Percy Faith and His Orchestra Tara's Theme From 'Gone With The Wind' and Other Themes [1961]

Columbia Records CS 8427

"In his arrangements, Percy Faith follows a composer's intentions so sympathetically that he never distorts a melody.  In fact, he enhances it, adding exotic color with instruments, creating constant surprises with counterpoint of tunes or intricate rhythms.  In his performances, the sound of the massed strings, the lustrous brasses and impeccable tempos have made "The Fabulous Faith Touch" world famous."  [Excerpt liner notes]

Wilhelm Rörh and The Nord Deutsches Symphony Orchester Scheherazade [1958]

Somerset Stereo Fidelity SF-2600

Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his
symphonic suite, Scheherazade, in 1888.

The Rippling Rhythm of Shep Fields [1960]

Dot Records DLP 25348

Fields was at a soda fountain when his wife was blowing bubbles into her soda through a straw, and that sound became his trademark that opened each of his shows. A contest was held in Chicago for fans to suggest a new name for the Fields band, in keeping with the new sound. The word "rippling" was suggested in more than one entry, and Fields came up with "Rippling Rhythm."

Sergio Franchi From Sergio - With Love [1967]

RCA Victor LSP-3654

"In this album, Sergio sings the songs that suit him so well - tender, romantic love melodies that shimmer smoothly in the night.  Here, he does some of the most beautiful ballads ever written and illuminates them with soft candor."  [Excerpt liner notes]

Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra Of Vodka and Caviar [1967]

Philips PHS 600-215

Rich and savory new arrangements of famous Russian songs.

The Ames Brothers With Esquivel and His Orchestra Hello Amigos [1960]

RCA Victor LSP-2100

Esquivel appropriately takes as much of a back seat as he is capable; consequently, this is unlike his more adventurous work. About half the tracks provide some delight for the Esquivel completist, and the Ames' singing certainly has its moments.

Living Brass and Living Marimbas Play Songs Made Famous By Herb Alpert [1969]

RCA Camden CAS-2337

"People like music that's fun.  They want something to sing in the shower and whistle on the street.  Herb Alpert is the man who gave it to them by using two trumpets playing in parallel thirds and sixths over a strong beat.  What critic Morgan Ames calls "modern ragtime."  The music is simple, melodious, infectious.

Here then is the music of Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass interpreted by the Living Brass and Living Marimbas.  It defies analysis.  Enjoy it.  That's what music is all about anyway."  [Excerpt liner notes]

Norman Leyden and His Orchestra Music For A Back Yard Barbecue [1959]

RCA Victor Living Stereo LSP-1939

Norman Leyden was given the lifetime title of laureate associate conductor by the Oregon Symphony following his retirement in 2004 after 34 seasons as music director of the orchestra’s Pops series and 29 years as its associate conductor.

In 1970, Norman Leyden initiated the Oregon Symphony’s Pop series, one of the most successful programs of its kind in the nation. He also founded the popular family- oriented Symphony Sunday programs, which featured Oregon Symphony players and Northwest artists as soloists. He also served as the music director of the Seattle Symphony Pops for 18 years.

Throughout his career, Leyden was in demand as a guest conductor throughout the country. He conducted nearly 40 leading American symphonies including the Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, San Diego Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, National Symphony and the Utah Symphony. His European guest engagements included performances in Norway, Holland and Austria.

The Original Broadway Cast, Rodgers and Hammerstein In Association With Joseph Fields Flower Drum Song [1958]

Columbia Masterworks OS 2009

(Original 1958 issue "Flower Drum Song" includes artwork in gold base)

"Flower Drum Song" opened at the Shubert Theater in Boston on October 27, 1958, and in New York at the St. James Theatre on December 1, 1958.

Christopher Parkening In The Classic Style [1968]

Angel Records S-36019

Christopher Parkening is celebrated as one of the world’s preeminent virtuosos of the classical guitar. The Washington Post called him “the leading guitar virtuoso of our day, combining profound musical insight with complete technical mastery of his instrument.” The New York Times described his playing as “so intelligent, sensitive and adept that one can forget everything but the music.” The Los Angeles Times stated that “Parkening is considered America’s reigning classical guitarist, carrying the torch of his mentor, the late Andrés Segovia.” The great Spanish guitarist Segovia himself proclaimed, “Christopher Parkening is a great artist—he is one of the most brilliant guitarists in the world.”

Tony Muréna, Accordion and Orchestra Vive Paris [1962]

Time Records Series 2000 S/2060 

Tony Muréna (born 1917, died 1970) was an Italian-born Musette accordionist and jazz composer who lived and worked in France.

Antonio Muréna was born in Borgo Val di Taro, Italy. His family emigrated to France in 1923 and settled in Nogent-sur-Marne. His uncle gave him his first accordion and he began a performing career assisted by his cousin Louis Ferrari. Muréna played in cabarets and music halls from an early age.

In 1932 Muréna began to play the bandoneón in tango orchestras, including that of Rafael and Eduardo Bianco Canaro, at French clubs including La Boule Noire, Java, The Silhouette, Balajo (rue de Lappe), Pré Catelan and Ciro's. He also toured in South America, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. In 1949 he bought the Le Mirliton cabaret where he often played with Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt. He also played with Matelo Ferret, Henri Crolla, Didi Duprat, Jo Privat and Gus Viseur. In 1958 he established the Radio Luxembourg Orchestra and also hosted the 36 Candles television show. He died in France. [Wikipedia]

Themes Like Old Times: 90 of The Most Famous Original Radio Themes Volume 2 [1972]

Viva Records V36020

Themes Like Old Times: 90 of The Most Famous Original Radio Themes Volume 1 [1969]

Viva Records V36018

The Knightsbridge Strings The Strings Sing [1959]

Top Rank International ‎RM 303

The Knightsbridge Strings were England's answer to 101 Strings. Actually, this name was used for releases on both the U.K. label Top Rank and Bob Moore's Nashville-based Monument. I suspect the Monument albums were just U.S. reissues of the Top Ranks.

Felix Slatkin Fantastic Strings [1964]

Liberty Records LST-7376 

Among the most consummate of studio musicians, Felix Slatkin achieved fame for violin performance, directing recordings of both standard symphonic fare and appealing arrangements of light music, and for being the leader of a string quartet fondly remembered as one of the finest of its time. Through his affiliation with Capitol Records, he and his wife, Eleanor Aller (cellist with Slatkin's Hollywood String Quartet), were afforded the economic base to pursue performance in areas notoriously unprofitable. Slatkin's death from a heart attack in 1963 caused genuine upset in the Hollywood/Los Angeles studio music world. He had become, by that time, all but irreplaceable.

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.