Great voices from the past

It was April 1, a few weeks ago, the beginning of the second quarter of the year and I thought also the right time to listen again to April Love. “April Love is for the very young/ every star’s a wishing star that shines for you…” All very sweet and nostalgic for an innocent time. But no I was not listening to Pat Boone, the original artist. I also later listened to When The Boy In Your Arms (Is The Boy In Your Heart) but again not by Cliff Richard. Both were by Connie Francis.

The songs are from a recently-released compilation made up of tracks from two of her best albums, Connie Francis Sings Never On Sunday and Songs To A Swinging Band. One has themes from memorable films with a country music touch while the other one has swing arrangements of standards. I believe that these LPs from the early ’60s were some sort of experiment, a way for Francis to take a break from her rock ’n roll roots, Stupid Cupid, and early oldies recordings, Among My Souvenirs.

Francis, who is one of the greatest girl singers of all time, is in excellent vocal form throughout and I think it is great that these two albums are now available on a single CD. Collectors need not bust their budgets as they will get two for the price of one with over an hour of music. I hope it will also entice the younger music buyers to listen to these oldies. It is about time that they are made aware of the fact that there are real singers who can make beautiful music without technological enhancements.

Who was it who said this quote while referring to movie stars from the past? “Back then we had faces.” I can say the same thing about Francis and many singing stars from years ago. Back then, they had voices.

Find this out as you listen to her rendition of Never On Sunday, High Noon, Moonglow, Young At Heart, Around The World, Song From Moulin Rouge, Three Coins In The Fountain, Tammy, Love Me Tender, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You, It Might As Well Be Spring, Angel Eyes and others.

Of course, I do wish that whoever made this collection also included Francis’ Al Dila. Maybe, they will next time. Just as I wish they had included Wonder Why, the song that made me discover ’50s heartthrob Vic Damone, in his own compilation. That is right, Francis is not alone. This is actually a series of albums from Universal Records, all featuring old recordings compiled together in one CD and performed by some of the greatest voices ever heard. Like Damone or Boone, Jack Jones and the Platters.

When Frank Sinatra turned torch, I’m A Fool To Want You, and became too sexy for the kids, it was said that it was the younger and also Italian Damone who took over the teenaged choir boy tenor market populated by bobby-soxers. Proof that he could do that is in this album Vic Damone Sings Romantic Favorites with its 25 cuts and also over one hour playing time. I am sure that you, too, will marvel at his purity of tone and wonder why anybody could consider this kind of music old style.

Among the songs included are If I Had You, They Didn’t Believe Me, The Way You Look Tonight, It’s Magic, Isn’t It Romantic? (a duet with Patti Page), I Love You So Much It Hurts, I Hadn’t Anyone Till You, Beloved Be Faithful, If, Easy To Love, Don’t Blame Me, My Funny Valentine and Tenderly.

The other CDs now available from this series are:  Stardust by wholesome balladeer Boone, whose effortless singing mothers from the ’50s saw as the clean-cut antidote to the gyrating bad boy Elvis Presley. Included are Stardust, Blueberry Hill, Ebb Tide, To Each His Own, Cold Cold Heart, Autumn Leaves, Anniversary Song, I’ll Walk Alone, September Song, Tenderly, True Love, You Belong To Me, Because Of You, Secret Love, Fascination, I’m In The Mood For Love, The Nearness Of You and others.

A jazzy ’50s dance collection by recent Manila visitor Jack Jones made up of the albums Shall We Dance and This Was My Love. These were later recordings made as Jones was growing out of his pop idol image and getting into more standard songs. The cuts are Shall We Dance, Dancing On The Ceiling, This Was My Love, There Will Never Be Another You, Lollipops And Roses, Moonlight Becomes You, They Didn’t Believe Me, Love Letters, My Romance, The Girl Next Door plus others.

And Reflections with Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries by the hitmaking doo-wop group The Platters with all of the original members. That means the legendary Tony Williams and Zoila Taylor singing solo in the really old songs, some of which I heard for the first time in the album. Among these are Ebb Tide, Harbor Lights, Lazy River, On A Slow Boat To China, Red Sails In The Sunset, Orchids In The Moonlight, Thanks For The Memory, My Blue Heaven, Prisoner Of Love and their matchless take on Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

And now I am thinking. Do you think this series will come out with an album by Eddie Fisher? What about The Gaylords? I do not think anybody would dare name a group Gaylords at this time. And what about our own great voice Ruben Tagalog? I believe that his recordings should also be readily available on CDs and even on iTunes.