The Mike Sammes Singers

A gentle selection of love songs by the British No 1 backing singers on hundreds maybe thousands of "POP" records in the 50's 60's 70's 80's....doing there own thing !!

1. Where Do I Begin

2. Scarborough Fair / Canticle

3. Close To You

4. Because You Are There

5. Pretty World

6. Night School

1. The Windmills Of Your Mind

2. Here's That Rainy Day

3. Spinning Wheel

4. Can't Think Of What To Say

5. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life

6. It's Impossible

          6. Night School

Barry Manilow

 Some great duets on this selection from Barry......Not to be mixed up by his "Dream Duets"

with which he sings with singers that have died...with the wizardry of technology this is of course is possible !...I have heard a couple of tracks from that one...If anyone has a link to that one be great to share it on this blog !!

1. You've Got A Friend....with Melissa Manchester

2. Hey Mambo....with Kid Creole and The Coconuts

3. Let Me Be Your Wings....with Debra Byrd

4. Cherish / Windy....The Association

5. Look To The Rainbow....Barbara Cook

6. Islands In The Stream....Reba McEntire

7. Big City Blues....with Mel Torme & Gerry Mulligan

8. On A Slow Boat To China....with Bette Midler

9. Run To Me.... with Dionne Warwick

10. Summertime.... with Diane Schuur & Stan Getz

11. Sincerely / Teach Me Tonight....with Phillis McGuire

12. Blue....with Sarah Vaughan

13. Now And Forever....with Sheena Easton

14. I Won't Be The One To Let Go....Barbra Streisand

15. The Last Duet....with Lily Tomlin

        11. Sincerely / Teach Me Tonight

Vic Damone

 Some very early Vic Damone from 1957....well before his MGM days....his voice is easily recognisable on the slow songs but on the other faster songs sounds like a different singer !!

          12. Simonetta

Max Bygraves & Ted Heath

 A nice pairing for some up to date 30's music

1. Is It True What They Say About Dixie

2. Underneath The Arches

3. Did You Ever See A Dream Walking

4. Ten Pretty Girls

5. It's A Sin To Tell A Lie

6. Oh Ma Ma

1. Happy Days And Lonely Nights

2. Lazybones

3. You're Driving Me Crazy

4. All I Do Is Dream Of You

5. Scatter Brain

6. When My Dream Boat Comes Home

          2. Lazybones

Cashman And West.

Don't know many people I know that have heard of "Cashman & West" They always say "Who!!

but the L/P is a good one with some very good catchy songs on it....No doubt there will be loads of people out there who have !!....To those who haven't heard of them give this one a listen to !! It's Excellent !!

1. Time Traveller
2. Will You Be My Lady
3. Let Your Feelings Go
4. Is It Raining In New York City
5. Mixed Emotions

1. Follow The Man With The Music
2. The Girl's Next Door
3. Somebody Stole The Sun
4. AM-FM Blues
5. The King Of Rock And Roll

          1. Follow The Man With The Music

101 Strings..The Soul Of Spain

Now off we go to Sunny Spain !!...with 101 violins & voices !!....Track titles may not be familiar but the music is !!

1. Malaguena

2. Domingo En Seville

3. Espana

1. Macarenas

2. La Violetera

3. Espana Cani

 

          

          1. Malaguena

Ceil Clayton

Once again here's a great singer & pianist that definatly comes under the obscure and neglected female singers category....Not very much info about her what there is is here !!

Born in New Bedford, Mass., Ceil Clayton - started in the entertainment business when she was 8, playing piano and singing on local radio stations. She studied music at the New England Conservatory in Boston. She moved in St. Louis after World War II and later became a featured performer at Mr. D's, a popular nightspot in the old Gaslight Square. She also recorded two albums there: "Ceil Clayton" and "Meet the Nicest People" in 60's.

She performed solo until the late 80's, when she hooked up with drummer Bill Schneider and bass player Bill Harper.

"Back in the '40s, '50s and '60's, jazzy chanteuses such as Ceil Clayton played to packed houses in the then-vibrant Gaslight Square district. The local legend's career lasted into the '80s, by which point Clayton was selling pianos and sheet music to supplement her income. One day, a twenty-year-old customer named Steve Schneider caught Clayton playing an in-store demo and asked to accompany her on "New York, New York." The pair hit it off instantly, and Clayton frequently asked Schneider to join her for various gigs around town. "I was a baby going to see her," Schneider, now 41, recalls. "She let me get my feet wet and get a taste of it. She could play anything." -- Mike Seely (Apr.16, 2003)

( Info From Steve Hoffman Music Forum )

          11. Baby Wont You Please Come Home

Tony Bennett.

 

An early Tony Bennett set of songs...this is one of his best L/P's in my opinion !!..Title Song is a "Corker"...doesn't get any better than that!!

1. The Good Life

2. If I Love Again

3. I Wanna Be Around

4. Love Look Away

5. Until I Met You

6. Lets Face The Music And Dance

1. Once Upon A Summertime

2. If You Were Mine

3. I Will Live My Life

4. Someone To Love

5. It Was Me

6. Quiet Nights

        3. I Wanna Be Around

Kiri Te Kanawa.

 

This one I have mixed feelings with....arrangements by "Nelson Riddle"..fantastic and Kiri sings in a lower key so she is not using her "Operatic" voice...on the whole it's a good set of standards the only thing is I wish she had "swung" it a bit more...that is a couple of tracks she does do just that but I would have liked her to do more....best track is "I didn't Know What Time It Was"

P.S. Just think what a good track "How High The Moon" might have been if Kiri had done an "Operatic Scat" ala "Ella"

1. Blue Skies
2. Speak Low
3. It Might As Well Be Spring
4. Here's That Rainy Day
5. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
6. Yesterdays

1. So In Love
2. How High The Moon
3. True Love
4. Gone With The Wind
5. When I Grow To Old To Dream
6. The Folks Who Live On The Hill

          5. I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Cher.

 Nice 70's album of Cher's best track is "Dixie Girl"...

P.S. Just seen "Cher" live on T/V tonight (That was in October 2013)...voice is still there and she still looks about the same as the picture above !!...39 years ago !!!

1. Train Of Thought
2. I Saw A Man He Danced With His Wife
3. Make The Man Love Me
4. Just What I've Been Lookin' For
5. Dark Lady

1. Miss Subway Of 1952
2. Dixie Girl
3. Rescue Me
4. What'll I Do
5. Apples Don't Fall far From The Tree

          2. Dixie Girl

Anita Meyer

So we have done the "Big West End Productions" and gone to "Broadway"..so now lets take it easy in a nice comfy seat in One of "London's" top Luxury Cinema's and listen to some "Theme Songs" from some Hit Films !!!....I like what she has done to "Love Story" !!...glad to hear she has put her own spin on the songs !!!

 Anita Meyer (Annita Meijer), born in Rotterdam 29 October 1954, is a Dutch singer. One of her most notable songs is "Why Tell Me Why" that charted for 14 weeks and topped the Dutch singles list for six weeks in 1981.

          3. Love Story

Camelot..Broadway Cast

It seems we are now across the pond !!...Wow! that was quick !!.....so we have the "Broadway Production "....once again only seen the film so comments would be cool from the people in the know !!

Pearl Bailey.

 Now here is a surprise to me that is !... I didn't realise that Pearl had such a good singing voice the other L/P that I have posted of her she more or less talks the songs but this one is a wow!!..she still does her talking on a couple of songs but on the whole its a good set of songs and I don't think I have heard a better version of "Here's That Rainy Day" !!

P.S. This one definatly gets the "Luigi's" seal of approval....anyone who likes classy female singers perfect diction and great arrangments this one is a must !!!

1. Here's That Rainy Day

2. They Long To Be Close To You

3. A House is Not a Home

4. If You Go Away

5. Watch What Happens

1. Supper Time

2. Its Impossible

3. This Is All I Ask

4. I Never Met A Stranger

5. Mama A Rainbow

          1. Here's That Rainy Day

Werner Muller & Orchestra.

 A very good "Big Band Sound"sound to this collection of Latin styled tracks...and in "Phase 4 Stereo" !!

1. Delicado
2. Light My Fire
3. The Girl From Ipanema 
4. Perfidia
5. Eso Es El Amor
6. Mambo Jambo

1. Mas 'Que Nada
2. El Cumbanchero
3. Solmente Lina Vez
4. Cumana
5. Amor Amor
6. A Banda

           6. Mambo Jambo

Bobby Darin

 Vintage Bobby Darin definitely has his "Pop" hat on in this selection of songs mostly written by himself...

 Bobby Darin had left Atco Records by the time Things & Other Things hit the shelves in mid-1962. But the artist's popularity would turn this seemingly monetarily-motivated odds and sods collection into a relatively successful package for the label. The dozen songs were taken from practically as many different sessions, some of which date back over a four-year span (1958-1961). 

1.Things

2. I'll Be There

3. Lost Love

4. Look For My True Love

5. Beachcomber (Instrumental)

6. Now Were One

1. You're Mine

2. Oo-Ee-Train

3. Jailer Bring Me Water

4. Nature Boy

5. Theme From Come September

6. Sorrow Tomorrow

      6. Now Were One

Acker Bilk

 Cool sounds now to keep the temperature cool from "Mr Liquorice Stick" himself ! with as it says a touch of Latin...a very smooth and enjoyable ride through the Latin rhythms...

         3. Frenesi

Easy Williams

 A singer on the turntable now...who definatley needs to be heard...not much info about her even with the strange first name you would have thought that they would have made some mark !

Easy Williams hits all the notes for me! I've listened to it in full (and finding songs on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. has proven completely fruitless.  She's got a similar sound to Julie London, which took me by surprise! Sexy, sensuous, and smoky. Less smoky than Julie, but it's definitely there! Not a bad song on the entire album. It looks like, from what I've been able to gather (and there's barely a thing out there on the internet about her) that this might have been her only album?..... ( Info Edited From Steve Hoffman Music Forums )...Thanks Nathan !

1. Easy Street

2. Where There's Smoke There's Fire

3. Mean To Me

4. Sometimes I'm Happy

5. Judy

6. Whisper on The Bayou

1. Easy Come Easy Go

2. I Wanna Be Loved

3. Your Not The Kind

4. Woman Needs So Little

5. Three Little Words

6. I'm a Dreamer Aren't we All

         6. I'm A Dreamer Aren't We All

Nina Simone

 Another singer that needs no introduction !....The title says it all !

1. Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin' You

2. Nobody's Fault But Mine

3. I Think Its Gonna Rain Today

4. Everyone's Gone To the Moon

5. Compensation

1. Who Am I

2. Another Spring

3. The Human Touch

4. I Get Along Without You Very Well

5. The Desperate Ones

          4. I Get Along Without You Very Well

The Beatles.

Not had the "Mop Heads" for a while !!...this photo on the L/P seems to tell why they got that "Nickname" !!....These tracks are pure Vintage "Lennon & McCartney" songs plus a few more !!....Missed out track "Everybody Wants To Be My Baby"....but it's now at the bottom !!

1. No Reply 
2. I'm A Loser
3. Baby's In Black
4. Rock And Roll Music
5. I'll Follow The Sun
6. Mr Moonlight
7. Kansas City

1. Eight Days A Week
2. Words Of Love
3. Honey Don't
4. Every Little Thing 
5. I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
6. What Your Doing
7. Everybody's Trying To be My Baby

          1. Eight Days a week