Tommy Edwards

Artist: Tommy Edwards

LP: Tommy Edwards Sings

Song: "A Long Time"

[ listen ]

Song: "The Cherry In My Fruit Cocktail"

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This Tommy Edwards record sounded so good I accidentally bought two used copies of it on my summer road trip around Ohio—one in Cincinnati and the other in Toledo. Best known for his 1958 chart-topper called "It's All In the Game," Tommy Edwards had a lengthy string of songs hitting the charts between 1951 and 1960. This LP from the Newark, New Jersey-based Regent label was evidently released at the end of 1958, though it contains at least some songs that were recorded in '48 and '49. You can read more about the dashing Tommy Edwards here.

 [ Tommy Edwards: February 17, 1922 — October 22, 1969 ]

Noro Morales & His Orchestra

Artist: Noro Morales & His Orchestra

LP: Latin Rhythms For Dancing [7" EP]

Song: "Rhumba Fantasy"
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Here's one from Puerto Rican pianist/bandleader Noro Morrales, who you can read about on All About Jazz here. The good news: this 4-track 7" EP is on beautiful red vinyl! The bad news: there's a little warp toward the end of the track, so I had to put a dime on the needle to keep it from skipping. You can still hear it bumping a little when the needle hits the warp. I had to post it anyhow since Noro Morales has one of the sexiest mugs in the history of show business. Look at those lips!

[ Noro Morales' Lips: January 4, 1911 — January 14, 1964 ]

Ethel Smith

Artist: Ethel Smith

LP: Souvenir Album [10" EP]

Song: "The Parrot (On the Fortune-Teller's Hat)" 
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Monday mornings and organ music seem to go together lately like bagels and cream cheese. Ethel Smith is another one of my organ-playing favorites, and this is the 50¢ record through which I first discovered her. You can read all about Ethel here, here and here, and see a clip here of Ethel Smith performing her hit song "Tico-Tico" in the 1944 Esther Williams vehicle "Bathing Beauty." The biographical notes from the back of this 10" souvenir EP can be found below.

You couldn't call Ethel Smith a "Latin from Manhattan,"
because she's originally from Pittsburgh. But if she had
decided to be born on Father Knickerbocker's island, the
phrase would have fitted her perfectly—for Ethel has been
in love with Latin America and its music since she was ten.
Her most ardent childhood desire was some day to go
south of the equator. Not only did she realize that wish
before she was twenty-three, but she also became the
foremost exponent of Latin rhythms on the electric organ.

But let's go back to the beginning—back to Pittsburgh, for
it was here that Ethel received much of her sound musical
background at Carnegie Tech. Institute where she studied
piano, organ and, incidentally, Spanish. After graduation,
she got a job playing in the pit for a Shubert show. It was
her first taste of commercial musical life and she liked it well
enough to tour with the company for twenty-eight weeks.

Next came an offer to accompany a singer in one of
Hollywood's studios. One day, on the set, she noticed
a Hammond Electric Organ—at that time, only recently
developed. She took to it immediately. Apparently, it
took to her, too, for an alert and advertising-wise dealer
saw in her nimble-fingered playing an excellent way to
demonstrate the new Hammond. He not only let her
practice on it to her heart's content, but also allowed
her to take it with her to Florida where she was booked
for an engagement playing accompaniment for a trio
in a little Bavarian restaurant. Ethel soon adopted the
electric organ as her chosen solo instrument—mainly be-
cause it responded so sensitively to the highly colorful
tropical rhythms she loved so well.

When Cordell Hull sailed southward to attend the first
Pan-American conference, Ethel was one of the few
women who traveled with his party. She had managed
to snare the post of chairman of the entertainment
committee. Her first and long-dreamed-of South
American trip, it served to whet her appetite for
other more extenswive expeditions—for she had
decided to make a first-hand study of the native
music. Her travels below the border eventually encom-
passed some seventeen Caribbean and South American
countries. "For a while," she says, "I became a regular
tropical hep chick. I stuck my nose into every smoky
cabaret that boasted a native orchestra. Whenever
they let me, I'd sit in with the boys for a little Latin
jam session. That way it didn't take long to collect a
trunk-load of authentic and out-of-the-way rhythms
and melodies—including such lush and sultry-sounding
ones as chacareras, milongas, bambucos, pasillos,
guarachas, habaneras and, of course, the traditional
sambas, rumbas and congas."

So well did Ethel learn to interpret the music of South
America that she was offered an engagement at one
of its most celebrated night spots—Rio De Janeiro's
Copacabana. While she was playing here, an executive
of a tobacco company invited her to return to New York
for the "Hit Parade" radio show. Ethel was featured as
one of its stars for over a year. Then a talent scout
from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer suddenly awoke to the
fact that not only was Ethel's music a delight to the
ear, but that Ethel, herself, was extremely photogenic.
She was offered a contract, at what she considered a
"fantastic figure" and, modestly but definitely, accepted.
Since that time she has been featured in a wide variety
of films, sharing musical sequences with such men as
Harry James, Gene Krupa, and Van Johnson. Whether
she is heard in sweet music or swing, she is as
entertaining and as authentic as she is original.

[ Ethel Smith: November 22, 1910 — May 10, 1996 ]

Doris Day

Artist: Doris Day

LP: You're My Thrill [10" EP]

Song: "When Your Lover Has Gone"
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Song: "You're My Thrill"
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My favorite singer, Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff (aka. Doris Day) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 3, 1924. Her music, movies and TV show have given me many, many hours of joy... so if you happen to be reading this, Clara Kappelhoff, thanks! In honor of Doris Day's 85th birthday, I'm posting two songs from her very first solo LP, which I picked up a few weeks ago for only a dollar. You can read about Doris Day's incredible career in music and film here, see her complete discography here, find her complete filmography and film info here and you can visit and contribute to the Doris Day Animal Foundation here. If somehow you've never seen a Doris Day movie before and you'd like to check one out, why not start with this one, or maybe this one or this one or this one? These nice biographical notes are from the back of the "You're My Thrill" 10" long play record, which was released on August 1, 1949:

When Doris Day was named as Success of the Year by a
musical magazine, there was no question whatever about
the correctness of the choice. For in 1948, she zoomed
from the equivocal position of a highly promising singer to
that of one of the country's top recording artists and an
established movie star on the strength of a handful of
records and a single motion picture. This was partly
because Doris brought to music and films a quality that
had too long been missing, a sort of breezy freshness
and an intimate directness of appeal. More important,
it was suddenly discovered that she was a superlative
songstress and an ingratiating performer.

Not that Doris hadn't been heard before: for several years
she was featured vocalist with Les Brown and his orchestra,
and built up a considerable reputation among musicians for
her deft and intelligent way with a popular song. A number
of the recordings she made with this orchestra—notably
Sentimental Journey—are fondly prized by collectors. Doris
landed with Les after a short engagement with Bob Crosby
and his orchestra and a series of programs over Station
WLW, Cincinnati. Her early enthusiasm for a career as a
dancer was somewhat dampened by a broken leg, and
she began studying singing with the vocal coach at WLW,
which led to her initial broadcasts and her tours with the
orchestras. Toward the end of 1947, Doris left the Brown
organization to go out on her own, opening at the Little
Club on New York's East Side. A recording contract of her
own followed, then a movie contract, a spot on the Hit
Parade with Frank Sinatra, and eventually a star spot on
the Bob Hope radio program, again singing with Les Brown.
All this in something less than eighteen months.

To rhythm numbers she brings a brisk, sparkling enthusiasm
that lights up even an ordinary song, while to ballads Doris
brings a sort of husky grace and an impression of genuine
sincerity that has captivated an imposing number of listeners.
For her first collection of songs, she has chosen a group of
established favorites that are regularly but infrequently heard,
songs with a rather more sophisticated touch, both lyrically
and musically, than is generally found. In them is some of
her finest singing, brilliantly phrased and beautifully keyed
to the mood of the song. With the assistance of a vocal
group, Doris conjures up a series of exceptional romantic
interludes, and concerned, as most of these songs are,
with love requited and otherwise, they offer her an
opportunity to display her remarkable talent for distilling
the intimate magic that characterizes her singing. Here
is popular artistry of a high order, applied by Doris Day
to popular songs of the first rank.

[ Happy Birthday, Doris Day! ]

Beverly Laine

Artist: Beverly Laine

LP: Organ Favorites [10" EP]

Song: "Stumbling"
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Happy Friday the 13th! Here's one of a bunch of neat old records I found on a day-trip to the small town of Snohomish last weekend. There's not much info on organist Beverly Laine on the internet as far as I can tell, but if you find her playing "rapturous," you can buy your very own copy of this record from the Senior, Elder Speciality Shop [here]. Tops Music Enterprises Corp. includes a special message to listeners on the back of the record:

On this TOPS Masterpiece Record you will hear selections of the
best loved music of all time. You'll thrill to these lilting melodies
played with exceptional beauty and emotion by some of the
world's most outstanding artists. The brilliant performance of
each selection transforms every note into rapturous listening.
You'll enjoy the enduring richness of this remarkable record for
many, many hours of wonderful enjoyment.