David Bowie - David Bowie (1967)

"We Are Hungry Men" by David Bowie


"The Laughing Gnome" by David Bowie


40 years between their recording debuts, it is strange to consider the beautiful harmonies and the knowing jokes between David Bowie and Bing Crosby on the latter's last Christmas Special shortly before he died.

David Jones's early career is a series of false starts.  As early as 1963, he aimed for rock stardom through skiffle, Mersey Beat, blues rock, and art rock but got only non-charting singles and no traction.  To change his luck, Jones changed his last name to Bowie (sharing a name with the lead singer of The Monkees did him no favors), studied acting, and went off the beaten path musically.  His solo music mixed very English music styles and stories, all very strange.  His 1967 debut album David Bowie reveals early Bowie's aesthetic scattering and lack of identity, but much of the material contain nuggets of songwriting, thematic and melodic potential for the creativity to come.  The album failed, to go with nine failed career singles, and left Bowie trying to find other work outside of music to support himself.

Here is the discography surrounding David Bowie's debut album:

The Konrads's Rehearsals (1963 rehearsals with The Konrads)
Liza Jane (1964 single as Davie Jones and The King Bees)
I Pity the Fool (1965 single as The Manish Boys)

You've Got a Habit of Leaving (1965 single as Davy Jones and The Lower Third)
Can't Stop Thinking About Me (1965 single with The Lower Third)

Baby It's Too Late Now (1965 single by The Konrads)

I Didn't Know How Much (1966 single by The Konrads)
Do Anything You Say (1966 single)
I Dig Everything (1966 single)
Early On 1964-1966 (compilation of 1964-1966 material)
Rubber Band (1966 single)
The Laughing Gnome (1967 single)
David Bowie
Love You Till Tuesday (1967 single)

Everything Is You (1967 single)

"Love You Till Tuesday" by David Bowie (opening of David Bowie short film)


Davie Jones, founder of The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Towards Long-Haired Men


"Come and Buy My Toys" by David Bowie


"Please Mr. Gravedigger" by David Bowie


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Bing Crosby - The Chronological Bing Crosby, Volume 1 1926-1927 (1927)

"I'm Coming Virginia" by Bing Crosby (with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra)


Although they worked with a number of musicians, singers, and radio voices, the Boswell Sisters were particularly fond of their radio work (though never so much as a collaboration) with Bing Crosby.  Bing Crosby got started professionally in the singing business in 1926.  He and Al Rinker made up a singing duo and had the good luck of Mildred Bailey (Rinker's sister) introducing them to Paul Whiteman, the leader of the most popular "jazz" band in the United States.  They were hired as "vocal accompaniment".  Not long after, a third singer was added to the orchestra, Harry Barris (also a songwriter), to form Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys of whom Bing would gradually and naturally lead as primary soloist.  As they grew in popularity, the Rhythm Boys gained special arrangements and numbers that highlighted only them.  They developed a routine that involved a mixture of harmony, call-and-response, stop-and-go delivery, showmanship, and humor.  In his first year of recording, Bing was never credited as a solo artist (though he had a couple small solos) and recorded under the likes of Don Clark and His Hotel Biltmore Orchestra, Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, and Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys.

Here is the discgoraphy surrounding Bing Crosby's first recordings:

The Chronological Bing Crosby, Volume 1 1926-1927

"Sweet Li'l / Ain't She Sweet" by Bing Crosby (with Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys)


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The Boswell Sisters - The Boswell Sisters (1934)

 

"Shout, Sister, Shout" by The Boswell Sisters (with Victor Young and His Orchestra)

The Boswell Sisters were Martha, Connee, and Helvetia (Vet) Boswell six years apart.  They played the piano, the saxophone, and the banjo respectively, but they were best known for their vocal harmonies and interplay (the latter two would drop their instruments to focus on singing).  They recorded their first single "Nights When I am Lonely" in 1925 to no traction but soon after got their big break on the vaudeville circuit.  The girls developed their stage act while on the road while Connee's bluesy voice developed into the group's natural soloist.

After a few years on the road, the sisters moved out to Hollywood with all the dreams of the silver screen.  They got their first consistent radio gig with the Continental Broadcasting Corporation as regular performers.  Their work with the CBC led to radio spots on major players like NBC and CBS, a record deal with Okeh Records, singing roles in Hollywood shorts, and an early spot on television (all before 1932 and thanks in part to their manager Harry Leedy).  Their records were increasingly popular (singing both big band pop and jazz) and increasingly experimental in their harmonies and arrangements.  Connee also developed one of the most iconic jazz voices of the 1930s.  The girls worked with the talented likes of Glenn Miller (arranger), Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Victor Young, Eddie Lang, The Mills Brothers, and many others.  The Boswell's success led to an inevitable series of copycat "sister" groups that included The Andrews Sisters, and Ella Fitzgerald revered and imitated Connee Boswell's singing voice in her early career.

Here is the discography for The Boswell Sisters's early recordings:

Nights When I Am Lonely (1925 single)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 3091 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 3133 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 3191 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 4129 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 4132 (1930 radio broadcast)
We're on the Highway to Heaven (1930 single)
My Future Just Passed (1930 single)
Gee, But I'd Like to Make You Happy (1930 single)

I'm Keepin' Company (1931 single)
Wha' dja Do To Me (1931 single)
Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On (1931 single)
Sing a Little Jingle (1931 single)
I Found a Million Dollar Baby (1931 single)
I Surrender, Dear (1931 single)

It's the Girl (1931 single)
Makin' Faces at the Man in the Moon (1931 single)
Shine On, Harvest Moon (1931 single)
Gems from George White's Scandals, Parts 1 & 2 (1931 radio broadcast)
Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (1931 single)
Time on My Hands (1931 single)
River, Stay 'Way from My Door (1931 single)
Liza Lee (1931 single)
Nothing Is Sweeter Than You (1931 single)
We've Got to Put That Sun Back in the Sky (1932 single)
Was That the Human Thing to Do? (1932 single)
Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon (1932 single)
There'll Be Some Changes Made (1932 single)
If It Ain't Love (1932 single)

Lawd, You Made the Night Too Long (1932 single with Bing Crosby)

Doggone I've Done It (1932 single)

Old Yazoo (1932 single)

Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1932 single)

Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia (1932 single)

It Don't Mean a Thing (1932 single)

Crazy People (1933 single)

Louisiana Hayride (1933 single)

Forty Second Street (1933 single)

Puttin' It On (1933 single)

The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money) (1933 single)

Sophisticated Lady (1933 single)

Coffee in the Morning (Kisses in the Night) (1933 single)

You Oughta Be in Pictures (My Star of Stars) (1934 single)

Goin' Home (1934 single)

Why Don't You Practice What You Preach (1934 single)

Rock and Roll (1934 single)

The Object of My Affection (1934 single)

Dinah (1934 single)
The Boswell Sisters

'Way Back Home (1935 single)

Trav'lin' All Alone (1935 single)

Fare-Thee-Well Annabelle (1935 single)

Cheek to Cheek (1935 single)

Airshots and Rarities 1930-1935 (compilation album)

Never-Issued Tunes & Takes (compilation album)

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (1936 single)

I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket (1936 single)

The Boswell Sisters Collection (compilation album)

Shout, Sisters, Shout! 1925-1936 (compilation album)

It's the Girls! (1982 compilation album)

That's How Rhythm Was Born (1995 compilation album)

Nothing Was Sweeter Than The Boswell Sisters (2006 compilation album)

Syncopating Harmonists from New Orleans (2007 compilation album)

"Heebie Jeebies" by The Boswell Sisters


"Close Farmony" by The Boswell Sisters (with Billy Hughes)


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Ella Fitzgerald - The Chronological Classics: Ella Fitzgerald 1935-1937 (1937)

"I'll Chase the Blues Away" by Ella Fitzgerald (with Chick Webb and His Orchestra)


Before being signed to the Earl Hines Orchestra, Sarah Vaughan was given an opening act opportunity for winning the Amateur Night at the Apollo in 1942.  She opened for Ella Fitzgerald.  Ella Fitzgerald who also won Amateur Night at the Apollo seven years earlier.  Sarah had been 18 when she won; Ella 17.  Ella sang a week with Tiny Bradshaw and His Orchestra and was soon after signed by band leader Chick Webb who already had a singer (Charlie Linton) and plenty of reservations.  Ella's contribution turned a good investment when she recorded a couple hit singles with Webb's Orchestra (including "Love and Kisses" and "You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)").  She sang regularly with Webb at the Savoy Ballroom where the Orchestra performed some of the nation's best swing (contested and proven) for the Savoy Ballroom's nation of Lindyhoppers.  She also recorded with band leaders Teddy Wilson and Benny Goodman, and her own "Savoy Eight".

Here is the discography surrounding Ella Fitzgerald's first recordings:

The Chronological Classics: Ella Fitzgerald 1935-1937

"You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)" by Ella Fitzgerald (with Chick Webb and His Orchestra)


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Sarah Vaughan - The Chronological Classics: Sarah Vaughan 1944-1946 (1946)

"I'll Wait and Pray" by Sarah Vaughan (with Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra)


Sarah Vaughan took piano lessons, sang in the choir, and snuck into New York's best jazz clubs.  This all culminated in her winning the regular amateur night contest at the Apollo.  As a result, she'd be hired as occasional singer and pianist for the Earl Hines Orchestra in 1943.  She'd sing alongside Billy Eckstine in the Hines Orchestra and followed Eckstine when he ventured to start his own big band.  In the new environment, Vaughan's voice would prove an excellent complement to bop, the new jazz, as it grew out of the Eckstine creative incubator.  The nickname "Sassy" (which she'd fully adopt professionally and personally) was given to her by pianist John Malachi to match her personality.  (She also earned the nickname "Sailor" for her salty language).

In 1945, she broke away to start her solo career.  Vaughan would record sides solo with jazz label Musicraft or with different backing bands including some helmed by Dizzy Gillespie, Georgie Auld, and Tadd Dameron.  She befriended jazz trumpeter George Treadwell who soon became Sarah's manager.  He'd organize everything for her touring schedule and recording arrangements and manage her image through her wardrobe, hairstyles, and capped teeth.  In a comfortable professional relationship, Sassy and Treadwell would marry in the latter half of 1946.

Here is the discography for Sarah Vaughan's first recordings:

The Chronological Classics: Sarah Vaughan 1944-1946

"I'd Rather Have a Memory Than a Dream" by Sarah Vaughan


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