Excellent Crooner and Organist Earl Grant

Nat "King" Cole was one of the smoothest singers around. He also played a pretty mean piano. In the shadows of Nat was another talented musician named Earl Grant. He had a similar voice and also played the piano as well as the organ.

Nat seems to have almost vanished from the memory of today's music scene, except where his daughter Natalie tries to keep it alive. Poor Mr. Grant has vanished altogether, so today's Nostalgic Rambler blog wants to bring his music to the forefront.

One of the most beautiful melodies and lyrics I've ever heard is the song "The End" sung by Earl Grant recorded for Decca in 1957. It was a top ten hit. Listen to it by clicking here and see how magical this classic record is. What a beautiful love song. Romance at its finest. I'm not kidding.

Nat sang some songs in Spanish. I was surprised to find that Earl sang his hit "The End" in German! Listen to his version in German here!

Oddly enough even though Earl Grant had similar talents as Nat "King" Cole, he also jumped on the Cole bandwagon as well and recorded an album entitled "Earl Grant Sings And Plays Songs Made Famous By Nat King Cole."  I wonder if Nat ever sang "The End?" Would have been nice to hear his rendition.

Swingin' Gently was an instrumental hit for Earl Grant. It's pretty catchy. You can listen to it here.

Earl Grant was a star that dimmed in an instant. He died at the age of 39 in a car accident back in 1970.

I Love Lucy in Color coming to CBS?!

Since its inception my all time favorite TV show has been broadcast in black and white. That's the way "I Love Lucy" was filmed in the 1950s. It seems frozen in time that way. Safe. Nostalgic. And unfortunately for today's younger set a turn off.

We have had several younger visitors over the years from Germany, where "I Love Lucy" isn't well known at all. Invariably when I show them the program here, they groan "Oh, it's in black and white?!" They begrudgingly sit through the first few minutes until they realize how funny the show is. Then they can't get enough.

As you very well know (if you read this blog regularly) I don't have much interest or patience for today's television. Why can't CBS just show "I Love Lucy" in prime time like they did in the 1950s? Well, according to a couple of websites I found, "I Love Lucy" is returning to CBS prime time IN  COLOR!  

 

 

Unfortunately not all of the 180 shows will be colorized, but it's a start. According to the rumors CBS will air two shows on December 20th 2013  including the famous grape stomping episode. I hope the rumors are true.

Several years back CBS aired a colorized version of the Lucy Christmas special which garnered huge ratings. Lots of fans squawked at the color scheme as it wasn't true to the original set. It sounds like they are going to re-do that show to make it look more realistic.

I'm sure if Desi Arnaz had had color capability in 1951 we'd be watching the show in color for years. CBS has milked millions out of the black and white shows, so why not rejuvenate it by colorizing? I'm looking forward to it. 

Colorized or original, it beats anything they can come up with today. 

And for those of you who want to see Lucy and Desi in color today, they starred in two color pictures for MGM, The Long Long Trailer and Forever Darling.

And as always remember "I Love Lucy" is a Desilu Production!

America's Greatest Gospel Singer Mahalia Jackson

This week I was asked to do the "children's story" at my church. Usually the kids don't pay too much attention to me and this time was no exception! Since I went through all of the trouble for that minimal response, you will now get to share in that research here in this new Nostalgic Rambler posting on Mahalia Jackson.

As the kiddies came up to the front of the church, the audience got to listen to this song by Mahalia. She is accompanied by one of my all time favorite orchestras, Percy Faith. The music is majestic to say the least.

Here is what I told the kids:

"That music you heard while you were coming up here was sung by a very famous lady. Today I want to tell you the story of Mahalia Jackson. This is a picture of her:

She was known as America's greatest gospel singer. If she were alive today she'd be almost 102 years old. She sang about Jesus to people who otherwise might not have listened. She was born in a very poor family. She was singing by the age of five years old. By age twelve she had to leave school to work full time in the Louisiana cotton fields. By age 16 she was working in the factories of Chicago. God had other plans for her though. I'm going to tell you her story in her own words. First I want you to listen to another clip from a famous song Mahalia recorded. (click here to listen). You might know it. It's called "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands."

Here's what Mahalia wrote in a book:

"I'd like to tell everyone that God's got the whole world in His hand. I'd like to tell everyone that God can take nothing, and make something out of it. If, for example, I have accomplished anything, it is nothing but the grace of God that has brought me this far: all the way from the backwoods of Louisiana to the great streets of Paris, to Carnegie Hall in New York, Albert Hall in London, The State Opera House in Vienna. God has sent me all over the world just singing the simple songs of the South. That's why I love to sing "He's Got The Whole World In His Hand." Anything you want, anything you want to be, anything you want to do, God is able to lift you up. But you have to have one thing--you have to have a made up mind. You don't straddle the fence serving God; we must put our all on the altar and let God abide. In my own life, in the early desperate days in New Orleans and Chicago, I learned to lean on the word of God. I still read the Bible every day and ask God to give me the understanding of His word...

...At this time in history so many people are longing for spiritual help. There never was a time when Christians needed to be more Christian than now. They need to feel themselves lifted up in the Lord. Because there are so many people today really seeking the Holy Spirit in their lives, they would like to know that God uses us. They would like to know the power God has given us. They would like to know God's got the whole world in His hands....

....I want to prove to young people that they can take what they've got and go to great heights if they believe in themselves and have faith in God. I say to them "The Lord took me, and I was nothing, and He put me up. It can happen to you, too. If the Lord can bring me this far - take me out of the washtubs and off my knees scrubbing other people's floors -- then He can do as much and more for others."

Isn't that a great inspirational piece? I found Mahalia telling her story in a book I got for 10 cents at a local thrift shop!

1949 TV Comedy The Life Of Riley

 Hard to believe that in 1949 there were already television sitcoms. "I Love Lucy" came on the scene at the end of 1951. Two years before that audiences were watching "The Life Of Riley" starring Jackie Gleason.

Remember Lucy wanting to tell Ricky she was going to have a baby? Remember them going to the hospital and Ricky being a nervous wreck. He needed more attention that Lucy? It was all in a "Life of Riley" episode.

Remember Ricky bringing home a fur coat and Lucy thinking it was a gift for her? He didn't know how to tell her it wasn't a gift for her? It was all in a "Life of Riley" episode.

Funny how we think that "I Love Lucy" was so inventive. It was, but they were already "borrowing" plots from other shows even in television's infancy. 

 


Pretty cool that we can watch these old shows on Roku or Youtube. Gleason was only on for one season as Chester Riley. William Bendix took over as he played the role on the radio version and in the movies. Gleason went on to bigger and better things. He never forgot his role of Riley apparently as on that show he used the line "You are a mental case," which of course Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners" was also heard to have uttered!
 
Jackie Gleason went on to major stardom in "The Honeymooners" and put Miami on the map with his shows from there. I read somewhere that his theater in Miami is in trouble. Apparently he isn't remembered as "The Great One" anymore. Wow. To those who don't remember him, YOU are a mental case!

Jack Benny's Lost Episodes

 One of my favorite TV shows (and old time radio shows) is The Jack Benny Program. Jack's comedy was sweet, gentle, and hilarious. Although he was on TV for years, his regular series is rarely seen on the air anymore. A year or so ago I caught several selected episodes on our local PBS station. The prints were pristine and the comedy was still excellent.

Oddly enough his television series never merited a dvd release in the eyes of whomever holds the rights to his show. These crystal clear filmed shows (probably from the late 50s/early 60s) would be prime in my book for public release.

Well, we won't see that anytime soon, but there will be some "new" Jack Benny material soon. CBS apparently rummaged through their vaults and found some material that hasn't been seen since its original airing. Wow.

 I've already put in my order for Jack's "lost episodes." I suggest you do the same and enjoy the funniest forever 39-year-old you've ever seen.

Here's the official press release from Shout Factory.
And here is a listing of the shows on the dvd!

The Lost Episodes

3-DVD Box Set

DISC 1

10/7/1956 Guests: George Burns, Spike Jones

Jack is extremely nervous about his debut at

Carnegie Hall. George Burns appears as the

devil and makes a Faustian pact with Jack

to make him the greatest concert artist. 

 

10/21/1956 Guests: George Gobel, Red Skelton

Jack and George Gobel vie to be

elected President of the Beverly Hills Beavers, a Boy Scout-

type organization of neighborhood youths. 

 

11/4/1956 “Jack Invited to the Colmans”

Guests: Ronald and Benita Colman

Jack mistakenly receives an invitation to a dinner at the home of Ronald and Benita Colman.

Arriving in his tuxedo, he tries in vain to pretentiously fit in with the upper-crust British

crowd. 

 

9/21/1958 Guest: Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper discusses his latest movie,

Man of the West, and Jack tries to get himself cast in

Coop’s next picture. The part is

for Cooper’s twin brother, and Jack attempts to man up and

measure up. 

 

10/4/1959 “Jack Switches Sponsors”

Jack is found sleeping because his show has

moved from 7:30 P.M. to 10:00 P.M., and

contemplates how his show will be 30 years from now. 

 

10/18/1959

Guest: President

Harry S. Truman

Jack recalls visiting the Truman

Library in Independence, Missouri. The former President

gives Jack a personal tour of

the facility, and they share their mutual love of music. 

 

Bonus Feature

Conversation With Actor And Satirist Harry

Shearer, Director Norman Abbott And Dorothy

Ohman

As a child actor, Harry Shearer built his acting

chops as a periodic performer on Jack’s radio

and television programs, including appearances

on Jack’s last weekly radio show. Norman

Abbott served as Jack’s television director

for two programs in 1961, then took up the mantle

consistently starting on December 31, 1963, through the end of Jack’s weekly television

series on April 16, 1965. Dorothy Ohman served

as Jack’s personal secretary and assistant

from 1957 through the remainder of his life. 

 

DISC 2

 

11/29/1959 Guest: Jack Paar

Jack Paar asks if Jack would replace him as a host on

The Tonight Show while Paar is on

vacation. 

 

3/6/1960 Guests: Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood

Jack tells CBS executives that he wants to “broaden out” and direct a

Playhouse 90 TV episode. He rehearses a dramatic scene with Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood, and chaos

ensues. 

 

4/17/1960 “The Easter Show”

Jack and his girlfriend, Mildred Meyerhauser,

dress up to walk in the Easter Parade on

Wilshire Boulevard. They encounter many of the usual gang of eccentrics, including Jack’s

long-suffering violin teacher, Professor LeBlanc. 

 

5/1/1960

Jack discusses his trip to the Far East,

including “Japan’s #1

announcer” doing the middle

commercial. The sponsors have a plan for cutting costs on the program, which leaves Jack

extremely wired. 

 

10/16/1960 Guests: George Burns, Tony Curtis, Robert Wagner, Mike Wallace

Everyone is talking about Jack’s show going weekly, and wondering if he is

up to the

challenge. 

 

10/30/1960

Guest: Milton Berle

Milton Berle coaches Jack on what it

takes to do a weekly comedy show. 

 

Bonus Features

Jack Benny’s New Look

December 3, 1969

Featuring guest star George Burns 

 

Jack Benny’s 20th Anniversary Special

February 17, 1969

Featuring guest stars Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra 

 

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Jack Benny

March 10, 1971

Featuring guest stars Lucille Ball and John Wayne. 

 

Jack Benny’s Second Farewell Special

January 24, 1974

Featuring guest stars Dinah Shore,

Don Rickles and George Burns. 

 

DISC 3

 

11/20/1960 Guests: Jaye P. Morgan, John Wayne

Jack introduces celebrities in

the audience, including John Wayne

. When guest singer Jaye P.

Morgan appears, Wayne whispers to Jack that

he wants a date with her – and gets it. 

 

12/24/1961 “Christmas Show”CBS is throwing a Christmas party, and Jack and Rochester give gifts to all the cast members.

2/18/1962 Guests: Hugh Downs, Rock Hudson

Jack debates the psychology of sex appeal with

Rock Hudson. Jack wants to do a show like

Jack Paar’sThe Tonight Show

, and illustrates the concept with the help of Hudson and Hugh

Downs. 

 

1/29/1963 “The Murder of ClaytonWorthington” 

 Guest: Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke says that he has been warned

that Jack “works his guests to death.” In the

skit, Jack plays an inspector investigating a murder who questions

 everyone in the house – all

played by Van Dyke. 

 

9/24/1963 “Reverend Billy Graham”

 Guest: Billy Graham

Jack, Don and Dennis imitate Peter, Paul, and Mary in response to the folk-singing craze.

Billy Graham asks Jack why comedians insult each other to get laughs, and the gang

demonstrates what would happen if they didn’t. 

 

12/25/1964

Guest: Gisele MacKenzie

Jack states that he let the members of his cast have the night off, so he

goes into the audience

to chat with the folks. There he finds Gisele

MacKenzie, and they perform their classic violin

duet. 

 

Bonus Features 

 

Hearst Newsreel, unedited footage May 1935

Jack delivers a ridiculous and difficult monologue about Daylight Saving Time. 

 

Hearst Newsreel, unedited footage May 1941

Revisiting Miss Suzy's Treehouse: Thanks Ma!

 

Once in a while some fond childhood memories come back. Since today is Mother's Day, I recalled growing up when my mom would read to me.  One of my favorite childhood books was "Miss Suzy"  by Miriam Young. Somewhere in a box of junk I still have the tattered book from the 1960s.

I looked up the book and this simple tale of a little gray squirrel who is chased out of her home by mean red squirrels is apparently in lots of baby boomer memories.  It was released in 1964 by Parents' Magazine Press. 

 You can read some of those fond baby boomer memories of Miss Suzie at several websites including here and here.  Miriam Young wrote a lot of other books but they don't look like they are in print anymore. Miss Suzie was re-issued after many requests from nostalgic readers. 

Hopefully a new generation will enjoy this heartwarming tale. Thanks Ma to reading it to me so long ago...along with the story of the Gingerbread man and Morris the Moose!

Do The Mambo!

 

 One of the biggest music/dance crazes of the 1950s was the mambo. One of my favorite mambo records is by Perez Prado. This is it:

 The mambo sound is a very happy sound. It was everywhere in its heyday and even sung about it popular music by such stars as Perry Como.

Perez was from Cuba but became famous after he moved to Mexico. Eventually he was "discovered" for the US and by 1951 was recording for RCA Victor.

Recently I heard his famous "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" arrangement on the ABC show "Dancing With The Stars." It wasn't played with as much pep as Perez used, but then as my wife says "they probably slowed it down a bit so they could dance easier to it!" The song was #1 in 1955. A few years ago someone released a version of his "Mambo #5". Of course the young whippersnappers think all of this is new material, but in reality it is all rehash of the mambo king himself, Perez Prado!

Here's another mambo artist, Edmundo Ros with Mambo Jambo. My grandpa had this record in his collection. 



Everybody do the mambo!