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In Part One of this Reminiscence, I listed the first two groups of records in my 45s collection from 1955-60 which at one time seemed to have been my favorites. First, I kept forty-five 45s in a little brown box that I could take with me to my friends’ houses; I listed the current contents. Second, I listed a group of “slow tunes” that I admitted I listen to more now than to the R & B and pop tunes in the boxed collection.
1
Next in my cabinet is another group of “slow tunes” that I guess didn't make the first cut. There are a couple of surprises even for me among these records, but I simply must have bought all of them in the first place and later I must even have considered putting them in the "favorite slow tunes" stack…
Anyway, here are the "also-ran" slow tunes:
My Heart Stood Still by The Four Freshmen
If I Give My Heart to You by Doris Day
and The Mellomen
No, Not Much by The Four Lads
with the Roy Ennis Orchestra
Memories Are Made of This by Gale Storm
It’s Almost Tomorrow by Jo Stafford
with the Paul Weston Orchestra
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing by Don Cornell
Fools Will Be Fools by The Four Preps
My Desire by The Cliques
Teach Me Tonight by Jo Stafford
with the Paul Weston Orchestra
Tell Me, Tell Me by June Valli
Forgive My Heart by Nat “King” Cole
A Story Untold by The Crew-Cuts
Picnic by The McGuire Sisters
All the Time by Johnny Mathis
with the Ray Ellis Orchestra
Until the Day I Die by The Teen Queens
The End by Earl Grant
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing by the Four Aces
featuring Al Alberts.
2
Oh my! Yes, there are actually still lots more 45s, in separate stacks, for some reason. The first two records in this next bunch are unusual. The first is by a girl in the high school class ahead of me. It was her second (and, I believe, last) commercially produced recording, following one released by the local group "The Four Roses." These kids performed around town for a time as "Joyce Webb and the Four Roses." The second record here - “Pet Cream Man” - I haven't listened to in a long time. I think I bought it when I was sixteen or so, thinking it might be one of what we in the racially divided South imagined were sexually suggestive "black" tunes (like “Switchie Witchie…” in the box). Mainly it's just not very good, if I am remembering correctly.
Not all the records in this particular stack were my own…including the first four, I promise! It will perhaps be obvious that the records in this stack, unlike the ones above, are not in order of which the first ones are the best. Even Chuck Miller's "Bye, Bye, Love" (last in this list) is probably not the worst record in the group.
Ain’t That Just Like a Man by Joyce Webb
Pet Cream Man by J. B. and His Hawks
Long Tall Sally by (gasp) Pat Boone “with orchestra”
I Almost Lost My Mind by Pat Boone “with orchestra”
Ain’t That a Shame by Pat Boone “with orchestra”
Tutti-Frutti by Pat Boone “with orchestra”
Nola by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadiens
The Sand Dance by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadiens
Ricochet by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadiens
That’s Amore by Bud Roman
with Lee Raymond’s Orchestra
The Eagle and the Bear by Jimmie Flagg
The Man with the Banjo by Bud Roman
with The Four Rhythmaires, and Lee Raymond’s Orchestra
Tribute to Hank Williams by Joe Rumore
with J. T. Adams and The Men of Texas
Tain’t Nice by Bill Carlisle and The Carlyles
A Full Time Job by the Rhythm Rangers
with Rusty Howard
Shake a Hand by Rusty Howard
and the Rhythm Rangers
Mexican Joe by Rusty Howard
and The Texas Playboys
Caribbean by Rusty Howard
and the Rhythm Rangers
Lazy River by Roberta Sherwood
Because You’re Mine by Hal Ross
and the Les Morgan Orchestra
In Jerusalem (“sung in English”) by Jane Morgan
with the Joe Sherman Orchestra and Chorus
My Screamin’ Screamin’ Mimi by Ray Campi
Bye, Bye, Love by Chuck Miller
with the Earl Stevens Orchestra.
In many cases in this group, the names of both the singer and the orchestra are not familiar. I may be one of the few who do recognize "The Texas Playboys," however.
3
The next stack seems to be a continuation of the records I might have considered taking in my little brown box to a party... but didn't, more often than not. These records also still sound pretty good to me:
Steam Heat by Patti Page
and the Jack Rael Orchestra
Let’s Write Our Own Love Story by The Four Lads
with Ray Conniff’s Orchestra
Day by Day by The Four Freshman
with the Dick Reynolds Orchestra
Rollin’ Stone by The Fontane Sisters
and the Billy Vaughan Orchestra
I Must Be Dreaming by The Hilltoppers
featuring Jimmie Sacca
Most of All by Don Cornell
Could This Be Magic? By The Dubs
Have Mercy Baby by Ella Mae Morse
with Big Dave and His Orchestra
Blue Star by Charlie Applethwaite
and the Victor Young Orchestra
49 Shades of Green by The Ames Brothers
with the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra
Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Gale Storm
Something’s Gotta Give by The McGuire Sisters
Mostly Martha by The Crew-Cuts
Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You by Nat “King" Cole
with Nelson Riddle’s Orchestra
Teen-Ager’s Crush by Tommy Sands
You’re Mine by The Dream Weavers
featuring Wade Buff
A Teenager’s Romance by Rick Nelson
with Barney Kessell’s Orchestra
It’s Only the Good Times by Tommy Edwards
with the LeRoy Holmes Orchestra and Chorus
It Isn’t Right by The Platters
I Love My Girl by The Hilltoppers
featuring Jimmie Sacca
Love Me to Pieces by Jill Corey
with the Jimmy Carroll Orchestra
Cry by Johnny Ray and The Four Lads
Young Love by The Crew-Cuts
with the David Carroll Orchestra
Let Me Go, Lover by Theresa Brewer
with the Lancers
My nominee for the worst lyric in this whole collection, including the B sides, is: “Blue Star, when I am blue/All I do/Is think of you.” And why do some labels list the orchestra but others do not? And did anyone remember that Johnny Ray’s smash hit “Cry” included The Four Lads?
There's a Part Three still to come!
There's a Part Three still to come!
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