The Harmony of the Four Lads

There were a lot of 1950s pop music quartets. The male ones alone included The Four Freshmen, The Four Aces and my personal favorites The Four Lads. During the 1950s pop quartet heyday, my mom was a member of the Columbia Record Club. That meant that she bought many of the albums that paved the way for my childhood listening experience. The Four Lads Greatest Hits on Columbia was an album I listened to over and over.

The Four Lads, Frankie Busseri, Bernie Toorish, Jimmie Arnold, and Connie Codarini, started out together at Toronto's St. Michael's Cathederal Choir school. Eventually they were finally "discovered" and made their way into pop icon history. They had hits such as "Standing on the Corner (watching all the girls go by!....)", "Moments To Remember", "No Not Much", and "Istanbul." (click on the titles to hear the songs via Youtube). They did background singing for Johnny Ray, Frankie Laine and Doris Day.

According to one of their albums "The Four Lads have scores of thousands of admirers, many of them teenagers, who are organized into Four Lads Fan Clubs all over the world. Fan mail comes from 27 different countries, including Turkey, Israel, Pakistan and Siam."

Back in the 1980s when I was in Detroit, the "original" Four Lads were touring. I eagerly went to the concert, but the guys who were appearing didn't look like anyone on my old album covers! When I asked about this during the intermission, one of the singers said "some personnel changes had occured through the years."

As time marches on and the original members have died or retired, these "phony Four Lads" (as I call them) are still around keeping the sounds of the truly original group alive.

I have started the Four Lads Appreciation Society on Facebook. I don't imagine there are still Four Lads fanclubs in 27 countries, but they certainly still sound as good as they did in their 1950s heyday to me....and if they keep having "personnel changes" who knows? Maybe I'll be a Four Lad crooning "Standing On The Corner Watching All The Girls Go By" someday!

Al Ham's The Music Of Your Life

Recently I've been rummaging through some old cassettes I recorded when I was an announcer at WLUS years ago. We played the radio format known as "The Music Of Your Life" which was the brainchild of Al Ham. The music for this radio station library was put together very thoughtfully and ingeniously using pop hits through the years. It featured old music, but on the radio no years or dates were mentioned and it all was very vibrant and up to date. Radio stations featured local announcers doing lots of remote events, listeners got their birthdays and anniversaries mentioned on the air, and were invited to send in the list of their three favorite songs. It was all very engaging and I think Al Ham was a genius to come up with this whole idea.

The music came on huge reel to reel tapes and each tape held about an hour's worth of music. Four segments, usually five songs each, would take the listener through the decades from the big band type sounds of the 1930s/1940s up until the "present" day. This music was a true slice of Americana and it captivated listeners for hours at a time, as this music was practically forgetten on the airwaves until Mr. Ham rescued it and molded the format in the late 1970s. Stars like Frank Sinatra or Jo Stafford recorded little messages saying "Thank you for making us all a part of 'The Music of Your Life." Al Ham was a jingle writer and wrote a catchy song played from time to time during the day........."the dreams we share, we'll always remember....remember with the music of your life..."

Unfortunately the target audience that remembered this music is about gone now....and although satellite radio providers Sirius/XM have stations that play some of the titles in the original "Music of Your Life" library, much of it is being ignored today. There is a new incarnation of the "Music of Your Life" which you can listen to on line here. Although songs now considered "adult standards" or "classic american songbook" are played there, it is not the same as when Al Ham blended the mix. In my opinion it's listenable, but a poor imitation as lots of songs and artists are eliminated.


pics above of Al Ham, who by the way worked as a bass player for Artie Shaw and Tex Beneke's Glenn Miller Orchestra. He later worked with the legendary Mitch Miller at Columbia Records and molded the recording sounds of such stars as Ray Conniff, Rosemary Clooney, Percy Faith, Jerry Vale, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Ray, The Four Lads, and Kirby Stone Four among others. These stars were all highly popular features of "The Music Of Your Life." I've also included an actual play list where you can see the actual songs and artists, ranging from Tommy Dorsey and Harry James to Steve Lawrence and Bobby Vinton.

When I graduated from college in 1986 I wanted to work for Al Ham. He sent me a letter wishing me his best, but apparently didn't need any help from a young newbie whippersnapper! I was sure glad to work at a radio station that featured his format and eventually I redid that station's libary when they wanted to update it. Now thanks to my prolific collection I am almost done with preserving one of the original "Music of Your Life" libraries from aircheck tapes to cd to eventually an ipod (whatever THAT is!). That way I can listen to this whenever I want. A still share the dream and will always remember....

Million Seller Violinist Florian ZaBach

Here's a piece of forgotten musical history...at least as far as most people are aware of.

Florian ZaBach was a violinist who parlayed his talent on the fiddle into a very successful recording career including a television program back in the glorious 50s.

Back when I was a kid I started my life long fascination with records. I was in "Federals" or one of the other Detroit area department stores with my grandpa. He bought me the album "Golden Strings" by ZaBach and told me to listen to it closely as that was a true musician. He was right.

If the internet had been around just a few years ago, perhaps I would have found a way to contact him, but he died before this was possible.

The "Gold Strings" album liner notes say this about this talented guy: "Florian ZaBach has more different talents than his bow has strings. The violin virtuoso is an extraordinary musician, an excellent composer and conductor, a clever comedian, and above all, a superb showman....He first played professionally when he was nine....his TV film series "The Florian ZaBach Show" is seen several times a week throughout the world, even in such far away places as Hong Kong, China."

I found a couple of his tv shows on video on ebay and they're quite good. His albums as far as know have never been re-released on cd, so get out those old record players. His albums pop up on ebay as well. His million seller song "The Hot Canary" was his breakthrough, but the lush pop sounds of his 1950s albums is what really made me a fan. Click here for "Plink Plank Plunk" which was used as a game show theme in the black and white era. Here's another example of his sound.

Back in the 50s, one of his albums said that a successful violinist is about as common as an elephant with a ballet troupe. That has to be even more true today so we'll probably never see the likes of a Florian ZaBach talent again.

Happy Birthday Mitch Miller

Happy Birthday Mitch Miller! I wish I knew how to get in touch with this musical icon. He was born July 4, 1911 and is apparently still alive. I would love to say "thanks".

His music is alive and well here at "The Nostalgic Rambler." Young whippersnappers of today may not realize that he had many albums that were in the top selling charts of the day. In fact, according to the book "100 Best Selling Albums of the 50s" by Charlotte Greig, six of Mitch's "sing along" LPs are listed as best sellers.

Millions of people enjoyed his music which focused on the popular American songbook. I recall marching around the front room as a young boy as his "Holiday Sing Along" LP played in the 1960s and of course now it gets its annual play in December.

Mitch also had a great television show called simply enough "Sing Along with Mitch". I wish PBS would rescue that one out of the archives. Miller says he has all of the master tapes. Mitch also played an important part at Columbia Records. Anyone who loves the pop music of that era as much as I do is forever in debt to this great man for his legacy, including the careers of Johnny Mathis, The Four Lads, Rosemary Clooney, and Guy Mitchell.

Why is this man not remembered more? For one, he did a lot of corny novelty songs which aren't in vogue anymore and easy to dismiss. Some of the singers of the day didn't like what he chose for them, but the public ate it up and it made them stars.

I am proud to say I enjoy his music and hope to continue to sing along with his albums for many years to come.

For a very interesting interview with Mitch, taped just a few years ago, click on the link from Youtube. It is rather lengthy but will give you great insight into this man and his legacy.

By the way, the pic on the left above is from "The Nostalgic Rambler" archives. It is a classic slide from/of my grandpa from his 50s/60s slide collection. His birthday gift? A radio and a Mitch Miller album! On the right is the musical genius himself, Mr. Mitch Miller. Happy Birthday Mr. Miller!