Customer Reviews

You'll Never Know

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

 

 

Dick Haymes, born in Argentina but raised in the U.S., started out, as did Frank Sinatra, as a band singer with the likes of Harry James, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey before becoming Decca's answer to Columbia's Sinatra as a solo act from 1943 to 1951, a period in which he racked up 55 hit singles, including 10 in duets with Helen Forrest.

Here you get 12 of those solo hits, including his first in summer 1943, It Can't Be Wrong, which rose to # 1 on Decca 18557. The others are: You'll Never Know (# 1 for 7 weeks in late summer 1943 from the film Hello, Frisco, Hello), it's flipside Wait For Me Mary (# 6) on Decca 18556 in August 1943, I Never Mention Your Name (# 11 in September 1943 on Decca 18558) - all with the backing of The Songspinners - How Blue The Night (# 11 in July 1944 on Decca 18604 with Emil New3man's orchestra), Laura (# 9 in May 1945 on Decca 18666 with Victor Young's orchestra - from the film of the same name), The More I See You (# 7 in June 1945) and its B-side, I Wish I Knew (# 6 in July 19450 - both from the film Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe and also with Victor Young's orchestra), It Might As Well Be Spring (# 5 in November/December 1945 on Decca 18706) and It's A Grand Night For Singing (# 21 in February 1946 on Decca 18740) - both from the film State Fair and both with the Earl Hagen orchestra, and You Make Me Feel So Young (# 21 in October 1946 on Decca 18914 from the film Three Little Girls In Blue).

Duet hits include, with Helen Forrest and the Victor Young Orchestra, It Had To Be You (# 4 in September/October 1944) and its flipside Together (# 3) on Decca 23349 from the film Since You Went Away, and I'll Buy That Dream (# 2 in September 1945 on Decca 23434 from the film Sing Your Way Home, along with For You, For Me, For Evermore with Judy Garland and the Gordon Jenkins orchestra, a # 19 in January 1947 on Decca 23687 from the film The Shocking Miss Pilgrim.

Four selections are from his days with the Harry James orchestra (tracks 2 to 5), including the # 1 smash (6 weeks) I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You) which was recorded in April 1941 and released then on Columbia 36285, but didn't score until its re-release in April 1944 on Columbia 36698. The song was a feature in the film Follow The Boys.

The ADD sound quality is very good (as are all releases from Living Era) and in the insert you get 3 pages of liner notes written in 1997 by Peter Dempsey, along with recording dates and backing orchestras. One of the better Dick Haymes compilations ever put on the market.

Dick Haymes was huge in the 1940s and with good reason. This collection of hits is the perfect background for a romantic evening or just for remembering times gone by.

Since I am Dick Haymes fan, I really enjoy this CD. It has some of the songs, e.g., You'll Never Know, I'll Buy That Dream, Together, that made him such a popular singer. However, there are some selections that do not suit his smooth style and I think they should not have been included.