Big Bands - Glen Gray

After a terrific hour of lighting the memory fires by way of Public Television, I was inspired to visit Amazon to see if the same cuts are available on CDs. They are! So I bought a three-disc box and I'm lovin' every minute of it. Next month, I'll get another album. And on and on. (Since AIG executives are living high on the hog on my retirement funds, I have to buy stuff like great music, piecemeal. Food, I buy on a regular basis, hoping to survive long enough to enjoy The Big Bands.) A footnote to all this: Many years ago, before the Middle World War, I played second trumpet in a road band owned of one of New York's biggies--Mickey Katz and His Kittens. I was one of the Kittens. Mickey is (was) the father of the great Joel Grey of Broadway fame. I played in the dance band on board the S.S. Goodtime, sailing daily between Cleveland and Cedar Point, Ohio. Hey, Amazon and PBS: Thanks for the memoories! Bob Montgomery

I am highly satisfied with my purchase. The Benny Goodman record arrived on time, and in tact. When played, the sound is high quality. This seller is easy to work with, and I will gladly purchase from them again in the future.

This is but one volume of the massive Time-Life "mail order only" Big Band series of a couple of decades ago which covered all the early greats, and if you can get your hands on one of these Glen Gray editions at the price being shown, go for it. Fast while they last. The sound reproduction is excellent, and in the fold-out insert you get just over two full pages on the career of bandleader Glen Gray Knoblaugh who named his orchestra after the famous Toronto castle-turned-hotel, along with another two pages providing notes on each selection (author not identified). Also, there is a complete discography of the contents, including musicians involved, which range from 1931 to 1942. The tracks, with the date recorded and, where applicable, vocalist, label number and chart performance, are: 1) Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet - March 23, 1931 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Brunswick 6100); 2) When I Take My Sugar To Tea - March 23, 1931 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Brunswick 6085; 3) Chinatown, My Chinatown -Sept 17, 1934 - Decca 199; 4) Stompin' Around - Septr 24, 1934 - Decca 286; 5) Under A Blanket Of Blue - Sept 28, 1939 - vocal by Kenny Sargent - Decca 3193; 6) Casa Loma Stomp - July 23, 1937 - Decca 1412; 7) The Object Of My Affection - Nov 16, 1934 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 298 = # 10 Dec 1934/Jan 1935; 8) A Study In Brown - Feb 4, 1937 - Decca 1159; 9) For You - July 23, 1937 - vocal by Kenny Sargent - Decca 1412 as the flip of track 6); 10) Let Yourself Go - Feb 1, 1936 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 696; 11) Ay-Ay-Ay - Feb 20, 1939 - Decca 2437 as the flip of If I Had My Way; 12) Lazy Bones - Feb 20, 1939 - vocal by Louis Armstrong and Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 2395; 13) Royal Garden Blues - June 10, 1936 - Decca 986; 14) The Devil Is Afraid Of Music - Sept 4, 1935 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 553; 15) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - July 23, 1937 - Decca 1396; 16) Bye Bye Blues - Sept 25, 1940 - vocal by Kenny Sargent - Decca 3639; 17) No Name Jive - March 18, 1940 = Decca 3089 - # 9 June 1940; 18) Sleepytime Gal - Dec 8, 1937 - Decca 15042 ; 19) Rose Of The Rio Grande - June 10, 1936 - Decca 869; 20) 'Til We Meet Again - April 5, 1942 - vocal by Kenny Sargent and chorus - Decca 18322; 21) Smoke Rings - July 23, 1937 - Decca 1473 - # 15 Nov 1937 and became his theme song. The paucity of hit singles in the above mix might seem to suggest that Gray was not as successful in that regard as some of his contemporaries (some of whose volumes in this series are filled with hits), but the fact is, from 1931 to 1945 he had 64 hit singles, including one R&B crossover, five # 1s, and 31 that finished in the Top 10. For reasons known only to the producers (Charles McCardell and Brian Miller) they chose to ignore most of those. One of the # 1 hits, 1935's When I Grow Too Old To Dream with vocal by Kenny Sargent, is regarded as one of THE top jazz tunes of all time.

Thesound is great,,the theme song is original, this is the 1st of the BIG BANDS all should have one it is great

The CD was really for my Mom who is 89 and in a nursing home. Hospice had recommended a CD player and then I gathered her former CD's and found her Benny Goodman empty thus the search for a replacement. Lo and behold, you had it. Arrived quickly right before her birthday Dec 20, packaged great and playing it brought a big smile to her face. It sounds great and we love it. How could anyone not like Benny Goodman. Thank you so much.

A Readers' Digest well sourced & mastered collection of tunes from the 40's & 50's (with some later recordings in stereo) Here is the track list (massaged & absconded from the discogs cassette listing) disc 1 Moonlight Serenade / Swingin' On The Moon And The Stars 1 Glenn Miller – Moonlight Serenade 2 Tommy Dorsey With Jack Leonard – Blue Moon 3 Claude Thornhill – Stars Fell On Alabama 4 Tommy Dorsey – Shine On, Harvest Moon 5 Stan Kenton – Moonlight Becomes You 6 Charlie Spivak – Count Every Star 7 Artie Shaw – Star Dust 8 Les Brown And His Band Of Renown – How High The Moon 9 Glenn Miller With Ray Eberle – Story Of A Starry Night 10 Freddy Martin With Artie Wayne – Magic Is The Moonlight 11 Claude Thornhill – Moonlight Cocktail Love Is Here To Stay / Romance In Swingtime 12 Artie Shaw – My Heart Stood Still 13 Tommy Dorsey – You Do Something To Me 14 Duke Ellington With Joya Sherill – I'm Beginning To See The Light 15 Freddy Martin – People Will Say We're In Love 16 Harry James – Somebody Loves Me 17 Les Brown And His Band Of Renown – Love Is Here To Stay 18 Kay Kyser With Ginny Simms And Harry Babbitt – Why Don't We Do This More Often 19 Tommy Dorsey With Jack Leonard – Our Love 20 Artie Shaw – I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me 21 Sam Donahue – My Melancholy Baby 22 Tommy Dorsey – Tea For Two 23 Glenn Miller – My Blue Heaven disc 2 My Reverie / Swingin' The Classics 1 Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra – Let's Dance 2 Tommy Dorsey – The Blue Danube 3 Tommy Dorsey – Song Of India 4 Glenn Miller With Ray Eberle – Moon Love 5 Freddy Martin With Jack Fina – Bumble Boogie Sonata 6 Glenn Miller – Moonlight Sonata 7 Freddy Martin – Clair De Lune 8 Glenn Miller With Ray Eberle – My Reverie 9 Russ Morgan – Barcarolle 10 Glenn Miller – Anvil Chours (Part II) I Got Rhythm / Broadway In Swingtime 11 Ralph Flanagan – Some Enchanted Evening 12 Tommy Dorsey And The Band With Frank Sinatra – Blue Skies 13 Charlie Barnet – Night And Day 14 Artie Shaw – Dancing In The Dark 15 Tommy Dorsey – Just One Of Those Things 16 Benny Goodman With Martha Tilton – This Can't Be Love 17 Count Basie – Hello, Young Lovers 18 Tommy Dorsey With Jack Leonard – All The Things You Are 19 Jimmy Dorsey – I Got Rhythm 20 Tommy Dorsey – I Get A Kick Out Of You disc 3: The Way You Look Tonight / Swingin' In Movieland 1 Freddy Martin – The Way You Look Tonight 2 Freddie Slack With Margaret Whiting – That Old Black Magic 3 Freddy Martin – Cheek To Cheek 4 Glenn Miller With Paula Kelly, Ray Eberle, Tex Beneke And The Modernaires – It Happened In Sun Valley 5 Neal Hefti – Swinging On A Star 6 Count Basie – In The Still Of The Night 7 Billy Butterfield – They Can't Take That Away From Me 8 Ray McKinley And The Glenn Miller Orchestra – Ac-cent-tchu-ate 9 Benny Goodman With Helen Ward – You Turned The Tables On Me 10 Les Brown And His Band Of Renown – In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening It Might As Welll Be Spring / Swingin' The Season 11 Count Basie – It Might As Welll Be Spring 12 Ralph Flanagan With Harry Prime – Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year 13 Tommy Dorsey With Sy Oliver –Come Rain Or Come Shine 14 Charlie Barnet With Bob Carroll I'll Remember April 15 Ralph Flanagan - June Is Bustin' Out All Over 16 Charlie Barnet – Indian Summer 17 Harry James – September Song 18 Sam Donahue – September In The Rain 19 Vaughn Monroe And The Norton Sisters - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! disc 4 Swanee River / Swingin' Folk 1 Les Brown And His Band Of Renown - Red Wing 2 Artie Shaw - The Foggy, Foggy Dew 3 Tony Pastor - Dance With A Dolly (With A Hole In Her Stockin') 4 Tommy Dorsey - Comin' Thru The Rye 5 Ray McKinly And The Glenn Miller Orchestra - Greensleeves 6 Benny Goodman With Martha Tilton - Loch Lomond 7 Larry Clinton - Campton Races 8 Tommy Dorsey - Swanee River 9 Glenn Miller - Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair 10 Tommy Dorsey - Annie Laurie 11 Harry James - Streets Of Laredo Malaguena / Swingin' The Songs Loved The World Over 12 Glenn Miller - Frenesi 13 Artie Shaw - Villa 14 Billy Butterfield - Malaguena 15 Ralph Flanagan - La Vie En Rose 16 Warren Covington And The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra - Brazil 17 Tony Pastor With Dorsey Anderson - Maria Elena 18 Warren Covington And The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra - Skip To My Lou 19 Tommy Dorsey - Hawaiian War Chant 20 Glenn Miller - Danny Boy 21 Alvino Ray - Cumana

This box set includes four discs containing 83 tunes. There are plenty of big hits and big artists but the number of big original hits by original artists is disappointing. Still, it's nice to have a smattering of many artists of the time. The sound quality is generally very good but there is residual record noise on many tunes. Tag information on the discs (titles/artists) is sloppy. Artists included: Charlie Barnet, Count Basie, Les Brown, Billy Butterfield, Larry Clinton, Warren Covington, Sam Donahue, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Ralph Flanagan, Benny Goodman, Glen Gray, Neal Hefti, Harry James, Stan Kenton, Kay Kyser, Freddy Martin, Ray McKinley, Glenn Miller, Vaughn Monroe, Russ Morgan, Tony Pastor, Alvino Rey, Artie Shaw, Freddie Slack, Claude Thornhill, and many singers associated with those band leaders.