Gordon MacRae on Musicraft

Musicraft was a short-lived postwar label that had a starry roster while it was in business, including Duke Ellington, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughan, Artie Shaw and the subject of today's post, Gordon MacRae.

These recordings were made in 1946, near the beginning of MacRae's career, and a few years after his first break, when he joined the cast of the hit Broadway play Junior Miss. They came before his first film role and his first popular recording success, which was with Capitol.

A contemporary reader of Billboard reviews would never have pegged him for stardom. The Billboard reviewers considered these Musicraft singles to be dull and uninspired. This prompted MacRae to write in, not to complain but to admit that the criticism was "sound". This was sporting of him, but unwarranted. Sure, he sounds like a combination of Dick Haymes and Buddy Clark, but there is nothing wrong with that. And sure, he could have been more involved with the material. But that's hardly unusual in this standard pop repertoire. To me, he sounds like someone with a lot of talent who had yet to find his own style.

You can judge for yourself by listening to this selection of MacRae's Musicraft output, helpfully collected for us by the folks at the Record Corp. of America, which re-issued these sides repeatedly on its budget labels in the 1950s. This particular transfer comes from a very clean copy of an issue on Allegro (cover below), and includes 12 of the 16 sides MacRae made for Musicraft.

Allegro's sonics left much to be desired - notably both high frequencies and low frequencies. Played on good equipment, the LP recreates the sound of what it must have been like to hear these records on an AM radio in 1946. Fortunately, I could adjust the frequency response to achieve a much more realistic sound - and I think the result is very good.

As mentioned, the repertoire is standard pop fare of the times, except for "Talking Is a Woman," an offensive Carl Sigman-Bob Russell quasi-calypso novelty. Fortunately, the rest of the set includes such gems as "It's Anybody's Spring", introduced by another of MacRae's influences, Bing Crosby. The backing on all sides is by pianist-composer Walter ("Tenderly") Gross, another Musicraft artist.

Musicraft foundered in late 1946. MacRae then made a few recordings for Apollo, and soon was on to success with Capitol and in Doris Day movies.

Lauritz Melchior in The Student Prince

Lauritz Melchior was renowned as the world's greatest heldentenor before he decided in the mid-40s to moonlight as a benevolent papa figure in Hollywood comedies, a la S.Z. ("Cuddles") Sakall.

Going Hollywood was the thing for the leading opera figures at the time. We have already explored the time spent in tinseltown by Ezio Pinza, who was more successful on the West Coast than Melchior.

Nonetheless, Melchior did make a few films, and I will have the soundtrack recording from one of them here soon. Today, however, we have one of his other side trips into non-Wagnerian roles - Sigmund Romberg's operetta The Student Prince.

This comes from about 1950 - about the same time that Melchior was getting bounced from the Met after a disagreement with mercurial Met maestro Rudolf Bing about money, rehearsals or something. No benevolent papa was Bing.

Was Melchior as suited for Romberg as Wagner? Not really. He tends to overwhelm the songs, and his voice, while still huge and golden, is not as effortless as it once seemed. Still, I found this version very enjoyable. It features Jane Wilson, who appeared in a number of operetta records of the time, and Lee Sweetland, a fine studio singer. Directing the effort is Hollywood composer Victor Young, who uses his own orchestrations.

But Melchior's is the name above the title, and at this time he probably was more interested in fame than art. Among his other exploits of the time were:

• Endorsing gasoline and after shave, hopefully not getting them confused. Also beer (see below).

• Singing "Open the Door, Richard" on the radio.

• Testifying in court that the Korn Kobblers produced music, not noise, after they were charged with disturbing the peace.

Melchior also made single records for M-G-M when he was making movies for that company's studio, and I have one of them coming up on my other blog. Also, as mentioned, music from one of Melchior's movies - Two Sisters from Boston - will be heard here at some future time.

Jerry Gray - A Tribute to Glenn Miller

Of all the bandleaders who tried to assume the Glenn Miller mantle following Miller's death, Jerry Gray probably had the closest ties to Miller's music, having been one of his principal arrangers.

And so when Gray produced this "tribute to Glenn Miller" in 1951, it really was as much a tribute to his musicianship, for these are all his own arrangements, and four are his compositions.

While I believe that Gray had a touring band at one time, these recordings seem to have been made by studio musicians. The sides were made in three sessions a few days apart, and there was an almost complete turnover in personnel during that period. Not that you will be able to tell the difference between the groups - at least I can't - and to be sure the musicians are steeped in the style. The second group of personnel in particular is stocked with ex-Miller sidemen. (A roster is in the download.)

This is a notably well played and fairly well recorded collection that displays Gray's main stylistic trait - riff and variations. It's a formula that worked for Miller, and it sure works well here.

This transfer is from a unplayed store stock set of four 45s. Decca also issued the album as a 78 set and 10-inch LP.

Robert Ward

A quick post today to mark the passing of a distinguished American composer, Robert Ward, who died earlier this week.

Robert Ward

Ward is best known for his opera The Crucible but his orchestral music is very worthwhile. This present post has his Symphony No. 3, which dates from 1950.

This entirely sympathetic performance is by the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by its then music director, Thor Johnson. The recording was issued in 1955, although I believe it was actually made in 1953.

Thor Johnson

A quotation from Ward's website is helpful as a quick introduction to his music: "In every aspect of his composition, Ward consciously expresses his philosophy and interpretation of American idealism, which have become part of his being during a long and varied career. As a composer who enjoys the rich palette of life in the United States to its fullest, Robert Ward proudly represents himself as a truly 'American' composer."

Ward was part of New York's musical life for many years before moving to Winston-Salem to become chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Leon Stein

Also on this record are the "Three Hassidic Dances" by another American composer, Leon Stein, who was associated with De Paul University in Chicago for many years. The dances are from 1940-41 and were an outgrowth of the composer's interest in the ecstatic and mystical aspects of Hasidim. The performance is vigorous and confident.

These recordings were subsidized by the American Composers Alliance during a short-lived agreement with Remington, an interesting budget label of the time. The sound is reasonably good, but as often the case with Remington, the surfaces were not quiet. However, the end result is pleasing and the music is in any case excellent.

Fran Warren - RCA Victor Singles

I've been a fan of Fran Warren's singing since hearing her record of "A Sunday Kind of Love" with Claude Thornhill's band many years ago. So much so that I started collecting both the singles she made with the bandleader, and her later solo efforts on RCA Victor, M-G-M and other labels.

Today we'll examine some of the singles that RCA recorded with Warren, who passed away a few weeks ago. The singer joined RCA in 1948, shortly after leaving Thornhill's employ. Victor had high hopes for her; one of her first releases for the company was of two songs from Irving Berlin's new show, Miss Liberty, which RCA promoted with a publicity shot with Berlin himself. Warren went on to record some 60 sides for Victor in the space of three years, before she was let go.

This post concentrates on some of the less frequently seen RCA recordings, and includes four of the duets Warren made with Tony Martin during this period. All the solo sides are taken from unplayed store stock and have excellent sonics.

Following are a few words on each of the selections.

We start with "There's No Getting Away from You," which is from a 1948 musical, As the Girls Go, by Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh. Even though it's forgotten today, the show ran for over a year on Broadway. Fran was added to the cast of the show during the run, replacing Betty Jane Watson in a leading role and singing this song.

"Now That I Need You" is a Frank Loesser song from the 1949 film Red, Hot and Blue, intro'd there by Betty Hutton.

"You're in Love with Someone" is from the Crosby film vehicle Top o' the Morning. Its flip side, "Envy", is a proto-lounge rhumba.

These first four sides all have good, but anonymous backing.

Next we have four songs with veteran crooner Tony Martin, which are backed by Henri René, an RCA staff arranger-conductor.

Irving Berlin's gorgeous waltz "Together" gets an intimate reading by the pair, who turn this song of regret over lost love into a straightforward love song. The flip, "Speak a Word of Love", is indifferent but pleasant.

Next up is Warren's second biggest hit, "I Said My Pajamas (and Put on My Prayers)", a silly novelty of love-intoxication that could only be from mid-century America. Martin - in his late 30s - must have loved the juvenile lyrics. On the other side is "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You", an early crossover country hit written by Scotty Wiseman of Lulu Belle and Scotty.

René continues providing the backing for the dramatic "Don't Say Goodbye", another rhumba, and "Ho Hum, It's Spring", a characteristic 50s confection ("daffodils are daffodilling, butterflies are butterflying") which Fran does beautifully.

"Cloudy Morning" is an unusual but lovely song that shows off Warren's sensuous lower notes. Arrangement is by Charles Naylor, although René conducts, as he does on the flip side, the waltz "When We're Dancing", which has a Hugo Winterhalter arrangement.

Winterhalter takes over the baton from here on out, and is at the controls for "Hands Off My Heart", a standard ballad done well by Fran, who treads carefully with the melody line, which has a few tricky patches.

The other side is a cover of Ruth Brown's R&B hit, "Teardrops from My Eyes". Pop singers seldom do justice to this kind of shouting rhythm song, but Warren handles it as well as most.

The overwrought "I Love You Much Too Much" is next, backed by "Don't Leave Me Now", an OK ballad that Fran does extremely well. She wasn't getting great material at this time.

To that point we have "Here Comes the Springtime and There Goes My Heart!", a bouncy Meredith Willson product that would be tolerable except for the "ho-dalee, hi-dalee, hay" business.

Things improve on the other side with "When Does This Feeling Go Away?", which Hugh Martin wrote for the 1951 show Make a Wish, where it was introduced by Stephen Douglass.

"January, February, March" is a giddy, galloping, lovestruck novelty. It's a wonder that Fran didn't lose her breath.

The final song is an oddly old-fashioned arrangement of a love song called "Any Time at All". Its celesta accompaniment and do-do-do-ing vocal backing could have been lifted from a Sinatra recording from the mid-40s. That's not to say I don't love it - it's great.

These 20 songs show off the various facets of Warren's art, including her ability to connect with a variety of material, and her smoky vocal quality, possibly influenced by the Camel cigarettes she endorsed (see below). This period was probably the high point in her career, although she went on to be a well-respected artist for many years.

There are four more RCA sides available on my other blog, where I also will post her first record, made with Charlie Barnet's band, in the near future.

Music for Easter with Stokowski

I was casting about looking for records to present for Easter, and had hit upon a Robert Shaw set to transfer - forgetting that it is missing one of the records. But I also had this RCA Camden LP of "Music for Easter" at hand, so that's our selection for today.

For some reason, during the first part of the 1950s, RCA used pseudonyms for the orchestras featured on the budget Camden label. Here we have the "Warwick Symphony Orchestra", which actually is the Philadelphia Orchestra in famous old recordings led by Leopold Stokowski.

How does he make his hair do that?

Stoki was a very popular personality when these records were made. He not only appeared in a famous cartoon himself (Fantasia) but was well known enough to have been caricatured in another cartoon by Bugs Bunny. I have to admit that for this and other reasons, I am one of the snobs who have a hard time taking him seriously. Many people do, of course, and I yield to them for purposes of this post. (And, of course, who am I to make judgments, considering some of the silly stuff I have offered here.)

The cover says "Music for Easter" and comes complete with a Gothic cathedral facade, but this is not music you will hear in church. Instead we have the Act I Prelude and "Good Friday Spell" from Act III of Wagner's Parsifal, together with Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture.

The sound here is quite good (although there is a bit of noise on my pressing), especially when you consider that the Rimsky goes back as far as January 1929. The Parsifal excerpts are from November 1936, when Stokowski was beginning his withdrawal from Philadelphia.

More Marterie

I have a thing for some post-war dance bands, Ralph Marterie among them. I recently had a request to reup a Marterie album featured here some years ago, and I enjoyed remastering the LP so much that I decided to transfer this collection, which dates from 1951.

Marterie Moods for Dancing collates the bandleader's recent singles, which cover a range of styles. As I wrote the first time around for the band, Marterie "had a good ensemble that played a variety of music quite well - from ballads to post-Hampton big band r&b."

The cover suggests that you will hear a female vocalist - not so. This is all instrumental, featuring the leader's trumpet. Hopefully he did not attempt to play it while peeking out from under the dancers' armpits, as he does on this cover.

Good sound on this one, even though Mercury at the time was pressing its records on the cheesiest vinyl (or vinyliest cheese) it could find. The download includes personnel.

By the way, if you like Marterie, I recently posted an EP that Vic Damone made with Marterie on my other blog.