... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of Louie's greatest albums ever – a hard-swingin batch of vocal group tunes, with all the sound that made him famous! The album was cut at the height of Louie's career back in the 50s – with vocals by Keely Smith on 2 tracks, and backing by the tight combo of Sam Butera and The Witnesses. Tracks include the classic medley of "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody", plus classics like "The Lip", "Nothin's Too Good For My Baby", "Oh Marie", "Jump Jive & Wail", and "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Louis Prima's greatest albums! The cover has a photo of Louie singing to a moose (wildest, get it!) – and that image really sets the tone for the album, which is a classic batch of swinging vocal numbers recorded with Keely Smith in tow, and backing by Sam Butera & The Witnesses. Titles include "Blow Red Blow", "The Pump Song", "When You're Smiling/Sheik Of Araby", "Birth Of the Blues", "Closest To The Bone", and "Pennies From Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

Louis Prima and Keely Smith are splitsville by the time of this album – but the set features Louis introducing his new female co-star, Gia Maione – with backing by Sam Butera & The Witnesses! The groove is similar to the other Capitol classics – but the set is much more obscure! LP, Vinyl record album

A well-remembered soundtrack – and one that's had almost as much appreciation as a record as folks have given the film! If you've seen the movie, you know that the music's a big part of the story – not just the key cuts by Louis Prima, but also the Italian tracks that were less known to American audiences, and which really help give the record some depth! Gary DeMichele composed some original music for the score – but the best tracks here might be the vocal ones – titles that include "Buona Sera", "Five Months Two Weeks Two Days", and "Oh Marie" by Louis Prima – plus "Love Of My Life" by Louis Prima & Keely Smith, "Don't Take Your Love From Me" by Keely Smith, "Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney, "Stornelli Amorisi" and "Tic Ti Tic Ta" by Claudio Villa, and "Il Pescivendolo" and "Mo Ve'La Bella Mia Da La Muntagna" by Matteo Salvatore. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Frank Froeba & His Swing Band, Louis Prima & His New Orleans Gang, Frankie Newton & His Uptown Serenaders, The Three Peppers, Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Clarence Profit Trio, and Bunny Berigan & His Boys. LP, Vinyl record album

Trumpter Charlie Shavers found plenty of fame in Paris during the postwar years – just the right sort of audience to appreciate his blend of trad inspirations and more contemporary swing! And this album's a perfect example of the Shavers style that shone so brightly at the time – bold, well-blown trumpet in the lead, sometimes mixed with vocals that almost echo a Louis Prima mode, but with a bit more of a broken-down Jack Teagarden feel, too. The tunes are short, but pack plenty of punch – and titles include "The Man With A Horn", "Back Home Again In Indiana", "Fly Me To The Moon", "But Beautiful", "Ja Da", and "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album by Keely Smith – Louis Prima's one-time wife and classic singing partner, working here on her own! Swingin Pretty features arrangements by Nelson Riddle – showcasing Keely as a great singer in her own right, able to work in that sophisticated jazz-based style that you'd find with the best Capitol singers, like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, or Nat King Cole. Titles include "It's Magic", "Indian Love Call", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Stormy Weather", and "There Will Never Be Another You". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album by Keely Smith – Louis Prima's one-time wife and classic singing partner, working here on her own! Politely features arrangements by Billy May, showcasing Keely as a great singer in her own right, able to work in that sophisticated jazz-based style that you'd find with the best Capitol singers, like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, or Nat King Cole. Titles include "Cocktails For Two", "The Song Is You", "I Can't Get Started", "S'Posin", "I Never Knew", and "All The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer tribute to 52nd street – filled with vintage recordings from the 78rpm era by artists that include Ella Logan, The Spirits Of Rhythm, Eddie Condon, Stuff Smith, Wingy Manone, Red Allen, Louis Prima, Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, John Kirby, Bud Freeman, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others. LP, Vinyl record album

The "shellac dust" in the title will let you know what sort of territory you're in here – Christmas songs that go way way back, to the glory days of the 78rpm single, served up in a host of jazz and vocal modes! The set features a fair bit of tracks from the prewar years, and although some of the song titles are familiar, the choice of cuts is unique – so that you'll hear a fair bit of unusual readings of Christmas classics – all of which makes for a package that really lives up to other Bear Family Holiday sets that we've been digging for years! LP version features 14 tracks in all – and titles include "Snow Ball" by Louis Armstrong, "Peace Sister Peace" by Monette Moore & The Ebonaires, "Jingle Bells" by Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke, "And The Angels Sing" by Count Basie with Helen Humes, "What Will Santa Claus Say" by Louis Prima, "Blow Blow Thou Winter Winds" by Bob Crosby with Marion Mann, "Let It Snow" by The Ramblers Orchestra, "Santa's Secret" by Johnny Guarnieri with Slam Stewart, "Ring Dem Bells" by Charlie Barnet, "Christmas Night In Harlem" by Paul Whiteman with Jack Teagarden, "There's Frost On The Moon" by Chick Webb with Ella Fitzgerald, "Bells Of Auld Lang Syne" by Joel Cowan & Thornel Swartz, and "Santa Claus Came In The Spring" by Putney Dandridge. LP, Vinyl record album

The gentler side of Keely Smith – recorded here away from Louis Prima in a warmly sweet style that reminds us that she's a heck of a great singer on her own! The album features some top-shelf backings by Nelson Riddle, who gives Keely the kind of sensitive interpretations that he brought to his Sinatra albums for Capitol during the 50s – a style that makes the session way more than just a simple batch of pop tunes and ballads, and places Keely right up there with some of the best interpreters of American song at the time. Most of the tunes are standards, done in Riddle's lightly jazzy way – and titles include "Imagination", "I Wish You Love", "When You're Alone", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "Mr Wonderful", "When Day Is Done", and "When Your Lover Has Gone". LP, Vinyl record album