Jazzy Lady

Artist: Helen Merrill
Song: Listen (b-side) (a-side is Blue Guitar)
Label: Mercury 71166X45
Number: YW14187
Songwriters: Broussolle - Becaud - Sydney
Time: 2:35
Released: July 23rd, 1957

Helen Merrill was born as Jelena Ana Milcetic in New York City on July 21st, 1930. She is an internationally known jazz artist and has had success in Japan, Italy (where she lived for many years), and the United States. In a career that has spanned 6 decades, she has recorded and performed with some of the most notable figures in the American jazz scene. Helen has been married three times, first to musician Aaron Sachs, second time to UPI vice president Donald J Brydon, and third to arranger-conductor Torrie Zito. She has one child, a son, Allan P. Sachs, also a singer, who is professionally known as Alan Merrill.

She began singing in jazz clubs in the Bronx at the age of fourteen when she was with the Reggie Childs Orchestra during 1946-1947. By the time she was sixteen, Merrill had taken up music full time. In 1952, Merrill made her recording debut when she was asked to sing A Cigarette For Company with the Earl "Fatha" Hines Band. At this time she was married to musician Aaron Sachs. They divorced in 1956. As a result of the exposure she received from this song and two subsequent singles recorded for the Roost record label, Merrill was signed by Mercury Records for their new Emarcy label. In 1954, Merrill recorded her first (and to date most acclaimed) LP, an eponymous record featuring legendary jazz trumpet player Clifford Brown and bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford, among others. The album was produced and arranged by Quincy Jones, who was then just twenty-one years old. The success of Helen Merrill prompted Mercury to sign her for an additional four-album contract.

Merrill's follow-up was the 1956 LP, Dream of You, which was produced and arranged by bebop arranger and pianist Gil Evans. Other albums by her include Helen Merrill With Strings (1955), Merrill At Midnight (1957), The Nearness Of You (1958), You've Got A Date With The Blues (1959), and American Country Songs (1959). After recording sporadically through the late 1950's and 1960's, Merrill spent much of her time touring Europe, where she enjoyed more commercial success than she had in the United States. She settled for a time in Italy, recording an album there and doing live concerts with jazz notables Chet Baker, Romano Mussolini, and Stan Getz. Merrill returned to the U.S. in the 1960's, but moved to Japan in 1967 after touring there. Merrill developed a following in Japan that remains strong to this day. Another aspect of her career is that the consistently challenges herself stylistically and records in different musical genres. She has recorded a bossa nova album, a Christmas album, and an album's worth of Rodgers and Hammerstein, among many others. In 1970, she even released Helen Merrill Sings The Beatles. I'll have to check that one out myself! In all, Helen Merrill has recorded more than 40 albums. She returned to New York in 1972 where she now lives, making annual concert tours in Japan and Europe. She will be appearing at various Billboard Clubs of Japan - Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka, in 2009, so if you happen to be overseas next February, you might want to look her up.

Today's number is that finger-snapping type of jazz stylings that just goes down well. As far as I can ascertain, it was only a single release and never appeared on an album when it was originally recorded. I suppose since she was near the end of her contract time with Mercury, they didn't include it on an album for one reason or another. But that's a shame, because it's a catchy little number and displays her vocal talents front and center. She is backed by Hal Mooney and His Orchestra and the track really swings. So, don't deprive yourself of this aural experience and get Helen Merrill as she exhorts you to Listen. You'll be glad you did!

Great Minds, Etc.

I was going through a stack of my old 45's and the phrase on this sleeve happened to catch my eye:

It was on a Mercury sleeve, and the record inside was by Johnny Jay. The songs were Tears (Keep On Falling) b/w Sugar Doll, and they were released on October 31st, 1957 - Hallowe'en no less! You'll probably get to hear it sooner or later here on Music For Every Mood. Because, what is it they say? Great minds think alike?

Pretty Kitty

Artist: Kitty Kallen
Song: I Never Was The One (b-side) (a-side is Crying Roses)
Label: Decca 9-30516 (Sample Copy - Not For Sale)
Number: 103,608
Songwriters: Johnny Graham - Frank La Motta
Time: 2:19
Released: 1958

Kitty Kallen was born in Philadelphia on May 25th, 1922, and while still a child sang on the radio program The Children's Hour. As a pre-teen she had her own program on Philadelphia's WCAU, and soon she sang as a vocalist with the big bands of Jan Savitt in 1936, Artie Shaw in 1938, and Jack Teagarden in 1940. After a short stay with Bobby Sherwood, she joined the Jimmy Dorsey band, replacing Helen O'Connell. Though only a teenager at the time, she was the vocalist for one of Dorsey's biggest hits, Besame Mucho. Most of her singing assignments were in duets with Bob Eberly, and when Eberly left to go into the service toward the end of 1943, she joined Harry James' band.

In the spring of 1949, Kitty Kallen had her first chart hit under her own name with Kiss Me Sweet, with Mitch Miller on Mercury Records #5265 which made it to the top 30. After the hits Juke Box Annie, with Harry Geller's orchestra, Our Lady Of Fatima, recorded with singer Richard Hayes and Jimmy Caroll's orchestra, and The Aba Dabba Honeymoon, things were looking up for Kitty Kallen. However she all but disappeared from the music scene, and there were many reports that she had lost her voice, or was tired of the business. In any event Kitty Kallen was absent from the music scene for more than two years.

In late 1953, a Decca release by Kitty, Are You Looking For A Sweetheart? charted into the top 30. That was just a warmup for the recently returned vocalist who was on the verge of a huge year in 1954. The song Little Things Mean A Lot was recorded for Decca in the spring of the year and was a monster hit, one of the biggest of the post war era. It stayed at the number one spot for nine consecutive weeks and remained on the charts for close to seven months. It sold more than two million copies and certainly cemented Kallen's place in pop music history.

1955 was the year that rock and roll took over and Kitty Kallen would seem to be just one more casualty from the pop music field, but she did have a couple more songs which charted. Go On With The Wedding was a top forty seller in early 1956. In 1959, she had a national hit with If I Give My Heart To You, which climbed into the top 35 best selling records. And in the early Sixties when the world was on the cusp of the British Invasion, RCA released My Coloring Book in early 1963 and Kitty Kallen was back on the hit charts. The recording lasted two months on the charts and got to the number 18 slot on the best sellers lists.

As of this writing, Kitty Kallen has retired from the world of show business and divides her time between her homes in New Jersey and Mexico where she spends the winter months. She has said that she had no gimmicks but sang from the heart. For her recording work, she received a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To many people, Kitty Kallen will always be Pretty Kitty Kallen.

Today's offering was from her late 1950's career and is a very touching song indeed. She presents it with her usual warmness and you just want to hug her. With an orchestra directed by Jack Pleis, she sings about falling in love for the first time. So be sure to get Kitty Kallen singing I Never Was The One, and you'll fall in love with the voice of Pretty Kitty.

The Wheel Of Fortune Spins

Artist: Sunny Gale
Song: How Could You (a-side) (b-side is I Feel Like I'm Gonna Live Forever)
Label: RCA Victor 47-5216
Number: E2VW-7787
Songwriters: Bert Douglas - Bennie Martini
Time: 2:41
Released: 1953

Sunny Gale came out of nowhere on a small, independent label in the early 1950's to have a spectacular, if brief career, that ended too early with the onset of Rock and Roll. Born Selma Sega, she grew up in a neighborhood in Philadelphia from which several future singers that graced the American music scene in the fifties and early sixties also called home. Eddie Fisher, Al Martino, Buddy Greco, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian were some of the entertainers that hailed from the same area. By 1951, Selma decided that she would give show business a try and was soon known by the colorful stage name of Sunny Gale. She eventually found herself with a shot at a recording session for a New York independent label called Derby Records. Head arranger for the label Eddie Wilcox picked out a tune that had been recorded for RCA by Johnny Hartman in the spring of that year. Now at the end of 1951, the tunes Wheel Of Fortune b/w You Showed Me The Way were recorded and released on Derby #787.

By early January after only a few weeks of having been issued, Wheel Of Fortune started a run up the charts. Close to fifty thousand copies are sold which is out of the ordinary for a small independent label in the early Fifties. Soon a number of cover versions hit the market and one by Kay Starr for Capitol leaped out in front on the national pop charts. Sunny Gale's version with it's great arrangement by Wilcox scored in both the pop and R & B fields and was a huge plus for the independent label group. On the pop charts, Gale's version of the song got as high as the number thirteen position and had a stay of two months. Despite the hit status of this record, Derby Records ran into financial problems and it's future was uncertain. Sunny Gale, with a smash hit on her first try, decided to move to a big major label, RCA Victor.

A few months later Sunny Gale was back on the best seller charts for RCA Victor with the song I Laughed At Love. This was another good seller, got into the top fifteen, and stayed on the charts for two months. Some of the further hits she had for the label included Teardrops On My Pillow, A Stolen Waltz, Love Me Again, Before It's Too Late, Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight, Smile and Let Me Go Lover, which was originally recorded by another artist already featured here on Music For Every Mood, Joan Weber. Gale's version of the song entered the top twenty in early 1955 and would be the last time she would appear on the best sellers charts.

Sunny made appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, at the Amsterdam News 15th annual Midnight Benefit Show, which was held at the Apollo Theater and The Brooklyn Academy of Music All Star Show, which featured such artists as The Ink Spots, Red Buttons, Lena Horne and many others. Other songs she recorded were Send My Baby Back To Me, Meanwhile, An Old Familiar Love Song, Mama's Gone Goodbye, The Note In The Bottle, Just In Case You Change, Close To Me, Dream Dream Dream, Don't Cry Mama, Unsuspecting, Constantly, Certainly Baby, C'est La Vie, Looking Glass, Devotion, Rock And Roll Wedding, Winner Take All, Try A Little Prayer, Our Love Is A Sad Song, Georgie Porgie, Two Hearts, One Kiss Led To Another, Maybe You'll Be There, Let's Be Friendly, My Arms Are A House, Don't Worry 'Bout Me, Who Are We To Say, A Meeting Of The Eyes, I Don't Want Your Greenback Dollar, A Certain Smile, Just Friends, Oh What It Seemed To Be, The Gypsy Told Me So and today's song, from 1953, which featured a chorus and orchestra conducted by Ralph Burns.

After her hits stopped coming, she was mostly just a memory of the pre-rock fifties, but Sunny Gale came out of nowhere on a small independent label in early 1952 and stood the world of pop music on it's ear, and for a time was a solid hitmaker for RCA. Listening to How Could You, one can certainly hear the charms that her voice had. It's a peppy little number that should have had more chart action for her. It's one of those songs that, even though the theme is downbeat and the singer is talking about being treated wrong, it still picks you up when you listen to it. So download How Could You, by Sunny Gale and treat yourself to something special. Spin the wheel of fortune and I know you'll come up with a winner!

Brothers In Arms

Artist: The Kalin Twins
Song: The Meaning Of The Blues (a-side) (b-side is Why Don't You Believe Me)
Label: Decca 9-30977 (Pink Label, Sample Copy - Not For Sale)
Number: 108 044
Songwriters: Don Wolf - Ben Raleigh
Time: 2:10
Released: September 1959

And now, part two of a special sibling's post. This one features two brothers - two twin brothers, to be exact! The Kalin Twins, Harold (known as Hal), and Herbert (known as Herb, both born on February 16th, 1934), remain the archetypal one-hit wonders. Their only top ten chart hit - When - may have cruelly prophesied the question as to their further success. Originally discovered by Clint Ballard Jr, the sibling duo had a couple of early recording flops. However, in 1958, after searching through piles of writers' demo tapes, their management discovered the song called When, written by Paul Evans and Jack Reardon. It got to Number 5 in the U.S., and sold over two million copies in the process. They did manage to have a modest follow-up hit with Forget Me Not, which peaked at Number 12 later that year.

Eventually, disillusioned with no chart success, the brothers returned to their day jobs, with each pursuing college degrees. They did not perform again until 1977, when a mutual friend booked them to appear at his new night club. Sometimes they performed with their younger sibling, Jack, and thus appeared as the Kalin Brothers. They disappeared again as a performing act, until 1989. Then, their one-time support act, Cliff Richard, invited them to play at his Wembley Stadium The Event concerts, as part of a sequence paying homage to the 1950's TV pop show Oh Boy! Harold Kalin was killed in an automobile accident, on August 24th, 2005, at the age of 71, whilst his slightly younger brother, Herbert, died as a result of a heart attack less than eleven months later, on July 21st, 2006. They were still performing up to the time of Hal's death.

Some of their other records were Jumpin' Jack, Walkin' To School, Three O'Clock Thrill, Oh! My Goodness, It's Only The Beginning and Sweet Sugar Lips.

In today's record, perhaps in several of their others, too, they sound a lot like The Everly Brothers - both in voice and musical arrangements. Which was not necessarily a bad thing! The Meaning Of The Blues, an upbeat little number which contrasts with the style the title would have you thinking of, is an instant classic duet. The brothers' harmonies are perfect and their musical accompaniement is first rate. So, download and listen to a great song that could have climbed to the top of the charts, but didn't, The Meaning Of The Blues, by The Kalin Twins. So when are you going to do it? You know you have to have this one, too!

Two.... Two.... Two Sisters In One Song

Artist: Patience and Prudence
Song: Heavenly Angel (a-side) (b-side is Little Wheel)
Label: Liberty F-55125
Number: 45-LB-820
Songwriters: G. Motola - J. Marascalco
Time: 2:00
Released: 1958

This post is part one of a special sibling-related double header. The first one features sisters named Patience and Prudence - the next one will feature brothers. Most of you will remember their big hit entitled Tonight You Belong To Me. Their story begins in 1956.

14-year-old Patience and 11-year-old Prudence McIntyre were singing a song they had learned at camp the previous summer one day in April 1956, while the family was driving home from a visit to friends in Malibu. The song, written and recorded as a waltz in 1927, was Tonight You Belong To Me. Recalling her first exposure to the song, Patience explains, "Tonight was an around-the-campfire tune that was already in 4/4 when we picked it up. It was Mom's idea to record it for the grandparents." The demo they cut with their dad Mark came to the attention Si Waronker at Liberty Records. It was recut and then Mr. Waronker took possession of the tapes. The McIntyre family was going away for a two-week vacation, but in the meantime, Liberty Records pressed their single and it became a huge local hit. They were completely unprepared for the surprise that greeted them when they returned home. Thanks to a Boston disc jockey who had played the record fourteen times in one day, Tonight You Belong To Me had broken wide open. By September it was on Billboard magazine's national pop record chart, peaking at Number 4 on October 6th and selling 200,000 copies. This led to the follow-up hit of Gonna Get Along Without You Now b/w The Money Tree, which rose to a respectable Number 12 on the charts.

But, after recording several more singles in their vintage/pop style, Patience and Prudence would not have any more hits. In 1958, Liberty tried backing the sisters with a rock and roll combo, but these recordings didn't dent the charts. Later in 1959, they were paired with a young singer named Mark Clifford, also a Liberty Records artist. These recordings didn't fare any better. Then, in 1964, they had one more stab at recording and produced four sides for the Los Angeles-based Chattahoochee label. These songs failed to garner the attention they deserved and the sisters' career effectively ended. With the exception of a Dick Clark TV special in 1978, they never performed again.

Which brings us to today's song, one of their failed attempts to re-enter the charts in 1958. Several of their follow-up recordings to their two hits were great records, but just missed catching on with the general public at large for some unknown reason. Such is the music business, I suppose. Heavenly Angel is quite a good little tune. The combo backing them manages to convey the sound of a much larger band and the girls' themselves provided counter harmonies. So, if you remember these sisters from their hits in 1956, you're sure to like this recording of Heavenly Angel by Patience and Prudence. Download this great tune and tonight, they're impeccable harmonies will belong to you!

What Happens In Vegas....

Artist: Louis Prima and Keely Smith
Song: The Apple Core Song (b-side) (a-side is The Apple Core Song)
Label: Dot 45-16221
Number: MB-15893
Songwriters: Mustapha (?) - English words by Jackie Barnett
Time: 2:45
Released: June 23rd, 1961

Louis Prima and Keely Smith were stalwarts of the Las Vegas lounge-act scene in the 1950's; right there along with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and the rest of the Rat Pack. Louis' career started back in 1920's, with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band. Then, adapting to the changing musical climates, he successively led a swing combo in the 1930's, a big band in the 1940's, a Vegas lounge act in the 1950's, and a pop-rock band in the 1960's. In each of his musical endeavors, he incorporated his exuberant personality into his act. In 1949, he added Keely Smith as the girl singer in his big band, but times were again changing. The popularity of the big band sound had started to wane, so he asked a good friend to get him a gig at the Sahara Lounge in Vegas. Louis Prima met his backup band for the show for the first time once he arrived. Sam Butera was a saxophonist he knew and instructed him to gather a few musicians for the debut show. Once there, the backing band became known as Sam Butera and The Witnesses, who also provide the musical accompaniment on today's song.

Keely Smith showed a natural aptitude for singing at a very young age. At 14, she started singing with a naval air station band led by Saxie Dowell. At 15, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett Band. Keely made her professional debut with Louis Prima in 1949; they were married in 1953 and had two daughters. Smith played the straight guy in the duo to Prima's wild antics and they recorded many popular duets. Most famous of them being That Old Black Magic in 1958, which was awarded the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus.

By 1961, according to Keely, the couple had begun to drift farther and farther apart. One night, he refused to conduct for one of her performances, delegating the task to Sam Butera instead. A few days later they were in court, petitioning for divorce. Today's song must surely have been one of the last recordings they made together! She then signed with Reprise Records, where her musical director was Nelson Riddle.

Louis Prima (born December 7th, 1910) died on August 24th, 1978 in New Orleans of brain tumor surgery complications. Keely Smith (born March 9th, 1932), continues to perform and release albums that are critically acclaimed.

Today's record is an anomaly, in that both sides are the identical same track. I have chosen one side, not absolutely sure it was the b-side or not. But, it doesn't matter - both sides sound identical to me. Despite the fact that this was probably their last record together, Louis and Keely sound tight and are working together as a team. It's a peppy little number from France, translated to English for our market. If the male voice in this record sounds familiar, it's probably because Louis also did the voice of the orangutan King Louie in the 1967 Walt Disney movie Jungle Book. So be sure and get this happy little number called The Apple Core Song, by Louis Prima and Keely Smith. I can almost guarantee you'll go "ape" over it!