[78-L] Dolores O’Neil

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

I’m pleased to see positive comments and interest in the singing of 
Dolores O’Neil. Here is something I wrote in the past about Bob 
Chester’ Bluebird band and O’Neil.

“Tenor saxophonist Chester recorded 128 sides for Bluebird, many of 
them quite nice swing numbers with good solos and smartly crafted 
arrangements. Overall, the Bluebird version of “The Octave Jump,” with 
its “live” sound and detail, is a better performance than the Sonora 
recording. It features a fine arrangement with the kind of nuances and 
dynamics that made a crack swing band exciting to hear. Solography is: 
Chester, tenor saxophone; boogie-flavored piano; trumpet, trombone, 
trumpet, and acoustic guitar. For voicing and shading, note the brief 
interplay between brass and reeds at the close. The “A” side is even 
better: the Hoffman-Kent-Schaeffer “You Little Heart-Breaker You,” 
played at a solid tempo driven by high-hat, back beat, and ride cymbal. 
This well-written arrangement really swings, and the swell of reeds 
near the close is a particular delight.

The vocal is by Dolores O’Neill, a marvelous singer with a smoky edge 
to her voice, great musicality, and a uniquely intimate way of phrasing 
that makes you think she is singing only for you. At times there is a 
hint of Connie Boswell in her voice; at others, the intonation and 
phrasing of a future Mel Tormé. Every record she made with Chester is a 
gem. Fine examples include:

	• My Silent Mood (B-10474-A)
	• Why Go On Pretending? (B-10524-A)
	• In the Heart of the Dark (B-10524-B)
	• Make Love With a Guitar (B-10576-A)
	• With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair (B-10614-A)
	• Maybe (B-10752-A)
	• Pushin’ the Conversation Along (B-10752-B)
	• Don’t Let It Get You Down (B-10838-A)
	• We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me) (B-10865-A)

Most of these tunes received little attention from the public. A few, 
however, were recorded by other artists. Horace Heidt had a popular 
version of “Make Love With a Guitar” in 1940 (Columbia 35327). 
Saxophonist Johnny Messner and his Music Box Band also did a passable 
rendition with Messner on the vocal (Varsity 8160). Messner had 
switched from Bluebird to Varsity in 1940 when Eli Oberstein left RCA 
Victor to start the label. The Music Box was the name of a short-lived 
New York nightclub. With a title like “With the Wind and the Rain in 
Your Hair,” one might expect a ballad. Instead, the Chester performance 
opens with eight bars played in medium tempos that have energy, 
dynamics, and bite. Those eight bars set the stage for what is to come. 
The whole record is an excellent example of in-tune playing, seamless 
section work, and musical precision. The Chester recording of “With the 
Wind and the Rain in Your Hair” was reissued in Reader’s Digest The 
Great Band Era 37 Top Bands Play 10 Years of Top Tunes (1936 to 1945) 
(Record 10, side 1 track 5, mx. RRIM-9041). The 10-disc set was 
produced by RCA Victor Custom and thus contains only sides recorded for 
Victor or its affiliate Bluebird label. Two other attractive versions 
of “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair” were recorded in 1940 by 
Bob Crosby, with Marion Mann on vocal (Decca 3018), and Georgie Auld 
and his Orchestra, with vocal by Kay Foster (Varsity 8212). Displaying 
a yearning, sensuous tone, Auld shows how well he could perform a 
ballad. For the most part, this is the Artie Shaw band, which Auld took 
over when Shaw announced Tuesday, November 21 that he had “severed 
connections with his orchestra and will leave for Mexico.”

[I can’t find where it is documented, but it is said that the eponymous 
character of the song “Pancho Maximilian  Hernandeez (The first and 
last President we ever had) by Ray McKinley (Majestic 7249) chronicles 
the time Shaw spent in Mexico.]