Monday Side‑Session: Flamingo’s Flight

For today’s side‑session, let’s follow the flight path of Flamingo across twenty‑five years — a tune that kept finding new thermals to ride.

🕊️ Lift‑Off

We begin in 1941, right after Duke Ellington’s hit sent the song fluttering through the band world. First up: Gene Krupa with vocalist Howard Du Lany for Okeh.

They’re clearly reaching for the Ellington flavor — the dreamy glide, the velvet phrasing — but the record never quite settles into that same atmosphere.

Let's slide the needle over to Jimmie Lunceford with Dan Grissom on Decca:

A smooth, confident reading. Lunceford’s band always had that satin‑finish polish, and it fits Flamingo nicely.

My favorite early cover is this Freddy Martin instrumental on Bluebird:

Freddy’s band takes Flamingo somewhere else entirely — a cool, floating place with that silky tenor sax leading the way. I’m absolutely tagging along!

🔥 Thermals Rising

Let's jump ahead a decade to 1951, when Flamingo suddenly rockets up the R&B charts thanks to Earl Bostic’s alto feature on King:

That’s the definitive version for a whole generation — volcanic tone, acrobatic phrasing, and a groove that grabs you by the collar.

🌤️ Crosswind Curiosity

Earl’s shadow looms large over this 1958 Mercury release by The Gaylords:

It honestly feels like sax man Eddie Chamblee was cutting a straight cover of the Bostic hit when The Gaylords wandered in and started singing Italian lyrics. A charming collision!

🌙 Night‑Flight

As we move into 1961, the King label returns with a popular vocal take by Little Willie John:

I love those R&B sides from that period that weave strings into the mix — they give Flamingo a kind of moonlit shimmer.

🌴 Jet‑Age Glidepath

And for our final landing, we touch down in 1966 with Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass on A&M:

That’s Flamingo in full mid‑’60s technicolor — crisp, bright, and perfectly transformed for the era.

🪶 A Quarter‑Century Migration

From Herb Jeffries to Herb Alpert, Flamingo covers a lot of sky. A tune born in Ellington’s world that kept reinventing itself every time it caught a new breeze.

📦 Warehouse Whispers: A Curious Tailwind

Interestingly, Gene Krupa’s version of Flamingo was the flipside of his hit Let Me Off Uptown. And here’s the fun twist: Let Me Off Uptown was co‑written by Earl Bostic!

Coincidence? A stray breeze in the release schedule? Or maybe Flamingo was already circling Bostic’s orbit long before 1951. Hmmm…