Customer Reviews

Fraulein - The Classic Years

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I've got to admit I felt a little stupid paying $$$ for two CDs, but as soon as I got them and heard the quality of the mastering and especially of the music I haven't regretted it once. Too talented to be pigeonholed as a country or a pop musician, Bobby Helms possesses that unforgetable and soothing voice that hearkens me back to childhood Christmases listening to "Jingle Bell Rock" on my grandparent's radio. Definitely one of the most underrated and underappreciated musicians of our time (and from Indiana to boot!)

Ask anyone who lived through the 1950s what songs they think of when they hear the name Bobby Helms and chances are you'll get one of three responses [or all three at once]: Fraulein, My Special Angel, and/or Jingle Bell Rock.

Fraulein spent an entire YEAR on the Country charts [52 weeks] from its debut on March 30, 1957, and stayed at # 1 for four weeks. It also made it to # 36 Billboard Top 100. Not bad for a song that was clearly Country in every respect. It also spawned several copycat and "answer song" hits, with Hank Locklin's Geisha Girl, and Kitty Wells' (I'll Always Be Your) Fraulein being the best examples. The B-side, the quasi-R&R (Got A) Heartsick Feeling would have been a charter too had it not been lost in the phenominal success of the A-side.

So, what does a guy do for an encore after THAT? Some might say that My Special Angel was only half as good in terms of time spent on the charts [26 weeks], but hey, with the backing of The Anita Kerr Singers, it too made it to # 1 for four weeks and did even better on the Top 100, peaking at # 7 in November 1957. Not only that, it crossed over to the R&B charts, hitting # 8. Its flipside, a pure country ballad called Standing At The End Of My World, was also good enough to chart - that is, if disc jockeys had had the presence of mind to simply turn the record over once in a while.

Jingle Bell Rock, while it didn't do that well on the Country charts [# 13], became his highest Top 100 hit at # 6 in December 1957. And it would return to the Pop charts each Christmas season for several years thereafter. The B-side was the novelty Captain Santa Claus (And His Reindeer Space Patrol).

Probably no one will mention hit number four, 1958's Just A Little Lonesome which, b/w the rocking Love My Lady, leveled off at # 10 Country in April. But later that spring Jacqueline became his fourth crossover hit as it rose to # 5 Country and # 63 Top 100 in June, again with the backing of The Anita Kerr Singers, b/w Living In The Shadow Of The Past - another that should have charted on its own.

The next two years with Decca - his last - weren't nearly as profitable as New River Train b/w Miss Memory only reached # 26 Country in April 1959, while a follow-up to Fraulein, Lonely River Rhine b/w Guess We Thought The World Would End, reached # 16 Country in November 1960.

This two-disc set highlights his Decca years, giving us ORIGINAL renditions of all seven charters PLUS their B-sides.

After a seven-year absence from the charts, Bobby returned in 1967 on the Little Darlin' label to rack up five more Country hits, albeit with much less success. These are among the hardest to find for collectors: He Thought He'd Die Laughing [# 46 in 1967]; The Day You Stopped Loving Me [# 60 in 1968]; I Feel You, I Love You [# 53 in 1968]; So Long [# 43 in 1969]; and Mary Goes 'Round [# 41 in 1970].

Sadly, Bobby passed away from emphysema on June 19, 1997, but not before seeing Jingle Bell Rock return to the charts one more time in 1996 following the release of the film Jingle All The Way [# 60 Country].

A marvelous collection of the early years of this highly recognizable voice that should not be missed.

When I was a little girl my grandfather owned a produce store and every year he would dress up as Santa for all of the children in the neighborhood. My grandmother would help all of the children get on Santa's lap and never rushed them as what is done today. We always played lots of Christmas songs but my favorite was Captain Santa Claus by Bobby Helms. I am in my forties now and not one of my friends has ever heard this song. I am thrilled to have found it and can't wait to play it for my family & friends on Christmas Day. This song reminds my of my grandparents and now I will always feel like they are here with me always expecially at Christmas.

Liked all of the country songs - wish there were more of them than the others...singing the crossover stuff probably was why more of his country didn't go higher ?????more often..