Big Bands - Glen Gray [Single]

Various (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single
• Label: Time Life Music
• ASIN: B000B8YTBC
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,547 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

21 Songs. Put On Your Gray Bonnet, When I Take My Sugar to Tea, Chinatown, My Chinatown, etc...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Sounds Of The Famous Casa Loma Orchestra, September 25, 2007

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AvidOldiesCollector (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Bands - Glen Gray (Audio CD)

This is but one volume of the massive Time-Life "mail order only" Big Band series of a couple of decades ago which covered all the early greats, and if you can get your hands on one of these Glen Gray editions at the price being shown, go for it. Fast while they last.

The sound reproduction is excellent, and in the fold-out insert you get just over two full pages on the career of bandleader Glen Gray Knoblaugh who named his orchestra after the famous Toronto castle-turned-hotel, along with another two pages providing notes on each selection (author not identified). Also, there is a complete discography of the contents, including musicians involved, which range from 1931 to 1942.

The tracks, with the date recorded and, where applicable, vocalist, label number and chart performance, are: 1) Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet - March 23, 1931 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Brunswick 6100); 2) When I Take My Sugar To Tea - March 23, 1931 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Brunswick 6085; 3) Chinatown, My Chinatown -Sept 17, 1934 - Decca 199; 4) Stompin' Around - Septr 24, 1934 - Decca 286; 5) Under A Blanket Of Blue - Sept 28, 1939 - vocal by Kenny Sargent - Decca 3193; 6) Casa Loma Stomp - July 23, 1937 - Decca 1412; 7) The Object Of My Affection - Nov 16, 1934 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 298 = # 10 Dec 1934/Jan 1935; 8) A Study In Brown - Feb 4, 1937 - Decca 1159; 9) For You - July 23, 1937 - vocal by Kenny Sargent - Decca 1412 as the flip of track 6); 10) Let Yourself Go - Feb 1, 1936 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 696; 11) Ay-Ay-Ay - Feb 20, 1939 - Decca 2437 as the flip of If I Had My Way; 12) Lazy Bones - Feb 20, 1939 - vocal by Louis Armstrong and Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 2395; 13) Royal Garden Blues - June 10, 1936 - Decca 986; 14) The Devil Is Afraid Of Music - Sept 4, 1935 - vocal by Pee Wee Hunt - Decca 553; 15) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - July 23, 1937 - Decca 1396; 16) Bye Bye Blues - Sept 25, 1940 - vocal by Kenny Sargent - Decca 3639; 17) No Name Jive - March 18, 1940 = Decca 3089 - # 9 June 1940; 18) Sleepytime Gal - Dec 8, 1937 - Decca 15042 ; 19) Rose Of The Rio Grande - June 10, 1936 - Decca 869; 20) 'Til We Meet Again - April 5, 1942 - vocal by Kenny Sargent and chorus - Decca 18322; 21) Smoke Rings - July 23, 1937 - Decca 1473 - # 15 Nov 1937 and became his theme song.

The paucity of hit singles in the above mix might seem to suggest that Gray was not as successful in that regard as some of his contemporaries (whose volumes in this series are filled with hits), but the fact is, from 1931 to1945 they had 64 hit singles, including one R&B crossover, five # 1 hits, and 30 that finished in the Top 10. For reasons known only to the producers (Charles McCardell and Brian Miller) they chose to ignore most of those. One of the # 1 hits, 1935's When I Grow Too Old To Dream with vocal by Kenny Sargent, is regarded as one of THE top jazz tunes of all time.