Threaded Thursday: Getting Lost

We pick up the word‑association thread and wander from Duke Ellington’s Lost in Meditation to the 1942/43 Frank Loesser–Jimmy McHugh charmer Let’s Get Lost.

The tune debuted on screen in Happy Go Lucky (Paramount, 1943), introduced by Mary Martin. Mary didn’t cut a commercial record, but a few bands managed to sneak versions onto wax just in time before the recording ban hit in 1942 for release in 1943:

Vaughn Leads the Way

Vaughn Monroe was first out of the gate, and his Victor release became the big 1943 hit:

A relaxed, conversational reading from Vaughn and the Four Lee Sisters — easygoing and elegant.

Kyser Keeps It Cozy

Kay Kyser followed with a popular version on Columbia, with Harry Babbitt joined by Julie Conway, Trudy Erwin, Jack Martin, and Max Williams:

The Kyser band was making some truly lovely sides in the early ’40s, leaving the ’30s novelty gimmicks behind.

Teddy & Peggy's Underrated Gem

The underrated Teddy Powell band turned in a Bluebird version featuring a lovely vocal by the equally underrated canary Peggy Mann:

This was the first version I ever heard — and it still might be my favorite!

Hallett Hits It

Another canary, Kay Marie Baird, is featured with Mal Hallett's orchestra on the Hit label:

The records from the Hit label can be "hit" or miss, but the ones featuring an actual name bandleader, such as Mr. Hallett,  tend to be pretty good. I think Kay Marie is also good, but all I really know about her is that she was the sister of the much more prominent Eugenie Baird.

Jimmy & Bob Step Up

Jimmy Dorsey’s Decca take features Bob Eberly in prime form:

When you hear Bob on a side like this, it’s easy to understand why young Frank Sinatra kept an eye on the competition.

Frankie on the Airwaves

By the time “Let’s Get Lost” hit big in 1943, Frank had left Tommy Dorsey and didn’t get a commercial recording — but he did sing it on Your Hit Parade:

The song fits early‑’40s Sinatra like a glove.

No wonder Olive Oyl swooned when Frankie sang it in the 1945 Paramount Cartoon Shape Ahoy!

Dinah Drops By

Staying in radio land, here’s Dinah Shore from the Eddie Cantor show:

Pure Dinah — warm, clear, and effortless. You can understand why she was on her way to major stardom.

Shep & Meredith's Encore

We had recently heard an aircheck of Meredith Blake singing Let's Get Lost with Shep Fields' all-reed band. Let's hear it again:

Still sounds great!

Adelaide Across the Atlantic

We do have one more 1943 studio version: Adelaide Hall on British Decca:

Another lovely, poised reading.

Chet Chimes In

After 1943, the tune went quiet for a while — one of those songs that had its moment and then drifted into the fog. But in 1955, Chet Baker brought it back on Prestige:

To be honest, I’ve never been fully sold on Chet’s vocal style, but he undeniably helped turn the tune into a modern standard. I'd say he's the artist most associated with the song.

Johnny's Jaunty Detour

And because I always like to slip in a snappy instrumental, here’s pianist Johnny Coates, Jr. from his 1960 Savoy album Portrait:

Snappy indeed — a bright little spotlight on the tune’s bones.

With guides like these, Let’s Get Lost never really got lost at all.

Threaded Thursday: Flipping the Daybreak

Yesterday we enjoyed five versions of the song Daybreak, and it struck me that each of those records also had a very strong flipside. So let’s keep the thread rolling and give those five flips their moment in the sun.

Tommy Dorsey’s Victor disc paired Daybreak with his massive hit There Are Such Things, with The Pied Pipers joining Frank Sinatra on the vocal:

Just a gorgeous record. Nobody could float a ballad quite like Tommy’s band.

Jimmy Dorsey also had a blockbuster on the reverse of his Decca release - Brazil, with Bob Eberly and Helen O’Connell:

Another gem in Jimmy’s run of Latin‑flavored smashes: Bob opens with a slow, romantic chorus, Jimmy slips in an alto sax solo, and Helen brings it home with that bright, rhythmic lift. Ace arranger Tutti Camarata was a wizard at stitching those elements together.

Over on Columbia, the flip of Harry James’ record gives us Manhattan Serenade, sung by the preeminent Helen of the band era - Helen Forrest:

Harry and Helen were simply unbeatable together!

Bob Carroll returns on Capitol with Gordon Jenkins for There Will Never Be Another You:

This one comes from the 20th Century Fox Sonja Henie film Iceland, written by the powerhouse team of Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, who were on a remarkable streak for Fox at the time.

And finally, we turn over Roberto Inglez’s Parlophone disc to find his take on the Cole Porter classic Begin the Beguine:

You truly never know what’s waiting on the other side of a record. That’s why we always flip ’em over at the Warehouse!