Bands Music

I grew up with Lawrence Welk tv every Saturday night. I've always enjoyed his music. All the songs on the cd bring back memories. It is terrific...

This is just terrific early stuff by Lawrence. Don't expect his modern band sound with this one. This has gotta be from the 30's.

Quite frankly,when my sister first heard it,she didn't even recognize it as Lawrence.

If you like the fast music from the 30's..this is for you.

Always kind of enjoyed Welk's music, but didn't want to admit it. This was my parent's music; very corny and square. I couldn't take the dancing on the TV show or some of the vocalist acts, but if you strip away all that and just listen to the music, it's very listenable (bubbly like champagne). Still, I preferred Guy Lombardo's sound over Welk's. I don't think any Welk fan would be disappointed over this nice selection of songs, but I doubt these are the "most requested" songs. If I was doing the requesting, I would ask for Calcutta and a Joann Castle number and definately a Lennon Sister's song or two. While Welk's band was a big part of the show, so were other performers who are not represented at all here. There are a few vocals here, but I can't identify who is singing; most of the songs are instrumental. It's a nice collection, but just not very representative of the overall Welk sound. Other reviewers say it's early Welk, so perhaps it was before the heyday of the TV show.

Lawrence Welk initially achieved fame as a big band leader starting in the late 20s, even achieving some notoriety for a few rare jazz sides on the Gennett label. This 16 track CD serves as an overview of his period recording for Columbia during the late 30s/early 40s. It highlights the genesis of the Champagne Music style that he was most associated with, Welk's accordion in the forefront. Parnell Grina, Welk's bassist of the time, gets a few vocals including Start The Day Right, a duet with Champagne Lady Lois Best on The Umbrella Man, and Comin' Thru The Rye. Best also is featured on Sing For Your Supper. Champagne Lady Jayne Walton is featured on 1,2,3 Kick! and Joan Mowery is the vocalist on Seems Like Old Times. While the commercial sweet band style is prominent throughout, it is enlivened by the organ filigrees of Jerry Burke, Welk's accordion and an occasional solo, such as the swinging tenor sax on Linger Awhile and the clarinet solo on the 1920s standard You're the Cream In My Coffee. There are two polkas on the disc, done in a very clean cut style. The sole chart hit is Welk's theme song, Bubbles In The Wine from 1939. Given that a more thorough sampling of his 1940s and 50s big band hits are not yet available on CD, this serves as a decent sampler of what initially appealed to Midwestern ballroom audiences.

I grew up with Lawrence Welk tv every Saturday night. I've always enjoyed his music. All the songs on the cd bring back memories. It is terrific...

This is just terrific early stuff by Lawrence. Don't expect his modern band sound with this one. This has gotta be from the 30's.

Quite frankly,when my sister first heard it,she didn't even recognize it as Lawrence.

If you like the fast music from the 30's..this is for you.

Always kind of enjoyed Welk's music, but didn't want to admit it. This was my parent's music; very corny and square. I couldn't take the dancing on the TV show or some of the vocalist acts, but if you strip away all that and just listen to the music, it's very listenable (bubbly like champagne). Still, I preferred Guy Lombardo's sound over Welk's. I don't think any Welk fan would be disappointed over this nice selection of songs, but I doubt these are the "most requested" songs. If I was doing the requesting, I would ask for Calcutta and a Joann Castle number and definately a Lennon Sister's song or two. While Welk's band was a big part of the show, so were other performers who are not represented at all here. There are a few vocals here, but I can't identify who is singing; most of the songs are instrumental. It's a nice collection, but just not very representative of the overall Welk sound. Other reviewers say it's early Welk, so perhaps it was before the heyday of the TV show.

Lawrence Welk initially achieved fame as a big band leader starting in the late 20s, even achieving some notoriety for a few rare jazz sides on the Gennett label. This 16 track CD serves as an overview of his period recording for Columbia during the late 30s/early 40s. It highlights the genesis of the Champagne Music style that he was most associated with, Welk's accordion in the forefront. Parnell Grina, Welk's bassist of the time, gets a few vocals including Start The Day Right, a duet with Champagne Lady Lois Best on The Umbrella Man, and Comin' Thru The Rye. Best also is featured on Sing For Your Supper. Champagne Lady Jayne Walton is featured on 1,2,3 Kick! and Joan Mowery is the vocalist on Seems Like Old Times. While the commercial sweet band style is prominent throughout, it is enlivened by the organ filigrees of Jerry Burke, Welk's accordion and an occasional solo, such as the swinging tenor sax on Linger Awhile and the clarinet solo on the 1920s standard You're the Cream In My Coffee. There are two polkas on the disc, done in a very clean cut style. The sole chart hit is Welk's theme song, Bubbles In The Wine from 1939. Given that a more thorough sampling of his 1940s and 50s big band hits are not yet available on CD, this serves as a decent sampler of what initially appealed to Midwestern ballroom audiences.

Yes, here is one more thing to blame on Woody Allen, as if he hasn't had enough problems in his life. Earlier this year I watched and reviewed in this space the film Radio Days that Woody directed. Every since then in the deep recesses of my brain the tunes Paper Dolls and Sentimental Journey have been pounding away. Hey this is music made before I was born, although maybe I picked it up in the womb. Why is it in my head? I am still a child of my generation and fought the anti-Vietnam War fight to the tunes of Bob Dylan's Desolation Row and The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter but I think I can make a little room for this, if only to keep my brain from stopping that pounding. Directly below are a few comments from my Radio day review that fit here and below that some specific comments on the CD being reviewed.

"...I am a first generation child of the television age, although in recent years I have spent more time kicking and screaming about that fact than watching the damn thing. Nevertheless I can appreciate Director (and narrator) Woody Allen's valentine to the radio days of his youth. I am just old enough, although about a half generation behind Allen, to remember the strains of songs like Paper Dolls and Autumn Leaves that he grew up with and that are nicely interspersed throughout his story as backdrop floating in the background of my own house.

I am also a child of Rock and Roll but those above-mentioned tunes were the melodies that my mother and father came of age to and the stuff of their dreams during World War II and its aftermath. The rough and tumble of my parents raising a bunch of kids might have taken the edge off it but the dreams remained. In the end it is this musical backdrop that makes Radio Days most memorable to me......

....Allen's youth, during the heart of World War II, was time when one needed to be able to dream a little. The realities of the world at that time seemingly only allowed for nightmares. My feeling is that this film touched a lot of sentimental nerves for the World War II generation (that so-called `greatest generation') whether it was his Jewish families (as portrayed here) on the shores of New York's Far Rockaway or my Irish families on the shores of Quincy, Massachusetts. Nice work, Woody."

Highlights here include the classic Sentimental Journey with Les Brown and his band and a young fresh Doris Day on vocals. Harry James and his band doing a bang up job on You Made Me Love You. A startlingly beautiful version (I didn't expect it to be in this kind of compilation) of Some Enchanted Evening from the Broadway musical South Pacific done by Ezio Pinza. Kudos here. The surprise is a very sensuous Latin- tropical version of Amor in Spanish done by Xavier Cugat and his band with an unknown (to me) Carmen Castillo on vocals. Wow.

Can't quite put my finger on it, but this collection seems to be lacking something. I love music from the 30's, 40's and 50's and it just seems there are better collections out there. Maybe this is just not the best selection of 40's songs. Also in some cases, I am thinking that maybe the artist who had the most success with a given song or is best remembered for a song is not necessarily the one performing the song on this album. For example, I don't remember Doris Day ever singing "Again" and "Dear Hearts & Gentle People" is (for me) a Bing Crosby Song. No Bing Crosby at all on this album and he was certainly one of the top 1940's performers. The collection does indeed include top artists of the era and it's a good sampler; it just doesn't seem as interesting as it could have been. A few of the songs seem a little more obscure too than the other more popular hits of that time.

I purchased this for my parents who were married in 1941.They were disappointed-they said the songs weren't like they remembered them. I think it could be like when Frank Barone on "Everbody Loves Raymond" got presents from both of his sons;Ray bought him the newest remote controlled CD player,high powered audio system and CD reissues of the music he loved when he was young.Robert bought him the old LP records and (I'm not sure if he bought it or Frank already had one) a record player. Guess which Frank and Marie (his wife) liked better? If you're a "Everbody Loves Raymond" fan you know how funny and touching this episode is.When Frank puts on the record with its crackling and popping he gets a big smile on his face and says:"Now that's music"

I bought this for my 86 year young grandma after she got her first CD player. She absolutely loves it. She is asking me to get the second volume (which I cannot find). She told me stories of all the dances that my grandfather and her went to when these songs were playing. If you have a parent/grandparent that loved music in this era it will be a hit.

Would like to know who sang this sonag and if it can be downloaded. Also songs Harbour Light and To Each His Own.b These two songs were done in the 40s or 50s. Need songs for 50th anniversary party on 1 July.

Thank you for your help

Below is the list of songs and the performing artists not listed by Amazon.

01. Ciribiribin - Harry James & His Orchestra 02. Why Don't You Do Right - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra 03. Brazil - Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra 04. Saturday Night - Frankie Carle & His Orchestra 05. My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time - Les Brown & His Orchestra 06. It's Only a Paper Moon - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra 07. Jingle, Jangle, Jingle - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra 08. South America, Take It Away! - Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra 09. Far Away Places - Dinah Shore 10. My Darling, My Darling - Buddy Clark & Doris Day with the George Siravo Orchestra 11. It's Magic - Doris Day with the George Siravo Orchestra 12. Taking a Chance on Love - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra 13. A Sleepy Lagoon - Harry James & His Orchestra 14. On a Slow Boat to China - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra 15. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Buddy Clark & Dinah Shore with the Ted Dale Orchestra 16. Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly) - Dinah Shore with the Harry Zimmerman Orchestra

The song begins (female artist)-----

" At last my love has come along.....

If anyone knows the title,artist,yr I would be so grateful. Thanks,jb

Yes, here is one more thing to blame on Woody Allen, as if he hasn't had enough problems in his life. Earlier this year I watched and reviewed in this space the film Radio Days that Woody directed. Every since then in the deep recesses of my brain the tunes Paper Dolls and Sentimental Journey have been pounding away. Hey this is music made before I was born, although maybe I picked it up in the womb. Why is it in my head? I am still a child of my generation and fought the anti-Vietnam War fight to the tunes of Bob Dylan's Desolation Row and The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter but I think I can make a little room for this, if only to keep my brain from stopping that pounding. Directly below are a few comments from my Radio day review that fit here and below that some specific comments on the CD being reviewed.

"...I am a first generation child of the television age, although in recent years I have spent more time kicking and screaming about that fact than watching the damn thing. Nevertheless I can appreciate Director (and narrator) Woody Allen's valentine to the radio days of his youth. I am just old enough, although about a half generation behind Allen, to remember the strains of songs like Paper Dolls and Autumn Leaves that he grew up with and that are nicely interspersed throughout his story as backdrop floating in the background of my own house.

I am also a child of Rock and Roll but those above-mentioned tunes were the melodies that my mother and father came of age to and the stuff of their dreams during World War II and its aftermath. The rough and tumble of my parents raising a bunch of kids might have taken the edge off it but the dreams remained. In the end it is this musical backdrop that makes Radio Days most memorable to me......

....Allen's youth, during the heart of World War II, was time when one needed to be able to dream a little. The realities of the world at that time seemingly only allowed for nightmares. My feeling is that this film touched a lot of sentimental nerves for the World War II generation (that so-called `greatest generation') whether it was his Jewish families (as portrayed here) on the shores of New York's Far Rockaway or my Irish families on the shores of Quincy, Massachusetts. Nice work, Woody."

Highlights here include the classic Sentimental Journey with Les Brown and his band and a young fresh Doris Day on vocals. Harry James and his band doing a bang up job on You Made Me Love You. A startlingly beautiful version (I didn't expect it to be in this kind of compilation) of Some Enchanted Evening from the Broadway musical South Pacific done by Ezio Pinza. Kudos here. The surprise is a very sensuous Latin- tropical version of Amor in Spanish done by Xavier Cugat and his band with an unknown (to me) Carmen Castillo on vocals. Wow.

Can't quite put my finger on it, but this collection seems to be lacking something. I love music from the 30's, 40's and 50's and it just seems there are better collections out there. Maybe this is just not the best selection of 40's songs. Also in some cases, I am thinking that maybe the artist who had the most success with a given song or is best remembered for a song is not necessarily the one performing the song on this album. For example, I don't remember Doris Day ever singing "Again" and "Dear Hearts & Gentle People" is (for me) a Bing Crosby Song. No Bing Crosby at all on this album and he was certainly one of the top 1940's performers. The collection does indeed include top artists of the era and it's a good sampler; it just doesn't seem as interesting as it could have been. A few of the songs seem a little more obscure too than the other more popular hits of that time.

I purchased this for my parents who were married in 1941.They were disappointed-they said the songs weren't like they remembered them. I think it could be like when Frank Barone on "Everbody Loves Raymond" got presents from both of his sons;Ray bought him the newest remote controlled CD player,high powered audio system and CD reissues of the music he loved when he was young.Robert bought him the old LP records and (I'm not sure if he bought it or Frank already had one) a record player. Guess which Frank and Marie (his wife) liked better? If you're a "Everbody Loves Raymond" fan you know how funny and touching this episode is.When Frank puts on the record with its crackling and popping he gets a big smile on his face and says:"Now that's music"

I bought this for my 86 year young grandma after she got her first CD player. She absolutely loves it. She is asking me to get the second volume (which I cannot find). She told me stories of all the dances that my grandfather and her went to when these songs were playing. If you have a parent/grandparent that loved music in this era it will be a hit.

Would like to know who sang this sonag and if it can be downloaded. Also songs Harbour Light and To Each His Own.b These two songs were done in the 40s or 50s. Need songs for 50th anniversary party on 1 July.

Thank you for your help

Below is the list of songs and the performing artists not listed by Amazon.

01. Ciribiribin - Harry James & His Orchestra 02. Why Don't You Do Right - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra 03. Brazil - Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra 04. Saturday Night - Frankie Carle & His Orchestra 05. My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time - Les Brown & His Orchestra 06. It's Only a Paper Moon - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra 07. Jingle, Jangle, Jingle - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra 08. South America, Take It Away! - Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra 09. Far Away Places - Dinah Shore 10. My Darling, My Darling - Buddy Clark & Doris Day with the George Siravo Orchestra 11. It's Magic - Doris Day with the George Siravo Orchestra 12. Taking a Chance on Love - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra 13. A Sleepy Lagoon - Harry James & His Orchestra 14. On a Slow Boat to China - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra 15. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Buddy Clark & Dinah Shore with the Ted Dale Orchestra 16. Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly) - Dinah Shore with the Harry Zimmerman Orchestra

The song begins (female artist)-----

" At last my love has come along.....

If anyone knows the title,artist,yr I would be so grateful. Thanks,jb

As always received a great product and very quick delivery.
Thank you so much for the ongoing great service.

Elaine

Just an outstanding collection of great country music songs. You can't beat the Gatlin Bros for harmony and content.

I enjoy listening to Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers all the time. The song writing and vocal ability is one of the best. No matter what kind of music you like, you should love this music. I saw the Gatlin Brothers in Branson MO. and it was very much worth the trip.

Success did not come easy to Larry, but things started to happen when Dottie West became impressed by his songwriting and started to record some of his songs, something she continued to do occasionally even after he became successful as a singer. Eventually, Kris Kristofferson managed to persuade his own label, Monument, to give Larry a recording contract.

Although Larry was the lead singer, his brothers always sang harmony so it was no surprise when Larry gave them credit by including them in the title of his act. They never became really big names, but they were successful for a few years in the mid to late seventies and early eighties, the period covered by this compilation, and have continued to record sporadically ever since.

After some minor hits (included here), their big break came via Broken lady, the song chosen to start this compilation. It was a masterpiece, and it was no surprise that Dottie West recorded it with gender-adapted lyrics. Their biggest hit was All the gold in California, which tells you that it all belongs to somebody else now so don't waste time looking for it. It's a very clever song and catchy too - no surprise that it was such a huge success.

Other songs here worthy of mention include I just wish you were someone I love (their first country number one hit), I don't wanna cry, She used to sing on Sunday, Houston, Take me to your loving place and Midnight choir. Actually, every song here is wonderful and there are some others that I would like to have seen included too, but there is one in particular worth mentioning - Bitter they are harder they fall. It was not their biggest hit but several singers have covered it. Dottie West was first (of course) - she actually recorded the song twice, several years apart - but Elvis Presley and Anne Murray are among others who have followed. I am amused to see Larry's version on an Elvis tribute compilation. How can his version be a tribute?

The absence of Bitter they are harder they fall (which can be found on other Gatlin albums as well as Elvis tributes) does not prevent this from being an excellent compilation of music by a distinctive trio of brothers.

One of the premier country acts of the 70s and 80s, the Gatlin Brothers produced hit after major hit. With Larry's dynamic leads and the kind of harmonies that only siblings can create, the trio proved both versatile and long-lived.

This collection has all of the early hits and most of the later ones, including the biggest of them all, All the Gold in California. A major bonus is the often overlooked Midnight Choir, a delightfully tongue-in-cheek poke at the missionary work and gospel background that the Gatlin's love.

A truly wonderful collection, highly recommended for any fan of country music or beautiful vocal harmonies.

If you are a diehard traditionalist who believes no one should ever change a note, you may not like the way some of the tunes are handled--some are a little hard to recognize. Having said that, however, you may find yourself caught up in the sheer emotion of the Kavana arrangements, which are thought-provoking and sometimes hauntingly beautiful, with gutsy, arresting vocals (sort of an Irish Bob Dylan?). The content is strongly nationalistic though not abusive of the opposition. If you're ready for something different in Irish music--albeit with mostly traditional instrumentation--give this one a listen.

Having come across this by sheer accident, I cannot recommend it enough. From the haunting speeches of Easter 1916 and Robert Emmet's last words, the superb Boolavogue, Shan Van Vocht, Johnny I hardly knew ye, the stirring Cry, Cry Cry, Home Fire-Beyond the Pale & Follow me up to Carlow, all of the songs, without exception, are thought provoking and still relevant. From the Praties they grow small during the starvation of Ireland, they wish that they were geese, so that they could live their lives in peace, eating corn. Tragedy upon tragedy upon horror and injustice. Buy this with confidence.