20,000 vinyl LPs 394: Laurindo Almeida ~ The Best of Everything

 

 ~  

Gian Carlo Menotti  ~ The Coach with the Six Insides

vinyl LP front cover 

 cover photo by 

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Today is the birthday of Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music, Laurindo José de Araújo Almeida Nóbrega Neto aka  Laurindo Almeida. He was born on September 2, 1917, in the village of Prainha, Brazil near Santos in the state of São Paulo. He was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.       

 

My favorite cut from the album has to be his cover of the Concierto de Aranjuez by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. At over twenty minutes it's a tour de force!

 

Almeida was a self-taught guitarist. During his teenage years, Almeida moved to São Paulo, where he worked as a radio artist, staff arranger and nightclub performer. At the age of 19, he worked his way to Europe playing guitar in a cruise ship orchestra. In Paris, he attended a performance at the Hot Club de France by Stéphane Grappelli and famed guitarist Django Reinhardt, who became a lifelong artistic inspiration.      

 

When he retured to Brazil, Almeida continued composing, performing and became known for playing both classical Spanish and popular guitar. He moved to the United States in 1947; a trip financed when one of his compositions, a song known as Johnny Peddler became a hit recorded by the Andrews Sisters. In Los Angeles, Almeida immediately went to work in film studio orchestras.              

 

   

Tracklist:
       
Side 1:

        

A1 - Love Theme From "The Godfather"
A2 - Aranjuez, Mon Amour
A3 - Fool
A4 - Sleepy Shores
A5 - Theme From "Nicholas And Alexandra"
A6 - Without You

       
Side 2:
       
B1 - I Was Born In Love With You
B2 - Theme From "Summer Of 42"
B3 - Hello Forever
B4 - Brian's Song
B5 - Love
        
Companies, etc.
       
    Marketed By – Polydor
    Printed By – E.J. Day Group
    Recorded At – RCA Studios, Hollywood
        
Credits:
       
    Arranged By, Conductor – Oscar Castro Neves*
    Art Direction – Ken Kim
    Artwork [Cover] – Peter Lloyd (4)
    Engineer – Mickey Crofford
    Liner Notes – Pepper Prothro
    Producer – Sonny Burke
        
Notes:
       
DR2013 appears on front sleeve; DR-2013 is on center label.

Original Cat. No. DR 2013

 

Laurindo Almeida – The Best Of Everything
Label: Daybreak Records – DR2013, Daybreak Records – DR-2013
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bossa Nova 

        
       

         

Viewfinder links:        

         

Laurindo Almeida           

the Andrews Sisters         

Stéphane Grappelli        

Django Reinhardt          

Joaquín Rodrigo          

        

Net links:        

        

         

        

        

         

        

        

YouTube links:        

         

Laurindo Almeida ~ Aranjuez, Mon Amour (20 min., 55 secs.)  

Andrews Sisters ~ Johnny Peddler (I Got)         

        

        

         

        

        

        

Styrous® ~ Tuesday, September 2, 2025        
       

 

 

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Barry Manilow articles/mentions

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mentions:     

The Andrews Sisters ~ 

       Boogie Woogie Bugle Girls     

Glenn Miller ~ Moonlight Serenade     

     

     

     

     

     

     

Barry Manilow 

photo by Miles J. Lourie 

    

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

 

 

 

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20,000 vinyl LPs 330: The Andrews Sisters ~ Boogie Woogie Bugle Girls

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The Andrews Sisters ~ Boogie Woogie Bugle Girls

vinyl LP front cover

Art Direction – Bill Levy

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Eighty-three years ago today, on January 2, 1941, the The Andrews Sisters recorded what may be the song they are most famous for, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.      

 

I love ALL their songs but, like everybody else, Bugle Boy is one of my top favorites. You just can't NOT dance when this song comes on! The movements of the girls are so of-the-time! Jivey! Syncopated! Happy! And FREE! The Patty Andrews vocal is pure dynamite! Her vocal combined with her fabulous "trumpet" interpretations are truly astounding! And you can see how much fun and love they had for each other, especially when you watch the film from 1941 (link below).     

In 2019 Tom White created a series entitled, Boogie Woogie. It was a brilliant piece of conceptual art! The series consisted of works on fine, thick paper with each piece draped over a rigid line of twine that didn't move, only each draped piece moved as a wind current fluttered each work in a different way; it appeared as if they were rapidly dancing, thus, Boogie Woogie.         

 

       

Tom White ~ Boogie Woogie 9 - 2019 

photo by Styrous® 

 

Another one of my favorite songs is Rhumboogie. There is film footage from 1941 of the Andrews performing it! The costumes and what the girls movements make of them are a scream! A year or so later the Rhumboogie Cafe nightclub opened on 343 East 55th Street, Chicago. I couldn't find out if there was any connection to the song. There are links to a couple of my other faves below.      

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy is a World War II jump blues song written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince which was introduced by The Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello comedy film, Buck Privates (1941). The Andrews Sisters' Decca recording reached number six on the U.S. pop singles chart in the spring of 1941 when the film was in release. The song is ranked No. 6 on Songs of the Century. The Bette Midler 1972 recording of the song also reached the top ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.        

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to The Last Time I Saw Paris.               

The song is closely based on an earlier Raye-Prince hit, Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar, which is about a virtuoso boogie-woogie piano player.           

 

Maurice Rocco did a version of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy in 1942 as did Bette Midler thirty years later in 1972; her cover peaked at number one on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1973. The single was produced by Barry Manilow.        

 

The Andrews Sisters ~ Boogie Woogie Bugle Girls

vinyl LP record labels

photos by Styrous®

   

Tracklist:
       
Side 1:

        

A1        Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
A2        Daddy
A3        Old Piano Roll Blues
A4        Rum And Coca Cola
A5        Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar
A6        Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!
A7        In The Mood

       
Side 2:
       
B1        Rhumboogie
B2        Pistol Packin' Mama
B3        Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)
B4        Three Litte Fishies (Itty Bitty Poo)
B5        Pennsylvania Polka
B6        Hold Tight (Want Some Sea Food Mama)
B7        Bei Mir Bist Du Schön
       
Credits:
       
    Art Direction – Bill Levy
    Liner Notes – Ron Ross (8)
       
The Andrews Sisters – Boogie Woogie Bugle Girls
Label: Paramount Records – PAS-6075
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1973
Genre: Pop, Stage & Screen
Style: Vocal       
       
       

       
       

         

Viewfinder links:        

         

Abbott & Costello             

The Andrews Sisters         

Tom White        

        

Net link:        

        

Tom White                 

         

YouTube links:        

         

Andrews Sisters ~    

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy         

Buck Privates ~ Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy        

U.S. military overseas personnel (WWII era. Circa 1941) ~   

          Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy         

          Rum And Coca Cola                   

          Rhumboogie      

Bette Midler ~   

         Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy       

         Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (live 1991)  

Maurice Rocco ~ Rhumboogie

            

         

         

        

        

        

        

Styrous® ~ Monday, January 2, 2023       
       

 

 

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Remember Pearl Harbor ~ 80 years later

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"Remember Pearl Harbor" - December 7, 1941

"Sweetheart" pin

 

 

Today is the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941, led the United States to declare war on the Empire of Japan, making the attack on Pearl Harbor the immediate cause of the United States' entry into World War II.  

        

        

Pearl Harbor - aerial photo

Although I was a baby when it happened, it impacted my early years as I lived through the war with its restrictions and "patriotic" enthusiasm in many aspects of my life, mostly the music of the time; The Andrews Sisters, Kay Kyser, Vera Lynn (links below) and many others.    

 

After the war began, many artifacts, mostly jewelry worn by women as in the photo above, carried the simple expression, "Remember Pearl Harbor." My mother had a pin, a plain bar with that expression which had a real pearl in place of the word "Pearl".               

Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack, is supposed to have said in the aftermath, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”      

                

Viewfinder links:        

        

The Andrews Sisters        

Kay Kyser         

Vera Lynn         

Pearl Harbors        

Christine K. Simonson        

        

Net links:        

        

AP News ~ Pearl Harbor survivors gather on 80th anniversary of attack    

History ~ Pearl Harbor         

Military.com ~ Rarely Seen Photos of the Attack on Pearl Harbor   

National Park Service ~ Pearl Harbor        

Time ~ 3 myths about Pearl Harbor        

USA Today ~ Pearl Harbor led to a changed world        

        

YouTube links:        

        

The Andrews Sisters ~         

             Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy        

             Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree                 

             I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time                 

Kay Kyser ~ Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition        

Vera Lynn ~       

             We'll Meet Again         

             The White cliffs of Dover         

        

        

         

        

         

        

Styrous® ~ Tuesday, December 7, 2021                 

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Events
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Buster Crabbe articles/mentions

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The Andrews Sisters ~ goodbye & thanks    

Hollywood Bound ~ Flash Gordon, etc.
Julie London ~ Cry Me a River   
Michael Rennie ~ Klaatu barada nikto!   
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     

Buster Crabbe - ca 1940

publicity photo

     

     

     

      

     

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1,000,001 CDs 18: El Raunch Oh! Grande & The Love Handle Lounge

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El Raunch Oh! Grande

   
         
A while back I did an article on a recording by Mae West (link below). I actually hadn't listened to the album for decades, that happens when you have 20,000 albums. One of the songs on the album rang a bell but my brain wouldn't make any connections. Then, I woke up in the middle of the night and a clear vision of being in a record store and coming across this CD, El Raunch Oh! Grande . . . Latin Songs for Gringos, popped into my mind. I rummaged around until I found the CD and there it was: Mae West doing her thing with Tito Coral gloriously singing Havana For A Night.          

 

Tito Coral &  Mae West - 1935

Goin' to Town

film still 

photo: Getty Images

The reason I so clearly remember buying the CD is when I saw it in the store ten years or so ago, I burst out laughing! At first because of the title then after reading the info on the CD, because of the series, The Love Handle Lounge In Hi-Fi! After my guffaws settled down I read the track list and discovered there was some really good music on it and it was produced by Rod McKuen, so, even though it was pressed by a low budget music company, LaserLight Digital, I went ahead and bought it. I believe I only paid a dollar or something like that, so, I didn't have much to lose.      

Aside from the humorous theme of the CD, there are real gems on it. One is the Mexican Bolero song You Belong To My Heart composed by Mexican songwriter Agustín Lara with Xavier Cugat, his orchestra and Bing Crosby singing (link below). This song is dear to me because I remember my mom and dad dancing romantically to it in the living room when I was a little kid in the forties. I also remember them dancing to the song Frenesi by Artie Shaw at Sweets Ballroom (later called The Uptown Nightclub) on Telegraph Avenue at 19th Street in Oakland during the War (link below).   

 

 

Artie Shaw

photo by John Pratt/Keystone Features/Getty Images

 

 

Frenesi was composed by Alberto Domínguez for the marimba, and adapted as a jazz standard by many artists. A hit version recorded by Shaw (with an arrangement by William Grant Still) reached number one on the Billboard pop chart on December 21, 1940, staying for 13 weeks and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982. The Shaw recording was used in the soundtrack of the 1980 film based on the life of Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull (link below) starring Robert De Niro and directed by Martin Scorsese.       

 

Martin Scorsese & Robert De Niro

Raging Bull - 1980

 photographer unknown

And, of course, there is the classic of all time, Rum & Coca Cola by the the Andrews Sisters. Even though I was just a little kid I loved this song! I did not understand the song was about drinking or the subtle political implications; I just loved the rhythm and the harmonizing of the girls. I think it was the first song by them I knew.      

 

  

 Andrews Sisters - 1947 

publicity photo

 

 

Rum & Coca Cola is a calypso song composed by Lionel Belasco with lyrics by Lord Invader. The song was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and was a big hit in 1945 for the Sisters.       

I discovered there are other pressings in The Love Handle Lounge series with hilarious titles, Love Organs (all the songs have an organ in it somewhere), Safe Sax (ditto for this with a sax), How Big Is Your Woofer? and other double entendres Mae West would have just adored. The interesting thing all the songs on the various albums are straight and on the level; obviously, McKuen had a terrific sense of humor!   
   
        
        

Tracklist:

1 – The Clebanoff Strings - Brazil   
2 – Eddie Gomez - Los Maric'ones   
3 – Mae West With Tito Coral - Havana For A Night   
4 – Artie Shaw - Frenesi   
5 – Marty Robbins - Up In The Air   
6 – Xavier Cugat, Vocal By Dinah Shore - Yours (Quiereme Mucho)   
7 – Eddy Howard - My Adobe Hacienda   
8 – The Mertons - I’ll Catch The Sun   
9 – Xavier Cugat & The Boys* / Pearl Bailey - El Rancho Grande   
10 – Bing Crosby With Xavier Cugat - You Belong To My Heart   
11 – The Andrews Sisters - Rum & Coca Cola   
12 – Georgia Gibbs - Kiss Of Fire   
13 – The Clebanoff Strings - Solamente Una Ves   

Credits:

    Producer – Rod McKuen

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode: 018111281027     

Label: LaserLight Digital ‎– 12 810
Series: The Love Handle Lounge In Hi-Fi –
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1996
Genre: Jazz, Latin, Pop
Style: Bossa Nova, Bossanova, Cha-Cha, Easy Listening, Mambo, Samba, Space-Age, Vocal, Ballad, Latin Jazz
      
      
Viewfinder links:      
       

Morey Amsterdam       

The Andrews Sisters         
Tito Coral          

Bing Crosby             

Xavier Cugat         

The Fabulous Mae West: Queen of the Double Entendres          

Giacobbe "Jake" LaMotta ~ A raging bull          

Rod McKuen     

Marty Robbins          

Martin Scorsese         

Artie Shaw             

Dinah Shore           

Sweets Ballroom ~ Jitterbugging in the Forties         
Mae West       
The Fabulous Mae West        

      
YouTube links:      

      

The Andrews Sisters ~ Rum & Coca Cola             

Xavier Cugat ~            
     w/Pearl Bailey ~ El Rancho Grande        
     w/Bing Crosby ~ You Belong To My Heart       

     w/Dinah Shore ~ Yours (Quiereme Mucho)        

Lord Invader - Rum and coca cola      
Mae West w/Tito Coral ~ Havana For A Night          
      
      

      

      

      

      

      

Styrous® ~ December 30, 2020

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20,000 vinyl LPs 163: Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town in 1944

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Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town

vinyl LP album cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

On December 28, 1944, the musical On the Town premiered on Broadway at the Adelphi Theater in New York City and ran for 462 performances. It featured the song, New York, New York.               

The production starred John Battles (Gabey), Cris Alexander (Chip), Nancy Walker (Hildy), Sono Osato (Ivy), Betty Comden (Claire), and Adolph Green (Ozzie). The musical director was Max Goberman.     

Although Comden and Green sing some of the songs, this is not an original cast recording and it is on side two of the record. It is a 1950 re-issue of monaural 78 RPM recordings of songs from On the Town. Other singers on the recording are Nancy Walker, Toots Camarata, Lyn Murray and Mary Martin (link below). It featured the Lyn Murray chorus and orchestra.        

Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town

vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Side one of the recording has the music from Lute Song which features songs from that production sung by Mary Martin.  The orchestra was directed by Raymond Scott (link below) who also wrote the music.

         

Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town

vinyl LP album cover 
photo by Styrous®

The big hit from the On the Town was, New York, New York, sung by Lyn Murray on this recording; the famous line from the song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town. The Bronx is up but the Battery's down." (link below).               

Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Jules Munshin performed New York, New York in the 1949 MGM musical film version of On the Town (links below). The film was directed and choreographed by Kelly.      

Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town

vinyl LP album back cover
photo by Styrous®

The other songs from On the Town never reached the popularity of New York but they are a lot of fun (links below). They are typical of the bebop music, à la the The Andrews Sisters (link below), of the period.        

Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town

vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town

vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®

Leonard Bernstein ~ On the Town

vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®

 

Side 2:    

        On The Town

       
B1a – Lyn Murray Chorus And Lyn Murray Orchestra - On The Town Opening
    –     I Feel Like I'm Not Out Of Bed Yet, Lyrics By Betty Comden-Adolph Green, Music By Leonard Bernstein
   
B1b – New York, New York, Lyrics By Betty Comden-Adolph Green, Music By Leonard Bernstein
   
B2 – Betty Comden And Adolph Green With Lyn Murray Orchestra - I Get Carried Away, Directed By Lyn Murray, Lyrics By Betty Comden-Adolph Green, Music By Leonard Bernstein
   
B3 – Mary Martin With Toots Camarata And His Orchestra - Lucky To Be Me, Directed By Tutti Camarata, Lyrics By Betty Comden-Adolph Green, Music By Leonard Bernstein
   
B4 – Mary Martin With Toots Camarata And His Orchestra - Lonely Town, Directed By Tutti Camarata, Lyrics By Betty Comden-Adolph Green, Music By Leonard Bernstein
   
B5 – Nancy Walker With Leonard Joy Orchestra - I Can Cook Too, Directed By  Leonard Joy, Lyrics By – Betty Comden-Adolph Green, Music By – Leonard Bernstein
   
B6 – Nancy Walker With Leonard Joy Orchestra - Ya Got Me, Directed By Leonard Joy, Lyrics By Betty Comden-Adolph Green, Music By Leonard Bernstein

   
Notes:

Also available in Decca 78 rpm albums: Lute Song: A-445; On The Town: A-416
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Side A label): (MG 1624)
    Matrix / Runout (Side B label): (MG 1625)

Various ‎– Selections From 'Lute Song' And 'On The Town'
Label: Decca ‎– DL 8030
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1950
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Musical
 
 

    

     

Viewfinder links:            

            
The Andrews Sisters        

Leonard Bernstein
Gene Kelly       
Mary Martin       
Raymond Scott       

Frank Sinatra   

   

Net links:            

           

Plot summary       
    

YouTube links:            

            
Lyn Murray ~ I Feel Like I'm Not Out Of Bed Yet / New York, New York
1949 MGM musical film ~ New York, New York                
Mary Martin ~ Lucky To Be Me     

                     ~ Lonely Town         

Nancy Walker ~ I Can Cook Too    

                       ~ Ya Got Me        

Betty Comden & Adolph Green ~ I Get Carried Away        
     

    

     

       

      

On the Town theater poster ~ 1945

       

      

    

     

Styrous® ~  Friday, December 28. 2018   

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