Mildred Bailey - A Discographical Sketch I. Pre-Columbia II. Columbia III. Decca IV. Independents (Crown & Majestic) V. Radio And V-Disks This thread is being created for the benefit of anyone interested in collecting the recordings of jazz singer Mildred Bailey. As of this writing (June 2108), there doesn't seem to be a Mildred discography out there. Hence I thought I'd put together my own sketch, covering each phase of her discographical career. The sketch will be divided into 10 sections. Comments, questions, corrections, or additions are very welcome, of course. Furthermore, the comments do not necessarily have to be about her records or the sketch; feel free to discuss her life and legacy, too. Only one request: please do not post before all 10 sections are viewable. I think that most of us would prefer to read the full sketch together, in the form of 10 consecutive sections, rather than having the sections mixed with our personal comments. (You will know that the 10 sections have been posted because #10 will conclude, for shame, with the scarlet letters The End!...) Regular viewers of the thread Obscure & Neglected Female Singers Of Jazz & Standards (1930s to 1960s) will realize that I'm re-posting messages which I originally placed on that thread, from page 55 onwards. I just figure that the sketch is lost in the shuffle there. In here, those trying to improve their collection of Mildred records (now or in the future) should be able to gather all pertinent details more easily.
I. Pre-Columbia Mildred made her earliest recordings between 1929 and 1932. Nearly 30 tracks. If you are interested in collecting them, one option is to get the following two CDs on the TOM label (aka The Old Masters label): Another option is to get instead the following two CDs, on the Classics label (aka The Chronogical Series): Which option is better? IF you are a collector who must have everything that Mildred recorded, go with the TOM CDs. About six of the tracks on TOM are NOT on Classics, and TOM's sound quality is pretty good throughout. IF you do NOT need to have every single master that Mildred recorded before 1933, you could get just The Chronogical Mildred Bailey 1929-1932, which contains 24 tracks. A note for those who already owned Mildred's Mosaic box: the majority of Mildred's 1929-1932 masters are to be found on the first volume of each of the above-mentioned labels (i.e., Classics and Old Masters). The second volumes spill into Mildred's work for Columbia, which are included in the Mosaic box (to be discussed in an upcoming post). On vinyl, there is one LP deserving of honorable mention here. It is on Tono (one of the labels created by record producer and music collector Ted Ono): This Tono album is circumscribed to Mildred's Pre-Columbia masters (from the 1931-1932 years, specifically), offering a selection of 18 tracks. (Since all 18 tracks can also be found in the CDs discussed above, I am mentioning the LP primarily for the benefit of vinyl lovers, and also because it is a good, serious, well-put-together collection.) In conclusion: the two TOM CDs are the best option for absolute completists. As far as I was able to ascertain, the only Pre-Columbia track absent from those CDs is an alternate take of "Concentratin' on You." That alternate is on a Japanese RVC LP titled Birth of Jazz Vocal.
II. Columbia All the masters that Mildred recorded for Columbia and its affiliates or subsidiaries (Okeh, Vocalion, etc.) can be found in the following box, released by Mosaic Records in the year 2000. This box contains 10 CDs and a large, 48-page booklet, filled with discographical details and photos in black & white. Each CD has a minimum of 20 tracks, for a grand total of 214. There are many alternate takes, and a total of 18 previously unissued tracks. Let's do an overview of Mildred's work for Columbia Records. The period covered by Mildred's exclusive contract with Columbia started with an April 8, 1933 session and ended with a May 15, 1940 date. Every single number that she recorded between those two dates is in the aforementioned Mosaic set. (There was also a 1935 date on an affiliate, Parlophone.) Included as well are numbers from Columbia dates on which she guested or sang under a pseudonym: 1 - October 5, 1929 2- May 8, 1930 3- March 5, 1942 #1 and #2 can also be found in the TOM and Classics CDs that I discussed in the first part of this sketch. #3 is a Red Norvo date on which Mildred guested. For those of us who can't find or afford the Mosaic box (originally priced at $160, nowadays sometimes going for a lot more), there are the following options. If you look around, you can find both of these sets at relatively affordable prices (about $40 each): These 2004 CDs have all the tracks from the Mosaic box, except for the alternate takes. Since this label (Definitive) clearly appropriated the tracks from the Mosaic set, the sound quality should be about the same. Volume 1 contains all the masters from the first five Mosaic CDs, volume 2 all the masters from the other five Mosaic discs. (Personal note. Although these are officially Public Domain CDs, I feel that they are more deserving of the pejorative name "bootlegs." It horrifies me to think that Mosaic did such an immense amount of work, and went through so much expense, only to have Definitive swipe the entire contents of the boxed set, deceptively releasing all of it as if Definitive had been creatively & financially responsible for any of that.) On vinyl, the best sampler of Mildred's Columbia years is this 1962 boxed set: It contains 48 of Mildred's Columbia tracks. Overall, its sound quality is fine.
Nice work! I have the The Old Masters discs and the Mosaic box set and some additional cds that release her later work. A very interesting singer whose personality seems to come through the vocals. I'll be following this thread.
III. Decca Mildred's work for Decca and its affiliates consists of: 1) 14 masters recorded between 1941 and 1942 (i.e., after her Columbia work) 2) 2 masters done for Decca on April 25, 1950 (her final recordings) 3) 4 tracks recorded on December 6, 1935 for the British label Parlophone (whose masters fall under the Decca umbrella) Let's talk now about the CDs on which you can find the 20 above-listed masters. There are four options ... none of which will give you the full, 20-track total. (Some come very close, though.) Decca originally issued this album on vinyl, in 1951. Back then, it had only eight tracks. With additional tracks, it has been reissued many times in Japan. The version that I have is a Japanese MCA Victor CD from 1992, consisting of 19 tracks. So: of the 20 Decca & Parlophone masters under discussion, this MCA Victor CD offers 19. (The only missing master is a 1942 recording called "Sometimes.") Released in 1994, this American CD is on Decca Jazz' GRP label and contains 20 tracks. Of the 20 Decca & Parlophone masters under discussion, this GRP CD offers 16. We get all 6 tracks from the 1935 and 1950 sessions, plus 1o of the 14 Decca masters. (Here, too, "Sometimes" is among the missing numbers.) Also included in this CD: four 1931 masters. Those four are available as well on the already discussed CDs from The Old Masters and Classics labels (see section I above). This CD from Classics' Chronogical series includes all 14 Decca tracks from the 1941-1942 period, along with earlier Columbia tracks. Naturally, none of the above-mentioned tracks from the year 1950 or the year 1935 are here. For those, you will need to track down other CDs in this same chronological series. This 4CD anthology on the German label Quadromania offers over 90 tracks, most of them culled from Mildred's Columbia years. (Quadromania might have "copied" or appropriated all its tracks from the Chronogical CD series.) Of the 20 Decca & Parlophone masters under discussion, this Quadromania anthology features 16: all 14 Decca masters from the 1941-1942 period, as well as her final masters, from 1950. Absent are only the 1935 Parlophone masters.
IV. Independents A. Crown Records Following her earlier tenures with two majors (Columbia, Decca), Mildred recorded for two minor labels. Crown was one of those minors, with which she became briefly involved in the mid-1940s. The grand total of Crown masters is merely 8. Half of them were recorded on December 19 and the other half on December 30, 1945. All eight numbers were included on this shellac album: Mildred's Crown masters made it from shellac to vinyl thanks to the label Monmouth Evergreen. After purchasing the masters, Monmouth-Evergreen re-released them on the 1972 LP All of Me: Note that the Crown titles are on side A of the Monmouth Evergreen LP. As for side B, it offers a selection of numbers from a part of Mildred's catalogue which we will be discussing later (Majestic). In addition to including all those rare Crown recordings, another worthwhile element of All of Me is the liner annotation on its back cover. Written by album co-producer Bill Borden, those notes offer a basic but satisfactory overview of Mildred's career and achievements. Monmouth Evergreen was an American label. In British land, the Ember label reissued All of Me, keeping that title but changing the original artwork ...... Other than those two LPs on Monmouth and Ember, I am not aware of any vinyl on which these Crown rarities can be heard. If you instead want to get the Crown masters on compact disc, there are a couple of alternatives, too. One of them is to purchase two CDs from the Chrono(lo)gical series, which I have previously mentioned (section I). Half of the Crown titles are on The Chronogical Mildred Bailey 1943-1945, and the other half on The Chronogical Mildred Bailey 1945-1947. Your remaining alternative is the following CD, on Ted Ono's Baldwin Street Music label: All eight Crown tracks are included, and in good sound quality. They actually form part of the CD's generous bonus program. (The CD's main program is dedicated to a different part of Mildred's discography, to be discussed in one of my next posts.)
Thanks for this! I love Mildred but the only CD I have is the Decca Rocking Chair Lady compilation. She does deserve much more recognition but her slightly understated swinging style is out of fashion. Overwrought, overly-mannered vocalists that use melisma as a substitute for singing on key are all the rage. Mildred is far too subtle for most listeners.
B. Majestic Records Over four sessions, Mildred recorded a total of 16 masters for Majestic, a short-lived, Manhattan-based label. The first session took place in 1946 (March 5), the last in 1947 (November 20). Naturally, most of those cuts made their earliest appearances at the time, on shellac records. In the early 1950s, the fact that Majestic was no longer in existence allowed for the re-appearance of some of Mildred's numbers on several budget, dime-store labels, which produced 10" vinyl of cheap quality (Allegro, Halo, Royale, et cetera). The practice continued later, with the advent of the 12" LP. Among many possible examples from which to choose, here are pictures of just two: Recommendations? If vinyl is your preference, choose none of the above. When it comes to the Majestic masters, the best choice by far, with no competition anywhere near, is the following 1985 LP (also available on cassette): If you are a completist, this suitably titled LP comes with both good and bad news. The bad: it gives you 14 of the 16 numbers recorded by Mildred, thereby leaving out just two tracks (presumably due to lack of space). The good: it gives you several alternate takes, some of them never issued before. That's why the LP has 17 tracks in spite of the fact that not all 16 original masters are included. If your aim is to own the complete Majestic Mildred master series, you'll still need to add digital to your Savoy Jazz LP. I will next mention several CD options. The Chronogical 1945-1947 CD includes all 16 masters (but not the alternates). The same holds true for Quadromania's Public Domain 4CD set Sunday, Monday or Always, already discussed and pictured in a previous section (III). Then there is this other Public Domain disc, which does have pretty good sound quality, on the Definitive label: If you are not a completist, and thus do not mind missing a few of the 16 sides, an additional option would be the Denon CD Me and the Blues (itself a reissue of a Regent LP). Both the CD reissue and the original LP feature the same front artwork and the same 10 tracks. Here is the front cover artwork: As you might have already gathered, these Majestic numbers have a long and somewhat complicated release history. For completists, further notes about them can be found below. (If not a completist, skip.) I want to reiterate that the above-discussed CDs give you all of Mildred's Majestic masters but do NOT give you all of her Majestic alternates. To obtain those as well, completists will need the Savoy Jazz LP The Majestic Mildred Bailey. (If I counted correctly, the LP has five alternate takes and one breakdown. The LP does also include two of the master counterparts to those five alternates. But the other three master counterparts are not on the LP.) The aforementioned Baldwin Street CD The Blue Angel Years includes Mildred's last Majestic session (November 20, 1947) in its entirety: a total of seven Majestic tracks, including two alternates. Of the Majestic sessions, it has that one only. The exact same seven-track bunch can be found on the Savoy Jazz LP, too.
V. Radio And V-Disks A. V-Disks Herein, we will be talking about records waxed for the listening pleasure of the US Armed Forces, such as this one: The total of extant Mildred vocals that were intended for V-disk issue is, as far as I can ascertain, 23, distributed over 16 of these records. (This is all based just on my own research, by the way. I've spent some time checking and counting, but none of it is "official." I might eventually try to put together a full discography, based on this ongoing sketch. If so, I'll double-check then.) The primary CD on which you can hear almost all of Mildred's V-Disk material is this one: The first 19 tracks on the above-shown CD were all taken from V-disks. (The last four are from Mildred's 78 album on Crown Records, discussed in a previous section.) Since I said that the total number of extant v-disk numbers is 23, the math tells us that four numbers are missing from the disc shown above. Three of the missing four can be found in the sequel, titled The Chronogical 1945-1947. Specifically: 20. I'll Close my Eyes 21. That Ain't Right 22. Lover, Come Back to Me This trio shares the same date, March 1, 1947. (Tracks #20 and #21 can also be found on the Baldwin Street CD The Blue Angel Years. Not so performance #22; I'm not sure i it is even available in any other CDs.) (As for the rest of The Chronogical 1945-1947 , it consists almost entirely of Mildred's work for Crown and Majestic. The exceptions are two songs from a single on Victor, which we will be discussing later on.) Alright, completists: so far, we've tracked down 22 songs out of 23 songs from V-Discs. Here's the one left: 23. There'll Be a Jubilee (July 31, 1944; with Benny Goodman's All Stars) You won't find that one on the Chronogical Mildred CDs, but you can find it in the Chronogical Benny Goodman 1944-1945. Another option on which to find that Goodman track (along with many of the other Mildred V-Disc tracks) is the following CD, on the Vintage Jazz Classics (VJC) label: Apart fro from the Goodman track and the commendably good sound quality, There are quite a few reasons why this CD must be part of any Mildred CD collection: -- It has commendably good sound quality. -- Some of it V-Disk material was transferred straight from the 16" acetates. -- It gives you various V-Disk breakdowns. -- It features Mildred's V-Disk performance with Goodman. -- It contains not only V-Disk but also radio performances, including one complete broadcast. -- The booklet incorporates a transcription of a 1946 Mildred article/interview. -- Mildred's V-Disk sessions are included in full. That last statement might be confusing. Let me explain. A lot of Mildred's performances on V-Disk were actually taken from episodes of her radio show. Only some 7 or 8 of her numbers were recorded expressly for the V-Disk program. Those seven or eight numbers are on this VJC CD, sharing space with performances taken directly from the radio broadcasts.)
B. Radio Like most of the other well-known singers from her time, Mildred made quite a few appearances on radio shows of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to serving as a guest on programs of the day, such as Camel Caravan, she managed to have her own radio show. Actually, not just one: between 1933 and 1935, she had two shows, one succeeding the other, each on a different network (CBS, Blue). I don't believe that broadcasts from such shows have been preserved, but I could very well be wrong. Following those 1933-1935 shows, in the 1940s she'd ride yet another (air) wave of radio hosting. We do have extant broadcasts from this second period -- broadcasts that have been transferred to LP and CD. Let's see. This 1977 LP on Stash Records has a full episode of CBS' Mildred Bailey Show, which was broadcast sometime between 1940 and 1943. This same episode can also be heard on the aforementioned Vintage Jazz Classics CD The Legendary V Disc Sessions. The producers of that CD tried to locate additional episodes of CBS' Mildred Bailey Show. They couldn't find any. For that reason, they speculate that what we are hearing might have been a pilot or audition, for a show which ultimately was not picked up. We find a happier state of affairs when it comes to the next radio show to be hosted by Bailey. It was called Music Till Midnight - Mildred Bailey And Company. All 36 episodes of this mid-1940s CBS show are believed to be extant. The earliest episode was broadcast on September 1, 1944. The last episode aired on February 9, 1945. (Over the 1944 summer, there appears to have been a brief trial of sorts, too.) In their liner notes, the producers of the 1990 Vintage Jazz Classics CD The Legendary V Disc Sessions write about their incipient plans to release each of the 36 broadcasts from Music Till Midnight. Since each one lasted about 30 minutes, the producers envisioned 12 CDs. Alas, their plans never came to fruition. Let's try to pinpoint which episodes (or episode portions) from Music Till Midnight - Mildred Bailey And Company have shown up on LP. (We will check for CDs later on.) Here we go ... Above: 1975 Sunbeam LP. Contains 13 tracks, taken from the following broadcasts: November 24, 1944 (2 tracks) January 12, 1945 (six tracks) January 19, 1945 (five tracks) Above: 1979 LP on its Hindsight and London LP incarnations. Contains 18 tracks. Unfortunately, no dates are given. It looks like a grab bag, its cuts taken from many different episodes. The Hindsight edition is on cassette, too: I imagine that some episodes exist as MP3 files as well. If so, they can probably be obtained from websites dedicated to old-time radio. Next: CDs that contain radio performances.
B. Radio (continued) Here are three CDs exclusively dedicated to Mildred's work on the radio. (Other than these and the aforementioned Vintage Jazz Classics CD, I do not believe that there are any others, as of 2018). As you might be able to tell from a look at the back covers, the first two CDs offers material culled from the radio show Music Till Midnight. The third draws from numerous radio sources. Music Till Midnight We mentioned earlier that Music Till Midnight - Mildred Bailey And Company consists of 36 episodes. I have tried to ascertain how much of this show is commercially available on LP and CD. Here is a quick list of my findings so far (and when I say "quick," I mean that I spent some time on this, but not enough to be able to say that it is 100% correct): October 06, 1944 (complete episode, on the Star Line CD) October 13, 1944 (complete episode, on the Star Line CD) (three of these tracks are also on the Mr. Music CD) October 20, 1944 (just 2 tracks, on The Chronogical 1944-1945) (one of these two tracks is also on the VJC CD) November 03, 1944 (just 1 track, on The Chronogical 1944-1945 & also on the Vintage Jazz Classic CD) November 10, 1944 ( just 2 tracks, on the Vintage Jazz Classic CD) November 17, 1944 (just 1 track, on The Chronogical 1944-1945 & also on the Vintage Jazz Classic CD) November 24, 1944 (just 2 tracks, on the Sunbeam LP) December 08, 1944 (just 1 track, on The Chronogical 1944-1945) December 15, 1944 (just 1 track, on The Chronogical 1944-1945) January 05, 1945 (complete episode, on the Storyville CD) (1 of these tracks is also on The Chronogical 1944-1945) January 12, 1945 (a total of 6 tracks, on the Sunbeam LP) January 19, 1945 (complete episode, on the Storyville CD) (5 of these tracks are also on the Sunbeam LP) January 26, 1945 (a total of 5 tracks, on the Storyville CD) February 2, 1945 ( just 1 track, on The Chronogical 1944-1945) February 9, 1945 ( just 1 track, on The Chronogical 1944-1945) Date Unknown (16 tracks, on the Hindsight LP; some might be the same tracks available on the items listed above) The total number of episodes from this show is given as 34 (instead of 36) in some sources, including one of the CDs pictured in this sections. However, I generally chose to follow the claims made on the aforementioned Vintage Jazz Classics CD, in which the total number is given as 36. Guest Appearances There is probably a fair number of Mildred radio guest appearances out there. The Mr. Music release (3rd CD above) collects a healthy amount of them, the earliest from 1939 and the last from 1947. For its part, the Vintage Jazz Classics CD (The Legendary V Disc Sessions) presents us with what might have been Mildred's very last appearance, from 1951. Between those 1947 and 1951 appearances, there was at least one additional guest spot, made for Bing Crosby's radio show. It was an episode broadcast on April 12, 1950, during which Mildred sang "Georgia on my Mind" and "I've Got the World on a String."
VI. Odds And Ends A. Live In Concert In the thread Obscure & Neglected Female Singers Of Jazz & Standards (1930s to 1960s) , there was mention of Esquire magazine and its annual jazz polls, on which Mildred alternated between the #1 and #2 spots for best female jazz vocalist. Two so-called Esquire All-American Jazz concerts gathered together the winners of the magazine's 1944 and 1945 polls, and their performances have been preserved. Here are photos from the first of the two concerts; Mildred can be seen twice: On LP and also on CD, there are numerous albums which proclaim to feature this 1944 concert. Beware: many of them are truncated versions. Mildred, in particular, tends to get the short end of the stick. She is typically skipped from such incomplete versions. (Conversely, Billie never seems to be missing.) Among others, the following Radiola LP does appear to include all the extant concert material. Check out the detailed "inventory" on the back cover. The total of Mildred tracks is four. They are "Rockin' Chair," "More Than You Know," "Squeeze Me," and "Honeysuckle Rose." Three of Mildred's numbers are also included in the recently discussed Mr. Music CD, First Lady of Swing - Live. Only "Rockin' Chair" is missing from that CD. (One of the four numbers, "Squeeze Me," was issued on V-Disc, too. For that reason, it can be found on the Classics CD The Chronogical Mildred Bailey 1943-194., too.) Should you be curious, the following clip will let you listen to the 1944 concert. Mildred is first heard around 45:00, then again around 1:30. The following set contains the other concert (and, for good measure, the already discussed concert as well): Mildred sings just one number, "Downhearted Blues," with Benny Goodman. (Patter featuring Mildred has been preserved, and is included, too.) The concert version of "Downhearted Blues" can also be found in the aforementioned Mr. Music CD, First Lady of Swing - Live. To be continued.
B. The Blues Feather Date On Victor Still left to mention is a session that Mildred did for critic-producer Leonard Feather on February 2, 1947. The two resulting masters were originally released on the various-artists RCA Victor album Singing the Blues, which came out on both 78 and 45: Completists hoping to find these two Mildred masters on CD have at least three options: Classics' The Chronogical Mildred Bailey 1945-1947, Baldwin Street Music's The Blue Angel Years, and Quadromania's Sunday, Monday or Always. C. More Majestic Mildred Masters? Potentially confusing, the following LP merits clarification. You might wonder if it could perhaps feature rare Mildred masters, unavailable anywhere else. It doesn't. The Mildred numbers in this album are from the already discussed Majestic sessions. They are thus available in Mildred's own LPs & CDs. This overview of Mildred Bailey's recording career was put together and researched by: Ivan Santiago. THE END
You are very welcome, and thank you in turn for the very good points! If you, Sneaky Pete (or, for that matter, anybody else reading these words), decide to try additional CDs of hers in the future, I'm seeing some fine choices on the web. There is a sampler of her Columbia recordings called The Incomparable Mildred Bailey (2003) which I don't have, but which is selling cheap, and whose audio samples sound good enough to me. At Amazon, I'm also seeing two of the CDs that I recommended above, both at fairly affordable prices: The Legendary V Disc Sessions and The Blue Angel Years. Each one definitely worth owning. Thank you, too. Glad to hear that you are following the thread. Sounds like you already have the bulk of Mildred's work. For me, the (1) Mosaic set is the main must-own item, followed by (2) the Majestic LP or some version of those Majestic Recordings, and then (3) the early stuff, which I prefer on the Old Masters CDs. The other portions of her discography are, to my mind, supplementary. I'm quoting this earlier message of mine in order to add something missing from it: the back cover of the third CD. (It is missing from that message.) Courtesy of fellow poster Toilet Doctor, here is that back cover, as well as additional track information: Finally: if anybody feels like making additional comments about Mildred, or asking any questions about her, feel free to post! If there is anything to add or contribute, I know that a few of us here are fans of Mildred's work, and can chime in.
Fantastic job with the under-appreciated Mildred. If I may offer additional information, the Regent LP ME AND THE BLUES, with 10 Majestic tracks, was initially issued on CD in Japan in 1992; in the U.S. it was reissued by Atlantic Records/Savoy Jazz in 2000 with an additional four tracks: Almost Like Being in Love, The Heather on the Hill, Gone on That Guy, and Don't Worry About Strangers, 14 of the 16 Majestic masters, missing Penthouse Serenade and All of Me, which can be found on other CDs.
I recently found some excellent Red Norvo CDs on Classics: 1936-1937, 1937-1938, and 1938-1939, lots of Mildred on these. The earlier 1933-1936 is great, but without her participation. Collecting Classics titles these days, it's necessary to confirm they're factory-pressed. A random mention: Various Artists CD Honeysuckle Rose (Magnum Music, UK) showcases compositions of Fats Waller, with Willow Tree performed by Mildred Bailey and Her Alley Cats, 1935.
Love Mildred Bailey, she is one of my favorites. The song that turned me onto her was "'Long About Midnight." I own the Mosaic box set...the complete Chronological Series....as well as the "Definitive" Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 sets. By the way, the "Definitive" sets do not sound the same as the Mosaic box. I thought they would, but I was pleasantly surprised to find them sounded more, "old fashioned." If that makes any sense?
Nice to see Mildred getting some attention here. When Rosemary Clooney first heard Tony Bennett sing, she told him, "I can tell you've been listening to Mildred Bailey."
V. Radio And V-Disks (continued) C. Addendum Great to see several new posts in this thread. I'm planning to reply to each one by providing photos of the CDs and LPs that are being mentioned. I'll get to that later this week. Looking at the old images that were posted last year, I am seeing that the back cover of one CD is no longer showing. Let me repost it: For the record, that's the back cover of this CD: As already mentioned, First Lady Of Swing is one out of only four radio-oriented Mildred Bailey CDs in existence. Two of them (Music Til Midnight and The Mildred Bailey Radio Shows) concentrate on performances taken from her own radio show. As for the third CD (The Legendary V Disc Sessions) the bulk of its track listing was transferred onto V-disc from Mildred's radio shows, too. Let's concentrate now on the fourth CD, pictured above. Although it also features several V-Discs and performances from her own shows, the focus of First Lady Of Swing is on Mildred's guest appearances on other people's radio shows. Here is a quick checklist of the contents, which are chronologically arranged. 1939: Camel Caravan Broadcasts, with The Benny Goodman Orchestra (Tracks 1-4) 1943: V-Disc Recording Session, with Teddy Wilson (Track 5) 1944: First Annual Esquire Jazz Concert, with The Esquire Jazz Allstars (Tracks 6-8) 1944: V-Disc Recording Session, with Red Norvo Sextet (Track 9) 1944: "For The Record" Radio Show, with The Benny Goodman V-Disc Allstar Band (Tracks 10-11) 1944: The Mildred Bailey Show, with The Paul Baron Studio Orchestra (Tracks 12-14) 1944: The Mildred Bailey Show, with The Solid Sextet (Track 15) 1945: Second Annual Esquire Jazz Concert, with The Benny Goodman Quintet (Track 16) 1946: Wildroot Radio Show, with The Woody Herman Orchestra (Track 17) 1947: Saturday Night Swing Session, with The Ellis Larkins Trio (Tracks 18-20) As far as I can ascertain, that track listing covers pretty much every single Mildred guest appearance that has shown up on vinyl, tape, or compact disc. Below are the only four exceptions of which I am currently aware. 1940: Camel Caravan Broadcasts, with Bob Crosby & Orchestra (songs: "I'll Never Be the Same," 'Tuxedo Junction") 1944: First Annual Esquire Jazz Concert, with The Esquire Jazz Allstars (song: "Rockin' Chair") 1950: The Bing Crosby Show for Chesterfield (solo: "Georgia on my Mind" / Duet: "I've Got the World on a String") 1951: The Morton Downey Show, with Carmen Mastren And Orchestra (songs: "Lover Come Back to Me," "It's So Peaceful in the Country") That last Mildred guest appearance (1951) is included, as a bonus segment, in one of the aforementioned CDs (The Legendary V Disc Sessions). The "Rockin' Chair" vocal from the 1944 Esquire Jazz Concert can be found on a Radiola LP set, already pictured and discussed in post #12. As for the two guest appearances remaining ... Mildred's 1940 guest tracks can be found on the above-seen CD. I do not have this compact disc, nor have I been able to listen to its Mildred tracks in full. But I'm happy to report that they can be sampled on the web, at iTunes and at pages such as this one: Camel caravan broadcasts 1940 - Bob Crosby - Muziekweb . There could very well be other Camel Caravan CDs or LPs out there, with additional tracks featuring Mildred as a guest. However, this Bob Cosby disc is the only one I know of. The 1950 tracks are not on any Mildred album, unfortunately. Nor do I recall having ever seen them in any of Bing Crosby's official, properly made CDs. At least, the full show is offered by Amazon in the form on one of their "on-demand" discs, pictured above. You can also buy or download the full episode from some Old-Time radio sites. The following link should take you to a free download: Chesterfield Show Guest Mildred Bailey And Firehouse Five Plus Two | Bing Crosby Chesterfield Show | Variety | Old Time Radio Downloads Corrections and additions are always welcome.
Thank you for the updated information, very useful and thorough. If I may offer a bit more.... In the section about Mildred's earliest Victor recordings, the Japanese LP BIRTH OF JAZZ VOCAL, with an alternate take of "Concentratin' on You" is mentioned. This album was also released on CD, BMG/Japan BVCJ 37107. In the V-Disc section, your count is 23 releases, using the Chronological Classics disc as the starting point and adding four titles not on that disc (the version of "Dinah" on that disc is merely introduced by Mildred, not sung by her). But "These Foolish Things," with Benny Goodman, released on V-Disc 302 (Navy) isn't included in the 23. It was recorded at the same time as "There'll Be a Jubilee" (released on V-Disc 494), which is mentioned as being on Chronological's Goodman 1944-1945 disc, which also has "Foolish Things" (following "Jubilee" chronologically, as it did on the "For The Record" program the songs came from). So the V-Disc count should be 24. The V-Disc recording of "Lover, Come Back to Me," mentioned as not being on CD, *may* be the version included on the FIRST LADY OF SWING disc. It's from the same session as "That Ain't Right" and "I'll Close My Eyes," with the Ellis Larkins Trio. The timing for "Lover" on this CD (which I don't have) is given as 2:45. The V-Disc is 2:13, including some dialogue by the announcer after the song ends. *If* there is dialogue before and after on the FIRST LADY CD track, that could account for the timing difference. This may only be of interest to the "obsessed" Bailey-ites.
Thank you so very much, Max. I couldn't hope for a better follow-up to my sketch than your couple of messages (so far). They have dug deeper into the minutia of Mildred's discography, thereby enhancing & correcting my perspective, which was more of a bird's eye view. Now, for the continued benefit of fellow fans, I'd like to supplement your comments about Mildred's ME AND THE BLUES with photos. By the way, this Japanese compact disc is actually the edition of ME AND THE BLUES that I have in my own CD collection. I had completely forgotten that this US edition includes those additional tracks. I now remember that I considered ordering a copy, but ultimately decided against it. Since I had those bonus tracks on other releases, I thought it wiser to save some money! For the record, the front cover of this US CD issue is the same one used on the original release, and on the Japanese CD. I should also mention that there is a third CD edition out there. It's a 1994 reissue of the Japanese disc, made by the New Jersey-based label Jazz Heritage. Here it is: The front cover of this CD is also the same one used on the earlier issues. However, and in keeping with Jazz Heritage releases from that period, it is a black & white cover. For anyone who is reading this particular message but has checked none of the previous ones: the ME AND THE BLUES CD contains Mildred's Majestic masters, whose release history was discussed at more length in post #8 above.
In today's mail, I received the Mildred Chronological Classics 1946-1947 CD, on which the final track on the disc is "over, Come Back to Me," indicated in the discography notes as being V-Disc 801, with a time of 2:43. I had previously downloaded that V-Disc [Mod: download site link removed - please do not post such links] which sounds to me like the same recording as on the Chronological CD, but has a timing of 2:12. I don't understand this. The download has perhaps a couple of seconds of applause (apparently) clipped from the lead-in, but both versions have the announcer speaking after the song finishes, so it doesn't account for the timing difference. Neither version sounds to my ears to be off-speed. If anyone can compare these and tell me what the difference is, I would appreciate it.
Sorry, I confused the timings on those two recordings. The V-Disc is 2:13. The Chronological is 1:43. I believe the difference is in the way they were transferred, apart from the exception of the "applause" clip mentioned in my previous post.
Right. To illustrate, here is one of those CDs. 1. CLASSICS The back cover of this Classics CD indicates that 10 of its tracks feature vocals by Mildred (#1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). All of them come from 1938 Red Norvo sessions. Classics is not the only label on which you can find all these 1938 Mildred tracks. There are three other labels that give you the same option. Let's check them out, and compare. 2. HEP Beginning with track #5 ("Put your Heart in a Song") and ending with track #18 ("Who Blew Out a Flame?"), this Hep CD includes the same 10 tracks found on the Classics CD (plus more Mildred stuff from earlier and later Norvo sessions). Both Hep and Classics offer us Red Norvo sessions, in chronological order. Note, however, that this Hep CD includes two Mildred tracks that are skipped from the Classics CD: "Now It Can Be Told" and "Love Is Where You Find It." This in intentional on the part of Classics. There is a rationale behind the omission. While Hep gives you all the masters that were recorded at the same Red Norvo session, Classics gives you only those session masters that were released under Red's name. Since "Now It Can Be Told" and "Love Is Where You Find It" were originally released under Mildred's name, you will find both numbers under a separate Classics CD series, exclusively dedicated to Mildred. 3. MOSAIC To find the 1938 Mildred-with-Red masters, check the 6th CD. They are all there, beginning with track #1 and ending on track #16. For Mildred completists and collectors, Mosaic's Complete Columbia Records set is the BEST of all four options because a) the sound quality is best. b) Mosaic includes all of Mildred's tracks with Red. (As already mentioned, Classics splits into two series, one dedicated to Red, the other to Mildred.) c) there are bonus tracks as well (four of them). If, on the other hand, you are more interested in Red than in Mildred, then the Classics and Hep CDs would be better options, because they are the ones that feature his instrumentals. Mosaic is all vocals. 4. DEFINITIVE All the aforementioned 1938 Mildred tracks can be found on this Public Domain label's Complete Columbia Recordings, Volume 2. The only exceptions are the bonus tracks: those are on the Mosaic boxed set only.
