Leonard Pennario Chopin Waltzes [1955]

Capitol Classical Records FDS P-8172

Pennario recorded over 60 LPs, most of them of composers dating from Chopin and later. He is perhaps best known for championing certain modern composers such as George Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Rózsa, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and Sergei Prokofiev. In 1958, he was tied with Walter Gieseking in terms of best-selling classical records involving the piano.

Norrie Paramor, His Strings and Orchestra The Zodiac Suite [1959]

Capitol Records T10073

One of the many interesting things about The Zodiac Suite is its arresting cover art, which pictures an exotic woman surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. Norrie Paramor's early concept album presents 12 compositions, one for each sign of the zodiac, along with printed descriptions of the signs' alleged characteristics and how they are reflected in the music. The Zodiac Suite would be categorized as a mood music album and it is wonderfully dreamy and ethereal in places, but sometimes the arrangements sound more like orchestral pop or light classical music. "An Aries Aria" and "Ode to Pisces" use a wordless soprano to great effect and come closer than any of the other pieces to matching the exotica the cover promises. The complicated melodies, meticulous and varied arrangements, and inspired theme make The Zodiac Suite an intriguing and unusual find.

Paul Weston and His Orchestra The Sweet and The Swingin' [1960]

Capitol Records ST 1361

From Billboard April 18, 1960:

"Maestro Weston takes a group of familiar tunes and scores them in relaxing fashion for the orchestra.  Then he superimposes a male vocal  group in a set of interesting vocal counter melodies.  The idea is similar to a style once used by the band of the late Tommy Dorsey on such items as "Marie," and "East of the Sun."  This is a refreshing way of handling the tunes which should find favor with some jocks."

Tony Pastor and His Orchestra Hey, Tony! [1957]

Harmony HL 7011/Columbia Records

There was a full-bodied, warm tone from his tenor saxophone and joy in his high-pitched, exuberant singing voice, which he freely admitted was patterned after his idol, Louis Armstrong.

"Mr. Pastor was a short, stocky man whose dark hair curved into a deep widow's peak, framing a face that seemed irrepressibly jovial," a reporter once observed.

He first got hold of a saxophone at the age of 16 and, after a few years, joined a succession of bands including John Cavallaro (where he met an admiring Artie Shaw), Irving Aaronson and His Commanders, and Austin Wylie.

When Shaw organized a band in 1936, he hired Pastor.  Most notably during the next three years, Pastor played the sax solo on, among others, Shaw's Begin the Beguine and sang the vocals on such arrangements as Indian Love Call and Rosalie.

The Jack Elliott Orchestra The Sound of Dynamic Woodwinds [1960]

Kapp Records Medallion Series MS-7505

Mr. Elliott became one of the top composers and arrangers in Hollywood. If a television show was popular in the 1970's, it most likely had the music of Mr. Elliott and his collaborator, Allyn Ferguson. Those shows included ''Barney Miller,'' ''Charlie's Angels'' and ''The Love Boat.'' He also worked in such films as ''The Jerk'' and ''Oh, God!''

He graduated from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. He worked as a jazz pianist in New York and lived in Paris in the 1950's, where he developed friendships with other expatriate musicians. He was also the musical director for the Henry Mancini Institute.

Lale Andersen Drei Rote Rosen [Double LP] [1970]

Odeon (EMI Electrola) 1C 178-31 341/42

Lale Andersen: b. Lieselotte Helene Berta Bunnenberg, 23 March 1905, Bremerhaven, Germany, d. 29 August 1972, Vienna, Austria.

A singer with a husky voice and seductive style, who rose to fame early in World War II when her version of Norbert Schultze and Hans Leip’s ballad (German spelling ‘Lili Marleen’) ‘Lili Marlene’ became popular with the German armed forces. Later, the British Eighth Army appropriated the number after hearing it on German radio, and, with an English lyric by Tommie Connor, the song became a hit in Britain for Anne Shelton. Marlene Dietrich’s poignant version also became successful there, as well as in the USA and most of the rest of the world. Connor and Johnny Reine subsequently wrote a follow-up, ‘The Wedding Of Lili Marlene’, which the Andrews Sisters took into the US Hit Parade in 1949. Twenty-five years later, the two surviving Andrews Sisters, Patti and Maxene, were connected with yet another sequel, ‘Wait For Me, Lili’, which was featured in their 1974 Broadway musical, Over Here!, a celebration of the sounds of the Big Band Era and World War II. The originator of the ‘Lili’ saga, Lale Andersen, went on to win the German Song For Europe contest in 1961 with ‘Einmalsehen Wir Uns Wieder’ (‘We Will See Each Other Some Day’) - she eventually came thirteenth - and wrote a novel entitled The Sky Has Many Colours. It was about a German girl who rises to fame simply because of her rendition of an old song, and was filmed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1980 under the correct German title of Lili Marleen.

Les Diamond At The Piano Cocktails For Two [1968]

Diplomat Records DS 2469

Not a word to be found about this artist!  However you might like this instead . . .

The Mason Williams Phonograph Record [1968]

Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records WS 1729

Producer Mike Post and composer Mason Williams packed all sorts of experiments into this half-hour listening experience called The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, and though there are some interesting moments from the clever singer, it is the instrumental masterpiece "Classical Gas" that displays the highest level of creativity. The 45-rpm was a number one adult contemporary hit in the summer of 1968 while the award-winning artist was writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It won Grammys in 1968 for composition, performance, and Mike Post's arrangement, and maybe because of its huge popularity, it feels out of place in the context of this concept disc. The 27 seconds of folksy banter that make up "Life Song" or the "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" riff that is all 30 seconds of "Dylan Thomas" are disposable bridges between musical elements that matter, the closing instrumental "Sunflower" -- part of a film project where the songwriter "set up cameras in the desert" to capture "the largest flower ever done" -- a skywriting airplane drawing underneath the rising sun. Stan Cornyn's always difficult liner notes explain it, but not as well as the photo of the plane on the back cover. "Wanderlove" emulates Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" without the flamenco guitar -- the artist saved that for "Classical Gas" -- and it appears the folksinging duo was a major inspiration to him in the development of this project. Al Capps' arrangement of "Baroque-a-Nova" is noteworthy --- sounding like the Bob Crewe Generation on speed, and a candidate for a much better segue after the hit than the downer that is "Long Time Blues." A politically incorrect "The Prince's Panties" is another excessive track, showing that Warner Bros. Seven Arts allowed the team many indulgences. It paid off as there are a couple of gems and one diamond found when sifting through The Mason Williams Phonograph Record.

Marty Gold and His Orchestra 24 Pieces of Gold [Double LP] [1962]

RCA Victor VPS-6012

Space-age pop arranger and composer Marty Gold was born December 26, 1915 in New York City; after spending the early decades of his career as a big-band pianist, during the early 1950s he became a studio arranger at Decca Records, and also authored the Four Aces' 1951 smash "Tell Me Why." Gold later jumped to RCA, where he collaborated on a series of LPs by the Three Suns; he also arranged and conducted numerous sessions for Peter Nero. For RCA and its affiliates Vik and X, Gold and his orchestra recorded a series of LPs -- among them Organized for Hi-Fi, Stereo Action Goes Hollywood, Soundpower! Music to the Limits of Audibility and Soundaroundus -- much prized by today's collectors of space-age lounge-pop.

The Fantastic Strings of Felix Slatkin Street Scene [1961]

Liberty Records Premier Series LSS 14008

Street Scene is another one of the deluxe Liberty Premier Series!

Slatkin was the conductor of the 20th Century Fox studio orchestra, and he recorded several albums for Liberty leading the "Fantastic Strings" at the height of the "Stereo Action" period. Like many studio musicians, he was also virtuoso performer in his own right. He recorded as a classical violinist, and he and his wife, cellist Eleanor Aller--also a studio regular for whom John Williams wrote a prominent part in the score of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"--founded a legendary American classical group, the Hollywood String Quartet.

Pete King 50 Velvet Brass [1963]

Liberty Records Premier Series LSS 14029

From Billboard - November 23, 1963: Lovers of big band sound will find this package tailor-made to their tastes. Pete King's arrangements make the tunes like "Day by Day," "Till," "The Party's Over" and others great for dancing or listening. Great spin material for the deejays.

50 Velvet Brass is one of the deluxe Liberty Premier Series. Really heavy material was used for the fantastic die-cut sleeves that each album was housed in. Like the RCA Stereo Action Series, every album had a different shape of cutting as a see through window to the photograph behind.

Verne Meisner Martinis, Manhattans and Meisner [1968]

Cuca Records KS-2106

Considered one of the titans of polka, Mr. Meisner was a bridge between the classics of the Lawrence Welk era and the pop-infused polkas of contemporary artists. To thousands of fans, he was second only to Frank Yankovic, the acknowledged king of polka, who died in 1998.

For more than half a century, Mr. Meisner played for local taverns and Las Vegas nightclubs; European cities and Midwest state fairs; and weddings, cruises and countless jam sessions. Many of his fans followed him from city to city to dance the night away. He recorded dozens of albums and was inducted into five polka halls of fame.

Mr. Meisner was a master of the Slovenian-style polka; also known as the Cleveland style, it features accordion and saxophone. But his own compositions -- he wrote more than 60 original polkas -- reflected an array of influences, from traditional German and Polish polkas to big-band music and even rock.

Peter Nero, Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Orchestra Nero Goes "Pops": An All-Gershwin Program [1965]

RCA Victor LSC-2821

Peter Nero Xochimilco [1967]

RCA Victor LPM-3814

Peter Nero Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose [1973]

Columbia KC 32689

Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow, 1934, Brooklyn) is a pianist and New York native who started with Paul Whiteman, then moved up to symphony until the early '60s, when RCA Victor signed him and successfully promoted him into a pop music interpreter. He won the 1961 Grammy for Best New Artist. His lush orchestrated albums continued through the early '70s, when he returned to a harder jazz format, recording with a trio.

Spectacular Harmonicas [1960]

MGM Records E3846

This musical plat du jour was produced by Eddie Heller, MGM's A and R executive.  He enlisted eight of New York's harmonica virtuosi to become the Spectacular Harmonicas (no specific mention of any names, however) and Richard Hayman, the pioneer of harmonica playing, to score nine of the arrangements.  The end result is quite spectacular!

Norman Luboff Conducting A 100-Voice Chorus and The RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra A Choral Spectacular [1962]

RCA Victor LSP 2522

Recorded in London's Walthamstow Town Hall, Luboff conducts 100 eager voices and a 92-piece symphony orchestra.  The choral arrangements are by Norman Luboff; the orchestral arrangements are by Wally Stott. It took three hours of the first session just to place the chorus and the two dozen microphones.  Producer Charles Gerhardt's decision was there would be no subsequent adapting, monitoring or re-recording!

Stanley Black, His Piano and Orchestra Digital Spectacular! [1979]

London LDP 30001

This is one of Stanley Black's greatest albums. Recorded in 1979 with the then new technology, it has only 10 cuts, but it can be argued, that this is the most satisfying Black album ever. With new tunes of the 1970's and an outstanding arrangement of Herb Alpert's Rise, this makes for a winner. In fact, Black's version of Rise is superior. It is an outstanding arrangement for piano and orchestra. Another great cut is Tomorrow from Annie. This is Black's last great album because the next year, Mantovani would pass away and Black would take over his orchestra. If you like Stanley Black, then do yourself a favor and grab this album. It will please you for years to come.

Stanley Black Conducting The London Festival Orchestra Spectacular Dances For Orchestra [1967]

London Records ‎Phase 4 Stereo Concert Series SPC 21020

Stanley Black was one of the most prolific and eclectic British bandleaders of the postwar era, appearing almost daily on BBC radio and recording dozens of LPs and film scores in a vast array of styles.

Stanley Black Conducting The London Festival Orchestra and Chorus Broadway Spectacular [1966]

London Phase 4 Stereo Spectacular Records SP 44071

"In treating these numbers, Stanley Black specialized his approach, thinking of the arrangements, not only in terms of the selection itself, but of what the number meant in terms of the show, where he could through the form of the arrangement point the mood of the entire scorer, so that in the "Oklahoma" selection, for example, we get more than just a medley of great tunes, we get the flavor of the production; one can smell the grass and feel the breeze; one can see straw hats, dungarees and boots; one can touch the surrey."

The Ames Brothers With Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra Sing Famous Hits of Famous Quartets [1959]

RCA Victor LPM-1954

In this album, America's most popular vocal quartet pays a stunning musical tribute to the famous foursomes of the past. The twelve carefully selected songs, ten of which were million-record hits, receive a million-dollar treatment with sparkling new vocal settings by Al Semola and the imaginative background scoring of Hugo Winterhalter.

Rosita Serrano Die Chilenische Nachtigall Roter Mohn [Double LP] [1970]

Odeon (EMI Electrola) C 178-31 597/98

Rosita Serrano (born María Martha Esther Aldunate del Campo, 10 June 1914 – 6 April 1997) was a Chilean singer who had her biggest success in Nazi Germany between the 1930s and the early 1940s. Because of her bell-like voice and pitch-perfect whistling she received the nickname Chilenische Nachtigall (Chilean Nightingale).