Eddie Albert - High Upon a Mountain (1958)

Everybody remembers Eddie Albert as the star of the television series, "Green Acres", or movies such as "Oklahoma!", "Roman Holiday", "The Joker is Wild", and "The Longest Yard", to name a few. But, before making films and TV shows, he was a successful singer performing in clubs and theatre. This is one of about eight albums he recorded, and it contains songs of "spiritual substance - but which were still songs, not sermons". According to the liner notes, "These are songs with a soaring, top-o'-the-world feeling. 'They do something for me,' Eddie Albert says. And he, in turn, does something wonderful for them." Eddie did have a pleasant singing voice, and I think he did a very nice job on these songs. Some are familiar to me (I remember learning "Let There Be Peace on Earth" when I was in grade school), and others are not, but I liked them all. And, on the cover, Eddie looks somewhat rugged standing on that mountain in his jeans and plaid shirt!

Track listing for Eddie Albert - High Upon a Mountain:

Side 1:
1. A Still Small Voice
2. You'll Never Walk Alone
3. The Best Things in Life Are Free
4. Without a Song
5. I Believe
6. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'

Side 2:
1. High Upon a Mountain
2. No Man is An Island
3. Let There Be Peace on Earth
4. Look for the Silver Lining
5. Ask Your Heart to Show the Way
6. I May Never Pass This Way Again

Me and My RC (1975)

"Me and my RC, me and my RC. 'Cause what's good enough for other folks ain't good enough for me! Me and my RC, me and my RC!"

How many of you remember those commercials from the 1970s? They were among my favorite commercials back in the day, and probably one of the best ad campaigns ever! I remember riding my skateboard (back when they were skinny little wooden things) and drinking an RC Cola as I rode along, sometimes singing the little jingle. Ah, the memories that this record brought back as I listened to it! This record is another of the gems I've found in the Half-Price Books clearance bin. (Actually, I give credit to my friend, Bradley, for finding it but letting me buy it for my collection.) Once again, the cover caught my eye - the girl just epitomizes the wholesome, girl-next-door type of the 70s! Well, this is the music from several TV commercials, but I don't know if the record was given to radio stations or what. The record only has tracks on one side and says "Not for sale, broadcast, or public performance", so I don't know what else anyone would do with it - maybe it was just part of a media kit or something like that. Whatever - it's really cool! In fact, I think I'll go have a Moon Pie and an RC right now (it's a Southern thing)!

Track listing for Me and My RC:

1. Overture; Stock Car
2. Truck Driver
3. Lawyer; Theme Music; Freckle-Face
4. Executive Decision
5. Blacksmith
6. Crop Seeder; Theme Music; Farm Girl
7. Basketball
8. Riverboat; Theme Music; Georgia Nights
9. Fiddler

P.S. For you fans of RC Cola and/or Moon Pies, check out some great collectibles at the Moon Pie website!

And here's one of the commercials for you (the one called "Executive Decision")!

An Affair to Remember OST (1957)

One of my favorite movies of all time is "An Affair to Remember", starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. And, yes, I do cry each and every time I see it. Actually, I start crying before the sad or sentimental parts even start! And sometimes even just talking about the movie and the sad or sentimental parts will start me crying. I'm as bad as Rita Wilson was in "Sleepless in Seattle" when she was describing the movie. This is one of the movies that my mother introduced me to when I was growing up, and we would often watch it together when it was on TV. I also grew up listening to this soundtrack, so this record has been played A LOT. This record belonged to my mother (I believe she bought it in 1957, when it came out), so it is now 50 years old! Wow! The cover is quite worn, and you'll still hear quite a bit of clicks and pops (especially on side 2) even though I ran it through the click and pop removal software. But, Vic Damone still sounds loud and clear on the title song (make me swoon!).

Other info about this album... Lionel Newman conducting the 20th Century-Fox Orchestra and Chorus; Music - Harry Warren; Lyrics - Harold Adamson and Leo McCary (the director of the film); Incidental Music - Hugo Friedhofer; Soloist - Marni Nixon; title song sung by Vic Damone. Harry Warren, Harold Adamson, Leo McCary, and Hugo Friedhofer were all Academy Award winners for various other works. The title song was nominated for Best Song at the 1957 Academy Awards but didn't win ("All the Way" from "The Joker is Wild" won instead). Hugo Friedhofer was also nominated that year for Best Score for "An Affair to Remember", but Malcolm Arnold won for "The Bridge on the River Kwai". "An Affair to Remember" had two other nominations - Cinematography and Costume Design - but didn't get those either.

Track listing for An Affair to Remember OST:

Side 1:
1. Main Title - An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair) - vocal by Vic Damone
2. Continue - instrumental
3. "Villefranche" and "In the Chapel" - instrumental
4. Tomorrowland - vocal and instrumental
5. Pink Champagne - instrumental
6. Revelation - instrumental
7. You Make It Easy to Be True - instrumental
8. Proposal - instrumental

Side 2:
1. Continue - vocal and instrumental
2. Night Club Affair - vocal and instrumental
3. Empire State Montage - instrumental
4. Return to Villefranche - vocal and instrumental
5. Tiny Scout (He Knows You Inside Out) - children's chorus
6. Ballet - instrumental
7. End Title - An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair) - chorus and instrumental

Various Artists - 18 Top Hits (1957)

Here's yet another album I bought for the cover alone - LOVE the girl dancing by the jukebox! The cover was kind of weird though because the back is completely blank - no track listing or names of the artists. So how did people know whether or not they wanted to buy this if they didn't know anything about what was on it? Did they buy it for the cover alone, too? Strange. And, although it's called "18 Top Hits", there are actually 23 songs on it. Well, this album is on the Waldorf Record Corp. label, which was a budget record label started in 1953 or 1954 by Enoch Light (which explains why he and his orchestra play several of the songs on this album). The records were sold exclusively in Woolworth stores (ah, how I fondly remember the Woolworth in my home town). Anyway, this album contains the hits of the day, but not recorded by the original artists. This is probably one of the albums I've had the most fun listening to and recording - it's just so...nostalgic! Listening to albums like this makes me wish that I had been around back in those days - sigh. Well, the album was pretty beat up when I bought it in the clearance bin at my favorite place (Half-Price Books), and four of the songs have skips. I did do the click and pop removal but there's still quite a bit of clicks and pops, so y'all may want to clean it up further if you can. Overall, this is a fun album!

Track listing for 18 Top Hits:

Side 1:
1. Around the World - Enoch Light & his Orch. (skips)
2. A Fallen Star - Bobby Sykes & The Country Five (skips)
3. Send for Me - Bob Eberly with Enoch Light & his Orch.
4. Long Lonely Nights - Keith Textor & The Monarchs
5. Star Dust - Loren Becker & The Monarchs
6. What Will I Tell My Heart - Jimmy Blaine with Enoch Light & his Orch.
7. Fascination - Sylvia Textor with Enoch Light Orch.
8. My Heart Reminds Me - Sylvia Textor & The Monarchs
9. Please Send Me Someone to Love - Loren Becker & The Monarchs
10. Tammy - Dottie Evans
11. There's a Gold Mine in the Sky - Bob Eberly, Enoch Light Orch. & Chorus
12. Chances Are - Keith Textor

Side 2:
1. Diana - Jerry Duane with The Monarchs
2. Rainbow - Loren Becker, Enoch Light Orch. & Chorus (skips)
3. Love Me to Pieces - Dottie Evans with The Monarchs (skips)
4. Honeycomb - Jerry Duane
5. Whispering Bells - Brigadiers with Enoch Light & his Orch.
6. That'll Be the Day - Artie Malvin with The Zig Zags
7. Passepartout - Enoch Light & his Orch.
8. Invitation to a Bullfight - Enoch Light & his Orch.
9. Entrance of the Bull March - Enoch Light & his Orch.
10. Paris Arrival - Enoch Light & his Orch.
11. Pagoda of Pillagi - Enoch Light & his Orch.



BTW, the 20,000 site hits mark came and went and I didn't even notice! Thanks to all of you who have been visiting, browsing around, and downloading the albums I'm sharing! If y'all have any requests, please let me know and I'll see if I have it. And I'm looking for the following "celebrity vocals" albums - Peggy Lipton's self-titled album from 1968; Sajid - by Sajid Khan in 1967; Kurt Russell's self-titled album from 1970; Clint Eastwood - Cowboy Favorites from 1959. There are many more, but these are the only ones I can think of for now.

Paul Weston and His Orchestra - Mood for 12 (1955)

Here's yet another gem from the Half-Price Books clearance bin! The cover is what definitely caught my eye (ooh - doesn't she look lovely?!), but when I saw that it was a Paul Weston album, I absolutely had to buy it! Paul Weston was one of my mom's favorites, so I grew up listening to his music - makes for great mood music to be playing in the background when you're with your lovely lady! This album features some great solos by Ziggy Elman, Eddie Miller, Matty Matlock, Babe Russin, Ted Nash, Clyde Hurley, George Van Eps, Bill Schaefer, Stanley Wrightman, Barney Kessel, Paul Smith, and Joe Howard (noted on each song below). I must admit that I'm particular to the ones that have sax solos - they just have such a sexy sound! Enjoy!

Track listing for Paul Weston and His Orchestra - Mood for 12:

Side 1:
1. It's the Talk of the Town - Tenor Sax solo by Babe Russin
2. I'm Comin' Virginia - Trombone solo by Bill Schaefer
3. Memories of You - Trumpet solo by Clyde Hurley
4. Nice Work If You Can Get It - Piano solo by Paul Smith
5. My Funny Valentine - Guitar solo by Barney Kessel
6. Emaline - Tenor Sax solo by Eddie Miller

Side 2:
1. Skylark - Tenor Sax solo by Ted Nash
2. Judy - Clarinet solo by Matty Matlock
3. Louisiana - Guitar solo by George Van Eps
4. Georgia on My Mind - Trombone solo by Joe Howard
5. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - Piano solo by Stanley Wrightman
6. Confessin' - Trumpet solo by Ziggy Elman

Billy Vaughn and His Orchestra - Melodies in Gold (1957)

Today's post is one of Billy Vaughn's many recordings on the Dot label - "Melodies in Gold". Having played the sax myself, I'm especially fond of Billy Vaughn (and others who played or featured the sax in their recordings). This album contains great standards by such composers as Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter - some of my favorites! Check out Space Age Pop for a great bio on Billy Vaughn. Oh, yeah - I guess I should mention that it was the album cover that first grabbed my attention when I bought this album (yet another gem from the Half-Price Books clearance bin)!

Track listing for Billy Vaughn and His Orchestra - Melodies in Gold:

Side 1:
1. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
2. Indian Love Call
3. Dream
4. Sweet and Lovely
5. Time on My Hands
6. Night and Day

Side 2:
1. I'm in the Mood for Love
2. My Melancholy Baby
3. Moonglow
4. Intermezzo
5. I'll Get By
6. Stardust

Francis Scott and His Orchestra - Moods for Candlelight

Well, Happy New Year! I hope y'all had a great holiday season and that 2007 brings only good things to you! I took a little holiday from the blog, but I'm ready to get going again! Thanks to all who have been leaving comments - I have read them, but I just haven't gotten a chance to respond. Thank you all for your nice wishes and comments.

The first album I'm posting for the new year is called "Moods for Candlelight" by Francis Scott and His Orchestra. It's a very soothing album - perfect to listen to when you're all stressed out and need to relax. After all the hectic-ness (is that a word?) of the holidays, I know I needed something soothing to listen to, so that's why I picked this album. It's also great to listen to while reading or working (I'll be loading it to my MP3 player so I can listen to it at work). I couldn't find any information on it as to what year is was produced, but it's on the Capitol label, number T304, if that helps. Here are the liner notes:

The beauteous hue of radiant candlelight Reflected on the face of one so dear... Treasured moments that reach their height of rapture ... amid soft strains of music near.

Picture a setting of gleaming candlelight... alluring melodies painting a romantic backdrop for these lovely leisure moments with one close to your heart.

In this album, the talented young arranger-conductor Francis Scott, has carefully preserved the melodies of these songs you know so well... yet has artfully fashioned them into exquisite and sentimental musical moods.

Capitol presents this very special music for that very special occasion. Romantic, mood-inspiring melodies to provoke softly-spoken words and understanding glances.

Light your candles - enjoy your Moods for Candlelight!

Track listing for Francis Scott and His Orchestra - Moods for Candlelight:

Side 1:
1. The Touch of Your Lips
2. I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You)
3. It's a Blue World
4. It Had to Be You
5. How Deep Is the Ocean (How High Is the Sky)
6. My Heart Stood Still

Side 2:
1. Just a Memory
2. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
3. Dream a Little Dream of Me
4. More Than You Know
5. Remember
6. This Love of Mine