1960s Bollywood dance hits, including this one made famous in the West in the opening sequence of the film Ghost World.
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Favorite Records Ever (Today!)
One of the many pop and traditional East Asian albums (115 today) in the Long Playing Albums collection, this one has traditional Chinese songs between the Western style pop songs. It makes for an excellent mix for those who enjoy both styles. Do check out that link for a list for top notch pop and traditional albums!
A reviewer at the blog Luigi’s Vinyl Corner wrote that Dottie Clark’s vocal style had shades of Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson. Very true.
The opening winds and the bouncy arrangement give the opening track, a version of “The Nearness of You,” the happy charm of a Flintstones soundtrack. Sparkling brass and swinging percussion throughout. The whole album has excellent instrumentation and arrangements for a genuinely enjoyable mid-century Latin classic pop album.
Shelly Manne gathered an all-star ensemble for his charming, upbeat score to the TV show Daktari about an animal behavior research center in East Africa. Every one of these top-notch performers appear in the Long Playing Album collection with their own albums or as session men (won’t come up in search results) on other excellent albums.
– Shelly Manne, drums
– Bud Shank, Frank Strozier, Art Smith & Justin Gordon, woodwinds
– Bob Bain, guitar
– Mike Wofford, tack piano
– Bill Pitman, bass guitar
– Emil Richards, Larry Bunker, Frank Carlson & Victor Feldman, percussion
Enric Madriguera was a very successful bandleader in Spain and later in the USA. Chuy Reyes was a popular pianist and bandleader based in Hollywood. Americans Arthur and Kathryn Murray were married on 1925 and opened a wildly popular dance school together. Soon it was a chain. Capitol Records released a bunch of records in association with the dance school featuring many great orchestras.
Here is a playful album from some top jazz musicians.
Piano: Herbie Hancock (composer credits here, too)
Trombones: Kai Winding, Carl Fontana, Urbie Green, Bill Watrous
Guitar: Buzzy Bavarian
Electric Bass: Bob Cranshaw
Drums: Grady Tate
This opens with a swinging version of the Stephen Foster early American classic, “Beautiful Dreamer,” but that “I Love My Bed” is the one my mind wanders back to when I wish I was off to dreamland. The showcase features George Williams Orchestra, Julius La Rosa, Jacques Ysaye, Hollywood Presbyterian Church Choir, Voices Of Walter Schumann, Perez Prado Orchestra, Manny Albam, Ernie Wilkins Orchestra, Melachrino Orchestra, Coleman Hawkins, Bill Byers Orchestra, Frankie Carle Orchestra, Ray Bohr, and the Birdland Stars.
Not all of the original performers from the original 1928 Broadway revue were available for this 1933 recording reissued as an LP in 1968 40 years after the show. Even so, this is a stellar cast, including Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Mills Brothers, Don Redman Orchestra, Adelaide Hall, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Cecil Mark, Cecil Mack Choir, Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh, and Jack Kapp. An incredible album.
An Internet Archive reviewer writes, “The Mexicali Singers are a pseudonym of The Anita Kerr Singers. This is a fun 1966 album of simplified and delightfully lighthearted versions of classic pop songs of the time…. It is the first of three such albums Anita and her gang released under this name. All three albums feature light pop song versions with vocalise and album jackets with Mexican pottery figures.”
Did you see the Summer of Soul documentary? (IMDB) Clara Ward was one of the artists to perform at the Harlem Cultural Festival 1969 in the film. Although mostly a gospel artist, this album is a fun soul pop album.
Bob Thompson was a fantastic bandleader, composer, and arranger. This was his debut album. His originals are “Peek A Boo” and the title track. Bachelor pad with full on brass, out there percussion, and wordless vocals.