When It's Sleepy Time Down South - Louis Armstrong
I Apologize - Billy Eckstine
A Blossom Fell - Nat King Cole
Somewhere Along The Way - Nat King Cole
Take My Heart - Al Martino (Rare on CD)
Here - Tony Martin
No Arms Can Ever Hold You (No Other Arms) - Pat Boone (Rare on CD)
Wanted - Perry Como
Turn Back The Hands Of Time - Eddie Fisher
Hold My Hand - Don Cornell
It's Almost Tomorrow - Snooky Lanson (CD Debut)
Wish You Were Here - Eddie Fisher
Till We Two Are One - Georgie Shaw (Rare on CD)
Dream A Little Dream Of Me - Jack Owens (CD Debut)
The Bible Tells Me So - Nick Noble (CD Debut)
He - Al Hibbler (Rare on CD)
Crying In The Chapel - Rex Allen (Rare on CD)
The Shifting, Whispering Sands - Rusty Draper (Rare on CD)
This Ole House - Stuart Hamblen (Rare on CD)
Caribbean - Mitchell Torok (Rare on CD)
Gambler's Guitar - Rusty Draper (Rare on CD)
Legend has it that back in the good old days, men were men - strong, silent, and true. By that measure, crooners were a new breed of man. This suave generation of stylists were born in the halcyon, pre-war days of Rudy Val... more »lee, Bing Crosby, and a young Frank Sinatra, and they were masculine to their core. But, they were sensitive, too, and ladies swooned at the sound of their velvet voices. By the early 1950's, the crooner was king. Soon, rockers like Elvis Presley super-charged the crooner mystique and made millions, driving the traditional crooners from the airwaves. But, before that happened, countless crooning classics were committed to wax. Now, Hit Parade Records presents 23 of these manly gems on one CD. Every single one of these songs was a Top 40 hit, and no less than 14 were Top 10 - including two #1 smashes! Each rare track has been digitally remastered for the highest quality sound and is presented in its original single version - just the way you heard them on the radio. Over 66 minutes of terrific vintage music. Hit Parade Records is a new Canadian label dedicated to finding, restoring, and preserving lost treasures like these. Hit Parade was assisted by the same creative folks who lovingly compile those great Eric CD's - including Greg Adams, whose detailed liner notes will fascinate you as you listen to all the Fabulous Fifties Crooners! And, don't miss Hit Parade's feminine companion album, Fabulous Fifties Divas.« less
Legend has it that back in the good old days, men were men - strong, silent, and true. By that measure, crooners were a new breed of man. This suave generation of stylists were born in the halcyon, pre-war days of Rudy Vallee, Bing Crosby, and a young Frank Sinatra, and they were masculine to their core. But, they were sensitive, too, and ladies swooned at the sound of their velvet voices. By the early 1950's, the crooner was king. Soon, rockers like Elvis Presley super-charged the crooner mystique and made millions, driving the traditional crooners from the airwaves. But, before that happened, countless crooning classics were committed to wax. Now, Hit Parade Records presents 23 of these manly gems on one CD. Every single one of these songs was a Top 40 hit, and no less than 14 were Top 10 - including two #1 smashes! Each rare track has been digitally remastered for the highest quality sound and is presented in its original single version - just the way you heard them on the radio. Over 66 minutes of terrific vintage music. Hit Parade Records is a new Canadian label dedicated to finding, restoring, and preserving lost treasures like these. Hit Parade was assisted by the same creative folks who lovingly compile those great Eric CD's - including Greg Adams, whose detailed liner notes will fascinate you as you listen to all the Fabulous Fifties Crooners! And, don't miss Hit Parade's feminine companion album, Fabulous Fifties Divas.
CD Reviews
Fine album of what we really listened to back in the '50s...
Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 06/24/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fabulous Fifties Crooners Sing Their Hard-to-Find Hits has twenty-three terrific numbers by some of the greatest male vocalists who ever lived. Sure, some of these recordings are not terribly well-known; but they still are works of art in my book! The quality of the sound is rather good; and the artwork is very nicely done as well.
Sammy Davis, Jr. starts the CD with his exquisite rendition of "Something's Gotta Give;" "Something's Gotta Give" has a big band arrangement that works well with Sammy's vocals; and his excellent diction bolsters his performance all the more. Sammy was born to sing great songs like this and just one listen proves it! Louis Armstrong follows with a gorgeous version of "A Kiss To Build A Dream On;" "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" charms me with its beauty and Louis Armstrong plays with the tempo a little bit here and there in order to put his own stamp on this classic ballad. Louis also does a great interpretation of the very famous "When It's Sleepy Time Down South;" Louis makes this one of the major highlights of this album and that's grand.
Nat King Cole croons "Somewhere Along The Way" with panache and so much feeling that it truly took me by surprise; I know Nat King Cole is great but this shows Nat King Cole truly outdoing even himself! There's also the great Pat Boone singing "No Arms Can Ever Hold You (No Other Arms)." "No Arms Can Ever Hold You (No Other Arms)" has a wonderful arrangement for the strings and Pat's voice never sounded better. Pat really could sing and it's a shame he doesn't get the recognition he still deserves in our times. Perry Como's "Wanted" is a wonderfully sweet tune that has Perry singing with a chorus that harmonizes so very well; and "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" shows off the remarkably fine vocal talents of Eddie Fisher. Eddie Fisher had one of the best voices of the twentieth century; and when you hear "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" you can easily recognize the operatic qualities of Eddie's voice.
Eddie Fisher also massages the lyrics to "Wish You Were Here;" and Jack Owens does a great job on "Dream A Little Dream Of Me." Jack's tenor voice was simply perfect and this number tells us just how good he really was. Rex Allen also makes good on "Crying In The Chapel;" this tune has a distinct country twist to it that enhances the natural beauty of this number; and Rex Allen sings this with his deep, masculine voice full of self-confidence and passion at once. Stuart Hamblen also does his version of "This Ole House;" this was a staple of Rosemary Clooney's repertoire but Stuart's version shines every bit as brightly.
Rusty Draper ends the album with a neat rendition of "Gambler's Guitar;" predictably this has a strong guitar arrangement and Rusty sings this with all his might. Great!
Overall, this CD entitled Fabulous Fifties Crooners Sing Their Hard-to-Find Hits certainly has lots to offer for many, many people's listening enjoyment. The music is classic pop and the artists are the crème of the crop.
"
Give this one a try
Gordon Walter | Markham, On, Canada | 07/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was a bit hesitant to order this CD from an unknown Canadian source even though it was featured on a trusted site - Eric Records, home of the Hard to Find series.
After listening to this CD I was wrong to be hesitant, this is a great CD! The sound quality is terrific especially considering that the oldest recording dates back to 1951. I noted that the Producers, Bill Buster, Tom Daly, and Mark Mathews were the same people responsible for the Hard to Find series; that explains the excellent sound quality.
Although most, if not all, of the selections are available on other compliations or individual artist CD's, the sound quality on this CD is better than or equal to the sound quality of those CD's.
A highly enjoyable CD and recommended, not just for the older guys like me who grew up with these tunes, but for anyone who enjoys good music.
Keep them coming!"
Enjoy once again some of the finest male vocal performances
Paul Tognetti | Cranston, RI USA | 01/29/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In the days immediately preceding the dawn of rock and roll the great vocalists ruled the airwaves. Female artists like Rosemary Clooney, Patti Page, Dinah Shore and Sarah Vaughn were making memorable records in those years. And there was certainly no dearth of talented male vocalists during that era. Canada's Hit Parade records has released a splendid collection of nearly two dozen of the tunes by the best male vocalists of the early to mid 1950's. "Fabulous Fifties Crooners Sing Their Hard To Find Hits" features big hits by legendary singers like Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Billy Eckstine and Perry Como to name but a few. In addition, you will find a number of hit records by lesser known artists that have been long out of print and virtually impossible to find anywhere. If you are into the that classic pop sound then this disc is certainly for you.
"Fabulous Fifties Crooners Sing Their Hard To Find Hits" kicks off with the legendary Sammy Davis Jr. belting out his fabulous rendition of "Something's Gotta Give". And who will ever forget the vocal genius of the late, great Nat King Cole? Enjoy once again a pair of his best loved tunes with "A Blossom Fell" from early 1955 and "Somewhere Along The Way" from the summer of '52. One of my personal favorites from this era has to be Billy Eckstine's moving "I Apologize". In addition you will find a pair of hits from one of the most popular and prolific artists of that decade, Eddie Fisher. Both "Turn Back The Hands of Time" and "Wish You Were Here" were huge hits in the early 1950's. And I also enjoyed hearing Perry Como's extremely hard to find recording of "Wanted". What a great song!
But for me, what makes "Fabulous Fifties Crooners Sing Their Hard To Find Hits" so interesting and so much fun is the opportunity to sample so many of the songs that have simply been unavailable for decades. Remember Rex Allen? To millions of Americans, Rex was the familiar voice of many of the Walt Disney television shows. Rex Allen also made some terrific records as evidenced by his version of "Crying In The Chapel" from 1953.
Snooky Lanson was the star of the popular television show "Your Hit Parade" during these years. It was great to hear his version of "It's Almost Tomorrow" which is also included here. Also included in this collection are tunes by Don Cornell, Rusty Draper, Tony Martin and Al Martino. Without a doubt, my very favorite song on this disc has to be the great Al Hibbler's recording of "He" from 1955. Although the McGuire Sisters and the Righteous Brothers released pretty fair versions of this tune, neither can hold a candle to Al Hibbler's version. I actually prefer this song to "Unchained Melody", the tune he is best known for.
So there you have it....another terrific release from Hit Parade records!
"Fabulous Fifties Crooners Sing Their Hard To Find Hits" is a real keeper.
Whether you are a collector or someone who simply enjoys this type of music you should snap this one up right away. You will find an informative eight page booklet with information on the artists and chart data on each of the songs. The remastering job is first rate and each and every song is the original hit recording. I look forward with great anticipation to future releases from Hit Parade records. Highly recommended!"
Good CD, some hard to find
Chuck Scott | Stillwater MN USA | 08/08/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Some of the recordings are indeed hard to find. For example "Crying In The Chapel" by Rex Allen and "The Shifting, Whispering Sands" by Rusty Draper. Other cuts are pretty easy to find in compilations. I already have the Nat Cole and Louis Armstrong recordings. However I knew this when I bought the CD. I purchased it for those truly hard to find recordings, and I think that makes this CD worth the purchase."
Well worth the Investment!
Dr. Glenn W. Briggs | KSC, Florida & Chengdu, China | 08/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Being a collector of real "oldies," I was ecstatic to see some of the offerings in this collection finally appear. To the contemporary listener, there will be some artists' names here that are similarly "hard to find," but there is a consistency of quality that runs throughout virtually every aspect of the collection. The producers have done another masterful job of enhancing and presenting music that is actually better than the original recordings of some fifty years ago, in most cases.
True, many of the selections herein have been made available in other earlier collections, but fully half have never been previously offered by any company, and it is a joy to see them here. For example, the very touching "The Shifting, Whispering Sands" by Rusty Draper is not only "rare," but is exceptional in its quality. Though not high on Pat Boone's list of "hits," "No Arms Can Ever Hold You" is a beautiful song that has to be heard to be appreciated. Tony Martin's "Here" is one of his best recordings ever, and incidentally was my first solo in 1952.
No "crooner" collection is complete without the inclusion of Billy Eckstine's "I Apologize," in his incredibly rich and powerful style. Also, Al Martino's "Take My Heart" has been a long time coming, and it was the followup song to his very successful "Here in My Heart" many, many years ago. I NEVER thought I would see Georgie Shaw's "Till We Two Are One" appear in a collection, and this was my mother's favorite song of the era! Thanks for the additional nostalgia! And who can forget the resonant, romantic baritone of Don Cornell, as heard in "Hold My Hand?" While I much prefer the rendition of the Dream Weavers (1956), Your Hit Parade's Snooky Lanson did a fine job in 1955 on "It's Almost Tommorow," a very tender and thoroughly romantic Mid-Fifties tune, and you will enjoy it.
Perhaps the song that caps it off is the inspirational and soothing "He" by Al Hibbler, which has been indeed "hard to find." It is difficult to tag this song as being "crooned," since it is largely an expression of faith, but a beautiful delivery it is!"
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1