GLCD 5153
 2009 Guild GmbH
© 2009 Guild GmbH
Guild GmbH
Switzerland
STRINGS AND THINGS GO STEREO!
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Around The World (from “Around The World In Eighty Days”) (Victor Young)
THE CINEMA SOUND STAGE ORCHESTRA – Stereo Fidelity SF-2800 1958
3:06
2
A Wonderful Guy (from “South Pacific”) (Richard Rodgers)
WARREN BARKER AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Warner Bros. WB 1218 1958
3:03
3
Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil) (Ary Barroso)
THE RIO CARNIVAL ORCHESTRA – Stereo Fidelity SF-1900 1958
2:06
4
The Trolley Song (from “Meet Me In St. Louis”) (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin – arr. Conrad Salinger)
THE CONRAD SALINGER ORCHESTRA Conducted by BUDDY BREGMAN
– Verve MG VS-6012 1958
3:20
Love Is A Many-Splendoured Thing (title song from the film) (Paul Francis Webster,
Sammy Fain – arr. Annunzio Paolo Mantovani)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Decca SKL 4002 1958
4:01
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Change Partners; Mandy (Irving Berlin)
FRANK DE VOL AND HIS ORCHESTRA – CBS ASF 1010 1958
2:47
7
Tahiti : A Summer Night At Sea (Les Baxter)
LES BAXTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Capitol ST 868 1958
2:29
8
Harlem Nocturne (Earle Hagen)
4:02
NORRIE PARAMOR AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring Patricia Clark – Columbia BTD 712 1957
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Front Row Centre (Joe Reisman)
JOE REISMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – RCS LPS 1519 1957
2:07
10
Street Scene (Alfred Newman)
THE NEW WORLD THEATRE ORCHESTRA – Stereo Fidelity SF-3000 1957
6:59
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Naughty Nautical (Anthony Tamburello, arr, Bruce Campbell)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA+ – Everest SDBR 1018 1958
2:38
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A GUILD LIGHT MUSIC RELEASE
Series Producer and compilation: David Ades
Audio restoration and remastering: Alan Bunting
Final master preparation: Reynolds Mastering, Colchester, England
Cover picture: The George Bennie Railplane, LNER poster by WCN (McCorquodale Studio)
courtesy of National Railway Museum/Science & Society Picture Library
Design: Paul Brooks, Design & Print, Oxford
Art direction: Guild GmbH
Executive co-ordination: Guild GmbH
The Robert Farnon Society embraces the entire World of Light Music, and you are invited to request
a free sample copy of their magazine ‘Journal Into Melody’. Just send your name and address to:
The Secretary, RFS, Stone Gables, Upton Lane, Ilminster, Somerset, TA19 0PZ, England.
You can also visit the website: www.rfsoc.org.uk
■ Guild GmbH, Moskau 314b, 8262 Ramsen, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0) 52 742 85 00 Fax: +41 (0) 52 742 85 09 (Head Office)
■ Guild GmbH, PO Box 5092, Colchester, Essex CO1 1FN, Great Britain
■ e-mail: info@guildmusic.com
World WideWeb-Site: http://www.guildmusic.com
WARNING: Copyright subsists in all recordings under this label. Any unauthorised broadcasting, public
performance, copying or re-recording thereof in any manner whatsoever will constitute an infringement of such
copyright. In the United Kingdom licences for the use of recordings for public performance may be obtained from
Phonographic Performances Ltd., 1 Upper James Street, London W1F 9EE.
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Guild presents The Golden Age of Light Music
This series of CDs has been compiled by dedicated enthusiasts, whose sole aim is to offer fellow collectors superior compilations
featuring often rare recordings that are difficult to find elsewhere. All recordings have been digitally remastered to the highest
standards, so that you hear only the music - without the annoying background noise which used to spoil so many fine performances.
Each CD contains approximately 76-78 minutes of music, and there is no duplication of tracks within the series.
GLCD 5101
GLCD 5102
GLCD 5103
GLCD 5104
GLCD 5105
GLCD 5106
GLCD 5107
GLCD 5108
GLCD 5109
GLCD 5110
GLCD 5111
GLCD 5112
GLCD 5113
GLCD 5114
GLCD 5115
GLCD 5116
GLCD 5117
GLCD 5118
GLCD 5119
GLCD 5120
GLCD 5121
GLCD 5122
GLCD 5123
GLCD 5124
GLCD 5125
GLCD 5126
GLCD 5127
GLCD 5128
GLCD 5129
GLCD 5130
GLCD 5131
GLCD 5132
GLCD 5133
GLCD 5134
GLCD 5135
GLCD 5136
GLCD 5137
GLCD 5138
GLCD 5139
GLCD 5140
GLCD 5141
GLCD 5142
GLCD 5143
GLCD 5144
GLCD 5145
GLCD 5146
GLCD 5147
GLCD 5148
An Introduction
The 1940s
The 1950s
Great British Light Orchestras
Great American Light Orchestras
The 1930s
Charles Williams and the QHLO
British Cinema & Theatre Orchestras
Light Music From The Silver Screen
Mantovani – By Special Request
The 1950s – Vol. 2 : Midnight Matinee
Reflections of Tranquility
Mantovani – By Special Request – Vol. 2
Great American Light Orchestras – Vol. 2
Highdays and Holidays
The 1930s – Vol. 2 : In Town Tonight
Bandstand In The Park
Buried Treasures
The 1950s – Vol. 3 : Say It With Music
The Light Music Hall of Fame – Vol. 1
Joyousness – Haydn Wood
British Cinema and Theatre
Orchestras – Vol. 2
The Great Light Orchestras Salute
Richard Rodgers
The Light Music Hall of Fame – Vol. 2
Childhood Memories
Soloists Supreme
The Great Light Orchestras Salute
Cole Porter
GLCD 5149
GLCD 5150
GLCD 5151
GLCD 5152
GLCD 5154
Light Music While You Work
Beyond The Blue Horizon
The 1950s Vol. 4 : Cornflakes
Light Music On The Move
Continental Flavour
Amor Amor : Music For Romance
Four Decades of Light Music – Vol. 1
Four Decades of Light Music – Vol. 2
Marching and Waltzing
Light Music While You Work – Vol. 2
Light Music For All Seasons
Musical Kaleidoscope – Vol. 1
Musical Kaleidoscope – Vol. 2
Globetrotting
The 1950s Vol. 5 : Sunny Side Up
Animal Antics
Childhood Memories – Vol. 2
Scenic Grandeur
Stringin’ Along
Bandstand in the Park – Vol. 2
The Great Light Orchestras Salute
George Gershwin and Jerome Kern
The Show Goes On
String Fever
Going Places
From Stage And Screen
Musical Kaleidoscope – Vol. 3
“The World’s most comprehensive collection of Light Music
on Compact Disc”
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There’s No You (Harold S. Hopper, arr. Nelson Riddle)
NELSON RIDDLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Capitol ST 915 1958
2:20
13
Orchids In The Moonlight (Vincent Youmans, arr. Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA – RCA Victor LSP 1656 1958
2:52
14
Swinging Sweethearts (Skiffling Strings) (Ron Goodwin)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Mercury SR 60026 1958
1:50
15
Sand In My Shoes (Victor Schertzinger)
2:33
THE MELACHRINO STRINGS Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO – HMV DSD 1751 1958
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Cornish Rhapsody (from the film “Love Story”) (Hubert Bath)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA with RAWICZ AND LANDAUER at Two Pianos
– Decca SKL 4014 1958
6:47
17
Lucky In The Rain (from “As The Girls Go”) (Jimmy McHugh, Harold Adamson - arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA* – Everest SDBR 1011 1958
2:43
18
Gemini (Hal Mooney)
HAL MOONEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Mercury SR 60073 1958
3:06
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Pavement Pigalle (Joseph Kuhn)
PARIS THEATRE ORCHESTRA – Somerset SF 2500 1957
2:47
20
Canadian Sunset (Eddie Heywood)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Dot DLP 25119 1958
2:13
21
Saraband (Leroy Anderson)
RICHARD HAYMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Mercury SRS 60103 1958
3:00
22
My Evening Star (based on Wagner’s ‘O Star Of Eve’)(Ralph Sterling, Dorcas Cochran)
PHIL BOUTET AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Mercury Wing SRW 12506 1958
2:35
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La Seduccion (Lara)
CLEBANOFF STRINGS – Mercury SR 60005 1958
2:17
24
Spring Madness (Leo Shuken)
CAMARATA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Disneyland STER 3032 1958
3:40
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The Song Is Ended (Irving Berlin)
FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA with Vocal Introduction by THE DENE BOYS
– HMV CSD 1251 1958
2:33
* LP credits ‘Jack Saunders Orchestra’
+ LP credits ‘Everest Concert Orchestra Conducted by Derek Boulton’
The copyright dates after the catalogue numbers state when the original recording was first released, according to printed
catalogues and/or information on disc labels or sleeves. Compiled mainly from the collections of David Ades and Alan
Bunting, who also wish to thank Sydney Becker, Gary Haberman, Malcolm Powell and Kevin Stapylton for their generous
assistance in supplying some of these recordings.
Guild Music is often widely complimented on the colour pictures to be found on the cover of every CD in
the Light Music series. Usually most are self-explanatory, but maybe this time a short explanation might be
appropriate! Rather like stereo recording, the George Bennie Railplane was an idea that emerged when the
world was in recession during the 1930s, although Bennie first announced his plans as early as 1921. But it was
not until 8 July 1930 that people were given the chance to sample a new form of transport that some believe
could have revolutionised rail travel. The 130-yard track at Milngavie near Glasgow demonstrated that a train
driven by propellers certainly worked, but funds were not available to develop the idea. After standing unused
for two decades, the test track was eventually demolished in the 1950s.
If you have difficulty in finding copies of other CDs in the Guild Golden Age of Light Music series at your local
record store, you can always order them direct from Guild Music.
Write to: Guild GmbH, Moskau 314b, 8262, Ramsen, Switzerland, or order through the website: www.guildmusic.
com. Major credit cards accepted.
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masterpieces, and it was claimed that his ideas had influenced the top arrangers of his generation on both sides of the
Atlantic. There was just one slight problem: Elizabeth Taylor had set up the project with Everest Records in the USA,
and Farnon was under exclusive contract to Decca in the UK until the end of 1958. So the usual solution was decided
– put someone else’s name on the record label, in this case Jack Saunders, who had been Todd’s musical director in
the past. The sessions took place in Walthamstow Town Hall, London during the summer of 1958, and the album was
released in both mono and stereo versions in the USA later in the year. The British release was on the Top Rank label
in February 1960, but only in mono. As well as conducting his large concert orchestra (filled with top session players)
Farnon sketched out all the arrangements, although Gary Hughes assisted with some of the intricate orchestrations.
Harold (Hal) Mooney (1911-1995) was an American composer, arranger and conductor who worked with most
of the top bands and singers during a long career.
Billy Vaughn (1919-1991) began his career playing piano and singing baritone in the group ‘The Hilltoppers’,
before joining Dot Records as musical director where he accompanied many of the label’s top singers.
As well as being a respected arranger and conductor, Richard Hayman (b. 1920) was also a harmonica virtuoso,
and he sometimes adapted his scores of popular melodies so that he could perform on his favourite instrument. This
formula brought him two chart successes in the early 1950s, with 78s of Ruby and April In Portugal. He followed
Leroy Anderson as an arranger for the Boston Pops Orchestra over a period of more than 30 years, and also served
as Music Director of Mercury Records.
Phil Boutet and the Clebanoff Strings are yet two more orchestras new to this series of CDs. Both were active
in light music spheres in the 1950s, with Boutet’s name linked to some 101 Strings recordings. Chicago born
Herman Clebanoff (1917-2004) joined Mercury Records in the mid-1950s, and went on to conduct around fifteen
instrumental albums for the label.
Salvatore (‘Tutti’) Camarata (1913-2005) was an accomplished trumpet player, but he found his true musical
niche during the 1930s as arranger for top bands such as Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Paul
Whiteman. For a number of years he was musical director of ABC and Decca Records, and was a co-founder of
London Records (the US arm of Britain’s Decca). He also worked for the Disney Studios and helped to establish
Disneyland Records, for whom he recorded the quirky Spring Madness.
Frank Cordell (1918-1980) was a fine composer, arranger and conductor whose work first became noticed
through the tuneful backings he often supplied to some contract singers on HMV singles in the 1950s. Occasionally
he was allowed his own 78s, and he was also responsible for several fine LPs which quickly became collectors’ items.
The cinema beckoned with some prestigious projects and he was nominated for an Oscar for his work on “Cromwell”
(1970).
© David Ades, 2009
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who began accepting his works, such as Party Dress on Guild GLCD 5142. In 1958 Everest Records of the US
commissioned an album of original compositions from Tony which it called “Music Tailored To Your Taste”. The
Robert Farnon Orchestra was engaged, and sessions took place during the summer of 1958 in London at the Friends’
Meeting House and the IBC Studios in Portland Place. Bruce Campbell did most of the arrangements, but Farnon’s
name could not appear on the record for contractual reasons. So his orchestra was renamed ‘The Everest Concert
Orchestra’ and the conductor was credited as ‘Derek Boulton’ – actually Farnon’s manager!
Nelson Riddle (1921-1985) was a trombonist who turned to arranging and conducting – with spectacular results.
His work with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat ‘King’ Cole, Dean Martin, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee possibly
prevented him from fully realising what could have been a highly successful career making instrumental albums on
his own. His brilliant arrangement of There’s No You comes from his first stereo album for Capitol.
Morton Gould (1913-1996) became one of the most highly respected American composers and arrangers, and
his distinguished career was crowned with a Pulitzer Prize just a year before his death at the age of 82.
David Carroll (b. 1913) was musical director of Mercury Records from 1951 to the early 1960s, during which
time he accompanied many of the label’s contract singers as well as making some instrumental recordings of his own.
Ron Goodwin’s great success with Skiffling Strings in the UK came to the attention of orchestras in the US, and David
Carroll gave it a fresh new sound – as well as a new title, since Americans had no idea what ‘skiffling’ was!
George Melachrino (1909-1965) was one of the top British conductors of light music, with his records
(especially LPs) selling in large numbers around the world. Both HMV (in the UK) and RCA (in the US) quickly
released new stereo LPs of his music in 1958 to help establish public demand for the new format.
Pianists Marjan Rawicz (1898-1970) and Walter Landauer (1910-1983) came to Britain in the 1930s to escape
Nazi persecution, and they quickly became very popular through their broadcasts and recordings. Cornish Rhapsody
by Hubert Bath (1883-1945) remained a regular concert favourite long after if was first heard in the 1944 film “Love
Story”. This was just one of several ‘film concertos’ inspired by the success of Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto
from “Dangerous Moonlight” in 1941.
The American movie producer Mike Todd became known around the world for two main reasons: his 1956 film
“Around The World In Eighty Days”, and his short marriage to Elizabeth Taylor in 1957-58. Before that Avrom Hirsch
Goldbogen (born between 1907 and 1911 according to which reference book you believe) was making Broadway
audiences happy with his many successful musical shows, starting with “The Hot Mikado” in 1939. Following his
death on 22 March 1958 his widow was determined that the music from his shows should form an important tribute
to his memory, and in London she discussed a major recording project with Robert Farnon. At that time Farnon was
much in demand for broadcasting, films and recording: his Decca albums of the 1950s were hailed as arranging
hen record companies started issuing stereo LPs in 1957 and 1958 they were taking a big gamble. Less
than ten years earlier they had begun persuading collectors to part with their hard-earned cash to buy
players that were capable of reproducing LPs and, shortly afterwards, 45 rpm records. To be precise,
stereo recordings had been available a little earlier on commercial reel-to-reel tapes (cassettes were still years away in
the future), but sales must have been very small. The same fate could have befallen stereo LPs, because initially they
were not compatible with ordinary mono record players, so new equipment had to be purchased – not to mention an
extra loudspeaker!
It had taken a long time for stereo to reach the public. It might have arrived sooner, but for the Second World
War. The system ultimately used by the recording industry was developed back in the 1930s by EMI’s brilliant sound
engineer Alan Blumlein. Experiments he conducted at Abbey Road Studios in December 1933 and January 1934
demonstrated that stereo on discs was possible (he originally called it “binaural sound”), and one of his early tests
featuring the Ray Noble Orchestra was included on the Guild CD “In Town Tonight – The 1930s Volume 2” (GLCD
5116). Had Blumlein not died as a war casualty in 1942 at the early age of 38 he would undoubtedly have been widely
recognised as a genius, especially as he also worked on developing electronic television and radar systems.
Initially there seemed some reluctance on the part of the major record companies to embrace the new technology
wholeheartedly, and for a while it was small independent companies that made the pace. But it wasn’t too long
before it was realised that this was the future of recorded sound, and light orchestras soon began experimenting with
imaginative arrangements that took full advantage of the possibilities offered by stereo.
It has to be said that some were so gimmicky that they spoiled the music. Also sound engineers spent time
experimenting with the placing of instruments within the orchestra, before the familiar “strings on the left” pattern
became generally accepted.
The new format spawned new names, and record producers did not hesitate to tempt the public with exotic
sounding titles that disguised the fact that they were probably not quite what they may have seemed. It is highly likely
that The Cinema Sound Stage Orchestra, The Rio Carnival Orchestra, The Paris Theatre Orchestra and The New
World Theatre Orchestra are one and the same. Together with 101 Strings, they were names used by the American
Miller International Company on their bargain basement priced Essex, Somerset and Stereo Fidelity labels. Many
of these recordings were issued in Britain on Pye’s Golden Guinea label and were regarded as being “cheap and
cheerful” and inferior to the products of the major record companies. But, as the examples included here show, there
were some real gems among them, in terms of both performance and recording quality.
The recordings usually employed various European symphony and radio orchestras and were linked by the name
of Joseph F. Kuhn who composed, arranged, scored or conducted most of the early ones. Doubtless there would have
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been many more had it not been for his untimely death in March 1962 at the age of 37. He was musical director for
the Miller International Co., producer of Somerset and Stereo Fidelity record albums and was well known for his
recording work in Hollywood, the US east coast and Germany.
Warren Barker (1923-2006) is making his Guild Light Music debut on this CD. Born in Oakland, California, as
a schoolboy he learned to play the piano and trumpet, before studying under composer Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco
at the University of California in Los Angeles. His career was firmly rooted in the film, radio and television studios
around Hollywood, and in the 1950s he was a musical director at Warner Bros Records. He also worked on many
popular TV series such as “Hawaiian Eye”, “Bewitched” and “Daktari” although (like so many indispensable
‘backroom boys’ in the music business) his name didn’t always appear on the credits. Barker has also been associated
with the 20th Century Fox, Columbia and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios as composer/conductor for motion pictures
and television and in 1969 was on the arranging staff for the Oscar-winning film “Hello Dolly”. The National
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honoured him in 1970 for his original music in the award-winning series
“My World And Welcome To It”, based on the life of James Thurber.
Buddy Bregman (b. 1930) was A&R Manager of the fledgling Verve Records label (founded by Norman
Granz in 1956) for the first two years of its existence. On 20 & 21 March 1957 he took his orchestra into Studio
A at Capitol Records and conducted an album honouring one of Hollywood’s greatest arrangers, Conrad Salinger.
Such was Bregman’s esteem for Salinger that he retitled his orchestra ‘The Conrad Salinger Orchestra Conducted by
Buddy Bregman’ for the LP “Conrad Salinger – A Lovely Afternoon”. For these sessions Salinger recreated some of
his memorable scores first heard in movies such as “Meet Me In St Louis”, “Singin’ In The Rain” and “The Band
Wagon”. It would be hard to understate the influence of Conrad Salinger (1901-1961) on Hollywood movies of
the 1940s and 1950s. His credits include orchestrations for nine Broadway productions from 1931 to 1938, before
concentrating on films, most notably for MGM. Unlike some of his contemporaries, his arrangements did not always
call for large orchestras, which sound systems of the 1940s (before the days of hi-fidelity) sometimes struggled to
capture successfully. Instead he relied upon cleverly constructed and elaborate arrangements (sometimes with a
unique staccato sound from the trumpets) which became his trademark. Despite his work on numerous landmark
films, he never won an Oscar. Rather unfairly such honours were usually bestowed on the conductors of the music,
rather than the arrangers who were the true creators of the glorious sounds.
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (1905-1980) became the conductor of one of the most famous light orchestras from
the 1950s onwards. Born in Venice, his family came to England when he was aged four and he was something of a
prodigy on the violin by the time he reached sixteen. But he leaned more towards popular music, and fronted many
different kinds of ensembles before long-playing records (especially when stereo arrived) brought him worldwide
acclaim. Despite a very busy schedule embracing radio, television, concerts and recordings he also found time to
compose and arrange for his magnificent orchestra. A prime example of the latter is his setting of the hugely popular
film theme Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing which comes from his first stereo LP recorded in May 1958 and
quickly released a few months later. It was an immediate success, especially in the USA, and sales exceeded one
million copies.
In the USA Frank De Vol (1911-1999) is known primarily as the composer for the radio and TV series “The
Brady Bunch”, but light music fans appreciate that his career has been far more substantial.
Texas born Les Baxter (1922-1996) decided to abandon a career as a concert pianist, and chose to concentrate on
popular music. He played the tenor sax and is reported to have been influenced by Coleman Hawkins and the Duke
Ellington Band. At the age of 23 he joined Mel Tormé’s Meltones and recorded with Artie Shaw, but his heart was
set on arranging. As his career progressed he worked for Capitol and RCA, and two of his early hits were Unchained
Melody and Quiet Village, which was a track on his memorable LP “Le Sacre Du Sauvage”. Thereafter he tended to
be asked to record more pieces with an ‘exotic’ appeal, and stereo certainly allowed him to experiment with different
instruments, especially within the percussion family.
Norrie Paramor (1914-1979) tended to be better known by the public for his work with pop stars on EMI’s
Columbia label, but he also made numerous instrumental recordings and his albums featuring the soprano Patricia
Clark caught the public’s attention. Harlem Nocture is a rare example of an early stereo tape recording issued by EMI
in 1957, before they quickly vanished upon the arrival of stereo discs.
Another American musician making his Guild debut this time is Joe Reisman (1924-1987). He began his career
playing saxophone and arranging with the Herb Miller Band, and his work was soon accepted by many others such
as Bob Crosby, Jack Teagarden and Louis Prima. As a member of the Jimmy Joy Band he met Patti Page, and in
1950 he became her principal arranger and conductor on many of her hits. Now that he was known in the business
offers came in for recording and television work with many top singers, and his business acumen resulted in A&R
appointments with Roulette and RCA. Later in his career he worked with Henry Mancini, John Williams and the
Boston Pops Orchestra.
When Tony Tamburello died in September 1992 at the age of 72 a short report on his passing in the New York
Times described him as a pianist and vocal coach. His ‘clients’ included Tony Bennett (whom he once managed) and
Judy Garland, and he was one of those musicians who seemingly was known by everyone within show business, but
no one outside. He loved to compose pleasant, tuneful music but he lacked the ability to arrange his own pieces for
full orchestra. At times like this he turned to his musical friends and especially those whom he greatly admired. This
brought him into contact with Robert Farnon (1917-2005) who put him in touch with his own publishers, Chappell,
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