Customer Reviews

Golden Classics

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For a really good LaRosa album, try "Love Songs A La Rosa" (1960s, Cadence). Simple background, nice vocals, romance without the nookie. Shows up occasionally in the oldies stacks. (Met Julie years ago--really nice guy. Does he still do jazz at Michael's Pub in N.Y.C.?)

Born in Brooklyn, New York on January 2, 1930, Julius La Rosa first rose to fame as a key member of the highly popular TV show, Arthur Godfrey And His Friends in his two-year stint in 1952/53 (other notables getting their start on that show were The Chordettes, McGuire Sisters, The Mariners, and Pat Boone).

In that span he had four hit singles, This Is Heaven (3 21 Pop) b/w Anywhere I Wander, from the film Hans Christan Andersen, which went to # 4 in March 1953. The follow-up My Lady Loves To Dance topped out at # 21 in May, and the happy Eh, Cumpari went all the way to # 2 in September/ October that year and stayed around on the charts for 20 weeks. All were backed by Archie Bleyer & His Orchestra (also a part of the Godfrey show) and were cut at Bleyer's Cadence Records, which he had just formed.

In fact it was still hovering near the top when that egomaniacal control- freak Godfrey fired LaRosa ON THE AIR on October 19, allegedly for not having enough "humility" (he also fired Bleyer at the same time, and two years later would just as unceremoniously dump Marion Marlowe and a few other lesser lights).

Undaunted, LaRosa and Bleyer would go on to collaborate on two more hits in 1954, taking Three Coins In The Fountain to # 21 in June and Mobile to # 21 in December (the last is omitted here). And, much to Godfrey's chagrin, both the hits and his popularity continued on into 1955, the year R&R barged onto the scene. In July, Domani (Tomorrow) rose to # 13 Billboard Top 100 b/w the hilarious Mama Rosa and, in October, his rendition of Suddenly There's A Valley hit # 20 Top 100 b/w Everytime That I Kiss Carrie (only Mama Rosa is here).

In 1956 Julius parted company with Bleyer and Cadence and switched to RCA Victor where he had hits in 1956 with Lipstick And Candy And Rubbersoled Shoes (# 15 Top 100 in February), I;ve Got Love (# 93 Top 100 in July) and Get Me To The Church On Time, from the Broadway hit My Fair Lady, which topped out at # 89 Top 100 in August. All were backed by Joe Reisman & His Orchestra.

In 1957 he linked with Hugo Winterhalter & His Orchestra and had a # 98 Top 100 with Mama Guitar in April b/w Man To Man, and over a year later scored again with a cover of the Renato Carosone hit, Torero, which peaked at # 21 Top 100 in June 1958 b/w Milano. On these sides he was backed by Nick Perito & His Orchestra.

His last two hits came in 1966 and 1969, the first for MGM when You're Gonna Hear From Me, from the film Inside Daisy Clover, went to # 21 on the Adult Contemporary (AC) charts in June 1966, while the other, for the Crew label, was Where Do I Go? Billed to Julius LaRosa with The Bob Crewe Generation, it made it to # 24 AC in November 1969.

While, like one reviewer, I see nothing wrong with the sound quality of this CD, which covers his Cadence career, I do have to deduct one star simply because, in a compilation labeled "classics" they leeave off the two legitimate hits, Mobile and Domani, while including, at tracks 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15 to 19, selections which were hardly among his classics. Which means both missing hits are probably impossible to find in their original format.

The excellent voice of the under-rated LaRosa had not yet reached its full maturity when he recorded these tracks for Cadence from 1952-1955, but there are some very big sellers among them that belong in the collection of 50s pop collectors. The real treats here are some of the lesser-known tracks ("Til They've All Gone Home," "Let's Stay Home Tonight") where LaRosa demonstrates the smooth romantic style that set female hearts aflutter, and they hold the promise of things to come (his excellent "Love Songs A LaRosa" album, also available on CD). I should add, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the audio (mono, of course) on this album, taken from the original Cadence master tapes - ignore comments from the reviewer who apparently has a bad CD player (or a defective disc).

"Love Songs A La Rosa" was on Roulette, not Cadence, for you devoted searchers.

This is a marvelous CD, containing many old-time classics, but the one song I had been trying to find is "The Big Bell and the Little Bell," a song I remembered from childhood...not only a totally sweet and charming song, sung well by Julius LaRosa in his beautiful tenor voice, it also has a very good message for children...(that just because something is big and loud does not mean it's the best)...and it is a very sing-able and memorable song. I had remembered the tune and many of the words for nearly 50 years, and wanted it for my grandchildren. However, it isn't easy to find...so get your copy here at Amazon if you want a trip down Memory Lane!

I love the oldies and flare of italian american music.

Thank You

I became familiar with Julius LaRosa back around 1985 when I read about and purchased an lp that he put out on the Audiophile label. I wondered whether I was making a wise investment. After all, he never got that much publicity or recognition. I can say now how glad I am that I took the chance. Mr. LaRosa is unfortunately consigned, through no fault of his own, to that category of entertainers whose talent has been undeservedly ignored.

This CD, unfortunately does not serve Mr. LaRosa well. The quality of the sound makes it a trial to listen to for any length of time. There is a CD his that you should get. Go to Amazon.com and look him up under "La Rosa" where the "a" is separated from the "R" by a space. There you will find his, "Better Than Ever," which he recorded a couple of years ago. Get it. You'll like it.

These are recordings LaRosa did in the mid fifties. I like LaRosa, but this disc should not have been published. The sound is very dated. And the back-up arrangements are very hokey. Save your money.

If you are looking for LaRosa on CD try to find the following:

"Julius LaRosa" - Project 3 PRD5116

I think this CD is out of print. Perhaps you can find it at one of those sites specializing in used CD's. It's definitely 5-star material and worth the search.

"Better Than Ever" - Avalon ACD-961

I got the Avalon from Heartland Music, which puts out a lot of oldies (although "Better Than Ever" was recorded in 1996). Mr. LaRosa is starting to show his age on this recording. But I like it. I keep wanting to return to it.