Charlie Gillett - Asha Bhosle/ Atlantic Records

Another Capital Radio show from 7-9-86 with guest Asha Bhosle, the Queen of Bollywood playback singers in the first half and a brief history of Atlantic Records in the second. Taken from a C60 and one side of a C90 cassette so please excuse the adverts which sometimes appear. I did try and edit on the fly back then but obviously I was busy doing something else this particular evening and let the tape run.

Wikipedia says -

"Asha Bhosle (Marathi: आशा भोसले) (born September 8, 1933) is an Indian singer. She is best known as a Bollywood playback singer, although she has a much wider repertoire. Her career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over 1000 Bollywood movies and sold many records. She is the sister of playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Bhosle is considered one of the most versatile South Asian singers — her range of songs includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian Classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, Rabindra Sangeets and Nazrul Geetis. She has sung in over 14 languages including Assamese, Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, English, Russian, Czech, Nepali, Malay and Malayalam.

Bhosle is believed to have sung over 12,000 songs. Though her sister, Lata Mangeshkar was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records during 1974-1991, for having sung the most songs in the world, reputed sources have introduced concerns to its veracity, claiming that the Guinness counts were exaggerated and Bhosle had recorded more songs than Mangeshkar. Bhosle herself pointed out that she had made the most recordings by any singer - 12,000."


Charlie Gillett - Asha Bhosle

Charlie Gillett - Atlantic Records Pt.1

Charlie Gillett - Atlantic Records Pt.2

Geraldo & His Orchestra

Another 78 from the boot sale recently. Enjoy Yourself has been covered many times - in recent years by The Specials. I seem to remember C'est Si Bon being a big hit in the 50's but not sure who by.

Wikipedia says -

"He played piano and organ and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He started his career as a pianist playing for silent films.
Geraldo became a major figure on the British entertainment scene for four decades, having fronted just about every kind of ensemble and influenced the successful careers of numerous top singers. For his broadcasts he varied the style of his orchestra quite considerably, and a particular series Tip Top Tunes (employing a full string section alongside the usual dance band) enjoyed great popularity. Several commercial recordings were made, spotlighting the considerable arranging talents of the young Wally Stott (better known in the US as Angela Morley) .
Over the years, most of the UK's top musicians played with Geraldo's orchestra, including Ted Heath, who played first trombone in the orchestra before leaving to form his own band and the guitarist Ken Sykora, later to become a respected radio personality.
In the 1950s he composed the start-up music for Scottish Television. Entitled Scotlandia, it was heard virtually every day for over thirty years at the beginning of programmes.
Geraldo died from a heart attack while on holiday in Switzerland in 1974. In 1993 a new Geraldo Orchestra, directed by trombonist Chris Dean, toured the UK provinces."


Geraldo & His Orch. - C'est Si Bon

Geraldo & His Orch. - Enjoy Yourself

The Cranes Skiffle Group - (RE-UP)

Another 78 from the boot sale today. On the Embassy label from 1957. Cranes Skiffle Group was actually Chas McDevitt and His band who had a big hit with "Freight Train" with Nancy Whiskey singing the lead vocal that same year.

"The group had already recorded 'Freight Train' for Oriole Records; thanks to the demo discs produced by their new manager, Bill Varley. Bill ran Trio Recordings, a small studio in Tin Pan Alley. It was Varley who suggested that to get an edge over the other skiffle groups they should include a girl in their line-up. Folksinger, Nancy Whiskey, who had also appeared on the Radio Luxembourg talent competition was invited to join the group. At first reluctant to give up her folksinging, she joined the boys at the end of December 1956. They re-recorded 'Freight Train' with Nancy taking the vocals. On the same session they recorded; 'Cotton Song', 'New Orleans' and 'Don't You Rock Me Daddy O'. The last track was released on Embassy records, Oriole Records' cheap subsidiary that sold in Woolworth's. They used the pseudonym 'The Cranes Skiffle Group'. 'Worried Man', originally recorded for Embassy, whilst Jimmie MacGregor was with the group, was substituted on their second Oriole release."

Discover more about Chas McDevitt HERE.


Cranes Skiffle Group - Cumberland Gap

Cranes Skiffle Group - Freight Train

Charlie Gillett - Hank Ballard/ Hamid Sagzou

Enjoyable Charlie Gillett radio show from 7-12-86 with guests Hank Ballard and Hamid Sagzou ( apologies if this spelling is wrong as it undoubtedly is!).

Wikipedia says of Hank Ballard-

"Hank Ballard (November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003), born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an integral part in the development of rock music, releasing the hit singles "Work With Me, Annie" and answer songs "Annie Had a Baby" and "Annie's Aunt Fannie" with his Midnighters. He later wrote and recorded "The Twist" and invented the dance, which was notably covered by Chubby Checker."

Read more about Hank Ballard HERE.


Charlie Gillett - Hank Ballard/Hamid Sagzou Pt. 1

Charlie Gillett - Hank Ballard/Hamid Sagzou Pt. 2

Music Hall To Variety Vol. 3

This is a great LP of old Music Hall songs from the early part of the last century. I have managed to collect all three volumes from various flea markets and bootsales over the years. The third Volume contains some droll comedy sketches which have dated rather badly but also some novelty song gems like Mary From The Dairy by Max Miller and Under The Bed by Nellie Wallace.

"Surviving recordings make it clear that few music hall stars had good voices. Like their vaudeville counterparts in the U.S., their primary qualifications were energy and personality. The best music hall performers had both in abundance. Marie Lloyd (seen at left) was one of the most beloved music hall stars. Her stage humor ranged from the wholesome to the risqué. If her trademark parasol failed to open, she would quip, "I haven't had it up for ages." One of her songs was "She Sits Among Her Cabbages and Peas" – a title that sounds less innocent than it looks. Lloyd always adapted her act to the audience at hand, winning almost universal affection. Playwright and poet T. S. Eliot explained her appeal this way –

No other comedian succeeded so well in giving expression to the life of the music hall audience, raising it to a kind of art. It was, I think, this capacity for expressing the soul of the people that made Marie Lloyd unique.
- Selected Essays by T. S. Eliot, Faber and Faber, London, 1941

After World War I, food service disappeared from the music halls, and traditional theatre seating replaced the old benches and tables. But there was still plenty of beer! Performers faced more concentrated scrutiny, which only strengthened the popularity of favorites like comic singers Florrie Forde, George Robey and Harry Champion. Most performers preferred songs with simple repetitive refrains that were easy for audiences to remember and sing along with. "

Find out more about the music hall HERE.



Gracie Fields - Rochdale Hounds

Tessie O'Shea - Two Ton Tessie

Ronald Frankau - I'd Like To Have A Honeymoon With Her

The Don Juans

Another mystery disc for an early Halloween. Found at a boot sale last year for a few pence. It sounds a bit like the Barron Knights for those firmiliar with their work. Calling it "More Monster Hits" is quite funny as they obviously never had any or anything approaching a hit. Nothing can be found about them on the internet. Bullseye seems to be a label based in the North East of England and run on a shoe string judging by the sleeve art! Other tracks include versions of Cecelia, Take These Chains From My Heart and Old Shep. The whole thing seems to have been masterminded by someone called Ray Banks who has even signed the back of the sleeve.


Don Juans - Ghost Riders

Don Juans - I Love To Go A-Wandering

Don Juans - Dracula

Charlie Gillett - Little Richard/ Danny Holder (Soca)

A two part City Limits show on Capital here from the early 80's - the first half featuring rock 'n roll pioneer Little Richard who was in London to promote a biography that had just been published. Charlie plays some of his hits and and Richard chooses a couple of his favourites including Ike & Tina Turner and Prince.
The second half of the show is Danny Holder's choice of the Soca and Calypso hits of the time including songs by Relater and Sparrow etc.

Wikipedia says of Little Richard-

"Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932) known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and recording artist, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame web site entry on Penniman states that:

"He claims to be “the architect of rock and roll,” and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll."

Penniman began his recording career in 1951 by imitating the gospel-influenced style of late-1940s jump blues artist Billy Wright, but did not achieve commercial success until 1955, when, under the guidance of Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, he began recording in a style he had been performing onstage for years, featuring varied rhythm, a heavy backbeat, funky saxophone grooves, over-the-top Gospel-style singing, moans, screams, and other emotive inflections, accompanied by a combination of boogie-woogie and rhythm and blues music. This new music, which included an original injection of funk into the rock and roll beat, inspired James Brown, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding and generations of other rhythm & blues, rock and soul music artists. He was subsequently among the seven initial inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and was one of only four of these honorees (along with Ray Charles, James Brown, and Fats Domino) to also receive the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award.

In October 1957, while at the height of stardom, Penniman abruptly quit rock and roll music and became a born-again Christian. In January 1958, he enrolled in and attended Bible college[8] to become a preacher and evangelist and began recording and performing only gospel music for a number of years. He then moved back and forth from rock and roll to the ministry, until he was able to reconcile the two roles in later life."


Charlie Gillett - Little Richard

Charlie Gillett - Danny Holder

Sweet & Greasy

Patchy LP on the Liberty label from 1970 . Compiled by Bob Hite of Canned Heat fame.
My favourites here are by the Pelicans who sound a bit like The Coasters. Other doo-wop type groups included are The Robins, Jewels, Crystals and the Avalons.

Wikipedia says-


"In the beginning and during its heyday, this type of music did not have a specific name; the term "doo-wop" was not used.

In the 1950s, this type of harmonized group sound was referred to (broadly) as "rock and roll," but more narrowly as "R&B." However, R&B was still too general a term, since R&B included single artists, instrumentalists, and jump blues bands, as well as vocal groups. At the time, the best and most accurate term used was probably "vocal group harmony," but the style still did not have an official name, despite the fact that it dominated the charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The term "doo-wop" first appeared in print in 1961, notably in the Chicago Defender, when fans of the music coined the term during the height of a vocal harmony resurgence.[citation needed]

There is confusion regarding which recording was the "first" to contain the phrase "doo-wop." There is general acknowledgement that the first hit record to use the syllables "doo-wop" in the refrain was the 1955 hit, "When You Dance" by The Turbans (Herald Records H-458), in which the chant "doo-wop" can clearly be heard. As for the very first instance ever, there are several candidates: "doo-wop" can be heard in the chorus of the 1954 song "Never" by a Los Angeles group called Carlyle Dundee & The Dundees (Space Records 201); the 1955 song "Mary Lee" by The Rainbows on Red Robin Records contains the background "do wop de wadda" and was a Washington DC regional hit on Pilgrim 703; the 1956 song "In the Still of the Night" by The Five Satins, featured the famous plaintive "doo-wop, doo-wah" refrain in the bridge; and finally, the little-known "I Belong To You" by the Fi-Tones in 1956 on the Atlas label (release #1055).

It has been erroneously reported that the phrase was coined by radio disc jockey Gus Gossert in the early 1970s. However, Gossert himself said that "doo-wop(p) was already being used [before me] to categorize the music in California." After some time,the term "doo-wop" finally caught on as a description and category for R&B vocal group harmony. Many collections that were exclusively composed of original recordings of this music were sold, all under the name of "doo wop," which became the accepted term that still is used today."


Shades - Dear Lori

Shades - One Touch Of Heaven

Pelicans - Miss Lucy

Pelicans - Down In Mexico

Sha-Weeze - You Made Me Love You

Savoys - Hopin' For Your Return

Bill Doggett

A slightly warped copy of a very scratchy LP from Brick Lane I suspect. Imagine how great a newly remastered compilation of his best stuff must sound! I'm sure there must be one around somewhere.

Wikipedia says-

"William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist.

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother, a church pianist, introduced him to music when he was 9 years old. By the time he was 15, he had joined a Philadelphia area combo, playing local theaters and clubs while attending high school.

Doggett later sold his band to Lucky Millinder, and worked during the 1930s and early 1940s for both Millinder and arranger Jimmy Mundy. In 1942 he was hired as The Ink Spots' pianist and arranger.

Toward the end of 1947, he replaced Wild Bill Davis as the pianist for Louis Jordan's Tympany Five. It was in Jordan's group that he first achieved success playing the Hammond organ. In 1950 he is reputed to have written one of Jordan's biggest hits, "Saturday Night Fish Fry", for which Jordan claimed the writing credit.

In 1951, Doggett organized his own trio and began recording for King Records. His best known recording is "Honky Tonk," a rhythm and blues hit of 1956 which sold four million copies (reaching #1 R&B and #2 Pop), and which he co-wrote with Billy Butler. He won the Cash Box award for best rhythm and blues performer in 1957, 1958, and 1959. He also arranged for many bandleaders and performers, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lionel Hampton. He continued to play and arrange until he died of a heart attack in New York City."


Bill Doggett - Oops

Bill Doggett - Stop That Twistin' In Here

Bill Doggett - I Cover The Waterfront

Bill Doggett - Lady's Choice

Bill Doggett - Mommy Pt.1 & 2

Round The Horne (RE-Up)

"Round the Horne crackled out of the nation's wirelesses Sunday afternoons from 1965, becoming one of the most popular comedies of the era until it finished in '69.

With its ground breaking mixture of innuendo, camp comedy and word play, it netted a regular audience of more than 15million listeners and was one of the best loved programmes in radio history.

A colourfully bizarre collection of characters and memorable catch phrases burst across the airwaves from the pages of its brilliantly inventive and sometimes outrageous scripts, the majority of which were written by zany duo Barry Took and Marty Feldman.

Kenneth Horne as the straight man anchored the whole careering, seething, teaming, chaotic hullabaloo emitted from the likes of J Peasemold Gruntfuttock, Rambling Syd Rumpo, Daphne Whitethigh, Shamus Android, Binkie Huckaback and Dame Celia Molestrangler (played by Betty Marsden, Hugh Paddick, Bill Pertwee and Kenneth Williams). This mad-cap bunch mercilessly sent up the establishment via a combination of bawdy jokes and surreal literary invention acted out in a series of sketches. Kenneth Williams camped his way through the script as limp-wristed Sandy, normally introduced by Hugh Paddick's character saying "Hello I'm Julian and this is my friend Sandy", making homosexual double entendres that allowed British suburbia to laugh openly about what had been strictly taboo."


Round The Horne - J. Peasmold Gruntfuttock Sings

Round The Horne - O Lucky Jim

Round The Horne - A Nice Cup Of Tea

Round The Horne - The Cucumber Song

Round The Horne - O What A Beauty

Round The Horne - Rhymes

Round The Horne - Early One Morning

Round The Horne - Among My Souvenirs

Charlie Gillett - Echoes 1984

Continuing the Charlie Gillett homage with a show from 1984 where he is the guest of Stuart Colman on the Radio London show Echoes which took the Honky Tonk slot when Charlie left in 1978.
Charlie talks about his days at Radio London, Oval Records and his book Sound Of The City which had just been re-published in a new expanded edition.
Music includes Lene Lovich, Johnny Allen and Delbert McClinton.


Charlie Gillett - Echoes Pt.1

Charlie Gillett - Echoes Pt.2

Martin Denny

Martin Denny is the King of Exotica - his first record with that name released back in the 60's that came to represent that genre of music beloved of audiophiles and lovers of strange and other worldly music that fills your head with the sounds of the jungle, far off pacific islands and distant shores. Volume 2 carries on where the first left off - " Herein Mr. Denny's imagination has gone even further afield, and with superb Spectra-Sonic Sound giving us matchless fidelity, he has further exlored the myriad tinkle of instruments foreign to our civilization, plus fresh approaches on those firmiliar to our ears."

"Denny was born in New York, and raised in Los Angeles, California. He studied classical piano and at a young age toured South America for four and a half years with the Don Dean Orchestra. This tour began Denny's fascination with Latin rhythms.
After serving in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, Denny returned to Los Angeles where he studied piano and composition under Dr. Wesley La Violette and orchestration under Arthur Lange at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. He also studied at the University of Southern California.
In January of 1954, Don the Beachcomber's (which later became Duke Kahanamoku's) brought Denny to Honolulu, Hawaii. He performed here for ten years, forming his own combo in 1955 and signing to Liberty Records. The original combo consisted of Augie Colon on percussion and birdcalls, Arthur Lyman on vibes, John Kramer on string bass, and Denny on piano. Lyman soon left to form his own group and future Herb Alpert sideman and Baja Marimba founder Julius Wechter replaced him. Harvey Ragsdale later replaced John Kramer."

Discover more about Martin Denny HERE.


Martin Denny - Escales

Martin Denny - When First I Love

Martin Denny - August Bells

Martin Denny - Bacoa

Martin Denny - Ebb Tide

Martin Denny - Rush Hour In Hong Kong

Roy Smeck

A boot sale bargain from a few years back. A record on the London label from the 60's when Smeck was getting on in years but still able to prove he was "Wizard of the Strings". Look him up on YouTube - some great old film of him juggling with his uke etc. - he was quite a showman.

"You may recognize the name Roy Smeck as much for his own prolific recordings as for the dozens of guitar instruction books he issued throughout the years. Blessed with some of the most nimble fingers imaginable, Smeck's approach to music often bordered on the showy, novelty side, but he also influenced many Western swing guitarists in the process. Smeck began issuing records and appearing on Warner Bros. movie shorts during the 1920s. It was then that he introduced his unique blend of jazz, country, and Hawaiian styles, wowing anyone who heard or saw him in action. In addition to working solo, Smeck also played on sessions by country greats Vernon Dalhart and Carson Robinson and formed his own band in the '30s, the Vita Trio. It was around this time that the guitarist began issuing a stream of instructional books on everything from how to play guitar, ukulele, and Hawaiian slide guitar to banjo. After several years of minor success recording for ABC, Kapp, and other small labels, in the '70s the reissue label Yazoo released several of Smeck's virtuoso recordings from his early days, causing a whole new round of interest in the guitarist."

Discover more about Roy Smeck HERE.


Roy Smeck - Some Of These Days

Roy Smeck - The Sheik OF Araby

Roy Smeck - Drifting And Dreaming

Roy Smeck - Limehouse Blues

Roy Smeck - My Little Grass Shack

Roy Smeck - Rocking The Uke

Charlie Gillett - Fools/Rain/Calypso

This weeks celebration of Charlie Gillett's radio shows features two from the mid 80's - not sure of the actual dates, perhaps someone out there knows?
The first is another themed show called "Fools & Clowns" but Charlie admits during the show that the crucial "clown song" was left at home so mostly they are all songs about fools. It has The Alchemist written on the side of the tape but Charlie doesn't mention that on the show itself but refers to "The Rock Show", so this maybe a series I had completely forgotten about he did for Capital Radio. Maybe this Alchemists shows started around the same time? But sadly my memory isn't what it was! These old tapes ain't what they were either so please excuse the rather quiet audio and the pops, crackles and hisses.

The other show has The Alchemists written on it also and features songs on the theme of Rain. In the second half Charlie is joined by guests Flying Turkey and Scorpion who play some calypso and soca records from the West Indies - one of first intimations of Charlie's interest in World Music and a taste of things to come.


Charlie Gillett - Fools & Clowns

Charlie Gillett - Rain

Charlie Gillett - Rain/Calypso

Me Myself and Me Again

A curio I picked up for 50p in a charity shop this morning on the Antic label recorded in 1976.

On the back of the sleeve it says -

"Me Myself And Me Again is actually Vivian Fisher, a 26 year old recording engineer and frustrated musician. Despite dabbling in cornet, french horn, trombone and piano, Vivian really always wanted to play every instrument. Then. one day when recording a marching brass band in the street, he discovered the sound was actually recorded in segments as the band moved past. This gave him the idea of a multi-track recording of himself impersonating the sound and character of the different parts of the brass band - and "Blaze Away" is the result."


Me Myself Anf Me Again - Blaze Away

Me Myself And Me Again - Blaze Away (This Is How It's Done)

Lata Mangeshkar

An LP on the Angel Records label from the early 60's. Some great songs taken from Bollywood films of the 40's and 50's including Mother India, Nagin and Shabab.

Wikipedia says -

"Lata Mangeshkar (born 28th September, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She sang in over a thousand Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over twenty regional Indian languages, but primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of the equally accomplished singer Asha Bhosle and lesser-known singers, brother Hridayanath and sisters Usha and Meena. Lata is the second vocalist ever to have received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Lata was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she had recorded no less than 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974 (30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987, according to the 1987 edition). Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Lata's sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had."


Lata Mangeshkar - Mahfil Men Jal Uthi Shama

Lata Mangeshkar - Jiya Beqarar Hai

Lata Mangeshkar - Man Dole

Lata Mangeshkar - Chale Jana Hahin

Lata Mangeshkar - Jogan Ban Jaaoongi

Lata Mangeshkar - Nagari Nagari Duware

Soul Vendors (Re-Up)

An old LP on the Coxone label from 1967 found at a flea market some time ago. Its a bit scratched so please forgive the blips and pops.

"The Soul Vendors the group that gave us 'Rock Steady', the phrase originated by Coxone Dodd, the record producer and owner of Studio One studio. This new sound was much slower than Ska, stronger base line and a persistent shuffling rhythm together with some very fine sax and trumpet solo's, and the organ was used to greater effect. The vocal styles were very soulful, heavily influenced by the USA soul and R & B records of that period. "Rock Steady" by Alton Ellis issued in 1967 on the Treasure Isle label sums up the new style, using repeat upbeat guitar riff and the brass section answering the vocals, beautiful sax solo, even a vocal backing group, all added up to a suberb production by Duke Reid who went on to make this new sound his own. "


Soul Vendors - Give It To Me

Soul Vendors - The Raver

Soul Vendors - Everybody Knows

Soul Vendors - Give Me Little Sign

Soul Vendors - Just A Bit O' Soul

Super Biton Du Mali

I cannot honestly say where this LP on the French Tangent label came from. Probably bought in East Street market, London, back in the 90's when records like this were very plentiful. Originally released in 1983.
I could not glean much about Super Biton on the internet but I found this small snippet of information-


"Formed in 1952, this band features largely modern instrumentation (brass, guitars, drums, synths) and plays music based on traditional Bambara rhythms. They toured Europe several times in the early '80s, led by trumpet player Madaou Ba, and are one of the few big bands to survive into the '90s." ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide


Super Biton - Waracoro

Super Biton - Kara Demba

Super Biton - Flani- N'Goni

Arthur Lyman

A Brick Lane find I think from afew years back - this 1966 recording by Arthur Lyman on the Vocalion label is essential listening , I would have thought , for fans of "exotica" and Hawaiian cocktail lounge jazz. The sleeeve notes tell us the record was made in the " acoustically near perfect Aluminum Dome on the beautiful grounds of Conrad Hilton's fabulous Hawaiian Village Hotel in Honolulu, where the Arthur Lyman Group were appearing in the Shell Bar."

"Arthur Lyman (February 2, 1932 - February 24, 2002) popularized a jazzy style of Hawaiian music during the 1950s, and gathered a following as a purveyor of so-called exotic music or Exotica. As a child, Lyman moved to the large Hawaiian city of Honolulu, where he became interested in the music of Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton. He learned to play along with their records on a toy marimba. At the age of 14, he joined a jazz group and by his early 20s was performing with "mood music" king Martin Denny.
Known for his vibraphone stylings, bird songs and bells, Lyman helped turn exotic music into a national trend in the 1950s and 1960s, producing more than 30 albums and almost 400 singles and earning three gold albums.
In 1957, Lyman recorded "Yellow Bird," a Haitian folk song. The song made the Billboard magazine charts, peaking at #4 in 1961.
Lyman's last charting album in 1963 was I Wish You Love, but his music enjoyed a new burst of popularity in the 1990s with the easy listening revival. He died from throat cancer in February 2002."

Discover more about Arthur Lyman HERE.


Arthur Lyman - Sim Sim

Arthur Lyman - Kasumi Love Theme

Arthur Lyman - Caravan

Arthur Lyman - Akaka Falls

Hoagy Carmichael

An LP on MCA Coral from the 80's I would guess as that's when I bought it. Delightful songs that still sound great today.

Wikipedia says-

"Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Carmichael was the only son of Howard Clyde Carmichael and Lida Robison. He was named Hoagland after a circus troupe “The Hoaglands” who stayed at the Carmichael house during his mother’s pregnancy. Howard was a horse-drawn taxi driver and electrician, and Lida a versatile pianist who played accompaniment at silent movies and for parties. The family moved frequently, as Howard sought better employment for his growing family. At six, Carmichael started to sing and play the piano, absorbing easily his mother’s keyboard skills. By high school, the piano was the focus of his after-school life, and for inspiration he would listen to ragtime pianists Hank Wells and Hube Hanna. At eighteen, the small, wiry, pale Carmichael was living in Indianapolis, trying to help his family’s income working in manual jobs in construction, a bicycle chain factory, and a slaughterhouse. The bleak time was partly spelled by four-handed piano duets with his mother and by his strong friendship with Reg DuValle, black bandleader and pianist known as “the elder statesman of Indiana jazz” and “the Rhythm King”, who taught him piano jazz improvization."

Discover more about Hoagy Carmichael HERE.


Hoagy Carmichael - Lazy River

Hoagy Carmichael - Judy

Hoagy Carmichael - Stardust

Hoagy Carmichael - In The Cool,Cool,Cool of The Evening