Session 55
The Stories Behind the Songs
by Les Brown Jr.
"Floatin’ "
Arranger/Composer: Bob Higgins.
This was originally written and recorded in the late 1940’s. We brought
Bob Higgins out of retirement to write the chart again for this CD because
it was lost. The tenor solo is by Rusty Higgins (no relation) and the
dueling trumpets are Don Clarke and Don Smith in that order.
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"They Can’t Take That
Away From Me"
Arranger: J. Hill.
We thought this tune would be perfect for our guest vocalist, Lou Rawls
and he proved us right. A great J. Hill chart and the tasty trumpet work
of Don Clarke cap off Lou’s imaginative interpretation of this wonderful
Gershwin song.
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"I’m Forever Blowing
Bubbles".
Arranger: Frank Comstock
Frank Comstock wrote this timeless arrangement for the band in the early
1950’s. It has remained a favorite with the dancers ever since. Solos
are by Mike Melvoin, piano, Don Clarke, trumpet, and Rusty Higgins, tenor
sax.
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"Drop Me Off In
Harlem"
Arranger: Les Brown
Dad had always liked this Duke Ellington melody but hadn’t thought of it
until one night, his house guest George Shearing played it on one of his
frequent visits. George’s interpretation so impressed Dad (as it usually
did) he asked him if he could write down the progressions to write a chart
for the band. This is the result of that visit. Thank you George.
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"Ain’t She Sweet"
Arranger: Van Alexander.
This tune certainly predates all of us but still works as a swing/dance
tune. Van is one of the all time great swing arrangers and was one of the
staff arrangers on the Dean Martin television show with the Band of
Renown. The soloists are Don Clarke on trumpet and Rusty Higgins on tenor
sax.
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"If Dreams Come
True"
Arranger: Frank Comstock.
Edgar Sampson wrote the melody probably some time in the twenties. The
first time the band started playing it was in the late1940’s when Geoff
Clarkson, the band’s piano player wrote a one-chorus chart that allowed
the various soloists to stretch out a little. They usually used it to end
the evening. When dad and I were going over titles for this project I
remembered it as being a favorite of mine and we asked Frank to do a full
arrangement. The tenor soloist is again Rusty Higgins.
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"Mood Indigo"
Arranger: Frank Comstock.
We needed some slow dance titles for the album and this immediately came
to mind. Frank had done many charts for the band that featured the
"sound" consisting of the trumpets in Harmon mutes doubled by
the sub-tone trombones and guitar.
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"It Could Happen To
You"
Arranger: Frank Comstock.
Shortly after Don Clarke joined the band a couple of years ago, dad
commissioned Frank to write a piece where his remarkable talents could be
featured. It has been a showstopper ever since.
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"I Only Have Eyes For
You"
Arranger: J. Hill.
Lou Rawls again shows us his versatility with this standard. So many of
the great singers who came out of the big bands have left us, I would love
to hear Lou do a complete album with a big band to carry on the genre.
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"Bizet Has His Day"
Arranger: The late Ben Homer.
This arrangement was one of the band’s first hits in 1939. The fugue
opening has always caught people’s ears. Thanks to Mr. Bizet for the
original melody and thanks to Mr. Homer for such a clever adaptation.
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"String of Pearls"
Arranger: J. Hill.
During the 1950’s as the big bands started to thin out dad received more
and more requests for some of the other band’s hits. Jerry Gray’s
"String of Pearls" originally performed by the Glenn Miller band
was one of the most popular, so dad had chief arranger J. Hill arrange it
in the Band of Renown style. Solos: Rusty Higgins, tenor sax, Don Clarke,
trumpet, Don Shelton, alto sax, Chauncey Welsch, trombone, Beverly Dahlke-Smith,
baritone sax.
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"Undecided"
Arranger: Les Brown.
When I asked dad why he wrote this arrangement he told me that after
writing so many ballads and vocal backgrounds he wanted to see if he could
still write a swing chart. This proves he hasn’t lost his touch. Once a
swinger always a swinger! Solos: Don Clarke, flugel horn; Don Shelton,
Clarinet; Mike Melvoin, piano.
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"Bolero"
Arranger: Les Brown.
Dad had wanted to write this for the band for as long as he could
remember. He finally got around to it in 1992. This is the first studio
recording of the popular Ravel piece, which we have been playing in
concert for eight years to standing ovations.
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"Yo Henry"
Arranger/Composer: J. Hill.
J. wrote this original in the 1960’s as a tribute to Henry
"Butch" Stone who joined the band of renown in 1941. Butch, at
88, still appears with us doing his novelty/swing hits like "A Good
Man Is Hard To Find" and "I Got The Shiniest Mouth In Town"
and many others. During most of his tenure, Butch was the road
manager/mother hen for the band when we were on the road. He always called
the band to the bandstand or bus with "Yo, band". That was our
cue to pay attention, hence the title "Yo Henry". Solos: Don
Shelton, soprano sax; Don Clarke, flugel horn; Mike Melvoin, piano; and
Dave Tull, on the drum fills.
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"A Time to Smile"
Arranger: J. Hill.
The Band of Renown was featured on many shows throughout the heyday of
variety television. Fifty years as the music behind Bob Hope which
included 18 Christmas shows entertaining our servicemen overseas. Others
included The Steve Allen Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Best on Record
(which became the annual Grammy Awards), and nine seasons on The Dean
Martin Show. Every summer a different star would be chosen to host the
show while Dean would go on hiatus. Each year they would have a new theme
song written especially for that summer. This was one of those tunes. Dad
wrote the first eight bars and it was completed by pianist Geoff Clarkson
and J. Hill who wrote the arrangement. Solo: Rusty Higgins, tenor sax.
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"That Old Black
Magic"
Arranger: Frank Comstock.
This was a staple with the band in the 1950’s. I was looking through
some of the old scores one day and spotted it. I took it to dad and after
reviewing it asked me to have it recopied for the C.D. Solo: Jon Kurnick,
guitar.
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"Satin Doll"
Arranger: J. Hill.
A great Duke Ellington jazz classic that is a must in every dance band’s
book. Solos: Ernie Nunez, bass; Mike Melvoin, piano; Don Clarke, flugel
horn and trumpet; Rusty Higgins, tenor sax and Dave Tull drums.
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"Dansero"
Arranger: Wes Hensel.
Latin dances started becoming very popular in the late 1950’s so Wes
wrote this for the band and it has been in the book ever since.
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"Tenderly"
Arranger: J. Hill.
J. wrote this for the band in the 1970’s. Since that time it has become
a favorite at all our concerts. Here, we feature the artistry of one of
the most respected jazz pianists in the business, Mike Melvoin.
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"Old Man River"
Arranger: Skip Martin.
Here’s another one I dug out of the archives. In the 50’s the band
always ended each set with an up-tempo "flag waver" as we called
them. This was and still is one of our favorites. Solos: Don Clarke,
trumpet; Rusty Higgins, tenor sax; Mike Melvoin, piano and Dave Tull,
drums.
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"Leap Frog"
Arranger/Composer: Joe Garland.
Joe Garland gave the late Joe Glaser, who for many years managed and
booked the Band of Renown and Louis Armstrong, this arrangement in 1941
for the band’s review. After carrying it for about a year, dad finally
tried it one night in Washington, D.C. It was very well received by the
audience so Dad decided to make it his theme. The next engagement was
their first booking at the Palladium in Hollywood, Ca. The crowd there
seemed to like it too, so the band went into the studio and recorded it
for Columbia records while in California. The record was a hit. Joe
Garland went on to write probably the biggest hit of the big band era
"In the Mood". "Leap Frog" features Rusty Higgins on
the tenor sax and Dave Tull on the drums. |
