[78-L] 1950s big band (was Frosty)

[Cary Ginell]

The introduction of the LP certainly had a great deal to do with what kinds of songs became "hits." Note that all of the people that have been mentioned were successful album selling artists, but had few, if any, single hits. With the LP's introduction, the audience was divided in two - younger listeners went for singles, older listeners went for LPs. 

 

Cary Ginell
 
> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:41:44 -0500
> From: dlennick at sympatico.ca
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Subject: Re: [78-L] 1950s big band (was Frosty)
> 
> It got to #43 in 1961. Big bands still sold LPs, just not much in the way of 
> charted hits.
> 
> dl
> 
> Royal Pemberton wrote:
> > How high did Si Zentner's 'Up a lazy river' get (1962)? That's a big band
> > instrumental, though done with what I call a 'twist tempo' feel. (And
> > you'll notice the tempo gradually slowing down through the track....drummer
> > getting lazy?)
> > 
> > On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 6:08 PM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>wrote:
> > 
> >> Billy May went only to #49 in the US. Not a hit.
> >>
> >> Les Baxter? You gotta be kidding. Unchained Melody and Wake The Town are
> >> vocals. Poor People of Paris is "cute instrumental" and no more big band
> >> than
> >> my Aunt Geri's grocery list.
> >>
> >> Honey-Babe is strictly vocal, not a big band record by anyone's definition.
> >>
> >> Nelson Riddle led a big band for singers like Sinatra but Lisbon Antigua
> >> has
> >> STRINGS and no big band elements. Eddie Heywood with Hugo Winterhalter
> >> comes
> >> closer to big band.
> >>
> >> Ted Heath couldn't sell shoelaces in the US but he definitely counts in the
> >> Uk.
> >>
> >> Reg Owen was a top ten hit here, so that one counts. Ditto Ray Anthony.
> >> We're
> >> almost up to ten....
> >>
> >> Answer to backup question: Mitchell Ayres?
> >>
> >> dl
> >>
> >> Kristjan Saag wrote:
> >>> David Lennick wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Nobody's saying they weren't popular, only that there were virtually no
> >>>> big
> >>>> band hit singles after 1954. And I think we've listed the two
> >> exceptions.
> >>> --
> >>> There were more exceptions.
> >>> Art Mooney reached the no 6 spot in the US 1955 with "Honey-Babe"
> >>> Les Baxter no 2 in the US and no 10 in the UK 1955 with "Unchained
> >> Melody"
> >>> Les Baxter no 10 in the US in 1955 with "Wake The Town And Tell The
> >> People"
> >>> Perez Prado no 1 in the US and UK 1955 with "Cherry Pink And Apple
> >> Blossom
> >>> White"
> >>> Billy May no 9 in the UK 1956 with theme from "The Man With The Gold Arm"
> >>> Nelson Riddle no 1 in the US 1956 with "Lisbon Antigua"
> >>> Les Baxter no 1 the US 1956 with "The Poor People Of Paris"
> >>> Perez Prado no 2 in the US and no 8 in the UK 1958 with "Patricia"
> >>> Ted Heath no 3 in the UK 1958 with "Swingin' Shepherd Blues"
> >>> Reg Owen no 10 in the US 1959 with "Manhattan Spiritual"
> >>> Ray Anthony no 8 in the US 1959 with "Peter Gunn"
> >>>
> >>> And this was just Top 10.
> >>> True: most of these weren't jazz tunes, not even jazz arrangements, but
> >> who
> >>> said Big Bands always played jazz music?
> >>> Big Band arrangements though, were still commonplace on many, if not most
> >>> vocal hits of the 1950's. Who backed Jo Stafford, Frank Sinatra, Perry
> >> Como
> >>> and all the successful vocal quartets? It wasn't Bill Haley's Comets or
> >> The
> >>> Kingston Trio. Many of those hits would have been released under the
> >>> orchestra's name in the early 1940's.
> >>> Kristjan
> >>>
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