Screenland (July–Dec 1947)

Fred Robbins Right Off the Record Continued from page 38 the Damon Runyon Memorial Fund for Cancer Research. Bravo! (Columbia) ELLA FITZGERALD: "Oh, Lady Be Good," "Flyin' Home" — Whee-e-e! Puddles of purple passion! The queen of 'em all comin' on like the Hound of the Baskervilles on a coupla great scat sides made long ago but just out. After these knock you out, you'll realize why Ella's the singer's favorite singer. Gal uses her voice like an instrument and gets rid of some of the most wonderful stuff you've ever sopped up. Makes you glad you've got ears. Grab it quick, Dick, 'cause it's a classic sure as this is Screenland, my favorite movie mag. (Decca) JOHNNY MERCER AND THE FIED PIPERS: The Georgia Cracker's on the lacquer! Chirpin' 'bout a neighboring state's capitol where everything is classy, "Tallahassee." S'from Paramount's "Variety Girl." Get on the other side of J.M. and the Pipers for a revival 'bout the chick who'll never double dealya — "Cecelia"! Hey, does your mother know you're out, Cecelia? How about you, Bedelia? Et vows, Ophelia. And you too, Amelia! T'will stealya! (Capitol) GEORGIA GIBBS: Her nibs gets rid of a mean lyric set to the jazz classic, "Ballin' The Jack." Georgia'll gorge ya with this, Sis. Really butters your hearing aid. First you put your left foot over here, then you put the other way out here. Then you "Ball the Jack." See? You've caught Ga. all summer with Dave Rose on the Eddie Cantor summer replacement show. Give Miss Gibbs a twist for some honey from "Welcome Stranger," "As Long As I'm Dreaming." Tasty pastry! (Majestic) JOHNNY DESMOND: M-m-m void the Creamer! Hope you saw Desmo with Ray Anthony and F.R. in the Columbia short, "Thrills of Music." Well, this is J.D.'s freshest cookie and 'tis liquid and silky. The Page Cavanaugh trio lays down the sharps and flats and Johnny turns on the pipes for a brace of beauties, "Just Plain Love," and "If It's True." (He may be singin' in London by the time you see this) . Hit me with a moonbeam and call me electronic! (Victor) MARGARET WHITING: Oh, clap feet! A whole fat album of the appealing squealing of my pet bon bon, Maggie. Wherein she wraps those lovely tonsils all around some gorgeous Rodgers and Hart tunes. S'called "Margaret Whiting sings Rodgers and Hart." And HOW she does! Avec distinction, warmth and dreelsprail. The latter, 'specially. There's "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," "My Romance," "My Heart Stood Still," "This Can't Be Love," "Little Girl Blue," "My Funny Valentine," "Lover" and "Thou Swell." And thou art, Maggie. Loveya! (Capitol album BD 51) COUNT BASIE: The kid from Red Bank, New Jersey, and a barrel of bounce. I mean the bounce that counts. Taps Miller. Ted Donnelly and the Basie crew go rockin' on "I Ain't Mad at You," with some infectious scat by Taps. Flip spots some vocal gushing by Jimmy Rushing, about "The Jungle King," but nothing much happens. First side's the better. (Victor) LOUIS PRIMA: The man who plays pretty for you the people is cast as "Luigi" and his distaff chirp — Cathy Allen— as "Cecelia" in the title song from his new pancake of the same name. Very cacchetori! Miss Allen is yallen all by herself'on the other cheek — "There's That Lonely Feeling Again." Sweet on the audio flap. (Majestic) FRANK SINATRA: "I Have But One Heart," "Aintcha Ever Comin' Back." Si, si, the senor from Hoboken bakes a bi-lingual baritone into his latest waffle, soulfully breathing, "I Have But One Heart" in two tongues for the price of one — English and Italian. Comes from the folk song, "O Marenariello." A nice aria, Maria, by Nancy's daddy. First thing you know, the Met'll be after him. Turn around, Franklin — we wanna dig the one you made with the Pied Pipers, by special permission of Capitol Records, "Aintcha Ever Comin' Back, Aintcha." Super mellow, fellow. Memories of the days with T.D. (Columbia) DINAH SHORE AND WOODY HERMAN: You think Nancy's daddy has a monopoly on Mrs. Montgomery. "Move over, thin one, and lemme put my arm around her," says Woodrow, "we wanna couple up, too." And they do. And go together like cherry and coke and copy of Screenland. Once more Fla.'s Chamber of Commerce shows its pearly teeth as Dinah and Woody point their southwards toward "Tallahassee." You can smell the hoe cake, hominy and sassaffras tea! T'other cheek's real cute. Philosophy, hey! "The bigger the fish is the harder it is to catch — " NATCH: "The sweeter the berry, the thicker the berry patch—" NATCH! Dinah and Woody — onto them be sure to latch — NATCH! Be you spinster or batch! (Columbia) DICK HAYMES: "Je Vous Aime," "Stranger Things Have Happened." Every time Richard opens that mouth out comes more caramel, ma cherie, these two lumps from "Copacabana." Buddy Clark and Andy Russell also made the first side. Trying for another "Mamselle." (Decca) DINAH SHORE: Honest, this Mrs. Montgomery makes you wish for 4 ears for hearing and 6 hands for clapping! Curls her silken throat around Al Jolson's sequel to the "Anniversary Song," another lovely waltz, "All My Love." Comes from a melody by Emil Waldteufel. He and Ivanovivi did pretty well this year. Dinah's got trouble on the back, "I'm Gonna Wait a Little Longer for That Never-On-Time Baby of Mine." Was s'posed to meet him at quarter to seven, here it is past nine. Should she wait or do you think it's a standup, Mr. Anthony? I think he's been diggin' this new cookie and couldn't break away. Tres cute and solid to boot. Two other goodies are "I'm So Right Tonight" and "I Wish I Didn't Love You So." with Sonny Burke laying down the background sharps and flats. Keep bakin' 'em, south'n gal, I'm still hungry! (Columbia) VAUGHN MONROE: "Tallahassee," "I Wish I Didn't Love You So," "All of Me," "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame." — Vaughn ie boy oils up the muscles of that he-man baritone aided and abetted by locomotive whistles and toots and stuff from the Moon Maids in another nod to Talla. Fla. Backside's from "Perils of Pauline," but the villain never made her dig stuff like this, or the other two, lucky gal. (Victor) ALVINO REY: Hey! Somebody left the faucet on! I can't stand that sound — "Bloop, bleep, bloop, bleep — call the plumber! I can't sleep!" All I can do is count movie stars — Lana, Rita, bloop bleep, Esther, Hedy, bloop bleep, Ingrid, Jennifer — somebody shut it off! Alvino, you do it! Rocky Coluccio, piano man in the band, turns it on, the vocal I mean, in Frank Loesser's new novelty which is probably wearing you out, drop by drop. T'other side of this spigot pours out lots of that Rey guitar in samba rhythm. He could leave the faucet on all the time if this kind of stuff comes out. (Capitol) WOODY HERMAN: That water's still bloopin' and bleepin' and Woody's version is tres cute. He, too, is sleepless. Musta been that clam soup he had. Flipover's a valid ballad, "Baby, Come Home," 'bout a lonesome guy pleadin' for his chick to return to their domicile. Probably to fix that spigot! (Columbia) MEL TORME: Ah-h-h, another ladleful of butterscotch by the Velvet Fog, who just completed a smash engagement at New York's famed Copacabana, Anna, and gave everyone Torme poisoning. His pix for MGM, "Good News," will be unreeling any day now and the blond boy does three songs in it. On this pancake, the little wow wraps that wonderfully foggy larynx around "One For My Baby" and "A Little Kiss Each Morning." Sheer witchery! You'll be digging a little Torme each day. (Musicraft) LES BROWN: "Sentimental Journey." The kid of renown is carrying a fresh album around with him on his journey around the eagle's nest these days, which is not sentimental at all. The journey, I mean. Title comes from Les' recordsmashing cookie with Doris Day, who's a big mo'om picture star now. You'll soon dig her in the new Technicolor picture "Romance in High C." And that's just one cracker in the album, Lum. There's Butch Stone avec the truism, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," "Twilight Time," "Bizet Has His Day," "Mexican Hat Dance," "Leap Frog," Les' theme; "Out of Nowhere,!' and newie, "Daybreak Serenade." Nice addition to your wax library, Mary. (Coumbia C 131) TONY MARTIN : Come with me to the Casbah! There we will glim Tony Martin as Pepe Le Moko, with that nice bit of scenery in any country, Yvonne de Carlo, doing Hedy's part. I'm not just woofin'. Tony has formed his own movie company to do a musical version of "Algiers," dears. He's warming up the eppiglottus with his newest wafer, "Too Marvelous for Words," and "Aintcha Ever Comin' Back." Pleasant, peasant. < Victor ) HOT!! BILLIE HOLIDAY: "More Than 66 Screenland