1959: Today at the 30th Street Studio

May 27 (Wednesday) 3 of 4:

From 7-10:30pm, Ronnie Chapman with Michael Colicchio and His Orchestra recorded some more singles

Annie B. Is Gone
The Way The Wind Blows

Producer/A&R was Tony Piano.

Musicians employed

Leader:
Michael Colicchio
Contractor:
Frank Carroll
Guitar:
Al Caiola
Al Casamenti
Hy White
John Pizzarelli
Bass:
Walter C. York
Drums:
David A. Francis

compiler was ag

Here's the French issue of an EP containing the Annie B. song





plus a bonus American Bridgeport label



Isn't Prescott AKA Tony Piano? It's nice that the Leader and Producer of this song split the songwriter royalties...



with more pictures of the French EP.

 

May 27 (Wednesday) 4 of 4:

The Mariners with Lee Erwin at the Organ recorded again from 11:30pm-3am the songs

Near To The Heart of God
The Old Rugged Cross
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Let The Lower Lights Be Burning

Jim Foglesong again produced, and Lee Erwin was again the only musician other than the singers.

compiler was ek

 

May 28 (Thursday) 1 of 4:

Today was mostly a day of continuing projects.

From 10am-1pm, Ernest S. Kardos & His Orchestra (The Kardos Trio) recorded the songs

Play Gypsies Dance Gypsies
Two Guitars
When A Gypsy Makes His Violin Cry
Hungarian Dance #1

Producer/A&R was Ernie Altschuler again.

Musicians employed were not listed, but presumably it was the quartet previously listed.

compiler was ek

 

May 28 (Thursday) 2 of 4:

Leslie Uggams with Abe (Glenn) Osser and His Orchestra from 2:30-5:30pm continued recording

Learn To Pray Ev'ry Day (sic)
It Is No Secret
I Believe
One Little Candle

Producer/A&R was Mitch Miller again.

Musicians employed ( [ ] indicates present at previous session two days ago, but absent from this one; replacement's name is adjacent. Total count and instrumentation the same as last session.)

Leader:
Abe (Glenn) Osser
Contractor:
Arnold Eidus
Violins:
[Max Cahn] Leo Kruczek
Harry Lookofsky
[Gene Orloff] Maurice Wilk
Ralph Silverman
[David Nadien] Paul Maknowitsky
[Louis Graeler] [Mac Ceppos]
[Leo Kahn] Bernard Eichenbaum
Julius Held
[David Montagu] [Sylvan Shulman] Felix Giglio
Arcadie Birkenholz
Emanuel Green
Anthony Di Girolamo
Trombone:
[Urban Green] Russel William Rauch
Robert Byrne
[Charles Small] Frank Rehak
William Byers
Viola:
[Isadore Zir] Burt Fisch
David Mankovitz
[Richard Dickler] Archie Levin
[Harold Coletta] Richard Dickler
Cello:
[George Ricci] Charles McCracken
[Morris Stonzek] David Soyer
Drums:
[George Gaber] [Artie Marotti] George Gaber
Bass:
[Frank Carroll] [Felix Giobbe] Frank Carroll
Guitar:
Al Casamenti
Harp:
Margaret Ross

compiler was ag

So, again, exact same section numbers but different players in many cases.

 

May 28 (Thursday) 3 of 4:

The only new session today was from 7-11pm, with Linda Sampson and Bernadine Read with Hugo Montenegro and Billy Mure and Their Orchestras.

These were apparently singles sessions, with Sampson recording two songs and Read recording three. The songs were

In Between Teen (LS)
Lover Of The Year (LS)
Fly Away Lovers (BR)
Take (BR)
Night Flight (BR)

Producer/A&R was Jim Foglesong.

Musicians employed

Leaders:
Hugo Montenegro
Billy Mure
Contractor and Trumpet:
Joe Caiani
Bass:
Jack Lesberg
Drums:
Joe Marshall
Saxophone:
Jerome Richardson
Guitars:
Al Caiola
Al Casamenti
Bucky Pizzarelli (the first time we've seen him called that!)
Piano:
Joe Harnell

compiler was ek

Linda Sampson later went on to become Linda Scott, and this session under her real name was apparently her first session, as In Between Teen was her record debut. Discogs doesn't know about that song, though it does have this great picture of her on top of the Empire State Building with Arthur Godfrey



The Chrysler Building is touching his head to the left and the U.N. is touching her head to the right.

45cat has the single of these two songs. Youtube doesn't.

Bernadine Read is more elusive; I find an album cover with her cute picture from 1957



and the label for one of the songs from this session but not the others



and that she appeared on at least one recording with Mitch Miller, but that's about it.

 

May 28 (Thursday) 4 of 4:

The final session of the day, and the final chronologically contiguous one of this thread since the next couple of days had no sessions and I need to stop the thread, was originally scheduled to start at 11:30pm after the previous session ended at 10pm. Since that session went to 11, they moved the next session back to midnight although the report is dated today.

Anyway, the final session of the day was from midnight-3am with
The Mariners with Lee Erwin at the Organ. They recorded the songs

Sun Of My Soul
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour (a clue that the compiler was Canadian or British?)
God Of Our Fathers
O Worship The King

A&R/Producer for this session as well as the last one was Jim Foglesong.

Lee Erwin on the organ was the only musician, and compiler was ek.

Thank you for reading and commenting on this thread. I've had a great time.

 

Here's a promo copy of the Linda Sampson (Scott) single.

 

I just found this thread, though I've been researching Jimmy Dorsey for a while. Thanks! It answers a number of questions for me. "Ghost" bands like this were a relatively new phenomenon at the time, though there had been authorized and unauthorized Glenn Miller outfits since the late 1940s. There might never have been a Jimmy Dorsey ghost band but for the fact that he scored a major hit in 1957 with "So Rare," but died in the middle of its chart run. The last band he led stayed together to meet the demand for gigs on the strength of the hit, and Lee Castle ended up leading the band until he died more than thirty years later. He had a long relationship with Dorseys, studied with their father, and was even known as "the third Dorsey brother." He was a mainstay of the last band the brothers had together. Jimmy was already in poor health when Tommy died suddenly in November 1956, but kept leading the group, leaning on Lee Castle heavily. A few of the musicians on these dates were Dorsey alumni, including Doc Severinsen, who played with Tommy. John Frosk and Sol Schlinger played with both brothers, and Frosk was in the band when Jimmy died. There may be a few other Dorsey veterans here that I haven't spotted. I see seven tunes in these lists that wound up on the next album "Jimmy Dorsey On Tour," which featured arrangements that Jimmy Dorsey had played with the last group he led. There was talk of a Tommy Dorsey ghost band while Jimmy was still alive, but his estate couldn't decided what to do, and one was not organized until the following year.

 

I just noticed another Dorsey alum in the lineup: trombonist Frank Rehak, who spent time in both Jimmy and Tommy's1950s groups.

 

To try to jump-start this thread back to life . . . I seem to remember it was 60 years and one month ago today - September 11, 1959 - that Percy Faith and His Orchestra recorded what would be one of their biggest hits, "The Theme From 'A Summer Place' " (and its B side, "Go-Go-Po-Go"), presumably produced by Mitch Miller. Might there perchance be any word as to the personnel on that pivotal session at 207 East 30th (and in what hours of the day it was recorded)?

Anyway, here are the labels and picture sleeve, in advance:

 

Another awesome thread!!!

 

Interesting confluence of personnel in this assemblage of musicians. The oboist (and presumably Cor Anglais player, since there is CA in "Misty"), Harry Shulman, was from Pittsburgh and played in the Pittsburgh Symphony before leaving for the NBC under Toscanini.

Bassist Felix Giobbe was also from Pittsburgh, and his father, Luigi Giobbe, played Bass in the NBC Symphony. How do I know this? My mentor played in the Pittsburgh Symphony under Reiner with Luigi, who, after he left to join the NBC, snuck my mentor into a rehearsal with the NBC and Toscanini.

Another NBC veteran in this group was Harold Coletta on viola, with whom I had some correspondence at the end of my undergraduate days. It would turn out to be less than a year before his passing.

Finally, George Ricci on cello was no other than Ruggiero Ricci's brother. Ruggiero was also a friend of my mentor.

My mentor passed away two years ago at the age of 96. I turned up this thread when trying to find out more about Luigi Giobbe, whom he had referenced in his Toscanini/NBC rehearsal anecdote. It's hard to believe all those musicians are no longer with us. Save for Johnny himself.

 

It only took me nearly a year to come back to this thread and find this response, but I did and am glad you replied, as this is exactly what I was hoping for: to find out more info about musicians who were the backbone of the studio and recordings.

Thanks for posting!