mentions:
Showing posts with label Paul Weston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Weston. Show all posts
March 13, 2025
20,000 vinyl LPs 382: Jonathan & Darlene Edwards ~ In Paris
~
vinyl LP front cover
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Today is the birthday of American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor Paul Weston who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the Father of Mood Music".
Weston and his wife, Jo Stafford, conceived a routine to entertain their friends at parties in the 1950s that involved Weston playing songs on
the piano in unconventional rhythms, while Stafford sang off-key in a
high pitched voice. The two of them released five albums and one single as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, and their 1960 album, Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris won that year's Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
Jonathan and Darlene Edwards ~ In Paris sits quite comfortably next to my copy of Florence Foster Jenkins ~ The Glory (????) of the Human Voice (link below).
date & photographer unknown
Weston and Stafford appeared on television twice as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. In 1958, they were guests on the Jack Benny television program Shower of Stars, and in 1960 on The Garry Moore Show.
Shower of Stars - 1958
Their final album, Darlene Remembers Duke, Jonathan Plays Fats was released in 1982, on Corinthian Records – Cor-117.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A1 - I Love Paris - 2:50
A2 - Valentine - 1:31
A3 - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - 3:05
A4 - La Vie En Rose - 2:10
A5 - The River Seine - 2:10
A6 - April In Paris - 2:51
A2 - Valentine - 1:31
A3 - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - 3:05
A4 - La Vie En Rose - 2:10
A5 - The River Seine - 2:10
A6 - April In Paris - 2:51
Side 2:
B1 - The Poor People Of Paris, written by Monnot/Lawrence
B2 - The Last Time I Saw Paris, written by Kern/Hammerstein - 2:47
B3 - Autumn Leaves, written by Mercer/Kosma - 2:28
B4 - Paris In The Spring, written by Gordon/Revel - 2:26
B5 - Mademoiselle De Paree, written by Durand/Parish - 2:16
B6 - Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup, written by Sosenko - 3:06
Companies, etc.
Published By – Buxton Hill Music Corp.
Published By – Harms, Inc.
Published By – Remick Music Corp.
Published By – Reg Connelly Music, Inc.
Published By – T.B. Harms Co.
Published By – Ardmore Music Corp.
Published By – DeSylva, Brown & Henderson, Inc.
Published By – Mills Music, Inc.
Published By – Chappell & Co., Inc.
Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Rockaway
Credits:
Liner Notes – Jonathan Edwards (5)
Notes:
Remastered from original tapes this LP uses "Synchro-Kinetic Sound" processing.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Rights Society: ASCAP
Rights Society (B3, B5): BIEM
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Label): Z4RS-0512
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Label): Z4RS-0513
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching): Z4RS-0512-1-B R
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching): Z4RS-0513-1-B R
Rights Society (B3, B5): BIEM
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Label): Z4RS-0512
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Label): Z4RS-0513
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching): Z4RS-0512-1-B R
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching): Z4RS-0513-1-B R
Jonathan And Darlene Edwards – In Paris
Label: Corinthian Records – Cor-103, Corinthian Records – COR 103
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 1970
Genre: Non-Music, Pop
Style: Comedy, Vocal, Parody
Viewfinder links:
Florence Foster Jenkins ~
January 18, 2021
May 15, 2020
20,000 vinyl LP 223: Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
~
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Warsaw Concerto, written by Richard Addinsell - 5:57
A2 - Rachmaninoff Fantasia, written by Sergei Rachmaninoff* - 6:17
Side 2:
B1 - Grieg's Piano Concerto, written by Edvard Grieg - 6:12
B2 - Chopin Fantasia, written by Frederic Chopin* - 6:10
Credits:
Design – Monogram (2)
Arranged By – Gordon Robinson (tracks: A1), Liberace (tracks: A2 to B2)
Conductor – Paul Weston (2)
Piano – Liberace
Liberace And Paul Weston (2) – Concertos For You
Label: Columbia – CL 6269
Series: 5th Anniversary Special –
Format: Vinyl, LP, 10"
Country: US
Released: July, 1953
Genre: Classical
YouTube links:
"Why don't I just step out
and slip into something more spectacular?"
~ Liberace
Happy birthday, Liberace, King of Bling
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP front cover detail
front cover design by Monogram
detail photo by Styrous®
Liberace
played mostly pop tunes, ballads, easy listening kind of stuff (except
that term hadn't been invented yet) so this album shows another side of
his musical ability. Concertos for You is a 10" vinyl LP that has four "light" classic compositions with Paul Weston providing the orchestral backing. Weston had a formidable music career of his own (link below).
Liberace had a flare for extravagant costumes when performing that gave him a reputation for glitz, glitter and dazzle but he played a mean piano (link below).
Liberace had a flare for extravagant costumes when performing that gave him a reputation for glitz, glitter and dazzle but he played a mean piano (link below).
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP front cover detail
front cover design by Monogram
detail photo by Styrous®
The front cover design by Monogram is a "combine" by American artist Robert Rauschenberg. He created a series of combines between 1954 and 1964, where he merged different aspects of painting and sculpture to create a new artistic category.
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP front cover
front cover design by Monogram
detail photo by Styrous®
The Music
(links below at bottom of page to all music on YouTube)
Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell was written for the 1944 British film, Dangerous Moonlight. When the film was distributed in the US the title was changed to Suicide Squadron and that's the title that appears on the album.
The Warsaw Concerto
is my all-time "Pop Classic" favorite; it is the pinnacle of the heap.
It is alternately lush, romantic and beautiful then immense, heavy and
intensely dramatic! It was the perfect vehicle for Liberace!
Link to the original performance from the album by Liberace on YouTube link: Warsaw Concerto
There are wonderful performances of the Concerto on YouTube (links below). It's pretty interesting to hear the variations of each version.
Link to the original performance from the album by Liberace on YouTube link: Warsaw Concerto
There are wonderful performances of the Concerto on YouTube (links below). It's pretty interesting to hear the variations of each version.
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP back cover
photo by Styrous®
The Cornish Rhapsody by Hubert Bath was written for the 1944 British film, Love Story, which was based on a short story by J. W. Drawbell, the film is about a concert pianist who, after learning that she is dying of heart failure, decides to spend her last days in Cornwall. While there, she meets a former RAF
pilot who is going blind, and soon a romantic attraction forms. I know,
schmaltzy but after all it was the forties and during the war.
The film was released in the United States as A Lady Surrenders, this wartime melodrama produced by Gainsborough Pictures was filmed on location at the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno in Cornwall, South West England.
The Rhapsody sounds suspiciously like the Concerto but, of course, with variations. The film of the Liberace performance of this work on YouTube is perfect for seeing his piano and hand movement style which is really amazing (link below).
The film was released in the United States as A Lady Surrenders, this wartime melodrama produced by Gainsborough Pictures was filmed on location at the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno in Cornwall, South West England.
The Rhapsody sounds suspiciously like the Concerto but, of course, with variations. The film of the Liberace performance of this work on YouTube is perfect for seeing his piano and hand movement style which is really amazing (link below).
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Liberace performs the Concerto in A Minor by Grieg with grand flourishes, of course, and they are something to behold! The first movement (link below) is moderately fast, sweeps in and out and is another perfect vehicle for him.
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
The Fantasy-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66 by Frédéric Chopin is another perfect work for Liberace. It was composed in 1834 but not published until after Chopin's death. The theme was used for the song, I'm Always Chasing Rainbows which is credited to Harry Carroll and was popular during the Vaudeville era then again in the forties.
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
10" vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Warsaw Concerto, written by Richard Addinsell - 5:57
A2 - Rachmaninoff Fantasia, written by Sergei Rachmaninoff* - 6:17
Side 2:
B1 - Grieg's Piano Concerto, written by Edvard Grieg - 6:12
B2 - Chopin Fantasia, written by Frederic Chopin* - 6:10
Credits:
Design – Monogram (2)
Arranged By – Gordon Robinson (tracks: A1), Liberace (tracks: A2 to B2)
Conductor – Paul Weston (2)
Piano – Liberace
Liberace And Paul Weston (2) – Concertos For You
Label: Columbia – CL 6269
Series: 5th Anniversary Special –
Format: Vinyl, LP, 10"
Country: US
Released: July, 1953
Genre: Classical
Viewfinder links:
Paul Weston
BBC Proms & Lisitsa Lockhart ~ Addinsell Warsaw Concerto (10:15)
Liberace - 1968
photo by Allan Warren
"Why don't I just step out
and slip into something more spectacular?"
~ Liberace
Happy birthday, Liberace, King of Bling
Styrous® ~ Friday, May 15, 2020
Liberace articles/mentions
~ 
Happy birthday, Liberace, King of Bling
Liberace & Paul Weston ~ Concertos for You
mentions:
Phyllis Diller ~ Born To Sing
Chuy Reyes ~ Rumba de Cuba @ 10"
March 23, 2020
March 12, 2020
20,000 vinyl LP 214: Paul Weston ~ Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
~
Paul Weston ~ Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
vinyl LP album front cover
album cover photo by Charlie Rotkin
photo of album cover by Styrous®
In 1951, he conducted the orchestra for the song, Shrimp Boats (link below), recorded by Jo Stafford, Weston's wife. I was a kid at the time and loved this song; I drove my mother insane singing the refrain, "Why don't you hurry, hurry, hurry home!", from it over and over while waltzing around the kitchen and living room.
It is a gently, bouncy waltz with a smooth tempo, that stops and gets slow for a lovely description of the women of Louisiana watching their men folk set off to sea in their boats in the evening with a moon guiding their way. In the distance there is an echoey, female vocal singing, "Ils y vont" ("There they go"). It tells of the lonely nights when the men are gone, then the joy when they return. It is a wistful, lovely and rousing song.
In 1952, bandleader Ben Pollack filed a suit against Weston, Howard and the publishers, Disney Music, alleging that the words of the song infringed his rights in relation to a non-copyrighted song, The Cajun Song, which he claimed Weston had heard in 1945.
Paul Weston ~ Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous® The Crescent City Suite, was composed in 1956 and performed in New Orleans at the Municipal Auditorium in 1957 with Weston conducting. There was enough interest in the composition for a version for school bands to be made available in 1959; a symphonic version was also issued.
The music is what is now known generally as easy listening but was not called that then. Two exceptions that are my favorites are Ferryboat To Algiers and Riverfront Blues.
Ferryboat To Algiers is a moderate speed, with a Dixieland feeling to it song with a great clarinet, a trumpet and, of course, a tuba.
Riverfront Blues starts with lush strings but then picks up with a fantastic swing time mood that features a beautiful trio of a clarinet followed by a mellow trumpet then a smooth sax.
In 1957 Weston was named musical director for NBC-TV, a position he held for five years, a founding member and the first president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Weston and his wife Stafford would do skits at their parties where he would play the role of a simply horrible lounge pianist and she would vocalize in off-key melodies to the tunes he tried to play. They started recording these skits in 1957 under the name Jonathan and Darlene Edwards.
Weston and his wife Stafford would do skits at their parties where he would play the role of a simply horrible lounge pianist and she would vocalize in off-key melodies to the tunes he tried to play. They started recording these skits in 1957 under the name Jonathan and Darlene Edwards.
The
album cover photographer, Charlie Rotkin, had a career that spanned
more than 50 years and his work has been displayed at the Museum of
Modern Art.
He was a member of the American Society of Media Photographers (link below) and was its President from 1955 to 1957.
He was a member of the American Society of Media Photographers (link below) and was its President from 1955 to 1957.
In
a 1992 interview, he was asked, What do you think of the ASMP today? He
replied, "Not very much. I think they’ve become so money-hungry and so
publicity-oriented by the advertising aspects of photography that they
have lost sight of their origins."
Paul Weston ~ Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
He and his wife, Jo Stafford, retired from performing in the 1970s. Active for many years in charities
helping the developmentally disabled, the Westons gave more of their
time to these groups after their retirement. The AbilityFirst work
center in Woodland Hills, California is named in Weston's memory. Weston died on September 20, 1996, in Santa Monica, California, he was 84 years old. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. In 2006, Jo Stafford donated her husband's library and her own to the University of Arizona. She died in 2008, aged 90.
Paul Weston ~ Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
vinyl LP record labels, side 1 & 2 details
detail photos by Styrous® 
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 Crescent City
A2 Vieux Carre
A3 Riverfront Blues
A4 Storyville
A5 Bayou St. John
A6 High Society
Side 2:
B1 Creole Songs And Dances
B2 Miss Lucy
B3 Ferryboat To Algiers
B4 Esplanade At Sunset
B5 Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen
B6 Mardi Gras
Credits:
Photography By – Charlie Rotkin
Notes:
Paul Weston and his Music from Hollywood (Printed on Spine & Back Cover)
This release has cover header with white background with green and orange lettering and COLUMBIA on a blue background. Cover is similar to Canada release of CL 977, but has Printed in U.S.A on front and back. Labels are red Columbia 6 eye with MADE IN U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Label): (x"Lp"39533)
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Label): (x"Lp"39534)
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Side A): XLP39533-1D II "star"
Matrix / Runout (Stamped SideB): XLP39534-1C "star"
Paul Weston (2) – Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
Label: Columbia – CL 977
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released:
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Modern, Classical
Doris Day ~ Day By Day
Side 1:
A1 Crescent City
A2 Vieux Carre
A3 Riverfront Blues
A4 Storyville
A5 Bayou St. John
A6 High Society
Side 2:
B1 Creole Songs And Dances
B2 Miss Lucy
B3 Ferryboat To Algiers
B4 Esplanade At Sunset
B5 Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen
B6 Mardi Gras
Credits:
Photography By – Charlie Rotkin
Notes:
Paul Weston and his Music from Hollywood (Printed on Spine & Back Cover)
This release has cover header with white background with green and orange lettering and COLUMBIA on a blue background. Cover is similar to Canada release of CL 977, but has Printed in U.S.A on front and back. Labels are red Columbia 6 eye with MADE IN U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Label): (x"Lp"39533)
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Label): (x"Lp"39534)
Matrix / Runout (Stamped Side A): XLP39533-1D II "star"
Matrix / Runout (Stamped SideB): XLP39534-1C "star"
Paul Weston (2) – Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
Label: Columbia – CL 977
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released:
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Modern, Classical
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
YouTube links:
Doris Day ~ Day By Day
Frank Sinatra ~ I Should Care
Jo Stafford ~ Shrimp Boats
"Why don't you hurry, hurry, hurry home!"
~ Shrimp Boats refrain
Styrous® ~ Thursday, March 12, 2020
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)