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

Shadows on the Swanee

Once again, kudos to the folks at Columbia for their packaging. The Art Deco series has yet to disappoint me. This two-disc set is the companion piece to The Crooners (posted January 2009, get it while Rapid$hare lasts if you haven't already). I'm sure there are other notable singers who might have been included here, such as June Richmond, Victoria Spivey or Ella Fitzgerald. But to omit Anita O'Day? I also think they should have included Ethel Waters' version of Shine On Harvest Moon, which in my opinion is one of the finest. ...(suddenly a feeling of déjà vu, but a check on the blog tells me I didn't post this already) ... Back to reality, this is probably one of the best collections on two cds that I've ever found, and I'm glad to be able to share it with everyone. An added bonus, some time ago I had scanned the entire booklet and all, which is included as high-res.tif files in the first folder.. I'll stop writing so you can start listening. Enjoy. + +

Tracks
Ruth Etting
1. Ten Cents a Dance
2. I'm Good for Nothing But Love
3. A Needle in a Haystack

Helen Morgan
4. (I've Got) Sand in My Shoes
5. I See Two Lovers (w/Jimmy Grier and His Orchestra)

Greta Keller
6. He's My Secret Passion
7. Willow Weep for Me

Annette Hanshaw
8. Big City Blues
9. Daddy, Won't You Please Come Home
10. Moanin' Low
11. The Way I Feel Today
12. Love Me Tonight
13. Moon Song

Ethel Waters
14. I Just Couldn't Take It, Baby
15. Shadows on the Swanee

Connie Boswell
16. Lullaby of the Leaves
17. Under a Blanket of Blue
18. I Cover the Waterfront
19. Say It
20. A New Moon Is Over My Shoulder

The Boswell Sisters
21. Doggone, I've Done It (I've Fallen in Love)
22. Mood Indigo
23. Sophisticated Lady
24. I Hate Myself
25. Rock & Roll

Disc Two

Frances Langford
1. Stormy Weather
2. You're Hi-Di-Hi-Ing Me
3. Nasty Man
4. Then You've Never Been Blue

Alice Faye
5. My Future Star [From "365 Nights in Hollywood"]
6. Oh, I Didn't Know

Lee Wiley
7. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues [Alternate Take][#]
8. You've Got Me Crying Again
9. Let's Call It a Day [Alternate Take][#] (with Victor Young and His Orchestra)
10. Easy Come, Easy Go (with Johnny Green and His Orchestra)
11. A Hundred Years from Today (with the Casa Loma Orchestra)

Helen Ward (with Ed Loyd and His Orchestra)
12. Let's Put Two and Two Together

Ella Logan
13. Night Wind
14. Doin' the Uptown Lowdown

Maxine Sullivan
15. I Wish I Were Twins
16. Loch Lomond
17. The Hour of Parting

Mildred Bailey and Her Orchestra
18. Mad About the Boy [Alternate Take][#]
19. I See Your Face Before Me [Alternate Take][#]
20. Love's a Necessary Thing

Nan Wynn with Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra
21. The Lamp Is Low
22. You Go to My Head

Ginny Simms and Her Orchestra
23. I Can't Face the Music
24. Sweet and Slow
25. I'm Out of Style

It's The Gypsy In Me

I credit the marketing people from Classics Chronological for me buying this one. I hadn't heard of Wingy Manone, but I liked what I'd heard from their massive series thus far, I like the faux 78rpm label, and the blue stands out. And get a load of Wingy's face grinning out at you. I kjnew it had to be fun, and Wingy does not disappoint in the least. Excellent music - but don't take it from me! Here's the bio from Allmusic.com, Wingy Manone was an excellent Dixieland trumpeter whose jivey vocals were popular and somewhat reminiscent of his contemporary, Louis Prima. He had lost his right arm in a streetcar accident when he was ten, but Manone (who Joe Venuti once gave one cuff link for a Christmas present) never appeared to be handicapped in public (effectively using an artificial arm). He played trumpet in riverboats starting when he was 17, was with the Crescent City Jazzers (which later became the Arcadian Serenaders) in Alabama, and made his recording debut with the group in the mid-'20s. He worked in many territory bands throughout the era before recording as a leader in 1927 in New Orleans. By the following year, Manone was in Chicago and soon relocated to New York, touring with theater companies. His "Tar Paper Stomp" in 1930 used a riff that later became the basis for "In the Mood." In 1934, Manone began recording on a regular basis and after he had a hit with "The Isle of Capri" in 1935, he became a very popular attraction. Among his sidemen on his 1935-1941 recordings were Matty Matlock, Eddie Miller, Bud Freeman, Jack Teagarden, Joe Marsala, George Brunies, Brad Gowans, and Chu Berry. In 1940, Manone appeared in the Bing Crosby movie Rhythm on the River, he soon wrote his humorous memoirs Trumpet on the Wing (1948), and he would later appear on many of Crosby's radio shows. Wingy Manone lived in Las Vegas from 1954 up until his death and he stayed active until near the end, although he only recorded one full album (for Storyville in 1966) after 1960. (Scott Yanow). Enjoy. +  - and Happy Thanksgiving!

Tracks

1. It Can Happen To You
2. It's The Gypsy In Me
3. Cottage By The Moon
4. And They Said It Wouldn't Last!
5. Fancy Meeting You
6. A Good Man Is Hard To Find
7. In The Groove
8. Let Me Call You Sweetheart
9. Easy Like
10. I Can't Pretend
11. Floatin' Down To Cotton Town
12. A Fine Romance
13. Formal Night In Harlem
14. Sweet Lorraine
15. Boo-HooYou Showed Me The Way
16. I Can't Lose That Longing For You
17. Oh, Say, Can You Swing?
18. The Image Of You
19. Don't Ever Change
20. (I Just Can't Imagine) Life Without You

Trav'lin' Light

Continuing to post at breakneck speed (the lines on the road just like like dots ...), here's a shorter cd (an LP re-release) from Charlie Spivak. This is the only Spivak in my collection, for some reason, even though I find it very listenable. From Allmusic.com (Scott Yanow), "Despite coming up in the jazz world and spending his life around jazz musicians, Charlie Spivak rarely improvised and was most notable for his pretty tone. He moved to the U.S. with his family as a small child and grew up in New Haven, CT. Spivak began playing trumpet when he was ten, gigged locally as a teenager, and worked with Don Cavallaro's Orchestra. During most of 1924-1930 he was with Paul Specht's Orchestra, primarily playing section parts where his tone was an asset. Spivak was cast in the same role with Ben Pollack (1931-1934), the Dorsey Brothers (1934-1935), and Ray Noble. He worked in the studios during most of 1936-1937 and then had stints with the orchestras of Bob Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, and Jack Teagarden. Spivak formed his own band in November 1939 (financed by Glenn Miller) and, although his first orchestra failed within a year, his second attempt shortly after was more successful; in fact, Spivak became a major attraction throughout the '40s and he kept his band together until 1959. Spivak lived in later years in Florida, Las Vegas, and South Carolina, putting together orchestras on a part-time basis, staying semi-active up until his death at the age of 75. Among his better recordings were his theme "Let's Go Home," "Autumn Nocturne," and "Star Dreams." Charlie Spivak, who recorded as late as 1981, was married to singer Irene Daye (who was formerly with Gene Krupa's Orchestra)." Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Stardreams (Theme)
2. Mean to Me
3. Serenade in Blue
4. I Used to Love You
5. Cuddle up a Little Closer
6. Blue Lou
7. Laura
8. More Than You Know
9. Stardust
10. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive
11. Solitude
12. Trav'lin' Light
13. Blue Champagne
14. Let's Go Home
15. It's the Same Old Dream
16. Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)