Voices in Motion (176)

Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft, and this time around, it's Voices in Motion.

[00:03:17]
Jason Croft: Welcome to the Atomic Age Cocktail Par[ty,] featuring music from the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond. Randy Van Horn and his Swinging Choir there, and a really fun take on the standard from George Gershwin and [Buddy DeSylva] from 1922, "Do It Again." That's from the 1958 release Clef Dwellers there from Randy Van Horn, and he and his singers, one of the more well-known vocal groups of the hi-fi era. They sang several of the theme songs for famous Hanna-Barbera cartoons and were the regular backing singers for Juan García Esquivel.

And this week we're all about those great vocal harmony groups and background singers of the atomic age. All those recordings that highlighted tight harmonies and snappy arrangements. There's just something so charming about all those voices in unison, singing and swinging the old standards. It's the sound that really put the cool in the cocktail cool style of the atomic age.

In this hour, it's a deep dive into the many different vocal groups and their various styles, including some of the big names they worked with. Right now, it's the great bandleader Stan Kenton, along with the Modern Men and their version of "Dancing in the Dark." And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.


[00:11:55]
Jason Croft: It's music that makes hi-fi's happy. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft. Voices in Motion is our show this week. We're putting the spotlight on all the vocal groups of the hi-fi era — those who were named and those who provided their talents in the background.

And they're possibly the biggest name when it came to backing singers: Anita Kerr and her quartet doing the Henry Mancini movie theme "Charade." Anita Kerr and her vocal groups were some of the most in-demand singers for recordings during the era, especially with those making records in Nashville and Los Angeles. And at one time in the early 1960s, you could hear her voice on about a quarter of all songs recorded in Nashville studios. Yeah.

What we heard was from the Grammy Award-winning album *We Dig Mancini* from 1965. Now, besides recording under her own name, Anita Kerr also was the head of other groups like the Mexicali Singers and the Living Voices. And we featured the latter there in that set. That was the number "Ramblin' Rose" from 1963's *Living Voices Sing Ramblin' Rose and Other Hits*, where Anita Kerr did the arranging and conducting for the group, with that Nashville sound there in full effect.

And we started that set with Stan Kenton with the Modern Men and "Dancing in the Dark." This is a classic number from Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz from the 1931 Broadway revue *The Band Wagon*. The version we had was from the album *Kenton with Voices* from 1957. Now, the Modern Men were a quartet discovered by Kenton, who were modeled after the smooth harmonies of the [Four Freshmen,] but unfortunately, this was the only album the Modern Men appeared on.

Voices in Motion is our show this week, a look at the various vocal harmony groups of the hi-fi era. And here's a group with something to say about what they thought was the end of a certain musical fad. It's the Eddie Thomas Singers and "The Bossa Nova's Over," and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.


[00:21:45]
Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. Voices in Motion is our show this time around. A deep dive into many of the great vocal groups and background singers of the hi-fi era — those specializing in tight harmonies and swinging arrangements.

That was the Modern Airs and "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me." That's from their 1960 record *Like Swung.* Well, if that melody sounds familiar to you, well, that's [Neal Hefti's] "Little Darling." The song "Little Darling" was actually given lyrics by [Jon Hendricks] first in 1958, and then a year later, a guy by the name of Bart Howard rewrote totally different lyrics and rechristened the song "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me." And that's what we heard.

Before that, Mr. Yakety Sax himself, [Boots] Randolph, along with the Knightsbridge Strings and Voices, taking on the Tom Jones hit "It's Not Unusual" — replacing that Tom Jones swagger with a nice bit of cocktail breeze. That was from 1967.

And we started that set with the Eddie Thomas Singers and their proclamation, "The Bossa Nova's Over." This is from their self-titled album from 1968, which was their second and final release. Their other one was from 1961, so they pretty much bridged the classical vocal group era.

And vocal harmony groups and background singers of the hi-fi era are what we're spotlighting this week. And here's a classic from the pen of Johnny Mercer and Rube Bloom, in the hands of Don Costa and company. It's "Day In, Day Out," and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

[00:31:56]
Jason Croft: Thanks for tuning in. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. Voices in Motion is our show this week. We're looking at vocal harmony groups and background singers from the hi-fi era. All those great voices that made atomic age songs even cooler.

A great example there from the Ray Charles Singers and "Volare." And no, we're not talking about the famous R&B singer. This Ray Charles was the arranger and conductor whose singers were mostly associated as the backing group for Perry Como. But the singers also put out many albums of their own, including 1962's *Rome Revisited,* where what we heard came from.

We also had Voices in Motion with their lush version of "Ebb Tide" — and yes, this group is the group that gave us the title for this week's program. The group was conducted by [Simon Rady,] who was a bandleader and record label executive who worked a lot with Bing Crosby on his records. This is Voices in Motion's only release. It was a self-titled album that came out in 1961.

And we kicked off that set with Don Costa and the standard "Day In, Day Out" — a nice example of the wordless vocal style of singing that was very popular at the time, having the voice work as another instrument in the arrangement. Now, the group that was on this record was unnamed, as many backing singers were, but they really brought out something special in that number. This is from the album *Echoing Voices and Trombones* from 1960.

Voices in Motion is the show this week, and one of the vocal groups that really stood out during the hi-fi era was the Swingle Singers out of the UK. Whereas most groups rooted their music in jazz or popular standards, these folks took the classical music route. Here they are with "Presto," and it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.


[00:42:41]
Jason Croft: Voices in Motion is our show this week here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party, with the focus on vocal harmony groups and background singers of the hi-fi era.

The Les Baxter Orchestra right there and "These Foolish Things Remind Me of You," a song originally from 1935. What we heard was from the 1962 album *Voices in Rhythm.* And yes, lots of swinging rhythm in that number. Mr. Les Baxter showing off his talent arranging and conducting some nice, straight-ahead standards.

We also had the Si Zentner Orchestra with the Johnny Mann Singers and "Am I Blue," just sounding as cool as you could be — mixing some wordless vocal stylings in there as well. The Johnny Mann Singers, another one of the big vocal harmony groups of the era. They had several albums on their own, did a few with Si Zentner and a handful with Bobby Vee. What we had was from the release *Great Band with Great Voices* from 1961.

Bob Thompson, his chorus and orchestra, also in that set — that was ["Joie de Vivre"] from the 1960 album [*Mm-m Nice.*] Some great space-age pop going on there. Now, for those keeping track, one of the singers in the chorus was a woman by the name of Marni Nixon, who was one of Hollywood's best-known ghost singers. She, in secret and uncredited, would dub the vocals for actresses whose musical chops may not [have] been up to snuff. She sang in place of Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood, and Audrey Hepburn, just to name a few.

And we start[ed] with the Swingle Singers — named after the man who founded the group, Ward Swingle — and "Presto" from their 1966 record *Rococo à Go Go.* I just love that title. That number is the group's reworking of German Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann's Sonata No. 4. Yeah, mixing classical music with their vocal styles was always their thing. Technically, they are still around, although all the original members and the founder are long gone.

Well, you're listening to the Atomic Age Cocktail Party, celebrating the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond. If you like what you're listening to, don't forget to stop by our website at atomicagecocktailparty.com for playlists, show archives, and a lot more. If you have any show ideas or comments, you can get a hold of us there as well.[atomicagecocktailparty.com.

One more set of music left in our Voices in Motion program, and here's another top-tier singing group of the era. It's the Ray Conniff Singers and "Let's Put Out the Lights and Go to Sleep." And they're right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.


[00:54:51]
Jason Croft: Wrapping up our Voices in Motion program here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party, taking a look at the many great vocal harmony groups and background singers of the hi-fi era.

We just heard the great Count Basie and the Alan Copeland Singers and "Candy." Very sweet indeed. This comes from the album Basie Swingin', Voices Singin' from 1966.

The Billy Vaughn Singers before that, and the easy listening standard "A Man and a Woman" from the 1967 record *Sweet Maria.* Besides putting out several of their own albums in the 1960s, they also worked with folks like Pat Boone and Tab Hunter.

The Enoch Light Singers were also in there with "A Man Without Love." This is later from Enoch Light's career, when he was releasing music off the Project 3 label. But a lot of his old Command Records musical pals were still helping him out, like Tony Mottola and Phil Bodner. This is from *Wherever You Are, I Love You* from 1968, one of only two albums put out under the Enoch Light Singers' name.

And we started with a quirky one from the Ray Conniff Singers. That was "Let's Put Out the Lights and Go to Sleep," a number written in 1932 by Herman Hupfeld, who also wrote the classic "As Time Goes By." What a fun little number we just heard. And the Ray Conniff Singers [are] one of the biggest names when it came to recording easy listening and middle-of-the-road albums from the late 1950s through the 1960s. What we heard was from the 1959 release *It's the Talk of the Town.*

Well, that just about does it for our show this week. Make sure you're here again for more fun from the golden age of the hi-fi and beyond. Gonna leave you with one more. It's the tune "That's Life," made famous by Frank Sinatra. This version is from a group called Voices in Love, from their 1968 release, *The Voices in Love Chorus.* Until next time, this is Jason Croft saying: Keep swinging.


[00:58:56]
Jason Croft: The Atomic Age Cocktail Party is a production of Illinois Public Media.