March 28, 2021

78 RPMs 9: Paul Whiteman ~ King of Jazz

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It is the birthday of Paul Whiteman today. One of his hits was Together, a 1928 pop song with music by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The most popular version of the tune was by Whiteman with Bix Beiderbecke on cornet.              
 
 
12" 78 rpm record, side 1
photo by Styrous®


Together has a radically varying waltz tempo from traditional 1-2-3, with a vocal by Jack Fulto and an echoey vibraphone; then it goes into a 1920's jazzy dance beat with a muted trumpet arrangement played by Henry Busse. It swings back and forth for a delightfully enjoyable change of pace.     
 
    
12" 78 rpm record label, side 1
photo by Styrous®


The song was included in the 1944 movie, Since You Went Away. This gave rise to a revival of the song, and it was recorded as a duet by Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest. Their recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 23349. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on October 5, 1944 and lasted 10 weeks on the chart, peaking at #3. This recording was paired on a single with It Had to Be You, a #4 hit, producing a big two-sided hit.     
 
 
Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes - 1943
 photographer unknown
 

Together became a Top Ten hit in the summer of 1961 with a recording by Connie Francis cut in New York City on 3 June 1961 with Cliff Parman arranging and conducting.      
 
In 1930, Whiteman starred in the film King of Jazz with his orchestra. At the time the film was made, "jazz", to the general public, meant the jazz-influenced syncopated dance music which was being heard everywhere on phonograph records and through radio broadcasts. It was filmed entirely in the early two-color Technicolor process and was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal Pictures. The film featured several songs sung on camera by the Rhythm Boys (Bing Crosby, Al Rinker and Harry Barris), as well as off-camera solo vocals by Crosby during the opening credits and, very briefly, during a cartoon sequence.    

King of Jazz was the first feature-length film to use a pre-recorded soundtrack made independently of the actual filming. Whiteman insisted that musical numbers featuring his orchestra should be pre-recorded to obtain the best sound, avoiding the poor recording conditions and extraneous noises typical of a movie studio sound stage. Universal opposed the idea, but Whiteman prevailed over the reluctant studio executives. After the sound was recorded, it was played back through a loudspeaker while the scene was being filmed and the performers matched their actions to the recording. Later, the resulting film was synchronized with the soundtrack. This also allowed the scene to be shot in the same manner as a silent film, with the director free to shout out instructions during the filming and the camera unrestricted by any need to silence its noises with bulky soundproofing.

Delbert Cobain, one of the singers in the film, is notable as being the great-uncle of musician Kurt Cobain (the late vocalist and guitarist of Nirvana).      
 
In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"       

 
 
 
My Heart Stood Still was composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart and recorded on January 24, 1928; it featured a vocal introduction by Jack Fulton and vibraphone with Charles Gaylord, Austin Young and Al Rinker joining in for a fantastic quartet start, then it goes into a bouncy dance beat with sax played by Jimmy Dorsey.         
          
         
         

 
12" 78 rpm record, side 2
photos by Styrous®
         
    
   
Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Together      

Side 2:

B - My Heart Stood Still, written by Lorenz Hart-Richard Rodgers*

Companies, etc.

    Record Company – Victor Talking Machine Co.
    Recorded At – Liederkranz Hall, New York – 35883A
    Recorded At – Victor's Church Studio in Camden, New Jersey – 35883B

Credits:

    Alto Saxophone [Uncredited] – Chester Hazlett
    Alto Saxophone [Uncredited], Baritone Saxophone [Uncredited] – Nye Mayhew
    Alto Saxophone [Uncredited], Bassoon [Uncredited] – Rube Crozier
    Alto Saxophone [Uncredited], Clarinet [Uncredited] – Hal McLean, Jack Mayhew, Jimmy Dorsey
    Banjo [Uncredited] – Mike Pingitore
    Baritone Saxophone [Uncredited], Clarinet [Uncredited] – Charles Strickfaden
    Bass [Uncredited] – Steve Brown (2)
    Cornet [Uncredited] – Bix Beiderbecke, Bob Mayhew
    Drums [Uncredited] – Harold McDonald
    Music Director – Paul Whiteman
    Piano [Uncredited] – Harry Perella, Tom Satterfield
    Saxophone [C-Melody Saxophone, Uncredited] – Frankie Trumbauer
    Trombone [Uncredited] – Bill Rank, Boyce Cullen, Wilbur Hall
    Trombone [Uncredited], Vocals [Uncredited] – Jack Fulton
    Trumpet [Uncredited] – Charlie Margulis, Henry Busse
    Tuba [Uncredited] – Mike Trafficante
    Violin [Uncredited] – Charles Gaylord, Kurt Dieterle, Mario Perry, Matty Malneck, Mischa Russell
    Vocals by Jack Fulton, Charles Gaylord, Austin Young and Al Rinker on My Heart Stood Still

Notes:

A: take 3 recorded 1/21/1928 New York, New York. Liederkranz Hall
B: take 3 1/24/1928 Camden, New Jersey. Church Bldg.; (From "A Connecticut Yankee")

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Side A runout): ᶻ35883A 4 (V.E.) 3
    Matrix / Runout (Side B runout): ᴵ35883B (V.E.) 3

Paul Whiteman And His Concert Orchestra* – Together / My Heart Stood Still
Label: Victor – 35883
Format: Unknown, 12", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: Apr 1928
Genre: Jazz





Viewfinder links:       
        
Bix Beiderbecke        
Henry Busse         
Jimmy Dorsey     
Helen Forrest         
Connie Francis          
Jack Fulton       
Charles Gaylord         
Lorenz Hart        
Dick Haymes         
Al Rinker       
Richard Rodgers       
Paul Whiteman       
        
Net links:       
        
King of Jazz Plot       
        
        
        
        
        
       
YouTube links:       
        
Paul Whiteman ~   
       Together       
       My Heart Stood Still    
        
        
        
        
       
        
        
        
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Sunday, March 28, 2021       
       
 
 
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