[78-L] Coates - By the Sleepy Lagoon

[David Lennick]

The Cinderella thing seems to have been issued in Canada as two single discs as 
well, without an album. Just to confuse things further, there's a ten-inch 
version of Sleepy Lagoon, recorded later (probably c. 1940, when I think 
Columbia had a number of best-sellers redone on ten-inch to conserve shellac).

A reissue producer who poached a number of projects that I should have done 
(and who shall remain nameless) did Coates a couple of times. Holding one of 
his projects at arm's length and checking the booklet, I find March 4, 1935 as 
the date for the Columbia twelve-incher and for Cinderella (sequential 
numbers). US Columbia 7408-M was a pairing of Sloppy Lagoon and Last Love. Last 
Love was coupled with Footlights on English Columbia DX 966, Footlights was the 
filler to Cinderella somewhere else and I give up.

dl

Rodger Holtin wrote:
> Coates - By the Sleepy Lagoon, green Columbia Masterworks “microphone label.”
> Â 
> One of my favorite early acquisitions (1961) was “By the Sleepy Lagoon” recorded by Eric Coates conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra on a green label Columbia Masterworks 7408-M, (bearing mx CAX 7455-2) b/w “Last Love” (CAX 8716-1), with Coates credited as composer for both tunes.  Some years later I turned up another copy of the Lagoon pressed from the same master, also on a green Masterworks label, this time # 7336-M.  And now the barrage of questions about these things:
> Â 
> Number 7336-M has the same kind of green label, but says “Imported Recording,” which # 7408-M lacks.  Number 7336 also has “Cinderella” (CAX 7454-2) (also credited to Coates as composer) on the flipside, but this being marked “In 3 Parts, Part III” would lead me to believe that this was from a two disc set, and disc one had “Cinderella” parts I and II, although there is no reference to a set (album) number on the label.  
> Â 
> “By the Sleepy Lagoon” must have enjoyed great popularity in the early 1940’s.  I have it by Harry James, (as does everybody else), also by Tommy Dorsey as a trombone solo on Red Seal Victor and Dinah Shore on black label Victor, and sure I have seen it by somebody else, too, methinks, and there was a Spike Jones take-off of the title bearing little resemblance to the original tune.  
> Â 
> It would appear that the first issuance of this (the earlier number being 7336) was as a filler at the end of the Cinderella set, and the tune took off from there.  
> Am I anywhere near right on this??  There must be a story about this somewhere.  
> 
> When were these recorded??
> 
> When were these copies issued / pressed?
> 
> Both are laminated pressings.
> Apparently they were pressed from the same master, but 7336 has no lead-in on either side, whereas 7408 has a lead-in added.  It’s an odd lead-in – it moves in, then out, the in again, stopping at the very edge of the first turn but does not connect to it.
> Â 
> 
> 
> Rodger
> 
> For Perfect tone, use Columbia Needles
> .
> 
>