Eddie Maynard, His Orchestra and Chorus--Fabulous 50's (Promenade 2084; 1957 or 1958)

A Promenade LP featuring an overview of the 1950s, credited to bandleader Eddie Maynard, but with no Eddie Maynard to be heard--the usual cheap-label game.  Well, unless that's Eddie on the cover, which I doubt.  For once, we have a budget LP model holding, not major-label LPs, but albums from the very budget label itself--smart move.  And that colorful dress--wow.  If not for the input of blog friend Diane, I wouldn't have noticed the fish swimming through the pattern.  (I hope they weren't the biting kind.)

So, my job was to figure out where these tracks, issued in 1957 or 1958, originally came from.  And I knew the release year for this was 1957 or 1958 because the liner notes refer to the 50s as "not yet completed" and mention a "man made satellite" (Sputnik or Explorer?) as a new item.  From the notes: "(The 50's) are the years that saw a Republican Administration replace a long-incumbent Democratic one.  Progress in Atomic Research to such an extent that it might prevent us all from witnessing 'The Stupid Sixties.'  Atomic Research devoted to the ways of peace could however change our out-look on this approaching era to such an extent that certainly the 60's will be called 'Stupendous.'"  Lousy liner notes, but at least Promenade provided something in that area.  With some social commentary, too.  As we know, the cheapos usually used the back jackets to plug their catalog, so I can't be too hard on the essay.

Anyway, I figured these were all Prom/Promenade tracks (Homes-level deduction, there), and I was mostly correct.  The big exception: Because of You, sung by the famous Perry-Como-soundalike vocalist Johnny Kay, best known for his SPC Christmas tracks.  From the Internet Archive:

Finding this was pure luck.  Since the singer sounded so much like Johnny Kay, I plugged "Johnny Kay" and "Because of You" into the IA, and up popped this.  And it's the LP track!  "Popular Records" is totally new to me (not to be confused with the "Popular" Extended Play Records series), and I figure it was either 1) a Synthetic Plastics Co. sublabel to begin with or 2) was bought up by SPC after it tanked.  And it seems to have been related to a "Cameo" label, and not the well-known one, or I would have dispensed with the quotes.  The Milton Herbert Orchestra--a pseudonym for Eddie Maynard?  (Just kidding.)

I suspect that Cry also features the Milton Herbert Orch., but unfortunately that single isn't at IA, though it's available at eBay for $20 (the dealer offered me a special price).  But I'm afraid the mystery isn't worth $20 to solve, so we'll just have to wonder who's doing the crying here.  It's not Loren Becker--I found his version on YouTube, and it's a blatant (and very good) imitation of Johnny Ray, which this version isn't.  But the others, I nailed.  (UPDATE--9/16/20: This version of Cry is by Larry Foster, backed by the Preston Sandiford Orchestra on Cameo Records 323.  Cameo seems to have been in the same label group as Popular Records.)

Why Promenade didn't use Loren Becker's version is a major mystery, and it should have us wondering whether maybe Columbia decided to threaten Prom over its deft copy of Johnny Ray and the Four Lads.  Could that be?  Columbia may have sent a nasty-gram threatening a day in civil court, and a lawsuit would certainly have sunk SPC's record division/laundry closet.  ("Your sound-alikes are sounding too alike.  Tread softly or we'll sink you.  Yours sincerely, Columbia Records.")  Hence, the non-Becker version included here.  Or maybe someone just screwed up during the mastering of this.  That's probably closer to what happened.

The others are Prom and Promenade label jobs, and I've given all the correct info in my mp3 tags and in the listing below.  The only other one I'm not sure about (pretty sure, but not totally) is Young Love, which I suspect is Larry Star on Promenade HIT 7, which isn't in my collection, oddly enough. It's always the one you're looking for that you don't have.  How does that work?

And I'm trying to remember--was the 60's "Stupid" or "Stupendous"?  Did we blow ourselves up?  Hm.  I can't remember.  Anyway, I recall we used words like "Mod," "Groovy," "Happening," "Socially Conscious," etc. to describe the deccenium.

Very good sound on this cheap-vinyl pressing.  I guess they were too pressed for time to muck up the sound with tons of reverb or some other crime to audio.





DOWNLOAD: Eddie Maynard, His Orch. and Chorus--Fabulous 50's (Promenade 2084)



Here in My Heart--Loren Becker w. Enoch Light Orch. (Prom)
Because of You--Johnny Kay w. Milton Herbert Orch. (Popular Records)
Young Love--Larry Star (Promenade HIT 7)?
That's Amore--Artie Malvin w. Bobby Byrne Orch. (Prom; 1952)
Make Love to Me--Betty Glenn w. Enoch Light Orch. (Prom)
Till Then--Brigadiers Vocal Quartet, w. Prom Orch. (Prom; 1954)
Cry--Unknown Larry Foster w. Preston Sandiford Orch.
Earth Angel--The Rockets, The Prom Orch. (Prom, 1955)
Outside of Heaven--Loren Becker, w. Enoch Light Orch. and Chorus (Prom)
Jamaica Farewell--Jim Galdys, w. the Promenade Orch. and Chorus (Promenade)
Heartbreak Hotel--Bill Marine, Maury Laws Orch. and Chorus (Prom)



Lee

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