Al Collins - Spotlight on Percussion (1955)

Spotlight on Percussion by Al Collins with Arnold Goldberg and Kenny Clarke

The dual hosting format lasted only a few months before NBC forced Steve Allen to focus all his attention on The Steve Allen Show to better compete, on Sunday nights, with the juggernaut that was CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show. Ernie Kovacs had a future in film and wasn't disappointed to be overlooked as the possible solo heir to Tonight! Really, NBC didn't have much love for Allen's late night format and didn't think it could survive in the ratings without him. In fact, the original concept for Tonight! was to be a scheduled bookend to NBC's top-rated morning show Today and focus on news, culture and promotional fodder (before Steve Allen signed on, refused the very idea, and just did the same show he'd done locally in New York.) So with Steve Allen's desk empty, NBC had a chance to finally try out its original concept with Tonight! America After Dark. It was a bust. Jack Lescoulie, a Today cast member, hosted this iteration for the first six months. NBC then sacrificed veteran radio DJ Al "Jazzbo" Collins to finish out another five weeks until the next Tonight! host could step in. Jack Lescoulie doesn't have many recordings to speak of, but Al "Jazzbo" Collins does, so he'll be our next stop on the Tour with Spotlight on Percussion released in 1955 on the Vox record label.

"Jazzbo" was his radio handle, and from it, you can guess what kind of radio shows Al Collins hosted. "Jazzbo" was cool, laid back and well-versed in the lingo of the fifties beats (which he also built upon and created whole jazz worlds out of such as on his WNEW show live from the imaginary Purple Grotto which was inhabited by an anthropomorphic bestiary of jazz fans.) This jazz jargon was the basis for Steve Allen's own hipster fairy tales which "Jazzbo" would cover, play with and add to to make his own. Other recordings featuring Collins were a series of jazz concerts labeled as "Al 'Jazzbo' Collins Presents" where he would invariably get in the way of a great session and try to elucidate, through the players, how he understood jazz to be. It probably worked a lot better on the radio in between 45s. This instructional bent is also found on the scripted Spotlight on Percussion (under the more necktied moniker of "Al Collins".)

This educational record is a listing of classical, latin and jazz percussion where Al Collins details the instruments' sound qualities and uses in popular classical pieces. Arnold Goldberg performs the classical percussion and the complex pieces that combine them all. Kenny Clarke takes over for the closing jazz section where he furiously improvises two tracks over eight minutes. Jazz is where the "Jazzbo" comes out and though Collins doesn't have to say very much—smartly leaving that to Clarke—his excitement for the genre is focused on elevating jazz percussion above the highbrow reputation of classical music. If there is any narrative to Collins's narration to be found, it's that classical music is the beautiful past and jazz is the present and future of the highest individual and ensemble art of musical expression.

Here is the discography surrounding Al "Jazzbo" Collins's debut album:

Little Red Riding Hood (1953 single)

Jack and the Beanstalk (1953 single)

The Invention of the Airplane (1953 single)

Little Hood Riding Red (Little Red Riding Hood) (1954 single)

Jazz at the Metropole Cafe (1955 "presented" album)

Spotlight on Percussion

Max (1956 single)

Al "Jazzbo" Collins Presents the East Coast Jazz Scene - Vol. 1 (1956 "presented" album)

The Space Man (1957 single)

Prehistoric Hop (1959 single)

Al "Jazzbo" Collins Presents Swinging at the Opera (1960 "presented" album)

In the Purple Grotto (1961 "presented" album)

Al "Jazzbo" Collins Tells Fairy Tales for Hip Kids (2008 compilation album)

"Pee Little Thrigs (Three Little Pigs)" by Al "Jazzbo" Collins

"The Discovery of America" by Al "Jazzbo" Collins

"Jack and the Beanstalk" by Al "Jazzbo" Collins

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Ahmad Jamal - Ahmad Jamal Plays (1955)

"All of Me" by Ahmad Jamal

Erroll Garner brings us away from the Boston jazz scene to the Pittsburgh jazz incubator.  Where Garner attended George Westinghouse High School so, eventually, did fellow pianist Ahmad Jamal.  Ahmad Jamal started his recording career as one of "Three Strings" setting singles for OKeh Records.  He then, still as one of a trio, released his debut album Ahmad Jamal Plays in 1955 on Parrot Records.

Here is the discography surrounding Ahmad Jamal's debut album:

A Gal in Calico (1952 single as Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings)

Perfidia (1952 single as Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings)

The Surrey with the Fringe on Top (1952 single as Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings)

Will You Still Be Mine (1953 single as Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings)

Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings (1953 EP as Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings)

Seleritus (1954 single)

Excerpts from the Blues (1955 single)

Ahmad Jamal Plays

Chamber Music of the New Jazz (1956 album re-release)

"I Get a Kick Out of You" by Ahmad Jamal

"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" by Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings

"Rica Pulpa" by Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings

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Blind Lemon Jefferson - The Folk Blues of Blind Lemon Jefferson (1955)

"Match Box Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson

A formative event in the life of Lightnin' Hopkins was his fateful meeting, at the age of eight, with Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church function in 1920.  Blind Lemon Jefferson carved out the definition of Texas Blues with his improvisational, fast-paced guitar picking.  His first compilation album, The Folk Blues of Blind Lemon Jefferson, came out in 1955 on London Records long after he passed away (in 1929.)

Here is the discography surrounding Blind Lemon Jefferson's "debut" album:

Booster Blues (1926 single)

Long Lonesome Blues (1926 single)

Long Lonesome Blues (1926 single)

Black Horse Blues (1926 single)

Jack O Diamond Blues (1926 single)

All I Want Is That Pure Religion (1926 single as Deacon L. J. Bates)

Old Rounders Blues (1926 single)

That Black Snake Moan (1926 single)

Wartime Blues (1927 single)

Bad Luck Blues (1927 single)

Rabbit Foot Blues (1927 single)

Black Snake Moan (1927 single)

Match Box Blues (1927 single)

Rising High Water Blues (1927 single)

Hot Dogs (1927 single)

Black Snake Dream Blues (1927 single)

Rambler Blues (1927 single)

Chinch Bug Blues (1927 single)

Gone Dead on You Blues (1927 single)

Where Shall I Be (1928 single as Deacon L. J. Bates)

Sunshine Special (1928 single)

'Lectric Chair Blues (1928 single)

Lemon's Worried Blues (1928 single)

Balky Mule Blues (1928 single)

Lemon's Cannon Ball Moan (1928 single)

Piney Woods Money Mama (1928 single)

Blind Lemon's Penitentiary Blues (1928 single)

Lockstep Blues (1928 single)

How Long How Long (1928 single)

Christmas Eve Blues (1928 single)

D B Blues (1929 single)

Competition Bed Blues (1929 single)

Eagle Eyed Mama (1929 single)

That Black Snake Moan No. 2 (1929 single)

Oil Well Blues (1929 single)

Peach Orchard Mama (1929 single)

Bakershop Blues (1929 single)

Bed Springs Blues (1929 single)

Pneumonia Blues (1929 single)

Hometown Skiffle (1930 single by The Paramount All Stars)

Southern Woman Blues (1930 single)

Cat Man Blues (1930 single)

The Cheaters Spell (1930 single)

Bootin' Me 'Bout (1930 single)

The Folk Blues of Lemon Jefferson

Blind Lemon's Penitentiary Blues and Other Folk Songs by Blind Lemon Jefferson (1955 compilation album)

Blind Lemon Jefferson Sings the Blues (1957 compilation album)

Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 1 (compilation album)

Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 2 (compilation album)

Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 3 (compilation album)

Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 4 (compilation album)

"That Black Snake Moan" by Blind Lemon Jefferson

"Corinna Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson

"Shuckin' Sugar Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson

"Easy Rider Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson

"Hot Dogs" by Blind Lemon Jefferson

"D B Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson

"I Want to Be Like Jesus in My Heart" by Deacon L. J. Bates

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June Hutton - Afterglow (1955)

"My Kinda Love" by June Hutton


When Jo Stafford left Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers to go solo, June Hutton took her place.  Hutton, too, eventually went solo and released her debut album Afterglow (with arrangements by her husband Axel Stordahl) in 1955 on Capitol Records.

Here is the discography surrounding June Hutton's debut album:

There's a Fellow Waiting in Poughkeepsie (1944 single with The Pied Pipers)
Dream (1945 single with The Pied Pipers)
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles (1945 single with The Pied Pipers)
Be Mine (1950 single)
More Than I Should (1950 single)
Teardrops from My Eyes (1950 single)
All the Bees Are Buzzin' Round My Honey (1950 single)
Nothing (1951 single)
Walkin' (1951 single)
I Miss You So (1952 single)
For the First Time (In a Long Time) (1953 single)
I Had a Little Too Much to Dream Last Night (1953 single)
The Lights of Home (1953 single)
No Stone Unturned (1953 single)
Oh, These Lonely Nights (1953 single)
Say You're Mine Again (1953 single)
Coney Island Boat (1953 single with Gordon MacRae)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953 soundtrack album with Gordon MacRae)
Too Little Time (1954 single)
We Don't Wanna Go Home (1954 single)
Afterglow
The June Hutton Collection 1945-55 (compilation album)

"East of the Sun (West of the Moon)" by June Hutton


"Dream" by June Hutton and The Pied Pipers


"Coney Island Boat" by Gordon MacRae and June Hutton


"I Hadn't Anyone Till You" by June Hutton


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Jean Gabin - Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers (1955)

"Léo, Léa, Élie" by Jean Gabin


When Josephine Baker moved to France, her sudden fame opened a world of opportunities for her.  Besides performing on stage, she was able to star as a leading lady in a couple of films.  In one of her best films Zouzou, her co-star was the French icon Jean Gabin.  The son of a turn-of-the-century chansonier, Gabin's early ambition was to follow in his father's footsteps before the cinema took him.  He still had the occasional opportunity to sing in movies and on record though he never released a proper album.  However, he is credited as the lead artist on a French audio version of Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers) on which he plays the character Captain Nemo.  That album came out in 1955 and several compilations of his songs exist (of which I list the most comprehensive).

Here is Jean Gabin's (mostly) complete discography:

Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers
Maintenant je sais (1974 single)
Quand on se promène au bord de l'eau (1974 single)
But Now I Know (1975 single)
Étoiles de la chanson (1999 compilation album)

"Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers" by Jean Gabin


"But Now I Know"by Jean Gabin


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Billy Ward and His Dominoes - Billy Ward and His Dominoes (1955)

"Sixty Minute Man" by The Dominoes


Federal Records, a subsidiary of King Records, was one of the breeding grounds for the birth of rock and roll, particularly from the blues-tinged doo-wop groups that populated its lineup such as Hank Ballard & The Midnighters and Billy Ward and His Dominoes.

The Dominoes start with Billy Ward, a Juilliard educated composer, pianist, and arranger.  He started on Broadway but set to form a vocal group after meeting talent agent and eventual songwriting partner Rose Marks.  Together, they put together an ensemble featuring Charlie White (tenor), Joe Lamont (baritone), Bill Brown (bass), and Clyde McPhatter (lead tenor) whom Ward discovered at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater.  (Note: That makes three blogged singers so far discovered through the Apollo's Amateur Night (McPhatter, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald in reverse order)).

Ward and His Dominoes (originally The Ques) got off to a hot start with the 1951 singles "Do Something for Me" with McPhatter singing lead and "Sixty Minute Man" lead by Bill Brown.  The latter is often in the discussion for the first rock and roll song.  The quintet were one of the hottest vocal groups of the early fifties but suffered from internal disputes brought on by Ward's military stricture and unfair compensation of his talent (often not even enough off which to live).  White and Brown left very early on and were replaced by James Van Loan and David McNeill.  The Dominoes continued with great success thanks to McPhatter of which all the singles on which he sang lead broke into the Top 10 of the R&B charts.  After all, Clyde never made a bad side and everyone knew it.

Here is the discography surrounding Billy Ward and His Dominoes's debut album:

Chicken Blues (1950 single as The Dominoes)
No! Says My Heart (1951 single as The Dominoes)
Sixty Minute Man (1951 single as The Dominoes)
Weeping Willow Blues (1951 single as The Dominoes)
That's What You're Doing to Me (1952 single as The Dominoes)
Deep Sea Blues (1952 single as The Dominoes)
That's What You're Doing to Me (1952 single)
No Room (1952 single)
I'm Lonely (1952 single)
The Bells (1952 single)
Don't Leave Me This Way (1953 single)

The Chronological Classics: Billy Ward & His Dominoes 1950-1953 (compilation album)

Billy Ward and His Dominoes (1954 EP)

Billy Ward and His Dominoes Vol. 2 (1954 EP)

Billy Ward and His Dominoes Vol. 3 (1954 EP)
Billy Ward and His Dominoes

"Don't Leave Me This Way" by Billy Ward and His Dominoes


Pass the Headphones!!