The Pied Pipers w/ Jerry Gray and His Orchestra

Artist: The Pied Pipers w/ Jerry Gray and His Orchestra

LP: Singin' & Swingin'

Song: "Coronado Cruise"

[ listen ]

Though pleasant enough, the music on this album isn't the sort I'd normally feel inspired to buy—but any record featuring a pair of buxom beauties riding a see-saw on the cover isn't really something I can leave behind. A popular vocal group in the 1930s and '40s, The Pied Pipers worked with Tommy Dorsey until November of 1942, when one of the Pipers was fired after giving the hot-headed bandleader bad directions at the Portland, Oregon train station—and as everybody knows, you fire one Piper, you fire them all. The Pied Pipers of 1962 were Sue Allen (who had replaced June Hutton in 1950), Clark Yocum, who had joined the group in 1939, Lee Gotch, and Allan Davies. You can read about the Pipers on Wikipedia here, and find more info and book the current incarnation of the group for your next party or event at their website here. Not to be confused with this Jerry Gray, or this one either, the bandleader, violinist, and arranger Jerry Gray is best known for the music he made during the swing era, when he worked with other greats like Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller. Gray settled in Dallas, Texas in the 1960s, where he had a regular gig at the Fairmont Hotel. You can read more about the life and career of Jerry Gray here, find the LP liner notes included below (with another see-saw!), and there's also a neat photo of the "Singin' & Swingin'"-era Pied Pipers that I found on the Christmas Yule Blog here.

 

 

 [ Gotch, Allen, Davies, Yocum = The Pied Pipers ]

 [ Jerry Gray: July 3, 1915 — August 10, 1976 ]