1936: Records

We're going to hang around 1936 just a little longer to listen to some of my favorite records from that year!

Again, not necessarily the best, but here are ten that I like a lot.

So, in alphabetical order by artist, here are both sides of each 78 rpm record...

Fred Astaire's movies with Ginger Rogers always had great scores by great songwriters and Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields delivered the goods for "Swing Time":

Love Fred's tap-dancing on Side Two!

The Boswell Sisters were outstanding purveyors of close harmony. This single was one of their last before the act broke up and Connee Boswell pursued a successful solo career:

Fun take on the ubiquitous "The Music Goes 'Round and Around!"

Here's an interesting 12-inch record to promote the Bing Crosby picture "Pennies from Heaven." Side One features Frances Langford and Louis Armstrong (who was featured in the movie) in addition to Bing singing the title song, backed by Jimmy Dorsey's band. Side Two has those same artists with a medley of songs from the movie:

A lot of talent there! And dig Jimmy's alto sax chorus on the title tune!

Tommy Dorsey vocalist Edythe Wright "borrows" Dave Tough's drum kit!

Jimmy's brother Tommy Dorsey had split from the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra the year before and was now leading his own band. He had a small group within the band, the Clambake Seven, to play Dixieland-inspired music. They always sound like they're having a blast! Here's one of those records, featuring vocalist Edythe (misspelled on the label) Wright:

Love, love, love "At the Codfish Ball" especially, with tenor saxist Bud Freeman and drummer Dave Tough in top form!

Duke Ellington poses with his band including Barney Bigard (middle left) and Cootie Williams (top left).

For my money, Duke Ellington may have been the greatest musical talent of the twentieth century! He certainly was a brilliant composer and arranger with a great band of top musicians. This record features showcases for trumpeter Cootie Williams and clarinetist Barney Bigard respectively:

Cootie used "Echoes of Harlem" as his theme song when he formed his own band in the 1940s.

Like Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman also featured small groups in addition to his full band. In 1936, he had the Benny Goodman Quartet, which also featured star drummer Gene Krupa from the band and pianist Teddy Wilson and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. I can't think of any other group ever that featured such talent. Four absolute masters of their instruments. Here's a great record from them:

Will Hudson's "Moon Glow" has been recorded a zillion times, but never better!

We turn to the sweeter side with Hal Kemp's orchestra. The group had a staccato approach and I think it's a great sound and singer Skinny (later Skinnay) Ennis is perfect with the group. Skinnay takes the vocal on the first of two numbers from "Golddiggers of 1937":

Skinnay on Side One and the more conventional Bob Allen on Side Two make an interesting contrast.

Leader Andy Kirk (left) and vocalist Pha Terrell go over an arrangement with pianist Mary Lou Williams.

 

Andy Kirk had a great band that featured variations on "Clouds of Joy" as its name. He alternated ballads sung by Pha Terrell, such as this huge hit here on the A-side, with instrumentals often arranged and/or composed by the ultra-talented pianist Mary Lou Williams, such as the flipside here:

It seems that a lot of modern listeners think that ballads with vocals like "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" were necessary evils faced by swinging bands like Andy Kirk's.

But those records are part of the fabric of popular music at the time and fans liked them!

Whatever the case, this was an underrated band, I think.

Not underrated by aficionados is the tremendous band led by Jimmie Lunceford. Their not-so-secret weapon was arranging genius Sy Oliver, one of the best. This was a big hit for them:

"Organ Grinder's Swing" was another number composed by Will Hudson, who was co-leading the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra with lyricist/singer Eddie DeLange at the time.

Here's a nice early record by the Sons of the Pioneers while Roy Rogers (far right above) was still in the group. It's a couple of songs from the movie "Rhythm on the Range," in which the group appeared:

Fun take on "I'm an Old Cowhand!"

If pressed, I'd say that Benny Goodman probably had the best year on records, but Tommy Dorsey overtook him the next year.

As a bonus, here's a 1936 record from Victor featuring the full bands of Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, each with their respective take on "Star Dust":

Two great sides there! Hoagy Carmichael's tune was already a standard by then!

And for a bonus bonus, since "The Music Goes 'Round and Around" is stuck in my head, let's embrace it and listen to Mike Riley (spelled incorrectly on the label) and Eddie Farley's original hit (and its flipside) with their Onyx Club Boys:

This record was released in 1935, but was very popular in 1936!

Plenty of other great records were released in 1936, but hopefully you enjoyed these!