October 7, 2019

Nour El Houda – Ala Oum El Manadili

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Born Alexandra Nicholas Badran in 1924, in Mersin, Turkey, to Lebanese parents, she changed her name to Nour el Houda (“Light of Guidance”) just as she was becoming a famous actress and singing star. During her long career, which began at ten years old, El Houda recorded a huge chunk of classical, religious and popular Arabic songs and is considered one of the greatest Lebanese singers. For her tone, intonation, power and control, she was hailed as “the Girl with the Golden Voice” and was a cultural sensation for almost 30 years.

“Ala Oum el Manadili” is mostly a big, insistent groove and melody which eventually open up into a slow, bare, and moody bridge section that allows you to really hear her incredible vocal talent, before taking it back to the top for a fierce finale. Besides the lead voice and backing singers, the instruments I hear are the mijwiz (a reed clarinet), tablah, the buzuq (strings, long-fretted neck and a tone like a viola), and handclaps. The arrangement and the sounds are pretty typical for middle 1950s, popular Arabic recordings.

This is a song on two sides, so I edited them together in Logic Pro.

 

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October 4, 2019

Fascination – Love You, Girl (Thai folk dance)

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This is a Thai luk thung 78 I found in a flea market in Chiang Mai. Luk thung, which translates to “children of the field”, is the name of a folk/country genre of music that developed in the central rural areas of Thailand after WWII. The sound can be described as traditional Siamese/Thai elements combined with Western musical instruments (mostly brass and electronic) and styles emerging in 1940s and 50s America.

I had the great luck of having my friend Oraboon “Taeng” Imchai Bulut from Doisaket, Thailand, translate the writing on this very rare disc. So, the artist is called Fascination and the song is “Love You Girl (Thai folk dance); and it is catalogue number R.H. 2001 on the Hong Barge label, which is one of hundreds of tiny, obscure labels operating at the time. I am guessing this is from around 1959. That’s about all know at this time, unfortunately, wish I knew more…

The “Love You, Girl” melody is sung by a male tenor voice on top of a simple arrangement of accordion and percussion. The moody, serpentine-slow groove and harmonic flutters from the accordion are all that’s needed to float the lover’s passionate incantation.

 

 

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March 7, 2019

Tito Rodriguez – Donde Estabas Tu?

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Pablo Rodriguez Lozada, better known as “Tito” Rodriguez (“tito” meaning “uncle” and sometimes “giant” in Puerto Rican Spanish) was a massively popular bandleader, singer and arranger in the 1950s when the mambo and cha-cha craze was at its height in the U.S. During this era he was just about as renowned and requested as the great Tito Puente, another legendary timbalero, who was also Rodriguez’s rival in the salsa and Latin scenes of the 50s and 60s.

This is the other side of Tito Rodriguez, “Desert Dance” (on TICO #10-035A) from the last post, and it is a groovy, medium-burning mambo called “Donde Estabas Tu?”, “where were you?.”

 

 

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February 17, 2019

Tito Rodriguez – Desert Dance

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Pablo Rodriguez Lozada, better known as “Tito” Rodriguez (“tito” meaning “uncle” and sometimes “giant” in Puerto Rican Spanish) was a massively popular bandleader, singer and arranger in the 1950s when the mambo and cha-cha craze was at its height in the U.S. During this era he was just about as renowned and requested as the great Tito Puente, another legendary timbalero, who was also Rodriguez’s rival in the salsa and Latin scenes of the 50s and 60s.

This side, “Desert Dance”, written by R. K. Mozian, is a characteristic mover-and-groover from his repertoire that features flawless execution from the horns and rhythm section, particularly the pianist who I can’t seem to identify, and of course Señor Rodriguez’s timbales sound crisp and solidly “in the pocket.” Such a hidden classic.

 

 

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February 6, 2019

Dizzy Brown – Cecelia

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This is a really swanky, swingin’ little instrumental number from 1955 on the TEEN label; it features piano and a drummer playing a small kit setup that includes one or two tambourines. It pulses along like a good-time get-together with the right party crowd, full of light-hearted merriment and boozy smiles all around.

“Dizzy Brown” was one of the many aliases of pianist, bandleader, orchestra leader, record producer and record company executive Bernie Lowe. He founded TEEN Records that same year, and also the Cameo label in 1956, both which were dedicated to rock, soul, doo-wop and folk rock groups. He also wrote or co-wrote many well-known hits in the 1950s and 60s, including Elvis’ “(Let Me Be) Your Teddy Bear”, Charlie Grace’s “Ninety-Nine Ways”, “Teen Age Prayer” by Gale Storm, and Chubby Checker’s “That’s The Way It Goes”, as well as many Bobby Rydell tunes that charted. Lowe was quite important to the growth of rock-n-roll during this era just as it was entering the true mainstream of American music.

 

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January 27, 2019

Vince Martin – Cindy, Oh Cindy

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“Cindy, Oh Cindy” was a 1956 Top 40 hit for folk & rock pioneer Vince Martin; it was his initial breakthrough onto the national music scene. In the 1960s he released a well-known, considered “seminal”, album of folk-rock called Tear Down These Walls with a band that included John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful.

“Cindy, Oh Cindy” is a calypso-tinged arrangement of the Barron & Long penned song which features the backing band The Tarriers, which itself features a young Alan Arkin, the legendary actor, director and screenwriter, playing guitar and singing vocal harmony. Vince Martin sings in his beautiful tenor a lyric about a sailor at sea longing for a love he left behind when he joined the Navy…

This was released on the small 1950s label Glory out of New York city which specialized in pop, r&b and folk, and which recorded many less-known, but incredible, vocal groups. These singles, especially on 78rpm, are much sought after by collectors.

 

 

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January 19, 2019

Jack and Betty – Satisfied Mind

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I can’t find any information whatsoever about this duo, Jack and Betty, who seem to be lost to history at this point. And it also seems like this is their only record: TEEN 107A, “Satisfied Mind” and 107B, “This Is My Story”.

From 1955, “Satisfied Mind” made a moderate-sized splash as a popular jukebox rendition of this Red Hayes & Jack Rhodes C+W classic which has been covered many times since it was first recorded that same year. Even Jeff Buckley, the 1990s NYC songbird who tragically died way too young at 30yrs old, did a cover of this tune, which is really amazing, and it is available on the Columbia Records release “Live at Sin-E” (Legacy Edition.) This, however, is my favorite take of this beautiful secular hymn. Jack plays the rhythm guitar and Betty plays the organ, and they sing in harmony virtually the whole time. There is also an unknown electric guitar player plucking some great sounding lead lines, wish I knew who that was… The simplicity of the arrangement, the passion in the playing and the singing, and just one hell of a lyric, make for a powerful, haunting piece of Americana.

 

 

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January 1, 2019

Jimmy Coe and his Gay Cats of Rhythm – The Jet

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A legendary side man saxophonist for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Freddie Hubbard, Carl Perkins and Gladys Knights and the Pips, Jimmy Coe already had a previous recording career in the 40s and 50s and got his start playing in Jay McShann’s band sharing seats with the everlasting Charlie “Bird” Parker.

“The Jet,” on the small mid-50s Chicago label States Recording Company, is a great little groovy B3 Hammond organ and saxophone jammy-jam, and a relentless 2-and-a-half-minute flight of fancy. This virtually unknown number makes its way into many of my 78s set out in the wilds of nighttime party gigs and clubs.

Happy New Year 2019!

 

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December 15, 2018

Tito Puente – Mambo Rama

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Tito Puente is a musical legend whose success and popularity helped bring the music and culture of Puerto Rico, Cuba and Africa to larger mainstream audiences around the world. Very often referred to as the “King of Timbales”, Puente was born in NYC in 1923 to immigrant Puerto Rican parents, and was raised in Spanish Harlem. A naturally talented and artistic child, his career spanned six decades of the 20th century, with many, many international performances, achievements, and awards; and his discography is considered a cultural treasure. A couple of notable examples of his lasting legacy are: his 1958 album Dance Mania is listed in the National Recording Registry, and his song, “Oye Como Va”, which is considered a standard (and which Carlos Santana took to even greater heights when he released his version in 1963.)

Here he is performing his pulsating, hypnotic “Mambo Rama” with his orchestra in 1955; and man do those horns sound amazing. On the New York label TICO.

 

Tito Puente - Mambo Rama

 

July 27, 2018

David Seville – Armen’s Theme

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David Seville, aka Rostom “Ross” Sipan Bagdasarian, was the son of Armenian immigrants who grew up in Fresno, California. He was an actor, musician, composer and voice actor who was very successful writing music scores for movies. He actually invented Alvin and the Chipmunks in the mid 1950s and was a pioneer in altering tape speeds to change singing and speaking voices for many of his projects!

“Armen’s Theme”, is a nice, bright slice of rare 78rpm lounge from 1956; featuring some killer organ and tastefully delayed guitar; this is what I would call a “snazzy number.”

 

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