Customer Reviews

Hoagy Carmichael Songbook

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Hoagy Carmichael is one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. He's the author of the best songs of the century (Stardust, Georgia on my mind, Lazy River, the Nearness of you, Heart and Soul,...). His songs have been covered by most of the greatest artists of the 20th century: Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and so on. "The Hoagy Carmichael Songbook", released in 1990, gives a fairly good idea of how good and influential was Carmichael's music. All Carmichael's major hits (performed by an all star cast) can be found in this "Songbook". The best part of the record is - by far - Mildred Bailey's recording of Rockin' Chair. It is very powerful and very moving at the same time. Her voice, coupled with the sound of xilophones, gives the song a sort of otherworldly beauty. I have rarely heard anything as good as this.

About an hour of funny and romantic music performed by various artists, mostly from the past. Gives you a great "feel" of this wonderful, composer, singer (almost) and piano player's talents. You feel Carmichael's very human and gentle view of life. Leaves you whistling. I'm buying extra copies for friends because when they hear mine, they want it.

This review is for the Concord release, not the RCA. For some unknown reason Amazon is crossposting these reviews to both. They are two completely different releases differing in content and performers.

Mostly lighthearted and breezy, these ten 'cool jazz' recordings from the contemporary Concord discography form a tribute album of sorts. This is a fun disc -- a real pick-me-up for overcast moods or days. A great mix of vocals and instrumentals. Quite enjoyable. Have no fear getting this one.

History will record that Hoagy Carmichael, born on November 22, 1899 (the same year as another great, Duke Ellington), was one of THE major contributors to pop music to emerge in the 2Oth Century. And no wonder, considering the classics he composed, among them Rockin' Chair, Lazy River, Two Sleepy People, Small Fry, Heart And Soul (the last three with lyricist Frank Loesser, How Little We Know (introduced by the sultry Lauren Bacall in To Have And To Have Not), Ole Buttermilk Sky (first sung by Hoagy himself in the film Canyon Passage), Lazy Bones, Skylark, and In The Cool, Cool Of The Evening (all with lyricist Johnny Mercer), and the oft-recorded Georgia On My Mind, immortalized in the 1960 rendition by the late, great Ray Charles.

At the top of this impressive list, of course, comes Star Dust (sometimes shown as Stardust), only the most recorded love song of all time. It didn't start out so renowned, however, as initially it was a 1927 up-tempo instrumental. Even when words were added in 1929 by Mitchell Parrish it failed to take off. That is, until both Irving Mills & His Hotsy Totsy Gang (# 20) and Isham Jones (# 1) added it to their respective band's repertoire in 1930 - again as an instrumental. After that it seems everyone wanted to record it, and by 1943 there had been no less than 15 hit single versions, with Bing Crosby having the first vocal hit with it in 1931 (# 5). That same year other hits came from Louis Armstrong (# 16), Wayne King & His Orchestra (# 17 instrumental), and Lee Sims (# 20 in a piano version).

In 1935 Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra, with vocal by Henry Wells, would take it to # 10 as the flip of his # 1 hit, Rhythm Is Our Business, and a year later Victor would release it with two different artists performing it on each side - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra as a # 2 instrumental, and Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra as a # 8 with vocal by Edythe Wright. Next up was Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra in 1939, a # 16 instrumental, following which came the early 1941 Artie Shaw version. Winding up at # 1, this instrumental version, voted the greatest record (and the song voted greatest song) of all time in a Billboard disc jockey poll, featured solos by Artie on clarinet, Billy Butterfield on trumpet, and Jack Jenney on trombone. That same year, Tommy Dorsey had another hit with a new recording of the song, this time featuring vocals by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers (# 7), while a Glenn Millerinstrumental hit # 20.

In 1943, Baron Elliot & His Stardust Melodies Orchestra took it to # 18, with vocal by The Stardust Trio, and in a re-issue of his 1941 hit, the Tommy Dorsey version went to # 23. Fourteen years later, versions by Billy Ward & His Dominoes, with lead vocal by Eugene Mumford (# 5 R&B/# 12 Top 100) and Nat "King" Cole with orchestral backing by Gordon Jenkins (# 70 Top 100) saw it return to the charts. And it did again in 1962 in a new recording by Frank Sinatra which, with backing by the Don Costa orchestra, finished at # 98. In 1964 Nino Tempo & April Stevens saw their rendition reach # 31 Hot 100, and in 1975 Johnny Mathis had his version top out at # 4 Adult Contemporary (AC). The last hit version (to this point) then came in 1993 when Harry Connick, Jr. finished at # 46 AC.

So, it would seem Hoagy Carmichael's firm position in pop music history would have been solidified on the basis of that one song alone. But, as you will see from this album, his talent didn't end there. Twenty great tracks by some of the most renowned artists to grace one CD, with excellent sound reproduction and two pages of liner notes written by John E. Quinn.

These CDs please the ear, the heart, and the mind. Playing them gives me a reminder of the many contributions Hoagy Carmichael made to the world of music. Most people hear his compositions and don't realize who the composer was. Hearing his voice singing gives one goose bumps. Great! I only wish the collection included the version of Small Fry sung by Bing Crosby and Johnnie Mercer and Kate Smith's rendition of Can't Get Indiana off my Mind.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote and played some of the great American songs, including one of the greatest of all, his signature song, 'Stardust'. He had a certain laidback quality, an ease, an effortlessness ( or so it seemed) that suited truly the composer of 'Lazy River' 'In the Cool of the Evening' and 'Heart and Soul'. His music is music which gives quiet pleasure and sense of deep relaxation.
One of the best.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote some great songs for the film GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.
Great songs such as WHEN LOVE GOES WRONG, sung by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, as well as another one called AIN'T THERE ANYONE HERE FOR LOVE, a great song performed by Jane Russell
amid a group of athletic musclemen from the US Olympic Team.
A song deleted from the film WHEN THE WILD WILD WOMEN GO IN
SWIMMING IN BIMINI BAY sung by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell
has never surfaced anywhere, even though the scene from that
song is used in the trailer of the film. Did anyone else record
this song? .
Hoagy Carmichael, a great songwriter.