Baby's Awake Now

This one comes from the Pearl label (1996). Some of the tracks sound a bit scratchy, and I was tempted to use some noise-reduction filters, but I didn't want it to affect Lee Wiley's voice in the least. Besides, noise-reduction often gets heavyhanded. This compilation includes input from Bunny Berigan, Jess Stacy, Bud Freeman, Joe Bushkin, Bobby Hackett, Max Kaminsky, and of course Eddie Condon. Full details are available in the scans included. I've also got several other Lee Wiley compilations to post in the future. From Allmusic.com, "Her husky, surprisingly sensual voice and exquisitely cool readings of pop standards distinguished her singing, but Lee Wiley earns notice as one of the best early jazz singers by recognizing the superiority of American popular song and organizing a set of songs around a common composer or theme -- later popularized as the songbook or concept LP. She was also a songwriter in her own right, and one of the few white vocalists with more respect in the jazz community than the popular one. Even more tragic then, that while dozens of inferior vocalists recorded LPs during the late '50s and '60s, Wiley appeared on record just once between 1957 and her death in 1975." Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Sweet And Low Down
2. Sam And Delilah
3. Baby's Awake Now
4. A Little Birdie Told Me So
5. I've Got Five Dollars
6. You Took Advantage Of Me
7. A Ship Without A Sail
8. As Though You Were There
9. Glad To Be Unhappy
10. Here In My Arms
11. Let's Fly Away
12. Let's Do It
13. Hot House Rose
14. Find Me A Primitive Man
15. Easy To Love
16. Looking At You
17. Why Shouldn't I?
18. Down With Love
19. Stormy Weather
20. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
21. I've Got The World On A String
22. Let's Fall In Love
23. It's Only A Paper Moon

I'm Crazy About My Baby

There aren't many, if any, surprises in this Columbia series but the selection is still good nonetheless. Midge Williams and the Spirits of Rhythm are two artists who don't usually make the final cut for compilations. In any case, they saw fit to include a Chick Bullock tune, which was recorded with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band in 1932. This series was originally released on LP, and at some point I will post an LP-rip of the 1940s singers disc. Enjoy. +

Tracks

01. (What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue - Ethel Waters
02. Blue Again - Louis Armstrong Orchestra
03. (I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You - Jack Teagarden And His Orchestra
04. I'm Crazy 'bout My Baby - Fats Waller With Ted Lewis & His Orchestra
05. Dinah - Bing Crosby & The Mills Brothers
06. Old Yazoo - The Boswell Sisters
07. The River's Taking Care Of Me - Connie Boswell with Dorsey Brothers Orchestra
08. All My Life - Ella Fitzgerald with Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra
09. Doin' What I Please - Don Redman & His Orchestra
10. My Old Man - The Spirits Of Rhythm
11. Frankie And Johnny - Chick Bullock & His Levee Loungers
12. Chasin' Shadows - Louis Prima & His New Orleans Gang
13. Out Where The Blue Begins - Henry 'Red' Allen And His Orchestra
14. Lover Come Back To Me - Mildred Bailey & Her Orchestra
15. Rose Of The Rio Grande - Ivie Anderson with Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
16. Mean To Me - Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra
17. Mama's Gone -- Goodbye - Midge Williams And Her Jazz Jesters

Scrap Your Fat

Many years ago I had a double-LP set of Abbott & Costello radio shows that I listened to until I knew every line, laugh, song, etc. One of those shows featured Connie Haines singing "Salt Water Cowboy" and it was apparently the public debut of the song. One day the LP grew legs and disappeared (along with the rest of my collection) so for years I kept an eye open for a replacement. However, later copies of the LP had the song cut out! Enter, the digital age. I thought I had ripped the correct disc to share that song, but apparently got the wrong one. Now I have to go through everything and make sure I still have the right one! Regardless, although several of the songs here are familiar, this set includes versions by other artists and is still worth a listen. Click on the cover image for a high-res scan. Enjoy +

Tracks

1. Rosie The Riveter - The Sportsman Quartet
2. I'm A Hillbilly Yankeee Doodle Boy - Texas Jim Lewis with the Hoosier Hot Shots
3. The Guns In The Sky - Glenn Miller
4. If It's Gonna Help Win The War - The Hoosier Hot Shots
5. The G.I. Jive - Johnny Mercer
6. Praise the Lord and Pass The Amunition - Jimmy Carrol, David Broekman and His Orchestra
7. Off We Go Into The Wild Blue Yonder - Glenn Miller
8. I'd Like To Give My Dog To Uncle Sam - Ozzie Waters
9. D-Day - Nat King Cole
10. Scrap Your Fat' - Mildred Bailey
11. Keep The Home Fires Burning - Charlie Barnet
12. A Rodeo Down in Tokyo - Ozzie Waters
13. There'll Be A Jubilee - The Andrews Sisters
14. I'm Getting Corns For My Country - Cass Daley
15. There Ain't No Wings on a Foxhole - Meredith Wilson
16. The Tommy Gun Boogie - Slim Rodgers
17. This Is The Army - John Conte
18. 4-F Ferdinand - Harry "The Hipster" Gibson
19. Hillbilly Soldier Joe - The Johnson Sisters
20. Comin' In On A Wing and a Prayer - Anita Ellis
21. Here Comes The British - Johnny Mercer
22. Smoke On The Water - Wesley Tuttle
23. The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B - The Andrews Sisters.

Wave the Stick Blues

Is it true that Paul McCartney played in a band before Wings? So goes the question from some youngster, probably more urban myth than reality. Yet there are nonetheless too many people who these days scarcely remember Rick Nelson, knew about his parents and their famous television program, and probably even fewer that know about Ozzie and Harriet's musical career. Well, (from Wiki), from 1930 through the 1940s, Nelson's band recorded prolifically—first on Brunswick (1930–1933), then Vocalion (1933–1934), then back to Brunswick (1934–1936), Bluebird (1937–1941), Victor (1941) and finally back to Bluebird (1941-through the 1940s). Nelson's records were consistently popular and in 1934 Nelson enjoyed success with his hit song, "Over Somebody Else's Shoulder" which he introduced. Nelson was their primary vocalist and (from August 1932) featured in duets with his other star vocalist, Harriet Hilliard. Nelson's calm, easy vocal style was popular on records and radio and quite similar to son Rick's voice and Harriet's perky vocals added to the band's popularity. In 1935, Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra had a number one hit with "And Then Some", which was number one for one week on the U.S. pop singles chart. Ozzie Nelson composed several songs, including "Wave the Stick Blues", "Subway", "Jersey Jive", "Swingin' on the Golden Gate", and "Central Avenue Shuffle". In October 1935 he married the band's vocalist Harriet Hilliard. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Head over Heels in Love
2. I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire
3. Wave the Stick Blues
4. Breathless
5. Between a Kiss and a Sigh
6. Everyone But Me
7. I Must See Annie Tonight
8. Gee, But It's Great to Meet a Friend (From Your Home Town)
9. Let's Have Another Cigarette
10. Roses in December
11. You and I Know
12. Old Curiosity Shop
13. Yes, Suh!
14. Have a Heart
15. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
16. Two Sleepy People

A Mellow Bit of Rhythm

I found the Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds of Joy (Classics) to be so enjoyable, that I picked up this one on the Decca label. Mary's Idea is the name of a tune, but it also suggests how important she was to jazz. She recorded over one hundred tunes, and wrote and arranged hundreds for Andy Kirk, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines, Tommy Dorsey and others. Williams began recording with Kirk when he made some sides in Kansas City in 1929, and stayed with the band into 1942. This disc gives just a snapshot of her talent, so check out the Andy Kirk cds as well. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Walkin' and Swingin'
2. Moren Swing
3. Froggy Bottom
4. Bear Cat Shuffle
5. Puddin' Head Serenade
6. The Lady Who Swings the Band
7. (Keep It) In the Groove
8. A Mellow Bit of Rhythm
9. Bear Down
10. Twinklin'
11. Mess-A-Stomp
12. What's Your Story, Morning Glory?
13. Mary's Idea
14. Close to Five
15. Scratchin' in the Gravel
16. The Count
17. Twelfth Street Rag
18. Baby Dear
19. Harmony Blues
20. Ring Dem Bells