) the birth of her daughter, Melissa Ann, on January 4.
On a Slow Boat to China
(Loesser)A witty and melodic song by Frank Loesser gave Kay Kyser his seventh million seller. The winning combination was back in force: in 1941, Kyser's million selling record "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was also written by Loesser, who dictated it over the telephone to Kyser's ar- ranger so the band could record it the following day! Harry Babbitt and Gloria Wood handle the bright, clever lyrics. Loesser transformed an old gambler's cliche' into an expression of affection. In gambling parlance, it's what you say to someone who has held a steady run of losing cards or is playing stupidly: "If I could get you on a slow boat to China, I'd get rich!"
Tennessee Waltz
(King-Stewart)A rather simple and charming country song, this waltz sold more than four million records for Patti Page! It was Patti's first million seller, and the beginning of a series that is still rolling along for her. In 1965 the state of Tennessee recognized the pervasive popularity of "Tennessee Waltz" and made it the official state song. It was first heard in 1947 on a radio station-not in Tennessee, but in Kentucky-when it was sung by the composers.
SIDE SIX
1949-1950 SOME ENCHANTED EVENING
President Harry S. Truman became the first Chief Executive whose inaugural was seen nationally on that new thing, television. We saw new flight records being set daily and had the awesome ex- perience of the Berlin Airlift. That beleaguered city was literally kept alive by continuous waves of airplanes shuttling in supplies after the East Germans shut off land and water routes of entry. Broadway openings: South Pacific, Miss Liberty, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Guys and Dolls! In far-off Korea, the People's Republic of the North invaded the Southern Republic of Korea on June 25, 1950. The Peace Years were at an end. In entertainment, the old 78 rpm record was out, and the new, unbreakable 331/3 rpm was in! And so was TV, now considered responsible for movie theaters shutting down everywhere.
Some Enchanted Evening
(Rodgers-Hammers tein)Ezio Pinza, star of the Metropolitan Opera and a world-renowned basso, stole everyone's heart when he sang this glowing love song in the Rodg- ers and Hammerstein Broadway musical South Pacific. More than three million copies of the Broadway Original Cast album have been sold to date! Pinza was fifty-seven when he gave up a career as one of the most celebrated bassos in opera to~make his debut on the Broadway musical stage in the show. He was ideally sulted for the part-the middle-aged French planter, Emile de Becque. In writing the score, Richard Rodgers said that he "tried to weave De Becque's character into his songs-romantic, rather powerful, but not too involved-and so I wrote for him 'Some En- chanted Evening' and 'This Nearly Was Mine.'"
MuleTrain
(Lange-Heath-Ghckman)Cracking whips and a driving beat pushed this Frankie Lame special into the ranks of the mil- lion sellers. The song was so popular it was per- formed in two movies - by Vaughn Monroe in Singing Guns and by Gene Autry in Mule Train -and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Mockin' Bird Hill
(Horton)Patti Page stuck to the tried-and-true formula, and struck gold again! She took this gentle, sweet, tender country song and made it a popular song that had everyone humming along. It was her sec- ond gold record. Les Paul and Mary Ford-with their electronically multiplied voices and guitars- had the first big hit with "Mockin' Bird Hill" in 1948. Patti's came along in 1950.
That Lucky Old Sun
(Gillespie-Smith)Frankie Lame's fourth million seller was his elec- trifying performance of this song, a ringing affir- mation of faith and inspiration. It was perfectly suited to the unique Lame voice and style. A few years later Lame found another tune with a simi- lar inspirational message and a similar big ending "I Believe." Until that one came along, Frankie often closed his concert performances with this moving tribute to that lucky one with nothing to do but sit around Heaven all day.
Harbor Lights
(Kennedy-Williams)A fine song from England, this poignant melody was the haunting background theme used in the film The Long Voyage Home in 1940. This 1950 version, by Sammy Kaye's band with vocal by Don Cornell, was the big hit for the tune. The soft Hawaiian sounds in the background add an exotic flavor to the arrangement. In 1950 the song ap- peared 29 times on the Hit Parade.
My Heart Cries For You
(Si gman-Faith)If you believe legend, this million seller for Guy Mitchell was originally written by Marie Antoi- nette! Carl Sigman and Percy Faith adapted the old French folk song, "Chanson de Marie Antoinette," and came up with a winner. A former child actor in films and singer with the Carmen Caval- laro band, Mitchell had the first of his many million sellers with this hit record.
SIDE SEVEN
1951 BECAUSE OF YOU
What a year! The war in Korea widened. Presi- dent Harry S. Truman recalled General Douglas MacArthur, who said, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." The Broadway musical season included such blockbusters as The King and I, Top Banana and Paint Your Wagon. Flor- ence Chadwick swam the English Channel from England to France (she had done it the other way around the previous year). And Rocky Marciano ended Joe Louis' boxing career with a TKO. While movie houses were going dark, the TV tube was getting full color.
Cry
(Kohiman) Johnnie Ray's first million seller drew the inevi- table comment that he was crying "all the way to the bank." Indeed, he was. The song was the top tune for 11 weeks, sold more than two million records and was an international smash. It had been written by Churchill Kohlman, a watchman from Pittsburgh who entered it in an amateur song contest. "Cry" was discarded, but another of Kohlman's songs was chosen. Nothing ever happened to that tune, and nothing appeared to be destined for "Cry" until Ray came along and recorded it. The group backing Johnnie is The Four Lads from Toronto.
A Guy Is a Guy
(Brand) Who would have believed that Doris Day would have her fourth million seller with a tune that once was a naughty song from World War II? Well, folk singer Oscar Brand took the ditty, also known as "A Gob Is a Slob," tidied up the lyrics, and Doris did the rest.
Jezebel
(Shanklin) This highly charged, tensely dramatic song proved to be the sixth million seller for Frankie Lame. The former Frank LoVecchio punched across this lyric with the intensity and fervor of Edith Piaf, who also had a tremendous hit with it.
Come On-A My House
(Bagdasarian-Saroyan)Rosemary Clooney, who once sang with the Tony Pastor band, became a major star with this rol licking, uninhibited, Armenian-flavored ditty. The song was written by Ross Bagdasarian and his uncle, William Saroyan, the noted playwright, on a drive through New Mexico in 1939. Rose- mary's vocal is every bit as kooky as the song. Note particularly the way she sits on the words "Easter egg," and how she tosses off that final, delightful line. A thoroughly enjoyable record to savor again and again.
Because of You
(Hammers teinWilkinson)Anthony Dominic Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett, has been singing since the age of seven. Although he had some success before World War II, he had hard times on his return until he appeared on the Arthur Godfrey TV Talent Search Show. This recording made him a star. The song was written in 1940 for a movie, I Was an American Spy. Tony's million seller will live long after that film has finally been chopped into mandolin picks. It's a moving, emotional, thor- oughly beautiful piece of mature singing. And it was only the beginning for Tony! "Because of You," written by Arthur Hammerstein, uncle of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, and Dudley Wilkinson, was the No. 1 seller for eight weeks and was No.1 on the Hit Parade 11 times.
Half as Much
(Williams)Country writer Curley Williams penned this gen- tle, heartfelt ballad. The sentiments are plain and homespun, and Rosemary Clooney's vocal is di- rect and clean. The performance evokes the mag- ical era when all of the stars on this particular record were exploding into popularity. What a time of magic it was!
SIDE EIGHT
1952 HIGH NOON
This year television brought us our national political conventions for the first time, and after all the shouting and marching and speeching were done, we decided we liked Ike, and General Eisenhower was our new President. His first task was to fly to Korea to review the war situation, as he had promised during the campaign. Wish You Were Here and the revival of Pal Joey opened on Broadway, where, incredibly, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls and The King and I were still running! We went to the movies to see things that just weren't available on TV, like the dizzy- ing effects of the new wide, wide, WIDE screen of "Cinerama."
(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window
(Merrill) Like "Pistol Packin' Mama" and "Mairzy Doats" before it, this twinkling novelty song followed a fine tradition of stardom. It came, it was heard and it was a million seller. Patti Page's winsome vocal and the little sound effects combined to make it irresistible. "Doggie in the Window" was written by "the boy wonder of Tin Pan Alley"- Bob Merrill, who had five similarly light hit songs to his credit that year!
Botch-A-Me
(Ba-Ba Baciami Piccina) (Stanley-Morbelli-Astore)The irrepressible Rosemary Clooney was a natu- ral to perform this rofficking novelty tune that first saw the light of day as "Ba-Ba-Baciami Pic- cina" in the Italian film Una Famiglia Impossibile. Rosie's million seller caught the happy Italian flavor of the tune and gave it the novelty song's brief, but full, moment in the sun.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(Merrill)Another of Bob Merrill's hit songs for this year, this tune also served as Guy Mitchell's fourth million seller! It romped along, with catchy mel- ody and infectious beat, aided considerably by the backing supplied by Mitch Miller and his rollicking orchestra.
Del icado
(A zeve do)One of Canada's gifts to the world of popular mu- sic is Percy Faith, the brilliant composer-arrang- er-conductor from Toronto. His backgrounds helped make such hits as Tony Bennett's "Be- cause of You" and "Rags to Riches," and assisted Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day and Johnny Mathis as well. This charming Brazilian melody was fashioned by Faith into a solid hit, and it remains a widely performed composition today.
High Noon
(Do Not Forsake Me) (Washington-Tiomkin)If you saw the movie, a classic Western, then this song ran through your mind for weeks. And this million-selling version of it was quite probably the one that set you humming it all over again. Frankie Lame projected such deep emotion, such genuine feeling, that this version just had to be a hit. The song won the Academy Award, of course. Originally some Hollywood minds felt that the Gary Cooper-Grace Kelly film was not going to do very well, so Tiomkin was called in to provide a provocative theme song. Frankie's recording was so sensationally received that interest in the film grew and grew.
I Believe
(Bra ke-Graham-Shirl-S tiliman)Sometimes a simple song of faith can come at a time when people need reassuring, and can be- come a lasting hit. That's the story of this song, introduced by singer Jane Froman on her TV show U.S.A. Canteen. The Korean War was going on then, and mail received from listeners to the show indicated, according to Ervin Drake, one of the composers of "I Believe," how terribly upset most Americans were by this war. "So," Drake said, "we thought we might be able to write a kind of song that would give the average person hope. Frankie Lame's stirring rendition, throbbing with emotion, was one of the biggest of the year's mil- lion sellers, and it was the most popular song in England for a full 18 weeks!
SIDE NINE
1953
RAGS TO RICHESThe Korean War finally ended, and an uneasy truce settled over the Far East. Playwright Eugene O'Neill died, and so did Russian dictator Josef Stalin. We wore those funny little glasses for the new 3-D movies that came and went rather quickly. Hollywood was using gimmicks to get people back into theaters, but what really brought us back were such films as From Here to Eternity, The Robe and Shane. TV became even more competitive as color telecasting on a regular basis finally began.
Rags to Riches
(Adler-Ross)
Tony Bennett scored his third million seller with this song written by the Broadway musical team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Although it did not come from a show, Percy Faith's dramatic arrangement, with a touch of bolero, helped the song along the path to fame.
Every now and then a big band would come up with a hit record, and the entire industry would get excited about big bands coming back for good. So far it just hasn't happened, although the Les Elgart orchestra came mighty close. It was a very musical aggregation with a tart, almost vibrato-less playing style. You kept waiting for the brass to explode, but it never did. Dancers particularly liked the band's smooth style, and this oldie that Elgart brought up to date was one of the band's biggest hits, and an excellent example of its catchy style. The "Heart of My Heart" that the gang sang was a hit song of 1899 which endured for years as a favorite with barbershop quartets.
Secret Love
(from Calamity Jane) (Webster-Fain)Doris Day in Hollywood was one of the great success stories of show business. Not only did she sing well in movies, she proved to be a deft light comedienne as well. And what a plus it was to have her introduce a song in a movie! This tune, which Doris introduced in Calamity Jane, became a million seller for her, and then went on to win the Academy Award, as well! Composers Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster won another Academy Award in 1955 with "Love Is a ManySplendored Thing."
The Song from Moulin Rouge
(Where Is Your Heart) (En gvick-A uric)
French classical composer Georges Auric ~rote this haunting melody for the ifim that starred Jose' Ferrer as the French painter Toulouse-Lautrec. This version became Percy Faith's first million seller, assisted nobly by the lovely vocal sung by Felicia Sanders.Just Walking in the Rain
(Bragg-Riley)
Johnnie Ray's third million seller was a good tune
with a strolling sort of beat. It became tremendously popular in England as well as on this side of the Atlantic. The first recorded performance of the tune was by a group called The Prisonaires, made up of inmates of Tennessee State PrisonJ.The gang that sang "Heart of my Heart"
(Ryan)Every now and then a big band would come up with a hit record, and the entire industry would get excited about big bands coming back for good. So far it just hasn't happened, although the Les Elgart orchestra came mighty close. It was a very musical aggregation with a tart, almost vibrato-less playing style. You kept waiting for the brass to explode, but it never did. Dancers particularly liked the band's smooth style, and this oldie that Elgart brought up to date was one of the band's biggest hits, and an excellent example of its catchy style. The "Heart of My Heart" that the gang sang was a hit song of 1899 which endured for years as a favorite with barbershop quartets.
Stranger in Paradise
(Wright~Forrest)One of the loveliest themes composed by Alexander Borodin, this flowing melody was originally one of the Polovetsian Dances from the opera Prince Igor. Robert Wright and George Forrest, who made a career out of fashioning classical compositions into Broadway musicals, adapted this melody for their hit show, Kismet. Tony Bennett's lovely vocal, coupled with Percy Faith's splendid background arrangement, made this million seller a song to enjoy for all time.
SIDE TEN
1954
HEY THERE
Queen Mother Elizabeth toured Canada and the United States on a 24-day visit. Hurricanes "Carol," "Edna" and "Hazel" tore up the East Coast of the North American continent, doing countless millions of dollars of damage between mid-August and mid-October. South Pacific (1925 performances) and The King and 1(1246 performances) finally closed on Broadway, but would soon open as movies in theaters all over the world. Everybody, it seemed, was suddenly doing the mambo! The singers were still on top in popular music, but a new beat was starting to happen everywhere. It was called rock 'n' roll, and it was louder and more rhythmic than anything since the big swing bands.
Hey There
(Adler-Ross)The infectious hit song of the Adler-Ross musical, The Pajama Game, was Rosemary Clooney's million seller, assisted by a bright arrangement that allQwed Rosie to talk to herself as she sang! The editing magic of tape recording, as opposed to the now-defunct method of recording on a wax disc,
allowed artists to sing along with themselves, and allowed producers to splice many versions together into the final, most exciting version.
Another country tune went pop in a big way when Guy Mitchell combined with Ray Conniff's orchestra on this multi-million seller. It was the composition of 22-year-old Melvin Endsley, confined to a wheelchair since the age of three because of polio. This was Endsley's first successful song, and Mitchell's fifth gold record!
The Man That Got Away
(from A Star Is Born) (Gershwin-A rien)
Ira Gershwin and Harold Arlen wrote this moving torch song for the film A Star Is Born. And no one could have sung it with more poignancy, more genuine emotion than Judy Garland. In a sense, it was almost an autobiographical movie, and the song was particularly moving when related to Miss Garland's life. But as a performance alone, it was beautifully sung, and marked a turning point in her career. In addition to being a million seller, the song was nominated for an Academy Award.
The Bandit
(Theme from 0 Con gaceiro) (Turner-Carr-de Nascimen to)Percy Faith has long had the knack of turning up bright music from the most unexpected sources. A case in point is this bright instrumental which was the title song for a Brazilian film, 0 Congaceiro. The rhythm and the theme are so delightful, it simply has to be heard again and again. Sales of the record bear out this opinion.
This Ole House
(Hamblen)Stuart Hamblen, out hunting mountain lions with a friend, stumbled upon a rundown old hunter's hut many miles from the nearest road. Inside lay a dead man. Hamblen, shaken by the discovery, wrote the song on the back of his lunch bag right then and there. He was unable to get it published, so he published it himself and even recorded it. His disc sold a half million in the country field. Rosemary Clooney's soared over the two-million-sales mark, and was the most popular record in the U.S. and England during the same week at the height of its popularity.
Ebb Tide
(Sigman-Maxwell)The melody to this lovely song was written by harpist Robert Maxwell. You can almost feel the rising and falling lines of the theme played on a harp, and lyricist Carl Sigman chose his wor~ds very carefully to produce a set of lyrics that tells a story, at the same time capturing the ebb and flow with vivid imagery. Roy Hamilton had the first big hit of his career with "Ebb Tide," and it stayed identified with him all through his life (he died in 1969). Just as he was riding high, he lost his voice and had to retire. But the setback was temporary, and he returned when rest and medical treatment restored his voice. The first song he sang on his return was, of course, this one.
Dominic Cerulli
SIDE ELEVEN
1955 MOMENTS TO REMEMBER
Dr. Jonas Salk perfected his vaccine against polio. Marian Anderson, the famous soprano, made her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera, the first Negro to star there. This year it was hurricanes "Connie" and "Diane" that had us biting our fingernails all along the East Coast, barely two weeks apart in August. James Dean thrilled us in the movies. "Davy Crockett" coon- skin caps were the rage. Albert Einstein died. And the big news in music was the tremendous growth of rock 'n' roll.
The Yellow Rose of Texas
(George)A 95-year-old song became Mitch Miller's first million seller. The tune was adapted from a United States Civil War campfire song originally called "The Gallant Hood of Texas," after Gen- eral John B. Hood. "The Yellow Rose of Texas" was a favorite song during the Civil War, but for most of the century after that it was rarely heard. Then, during the 1950s, Don George's adaptation was included in an album of Civil War songs. Mitch Miller heard it, and the marching beat and the strong male vocal signaled two coming events for Miller: the success he would have with march- es and the staggering success he would have with sing-alongs.
The Party's Over
(comden-Green-styne)Johnny Mathis seemed headed for a career as a physical education instructor until he was heard singing in a San Francisco night spot. The athlete who set a high-jump record at San Francisco State College soon became a pop singer whose records set records. This wistful song from the Broadway show Bells Are Ringing was a big hit for Mathis and is representative of the soaring style of sing- ing he brought to popular music.
Misty
(Garner)Jazz pianist Erroll Garner composes at the key- board because he neither reads nor writes music. But his improvisations are so inspired, popular songs seem to flow from his fingertips. This lovely standard has been his biggest and steadiest record and has been a million seller for several artists. It is one of those deceptively simple compositions that sound easy to play but are actually difficult to do correctly.
Marianne
(Gilkyson-Dehr-Miller)Terry Gilkyson and The Easy Riders adapted this charming Calypsoish song from a tune popular for many years in the Bahamas. It has an intriguing beat and a saucy turn to the words. It was Terry's first million seller although he had written a couple before this, including "The Cry of the Wild Goose," which had everyone wanting to go where the Wild Goose goes.
A Woman in Love
(from Guys and Dolls) (Loesser)Another fine Frank Loesser song, this one was in- troduced by Frank Sinatra in the film version of Guys and Dolls. But Frankie Lame had the big hit with this emotional, throbbing version.
Moments to Remember
(Stiliman-Allen)That's what this album is all about... Moments to Remember. This great song of the mid-1950s could well be the theme song for all of the nostalgic memories inspired by the songs in this album. The Four Lads, a group that germinated in Toronto's Cathedral Choir School, had a distinctive sound and enjoyed great popularity in this period. The ringing tenor on top coupled with the instant nostalgia of the song's lyrics earned The Four Lads a million seller with this great performance.
SIDE TWELVE
1956
WHATEVER WILL BE, WILL BE
The "Andrea Doria" and the "Stockholm" col- lided off Nantucket, and the Italian liner sank in a matter of hours. Movie goddess Grace Kelly be- came a real-life princess when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco. My Fair Lady opened on Broadway and everything else went into total eclipse. We woke up one morning in November to learn that our uneasy peace had been broken: Russia had invaded nearby Hungary to quell anti- Soviet demonstrations. We read Peyton Place with raised eyebrows and The Search for Bridey Murphy with raised hackles. And we got The Ten Commandments in the movies as well as in church.
On the Street Where You Live (from My Fair Lady)
(Lerner-Loewe)This pretty ballad from the incredible My Fair Lady gave Vic Damone his third million seller, and a new foothold on his career. Previous to coni the Tony necting with this one, Vic's last big record had ;h this role been "Again," back in 1949!
I Walk the Line
(Cash)Johnny Cash was in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Germany when this song was born. He discovered that someone had been using his tape recorder and had left a weird-sounding melody on the tape. It haunted him for months, until he played that tape backwards and found that the weird melody was actually some guitar runs someone had been playing, and that tape had been left in the recorder backwards. Cash started practicing the same guitar runs, and sang the original "backwards" melody with some words. When he finally finished putting the song together, Johnny recorded it and it became his first millon seller.
Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)
(from The Man Who Knew Too Much) (Livingsron~Evans)The only singing Doris Day got to do in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much was to her son and at a cocktail party while searching for the kidnapped lad. But that was all she needed to put this bright and bouncy tune across. It was a perfect mood-breaker for that tense film, and it landed Doris her sixth million seller, and the honor of having introduced a sec- ond Academy Award song! The suspicion that the song is an adaptation of an old folk tune is untrue, but it is precisely the impression intended by com- posers Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. It was the team's third Academy Award song within eight years. The other two were "Buttons and Bows" and "Mona Lisa."
I Could Have Danced All Night(from My Fair Lady)
(Lerner-Lo ewe)One of the brighter ideas of the era was that of having jazz groups play the scores of hit Broad- way shows. Not only did you get all the songs everyone was humming, you also received the bril- liant improvisations of the jazz players. Andr~ Previn, who is now the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and a distinguished classi- cal music pianist-composer, is also a very fine jazz pianist. His version of the My Fair Lady song was an outstanding delight.
Standing on the Corner
(from The Most Happy Fella) (Loesser)The Four Lads were enjoying peak popularity, and a long string of solid hit records. One such smash for them w~as this rollicking show-stopper that the gifted Frank Loesser wrote for his near- opera, The Most Happy Fella. The ringing high tenor voice riding over the ensemble really gives this one a big lift.
The Twelfth of Never
(Webster-Livingston)For a melody adapted from an old Kentucky mountain tune called "The Riddle Song," with origins in England, this lovely ballad sure was given a lot of mileage by Johnny Mathis. It was one of the selections in an album, Johnny's Great- est Hits, that not dnly actually sold a million copies, but also appeared on the best-selling re- ports every week for eight years!
SIDE THIRTEEN
1957
IT'S NOT FOR ME TO SAYThis was the year a replica of the Mayflower sailed to Plymouth, Mass., from England in better time than the original Mayflower. And a jet plane flew Lindbergh's route to Paris to commemorate the 30th anniversary of that historic flight. The Reverend Billy Graham was setting attendance marks with his crusade. Ayoung rock singer named Elvis Presley was starting to make rec- ords . . . and show business history. West Side Story and The Music Man were running on Broadway. And we woke up on the morning of October 4 to learn that the Russians had stepped into the Space Age with their successful launch of "Sputnik 1," the first man-made satellite to orbit earth. The Space Race was on!
It's Not For Me to Say
(Stillman-A lien)In the music business, a "monster" is a record that sells so fast and so big that the salesmen develop calluses on their ears from taking telephoned or- ders. This record was a Mathis Monster. Johnny introduced it in the film Lizzie, and it became his third million seller in a matter of weeks! Coming along at a time when rock 'n' roll had blocked out practically all other kinds of music, Mathis' recording of the gentle ballad had tremendous appeal. The sales of his record were actually greater than the box-office returns from the movie.
The Theme from The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)
(Blitzstein-Brecht-Weill)The ubiquitous song from the Brecht-Weill The Threepenny Opera pops up as a hit record for someone about every three years, it seems. Dick Hyman, Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald... they've all had hits with "Mack." But none so worldwide as beloved Louis Armstrong's. Arranged for Louis by Dixieland trombonist Turk Murphy, this version just romps and stomps its way into your heart. In 1928 in Berlin, on the day before the dress rehearsal of his new work, Die Dreigroschenoper, Kurt Weill became convinced that an additional song was needed to provide thematic unity to the story. Overnight he and collaborator Brecht devised a 64-bar piece consisting of two eight-bar themes, each one repeated three times, in imitation of a ghoulish form of 17th-century ballad called a Moritat (literally, "murder deed"). Though the song became popular throughout Eu- rope, it wasn't until 1954, in Marc Blitzstein's English version, that both The Three penny Opera and its theme song, "Mack the Knife," eventually found a receptive public in the United States.
Till
(Sigman-Danvers)Tony Bennett has sung many, many songs in his long and distinguished career. But this one is so right for the timbre and texture of his voice that it might well have been written for him. And, in fact, it was Tony who introduced it.
Mangos
(Wayne-Libbey)Rosie Clooney tried again for the big record with a zany novelty song from a new revue, Ziegfeld Follies. But although she came mighty close, the gold record eluded her. However, she "owned" this song and it became a staple of her repertoire and a great audience- participation favorite in night clubs and other in-person engagements.
The Battle of New Orleans
(Driftwood)Johnny Horton won his first gold disc for the mil- lion-selling saga of a U.S. victory at New Orleans in the War of 1812. The record was also voted top Country and Western disc of the year, and its composer, singer Jimmy Driftwood, also enjoyed a hefty record sale with his version. But nothing like Horton's.
March from The River Kwai
(Arnold)That powerful film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, had this march featured as part of the action. When Mitch Miller prepared to record it, he inserted strains of "Colonel Bogey March," composed in 1914, into the arrangement. The whole thing jelled, and became Miller's second million seller and an international hit.
SIDE FOURTEEN
1958
A CERTAIN SMILE
The Space Race continued and the U.S. launched a flock of satellites. The Brussels World's Fair opened. The so-called "Beat Generation" began to make itself known through its poetry, prose, and life style. Dr. Zhivago won the Nobel Prize for literature, but author Boris Pasternak, under pressure from his Soviet colleagues, declined the honor. We marveled at the TV quiz show scandals (some contestants were given the an- swers by program officials!). We went to the movies to catch Auntie Mame, South Pacific and Gigi. And somehow we managed to survive all those teen-age rock-'n'-roll singers with their million-selling records!
Everybody Loves a Lover
(Adler-Allen)Doris Day was making hit movies as fast and as regularly as she made hit records. But she always managed to find time to pop into the studio to re- cord. One lucky day, she recorded this happy Richard Adler and Robert Allen tune.
Gigi (From Gigi)
(Lerner-Loewe)Hollywood beckoned to Alan Jay Lerner and Fritz Loewe after their My Fair Lady made more money than either of them could lift. Their origi- nal movie was Gigi, a charming and sentimental story set in Paris and brimming with fresh Lerner and Loewe songs. One of the prettiest was the title song, winner of the Academy Award, and a winner for Vic Damone, who had also been lucky with a Lerner and Loewe song a few years earlier. Gigi, in the film, was Leslie Caron, and the song "Gigi" was subtitled "Gaston's Soliloquy." Louis Jourdan did the soliloquizing.
Little Susie
(Bryant)Jazz pianist Ray Bryant composed a catchy little riff tune and probably was more surprised than anyone when it began to get popular. It has a saucy, rhythmic air, and is one of the rare tunes that has crossed into the popular hit area from the field of jazz. This Is All I Ask (Jenkins)
Gordon Jenkins caught perfectly the poignancy of middle age looking yearningly at youth in this exquisite song. The melody is lovely, the words are moving and the performance by Tony Ben- nett is as powerful and emotional as any this singer has ever created.
Don't Take Your Guns to Town
(Cash)When Johnny Cash began performing, he soon discovered that much of his best inaterial was' that which he composed. This Country and Western favorite was one of his own compositions. A typi- cally polished Cash performance, too.
A Certain Smile (from A Certain Smile)
(Webster-Fain)Francoise Sagan wrote the book A Certain Smile that raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic. The film made from the book, starring Joan Fontaine and Rossano Brazzi, was eagerly awaited, but the producers decided to add some boxoffice insurance: Johnny Mathis was selected to introduce the title song as the credits and titles rolled at the start of the picture. It was a splendid Mathis performance, and one of the few non-rock-'n'- roll hits of the year! For the songwriting team of Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, the year 1958 was a special one in that two of their songs, this one and "A Very Precious Love,' were nominated for the Academy Award.
SIDE FIFTEEN
1959
HAWAIIAN WEDDING SONG
The Space Race quickened with all sorts of ex- periments, including a mail delivery by rocket! The Soviets put four dogs and a rabbit into orbit, and even landed a missile on the moon. We danced the new thing called the "cha-cha." And we stood in line to see the Hollywood spectacu- lar, Ben-Hur. Sweden's Ingemar Johannson fooled us by knocking out Floyd Patterson to be- come heavyweight champion of the world. And Alaska and Hawaii added the 49th and 50th stars to our flag when they were admitted to the Union.
The Hawaiian Wedding Song
(Hoffman-Manning-King)
A song written in 1926 provided Andy Williams with his second million seller. The song, so burst- ing with "wedding day love," was perfect for the Williams voice and style, and remains today one of his most-requested favorites.
El Paso
(Robbins)An outright Western hit, composed by Marty Robbins, this catchy story-song carried over into the pop field and became Robbins' second million seller in a matter of weeks! The exciting story un- folds rather like a movie, with a final death scene told in the first person by the victim!
Greenfields
(Gilkyson-Dehr-Miller)The Brothers Four are actually brothers-college fraternity brothers! They met and started singing together at the University of Washington. When they performed this lovely song in 1959, they made it into the Golden Circle with their first million seller. Although "Greenfields" has been accepted around the world as a folk ballad, it was composed by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr and Frank Miller in 1956.
Small World (from Gypsy)
(styne-Sondheim)Johnny Mathis enjoyed a long string of ballad hits right from the start of his career, and this lilting melody was one of them. From the Broad- way musical Gypsy, the song, one of the quieter moments of the show, was sung in a scene where the brassy stage mother toned herself down as she tried to work out a management deal with an agent. The Mathis style was perfectly suited to this song, especially its richly chorded middle.
Heartaches by the Number
(Howard)Guy Mitchell needed a big hit record just as surely as his name was Al Cernik (which it was before he changed it), and when the chance came to re- cord this punchy Harland Howard tune, Guy jumped at it because the song was so right. He proved to be so right, too, because this record be- came his sixth million seller, his first since 1956!
Smile (based on the theme from Modern Times)
(Turner-Parsons-chaplin)Charlie Chaplin was at the height of his creative powers in 1936 when he wrote, directed, produced, acted in and even wrote the music for the fllm Modern Times. But the lovely theme was not heard very often until words were written to it in 1954. Tony Bennett added it to his repertoire, and it has become one of his staples. When he sings it, one can almost see again the sadly comic little tramp and his waif friend walking along the empty highway toward the distant sunrise and...
who knows what? But the music told us then and tells us now, there just had to be something good around the next bend... someday.
SIDE SIXTEEN
1960-1964
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
These were the Kennedy Years. We watched the young President handle the Cuban Crisis, take Berlin by storm, clash head-on with Big Business then fall under an assassin's bullets on that black Friday in Dallas, 1963. We shivered as Red China entered The Atomic Age with her first A-Bomb blast. We read The Agony and the Ecstasy, The Carpetbaggers and Born Free, but we hardly noticed the first records of a new youn~ rock group from England called The Beatles.
Happy Days Are Here Again
(Ye/len-A ger)
Not since Judy Garland has a singer had such a personal style and a devoted cult following as Barbra Streisand. Barbra made a tremendous im- pression in a small role in I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She became a star with her tremendous portrayal of Fannie Brice in Funny Girl. And her TV appearances and best-selling record albums, coupled with her -movie roles, have made her a top-flight international personality. This startling version of an old favorite, usually taken at brisk tempo, is sung almost as a ballad by Barbra, with telling effect. The song received its initial impetus when George Olsen got a copy from a song plugger on Black Thursday in November 1929, and his or- chestra played it at the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York to a thoroughiy despondent audience. The song proved so infectiously rousing that 01- sen's listeners were soon singing its spirit-lifting lyrics along with the band.
Washington Square
(Goldstein Shire)The Village Stompers were a happy, Dixie-landish group that created this happy, foot-tapping music at the right place and the right time. They had a million seller, deservedly. Washington Square Park lies at the foot of Fifth Avenue in New York City, a part of Greenwich Village: it's about four square blocks of recreation environment domi- nated by a superb arch and a fountain. It has been many things to many people, but in the late Fifties and early Sixties it was host in a casual way on spring Sunday mornings to the hoote- nanny crowd. Young minstrels gathered there with guitars and banjos, to play, to listen, to learn new songs, to talk with other folk nuts. "Washington Square" is, in essence, a folksong in praise of folk- song, reminiscent of those innocent, cheerful mass meetings of so long ago.
If Ever I Would Leave You (from Camelot)
(Lerner Loewe)The delighted applause as the audience recognizes this song is ample proof that big, handsome Rob- ert Goulet "owns" it. He introduced it in Camelot and it's been associated with him ever since.
The Theme from A Summer Place
(Steiner)Composer Max Steiner wrote this attractive mel- ody for a 1959 movie, A Summer Place. Percy Faith caught up with it in the early 1960s, gave it a young sound with use of insistent triplets and had a monster hit. The best part is that it becomes a hit all over again every summer. It was Percy's second gold record!
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
(Cross Cory)Tony Bennett tells the story behind this multi- million seller of his on the record before he sings it. All we can add is that it makes marvelous lis- tening whether you've ever been to San Francisco or not. Oddly enough, this song, which was Tony's sixth million seller, had been kicking around since 1954! The city beside the bay has had other mu- sical tributes in the past, among them the song "San Francisco," introduced by Jeanette Mac- Donald in the film of the same name, and the pre- World War I "Hello Frisco." But no song has captured the charm of the city as has the one Tony sings on this record.
Green, Green
(Mc Guire--Sparks)The New Christy Minstrels sing, play, dance, cavort and make hit records. This is their biggest- selling record, and they have performed it in the White House, for the troops in Vietnam, in night clubs, on TV and in the San Remo Festival in Italy, among other spots.
SIDE SEVENTEEN
1965-1968
LOVE ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART
These were troubled years. Student unrest spread like wildfire on the college campuses of the world. Space exploration and the first heart trans- plant operation made us gasp with wonder. The assassination of Robert Kennedy made us recoil in horror. We mourned the loss of Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, Dr. Albert Schweitzer Paul Whiteman, Helen Keller, and we shook our heads in disbelief at the huge power failure that blacked out the northeastern part of the country in November of 1965. We read In Cold Blood and The Valley of the Dolls, and heard a lot about Marshall McLuhan's The Medium Is the Massage. We went to the movies to see grown-up pictures like Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Rosemary's Baby. And 2001: A Space Odyssey boggled our minds, just as did the incredible Beatles who influenced our lives as well as our music.
Love Me with All Your Heart
(Vaughoc. & M. Rigual)Jim Nabors won everyone's heart as the kooky Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, then later on his own half-hour situation comedy. And every- one was still laughing when he appeared, dressed handsomely in a tuxedo, as a guest star, ready to sing. The laughter stopped and the applause started once Jim delivered his first few notes. It's been continuing ever since, on TV and on records. The fine Nabors baritone is heard here on a Mexi- can song which first drew attention in the early 1960s, but which Nabors made a hit all over again in the late 1960s, "Cuando Calienta el Sol."
Spinning Wheel
(clayton-Thomas)The group called Blood, Sweat and Tears made two significant contributions to popular music: the rediscovery of the fine music of Eric Satie... and "Spinning Wheel." The former had been around for many years, but the latter was created by BS&T. It caught on with other groups and singers, and was performed by such stars as Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman. The version heard here captures the spirit and flavor of the BS&T group, but with the flair and style that have made The Ray Conniff Singers worldwide favorites.
People (from Funny Girl)
(Merrill-Styne)Barbra Streisand was a natural to play Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, and the standing ovation she received on opening night confirmed what every- one had guessed all along-here was a star of the first magnitude. And among the moments to re- member in the musical was this gentle, beautiful, heartfelt ballad that always stopped every per- formance. It has become identified with Barbra ever since. Although a number of songs in Funny Girl were ones that Fanny herself had made fa- mous, "People" was written for the show.
Little Green Apples
(Russell)0. C. Smith was a struggling young singer who once sang with Count Basie's band before trying to make it as a solo artist. When he and this song got together, 0. C. was home. His earnest version of the homespun sentiments in the song was a hit and won 0. C. two Grammy nominations... plus a firm foothold on a bright career.
With a Little Help from My Friends
(Lennon-Mccartney)
The Beatles were happening in these years, influencing everyone with their music, their hair style
and their way of dress. Before long, such singers as Jack Jones, Frank Sinatra , Andy Williams and Peggy Lee were singing the haunting Lennon-Mc- Cartney songs made popular by the group. Barbra Streisand's rendition of this Beatles' song is very personal and very poignant. Her hushed approach gives the song-melodically one of the simplest of all The Beatles' tunes-a wan, pastel feeling of de- tached sadness.Invisible Tears
(N. & S. Miller)Right from the start of this album, with Al Dexter's "Pistol Packin' Mama" as an early example, Country and Western songs have been crossing the line into pop music and enjoying wider and wider popularity. Their impact on popular music can be traced through the years on these records. "Invisible Tears" is just such a cross-over. It was first a country hit, and then became a popular favorite, helped no end by this hit recording by The Ray Conniff Singers.
SIDE EIGHTEEN
1969-1971
TODAY'S HITS-TOMORROW'S MEMORIES
On July 20,1969, we entered the Age of Wonder. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Ed Aidrin became the first men to walk on the surface of the Moon! We watched the amazingly peaceful gathering of more than 400,000 young people who came together at Bethel, N.Y. for the Woodstock Music Festival. We took the kids to see Love Bug, but left them home when we enjoyed Midnight Cowboy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Catch 22. And the most remarkable discovery of all was that millions of people wanted to read a book and see a film about a young girl who lived, loved briefly and died. Erich Segal's Love Story was the sentimental surprise of the period.
Born Free
(Black-Barry)Joy Adamson's loving best seller about Elsa, the lioness who was born free but raised in captivity, became a box-office smash as a movie. And composer John Barry won an Academy Award for this song. Barry became serious about making music his career when he was a soldier stationed on the island of Malta. He spent every spare minute completing a mail-order music course offered by American Jazz musician Bill Russo. His haunting title song became a hit for several artists, and has become one of Andy Williams' most durable, most requested songs.
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(Legrand A & M Bergman)The rediscovery of romance was helped by this soft, soothing, perfectly sweet love song. Percy Faith here finds deep beauty in the lovely melody, creating a moody, gentle performance that will last and last. The song, written for the ironically titled film Happy Ending, was a nominee for an Academy Award in 1969.
A Boy Named Sue
(Silverstein)Johnny Cash came into his own with a series of hit records and a wonderful TV show. This delightful million seller, written by folk singer and magazine cartoonist Shel Silverstein, was one of Johnny's biggest hits. The performance here is particularly exciting because it was recorded live when Johnny appeared before convicts at Folsom Prison, bringing a few hours of happiness into the dull routine of prison life.
(They Long To Be) Close to You
(Bacharach David)The oddly beautiful, seemingly disjointed melodies of Burt Bacharach have amazing durability. Witness this pretty ballad and the very next one on this record. They are wholly unlike each other, related only by their fresh melodic approach (and the wit of their lyrics by Hal David). Johnny Mathis mixes his ballad style of singing with today's kind of rhythmic approach to come up with another milestone in his career.
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
(from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
(Bacharach David)Burt Bacharach and Hal David had just completed their first Broadway musical score, Promises, Promises; then they headed west for Hollywood to try to balance that East Coast success with something on the West Coast. Who would have thought that a song sung in a movie as background music to a man riding a bicycle on a farm could have been a smash hit? Just about everybody, because this Bacharach-David charmer from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the most-recorded songs of our time. The cheerful outlook of the words coupled with the unexpected and delightful twists of the melody made it a tune to be heard and relished again and again. And especially when performed by The Ray Coniff Singers, a chorus which embodies the outlook and sound of the Seventies.
For the Good Times
(Kristofferson)Ray Price earned his first gold disc for a million seller in 1956 with a Country tune, "Crazy Arms." "For the Good Times," a moving song about the breakup of a marriage, won Ray his second. The words and music were written by Kris Kristofferson, who lived what he wrote. After years of digging ditches and working as a janitor to support himself and his family while he tried to break through as a songwriter, Kristofferson saw his own marriage dissolve. Out of that episode in his life he wrote this song. The following year Johnny Cash introduced him on TV, and he became one of the biggest, most successful composers in popular music today.