Radio-TV mirror (July-Dec 1954)

STEVE ALLEN'S TURNTABLE Hi there! Trust you're all settled down for the fall season, with your radio, your television set, and — I hope — your player machine. We've got a variety of good things musical this month, so if you're all set, give a listen and you'll know just how you want to spend your record allowance. Let's start off with some albums, and there are quite a few this time. Victor is releasing "Glenn Miller, Limited Edition, Volume II," on five 12-inch LP's, adding up to several hours of wonderful music in the Miller mood. All of the selections in this set were never released before, but you'll recognize all the tunes, and you'll certainly remember the old Miller vocalists — Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton and the Modernaires. Also on the Victor label we find three additions to previously recorded kiddie albums. There's a new Howdy Doody release, a new Ding Dong School set and a new Walt Disney collection. The Disney album includes "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Snow White" and "Peter Pan." I guess Jackie Gleason wasn't kidding when he said he was serious about becoming a conductor. For here he is with a new album for Capitol called "Music, Martinis, and Memories." There are sixteen songs, all instrumentals, and as the title of the album implies, they're on the torchy side. Bobby Hackett's beautiful trumpet work is featured. The British singing lass, Vera Lynn, has a couple of new ballads called "Try Again" and "Now and Forever." This latter tune, by the way, has been a big hit in Germany and Switzerland for the last few months under the title "Heideroslein." Well, any 10 Betty Madigan, the "Joey" girl, chats with Frank Farrell, New York columnist. way, this looks like a big one for Vera (London Records). Mitch Miller, that talented musical gentleman, has a happy selection in "The Wooden Shoes and Happy Hearts" and "Sabrina," the theme song from the new Audrey Hepburn movie. Mitch conducts his fine orchestra and chorus (Columbia). "Madonna, Madonna" is a tender ballad with a religious feeling sung excellently by baritone Tony Bennett, backed up with a straight ballad, "Not as a Stranger," not from the novel of the same name. By the way, if you find the slightest connection between the lyrics and the book, let me know, will you? Percy Faith and his orchestra supply the background (Columbia). Another baritone riding high and handsome these days is Frank Sinatra, and his new album, "Swing Easy!", should help pay Capitol Records' income tax for this year. This is Sinatra at his best, with Nelson Riddle's orchestra, on eight old standards, "Just One of Those Things," "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," "Sunday," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," "Jeepers Creepers," "Get Happy," "Taking a Chance on Love," and last, and just about the best of the group in my opinion, "All of Me." June Valli, who goes quietly along her melodic way as a consistent record salesgal for Victor, has a new release which may well be as big a hit as her "Crying in the Chapel." She does "Tell Me, Tell Me" and ''Boy Wanted," with Henry Rene, his orchestra and chorus. "Tell Me" looks like the big side and June really belts the lyrics across. The M-G-M label is going all out on two B\lly Eckstine albums. The first is "I Let a Song Go out of My Heart," and if you're a Duke Ellington fan, this is for you, because the tunes are all compositions by the great Duke. Such things as "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good," "Sophisticated J ady," "Solitude," and "Don't Get Around 1 luch Anymore," to mention just a few. The second Eckstine set is titled "Love Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein," and I don't think these two musical men need any introduction. Billy sings the top romantic ballads from such famous R. & H. Broadway shows as "South Pacific," "Allegro" and "The King and I." Nelson Riddle is the man with the baton. Betty Madigan, who leaped to record fame with her "Joey" platter, is hoping her new one will keep her right up there. Betty sings "That Was My Heart You Heard" and "Always You." Joe Lipman's orchestra, with the Ray Charles Singers, lend assistance (M-G-M). The Ames Brothers, that bouncing family group, have a new bounce ditty, "One More Time," adapted from the old German melody of the same name. The boys do a good job on it and even sing some of the lyrics in German. The reverse is a ballad called "Hopelessly," written by three Boston disc jockeys, who are hopefully hoping it's a hit (Victor). Dinah Shore has recorded a new album, "Dinah Shore's TV Show," singing all the tunes that were the most popular with her fans on her television show last sea , son. Harry Geller and his orchestra supply the music (Victor). Kay Starr is still collecting royalties like mad on her smash "If You Love Me" and "Man Upstairs," but she'll have to keep running to the bank to deposit the shekels from her latest, "Am I a Toy or a Treasure" and "Fortune in Dreams," with Harold Mooney's orchestra. This is just about the greatest thing Kay has ever done, and I warn you, you'll be hearing plenty of it in the jukeboxes (Capitol). Here's a new one by Jimmy Boyd, which the kids and the grownups should both like. Jimmy warbles "Little Sir Echo," the oldie which was a pop tune back in 1939, and something called "The Little White Duck," with arrangements and conducting by Paul Weston. It's hard to believe that "little" Jimmy is now fourteen years old (Columbia). M-G-M is bringing out an album, "Hank Williams Sings," which is good news to the many, many Williams fans who were saddened by his untimely death in an auto accident a couple of years ago. With his Drifting Cowboys, Hank croons eight tunes in all (Volumes I and II) and included are such Williams favorites as "I Saw the Light," "Six More Miles," "Lost Highway," and "A House Without Love." Decca Records is still celebrating their twentieth anniversary as a record company and in continuous honor of the event, they're bringing out some great albums. Whatever your taste in music, you'll find something you'll like in their fabulous list. I haven't got space to name them all but, just to give you an idea, there's "A Night at the Roosevelt," with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians — a complete evening of dance music, just as if you were in New York and spending the evening in the Roosevelt Grill, where the Lombardos have been playing for twenty-five years. Then there's "Songs in an Intimate Style," sung by Peggy Lee in her caressing manner. Ella Fitzgerald's album is called "Songs in a Mellow Mood," twelve standards which Ella has chosen as her favorite tunes. "Bob Crosby's Bob Cats" is a group of the greatest sides done by Bob's old Dixieland Band, most of which are now considered to be collector's items. There's even a Jerry Colonna album called "Music for Screaming," with Mr. Mustache screaming out in his off-beat vocal style. There are many more fine albums in this Decca anniversary release, but the bottom of the page is here, so I gotta go now. See you next month.