The Hall Of Fame - Volume 3

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GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5162
The Hall Of Fame - Volume 3

1 Singin’ In The Rain (Arthur Freed; Nacio Herb Brown, arr. Conrad Salinger)
CONRAD SALINGER ORCHESTRA Conducted by BUDDY BREGMAN
Verve MG VS-6012 1958
2 Spanish Serenade (from ‘A Suite Of Serenades’) (Victor Herbert, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia C2S 801 1958
3 Lingering Lovers (Ron Goodwin)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SR 60026 1958
4 Ecstasy (Jose Belmonte, real name Philip Green)
PHILIP GREEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia BTD 701 1955
5 Love And The World Loves With You (Amor Que Bonito) (Ernesto Lecuona)
RICHARD HAYMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SR 60000 1957
6 Solitude (Duke Ellington, arr. Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA Victor LSP 1656 1958
7 Easter Isle (Nelson Riddle; Leland Gillette; Sid Wayne)
NELSON RIDDLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST 915 1958
8 La Muñeca Española (The Spanish Doll) (Hugo Winterhalter)
HUGO WINTERHALTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPM 1677 1958
9 Dream (Johnny Mercer)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Dot DLP 3064 1958
10 Vivre (Love Of My Life) (Guy Luypaerts, arr. Ray Martin)
RAY MARTIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Polydor SLPHM 237503 1958
11 The Merry Widow Waltz (Franz Lehár)
FREDDY MARTIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Standard Radio Transcription Services P-171 1941
12 Devil’s Galop (Charles Williams)
CHARLES WILLIAMS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 2448 1948
13 Jumping Bean (Robert Farnon)
KINGSWAY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Decca F 9038 1948
14 When Day Is Done (Robert Katscher; Buddy de Sylva)
ALBERT SANDLER AND HIS PALM COURT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 2168 1945
15 Shooting Star (Sidney Torch)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Columbia DB 2456 1948
16 Elizabethan Serenade (Ronald Binge)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Parlophone 45-R 4272 1957
17 Crazy Violins (Wildman)
HELMUT ZACHARIAS AND HIS MAGIC VIOLINS
Polydor 46091 LPHM 1958
18 The Kerry Dance (J.L. Molloy, arr. Wally Stott – later known as Angela Morley)
GERALDO Conducting THE TIP TOP TUNES ORCHESTRA
Parlophone E 11457 1947
19 Bubble, Bubble, Bubble (Pink Champagne) (Robert Craig Wright; George Forrest)
HENRI RENÉ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV B 10052 1951
20 March Of The Pretzels (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Transcription Service 10057 1950
21 Music Everywhere (Rediffusion March) (Eric Coates)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC COATES
Decca F 9157 1949
Featured Conductor: GEORGE MELACHRINO
22 Theme from "Runnymede Rhapsody" (Reginald King)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO featuring WILLIAM HILL-BOWEN, piano
HMV C 4038 1950
23 My Song Of Spring (from "London Melody") (also known as Sophistication Waltz) (Robert Farnon, arr. George Melachrino)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
HMV B 10087 1951
24 Winter Sunshine (George Melachrino)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
HMV B 9527 1947
25 Aprite Le Finestre (Open The Windows) (Virgilio Panzuti)
GEORGE MELACHRINO Conducting the San Remo Festival Orchestra - 1956
HMV SCT 1519 1957
26 Warsaw Concerto (Richard Addinsell, based on the original arrangement by Roy Douglas)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO featuring WILLIAM HILL-BOWEN, piano
RCA Camden CAS 10173 1958

Stereo: tracks 1-10, 25 & 26; others mono

This collection is intended as a tribute to talented musicians who have made an important contribution to our enjoyment of Light Music, either as conductors, composers or arrangers – and occasionally as all three. Like the two previous CDs in this series (GLCD 5120 & 5124), in order to qualify for inclusion in any kind of Hall of Fame there is a pre-requisite that recognition should already have been given for outstanding achievement. In the case of Light Music, if only the most famous melodies and orchestras are considered worthy for a CD such as this, the result would probably be a rehash of what may have been done many times before.

The Guild "Golden Age of Light Music" series is compiled by enthusiasts who understand that keen collectors probably already have many of the "best of" pieces in their music libraries. So you are not being offered a compilation featuring only the best known works performed by each orchestra, but a careful choice which mixes the familiar with – occasionally – the unknown. Some record companies delete slow selling CDs with indecent haste; others, like Guild Music, recognise that certain styles of music will attract buyers over a long period of time. When it is brought to our attention that an exceptional piece of Light Music is no longer available to new purchasers elsewhere, we will consider reissuing it once again. This is important, because there is growing evidence that younger people are starting to discover the wealth of attractive music that has previously been unknown to them.

No attempt will be made to compile any kind of league table. Such exercises have little real value, because music appreciation is such a personal matter of taste. It is simply hoped that the works chosen for this collection will each have a certain appeal, and be recognised as valuable contributions to an important area within the world of music which came to prominence and flourished during the 20th century.

In selecting a Conrad Salinger arrangement as the opening track we are recognising the major impact that Light Music has made in the cinema, whether as background music to heighten dramatic effects (often referred to as ‘underscores’) or in attractive arrangements of popular songs. Singin’ In The Rain is the title song of one of the most famous film musicals of the last century, and the brilliance of Salinger’s treatment of this melody is even more apparent without Gene Kelly’s vocal. Conrad Salinger (1901-1961) was first honoured in Guild’s "Strings And Things Go Stereo" collection (GLCD 5153). It is fortunate for his admirers that Buddy Bregman (b. 1930) A&R Manager of the fledgling Verve Records label took his orchestra into Studio A at Capitol Records on 20 & 21 March 1957 and conducted an album showcasing Salinger. Such was Bregman’s esteem for him that he retitled his orchestra ‘The Conrad Salinger Orchestra Conducted by Buddy Bregman’ for the LP "Conrad Salinger – A Lovely Afternoon". For these sessions Salinger recreated some of his memorable scores first heard in movies such as "Meet Me In St Louis", "The Band Wagon" and "Singin’ In The Rain". On previous CDs you will discover The Trolley Song (GLCD 5153), The Boy Next Door (GLCD 5155), That’s Entertainment (GLCD 5158), Let’s Fall In Love and I Cover The Waterfront (GLCD 5159).

Ray Martin (1918-1988) was born in Vienna, Austria as Raymond Wolfgang Kohn, and his preferred instrument was the violin. In 1937 he settled in England where he adopted the name Raymond Stuart Martin. After six years in the intelligence corps, while still in the army he moved to the British Forces Network, based in Hamburg, where he formed his own "Melody From The Sky" orchestra. Back in Britain during the 1950s he conducted his orchestra regularly on radio and television, and was also an Artists and Repertoire Manager at EMI’s Columbia label, where he produced many hit records by their top contract stars. His own compositions were among some of his biggest successes (notably Marching Strings composed under the name ‘Marshall Ross’ – one of his many pseudonyms), and he also worked in films such as "It’s Great To Be Young" (1956). In 1957 he relocated to the USA where he was obliged to modify his style to suit the changes happening to pop music. A couple of LPs he recorded for Polydor still retained hints of the ‘Ray Martin sound’ that had been so popular in Britain, which can be heard in his own arrangement of Guy Luypaerts’ Vivre.

A newcomer to Guild Light Music in this collection is American bandleader and tenor saxophonist Frederick Alfred (Freddy) Martin (1906-1983). However his name will already be known to many music lovers, especially in the USA, where he made numerous recordings from 1932 onwards and was frequently heard on the radio. He made a big impact in 1941 with an arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto which he recorded as an instrumental. His record company wanted more, so he adapted other classical themes and one of these is Franz Lehár’s Merry Widow Waltz. For this repertoire Martin enlarged his usual dance band to include six violins alongside extra brass and saxes. He became known as ‘Mr Silvertone’ and was one of the most respected tenor saxophonists of the dance band era.

Before moving on to the final section on this CD it is appropriate to mention a few special highlights. David Carroll (b. 1913) paid Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) the honour of making a special arrangement of his composition Lingering Lovers – a sequel to Swinging Sweethearts (also known as Skiffling Strings) on GLCD 5153. Goodwin is heard conducting one of his most popular recordings of the 1950s, Ronald Binge’s (1910-1979) Elizabethan Serenade. During her younger days Angela Morley (1924-2009) was known as ‘Wally Stott’, and while in the Geraldo Orchestra she created several concert arrangements which have become highly regarded. The Kerry Dance was one of them, and another – March Of The Toys - is available on Guild GLCD 5124. To ensure that they are still available to light music aficionados, three landmark compositions are also included in their definitive recorded versions: Devil’s Galop by Charles Williams (1893-1978), Jumping Bean by Robert Farnon (1917-2005) and Sidney Torch’s (1908-1990) Shooting Star – the subject of the cover painting specially commissioned for this CD.

George Miltiades Melachrino (1909-1965) was one of the big names in British light music from the 1940s to the 1960s. Born in London, he became a professional musician, competent on clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone, violin and viola, and he worked with many British dance bands in the 1930s. He was also in demand as a singer, and can be heard on recordings with Carroll Gibbons and others. During World War 2 he became Musical Director of the Army Radio Unit, and his 50-piece ‘Orchestra in Khaki’ toured with the ‘Stars in Battledress’. When the Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme of the BBC began broadcasting to Allied troops on 7 June 1944 (one day after D-Day), George Melachrino was featured conducting the British Band of the AEF; his colleagues were Glenn Miller and Robert Farnon (whose recordings can be heard on many Guild CDs), fronting the American and Canadian Bands. After the war Melachrino retained the finest elements of his service band to form the magnificent orchestra that went on to achieve worldwide fame, mainly through its superb long-playing record albums which sold in millions. Many tuneful pieces of light music flowed from his pen, and he developed a unique arranging style which was also adopted by his right-hand man for many years, William Hill-Bowen (1918-1964). Melachrino built up a thriving entertainment organisation also involved in films, theatre and broadcasting and EMI used his talents extensively when stereo arrived.

Our short tribute to his genius reflects upon his composing and arranging plus, of course, his conducting. The composer of Runnymede Rhapsody, Reginald Claude McMahon King (1904-1991), was an accomplished pianist, who performed under the baton of Sir Henry Wood at the Proms soon after he completed his studies at London’s Royal Academy. In the late 1920s he started broadcasting regularly (during his career his number of broadcasts exceeded 1,400), and he made numerous recordings, often featuring his own attractive compositions. He made his last broadcast in 1964, but during a long retirement he continued composing until shortly before his death. Another of his major works, the concert overture The Immortals, was featured on Guild GLCD5106.

As a tribute to his wartime comrade Robert Farnon, George Melachrino made a special arrangement of My Song Of Spring. Farnon returned the compliment with his own version of Winter Sunshine, although he was not asked by Decca to record it commercially and he only performed it in broadcasts. The original Melachrino version (heard in this collection) is one of the great light music creations of the last century. Aprite le finestre was one of the two Italian entries of the first Eurovision Song Contest back in 1956, and it was also the 6th San Remo winner the same year. Melachrino recorded all the entries with the San Remo Festival Orchestra which was released by HMV on a ‘stereosonic’ tape and, later, an LP on its International label.

To complete the collection the Melachrino Orchestra, with William Hill-Bowen as pianist, performs Richard Addinsell’s famous Warsaw Concerto, the work from the film "Dangerous Moonlight" which spawned many similar film themes in the following years, which broadcaster Steve Race dubbed ‘the Denham concertos’ – referring to the studios west of London where many of the films were made.

All the composers, arrangers and conductors featured in this collection deserve to have their careers profiled in considerable detail, but sadly lack of space prevents this on every occasion that they appear in this series. Many have already been (or are likely to be in the future) given a fair share of the limelight, and if you have internet access you can read the full booklet notes for all previous releases on the Guild Music website: www.guildmusic.com

David Ades

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