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!

Vintage TV is back -- on the Roku -- We dumped Dish network

 It's not too often that The Nostalgic Rambler embraces modern technology.  Sometimes people push us into it and recently it paid off big time. We have had Dish Network for years. Their price went up recently and we thought to ourselves "who needs this same old same old programming anymore at fees that don't justify what we watch?"

Enter the Roku. What is the Roku you might ask? I never heard of it until a few weeks ago when JaCk, (yes "JaCk" NOT "Jack") Copeland told me about it.  It's the latest thingie you hook up to your TV. Using a wireless internet connection it allows you to watch practically anything imaginable on TV and much of it is FREE.

Do you know what a Pub D Hub is? I didn't. It is the Public Domain Hub on the Roku. It is one of several channels allowing me to live in the past. Who knew the 1950s tv show "I Married Joan" could still be seen in 2013? It's here on Roku! I always get a kick out of hearing the announcer proclaim "America's Favorite Comedy Show with America's Queen of Comedy Joan Davis." Joan who? Lucy doesn't have anything to worry about, but it's fun to watch Joan try to be another Lucy.  Jim Backus aka Mr. Howell aka Mr. Magoo is also this series. 

 The Desilu Production of Our Miss Brooks starring Eve Arden is another great ancient find. Lots of Lucy alumni on the show and behind the scenes including Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft. It's on the Roku!

 I have watched some Best of Groucho on the Roku, The Lucy Show, The Jack Benny Program, and Our Gang comedies. Lots of old movies are on the Roku as well from Bob Hope/Bing Crosby to Shirley Temple. There are lots of obscurities I never saw on my Dish Network package.I even watched "Rescue from Gilligan's Island."  Hokey but lots of fun.

The Roku allows us to watch several of my church's channels, German news and movies, cool programming from The Smithsonian Channel and (as they used to say in the commercials) much much more. The Roku is available on line or at stores like Walmart or Best Buy. There is so much to watch I better cut this blog short to get back to the TV!

In Search of Andy Williams' Sweater

The Nostalgic Rambler is always in fashion wearing Perry Como-esque cardigan sweaters.  Although recently they have been easier to find, they were almost non existent in the stores until I set the fashion trend once again. 

Recently I've been watching the 1960s series "The Andy Williams Show." Andy wore these great V pattern sweaters, which I found out were made by a company called Parker of Vienna. They are the ultimate in cool! 

Donnie Osmond even had one

He wore all different colors on various shows, from yellow to blue to red, all with the similar V pattern design. This was probably to showcase the brand new NBC shows "in living color."

I wanted one of those sweaters to augment my Perry Como type cardigans. Now the problem. Since this was about 50 years ago, there is no more Parker of Vienna. Everyone that had those sweaters probably had them eaten by moths long ago. I can't ask Andy for one as he isn't around anymore. My wife to the rescue........she got out her knitting needles and made me one. Thanks Sweetie! 

And..........Here it is! Moon River anyone?

                    (From the show featuring guest star Henry Mancini --see him on the left?!)

Great American Songbook: Mitch Miller

 

Recently I read the biography of Tony Bennett called "Life is a Gift: The Zen Of Bennett." It was an interesting read but frustrating at times. Like many other singers of the 1950s, Tony didn't like working under Columbia Records A&R genius Mitch Miller. I use the word "genius" on purpose as Miller sure had the pulse of the public right as far as music in the 1950s is concerned. He shaped the careers of Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, Guy Mitchell and Rosemary Clooney to name a few. He picked a lot of the songs they recorded, including novelty tunes the public ate up as fast as he could release them.

 Even though this meant best selling records for many artists, many of the singers didn't like recording what they thought was drivel. Tony Bennett wanted to record jazz, not songs like "In the Middle of an Island".  It was one of 1957's top sellers. Tony made a lot of people happy with his recordings of that era, but after reading his book it seems like he forgot what Columbia and Mitch did for his career. Would he have been as popular without those songs?

Other Columbia artists like Rosemary Clooney also complained bitterly for years about having to record those songs. She wanted to do jazz as well and later did so very successfully. That's great, but why always put down the popular music they sang earlier?

Jo Stafford (my favorite singer) was teamed with Frankie Laine by Mitch Miller. They recorded a lot of fun songs and some stinkers like Chow Willy.  Well, it is catchy but as Jo herself once said "Chow Willy?!"

 

The Mitch Miller legend went on for years, reaching its height in the 1960s with his very TV show "Sing Along With Mitch."  On that show the music was mostly of the early Tin Pan Alley or folk song days.

 

Tony Bennett wants to sing "The Great American Songbook." But what exactly is that? Everyone seems to have their own opinion and the collective amnesia about what popular music was in the 1940s and 50s seems to be brushed aside. I sometimes think I'm fighting a losing battle about all of this. In my mind "The Great American Songbook" includes popular music of the 1920s through 1950s and includes songs the public loved during those years.  Despite what Tony thinks, the public never embraced jazz as popular music. "In The Middle Of An Island" isn't jazz and Tony might not want to sing it anymore, but it IS a part of that great musical heritage of American Popular Music and The Nostalgic Rambler's version of the Great American Songbook (hey if everyone else seems to define it, so can I!).....

I have the first Johnny Mathis album before he was molded by Mitch and the Columbia folks. It isn't noteworthy.  Under Mitch Johnny Mathis recorded some great albums for Columbia...his best in my opinion.  After those successes he decided to pick his own stuff.  His success never matched those iconic years.

Doris Day had that great sound of the the happy 1950s. Mitch Miller once again.  

The first Nostalgic Rambler blog several years back was on Mitch Miller. I'm revisiting him today as I induct him into the Nostalgic Rambler Great American Songbook Hall Of Fame, despite what Rosemary, Tony, Jo and Johnny might have said about him.  Congrats Mitch! And we forgive you for Chow Willy....

Vic Damone: Singing Was The Easy Part

 As you probably know by now I'm a sucker for biographies on famous singers and just when I thought I probably read them all, here comes another one! Vic Damone is a pretty underrated singer today. In his heyday he was starring in his own television show and guesting on everyone else's. It looks like he has long since retired, although he does have a web presence. I think he even lives in Florida, like me --and his old buddy Perry Como did. (Can I come over for a visit Mr. Damone?!)

 The company he hung out with makes for a very fascinating read in his bio entitled "Singing Was The Easy Part." He stopped on elevator and auditioned for Perry Como (he named his son Perry after Como) . Frank Sinatra saved his life. He dated Jack Benny's daughter Joan. From his many marriages to his embracing of the Baha'i religion, the book is full of twists and turns and interesting anecdotes. The famed interviewer Larry King calls Vic a National Treasure. Larry says he wishes he could be Vic Damone...and as a crooner wannabe myself, I wish I could belt it out like he does!

 The Nostalgic Rambler recommends this book as well as the above CD for a good representation of his work.

Here are a few great Vic Damone clips for you. "On The Street Where You Live" and "Gigi" are signature tunes. Here are a few tv appearances: with Andy Williams and Bobby Darin (can you watch it without a smile on your face? Wow!) or here with Judy Garland and songs from West Side Story.

Harry Belafonte: More Than Calypso

February is Black History Month...or is it African American History Month? I dunno which is politically correct and since the Nostalgic Rambler is as white as a sheet, we probably just don't get it. Maybe we should? My record collection is filled with the likes of famed black artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Mahalia Jackson, and Harry Belafonte. Over the years I have heard about and winced at the terrible things these people had to endure during their lifetimes due to their skin color. I'm hoping that's all over with now but it did happen.

I've been on another calypso kick lately and have been enjoying some Harry Belafonte. This is one of his great albums which sold hundreds of thousands of copies. It's listed as one of the 1950s top selling records and includes The Banana Boat Song and Jamaica Farewell.

 People sure are strange though. Despite his music being adored by blacks and whites, some people got in an unroar when Harry and Petula Clark sang on tv together and touched each other !

 Nat King Cole was one of the first blacks to have his own tv show and many stations in the south of the US wouldn't carry his show because of his race.

 The Nostalgic Rambler grew up in the 1960s and didn't realize all of this was going on until much later. It's a good thing to educate kids on what went on back then. A documentary I found called "Harry Belafonte Sing Your Song" is a good way to do this.
To me though shows like this just leave me wanting more music. Harry turned into quite a political activist. A few clips of his music and tv shows are shown on the documentary, but that wasn't enough for me. Apparently Revlon sponsored two award winning television shows he starred in.... I want to see them but alas there were only a few clips shown. He didn't do any more as people got in an uproar that blacks were appearing with whites and vice versa. Hard to believe. 

 Oh well, back to those old Calypso albums.

Nostalgic Rambler discovers Loretta Young!

 Thanks to a recent screening on "Me TV" (an over the air broadcaster presenting classic TV shows) I have discovered the 1950s classic program "The Loretta Young Show" aka "Letters To Loretta."

I didn't know much about Loretta.  I have a copy of her 1947 film "The Farmer's Daughter" which is quite charming. After her famed film career she turned to television to be able to tell stories with a moral. The series won three Emmys and ran from 1953 to 1961.

 Loretta was always very style conscious and would make her grand entrance on her show wearing very fashionable gowns.  Despite being black and white, the audience loved it. Loretta  apparently even sued when years later her show was re-broadcast. She didn't want them showing her in outdated fashions!

 Her tv show was an anthology series, meaning she played different characters in different storylines. Unlike the shows on television these days, these scripts had heart and were very riveting.

There is an official Loretta Young webpage you can visit here. Me TV also has episodes of her show on line here. Pretty cool. You can watch her show whenever you want.

I love programs like "I Love Lucy" but they are run ad nauseum! Actually Lucy is about the last hold out of 1950s TV still being broadcast. Too bad we can't get someone to wake up and run Loretta's show more often. True, her gowns are outdated, but then the fashion of today looks like trash compared to the elegance of the 1950s and early 60s.