St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1959-11-27
THE WEEK
IN RECORDS
By ALBERT ANDERSON
Drummer Man Turns Singer


think so. Recently I overheard an
opinion expressed on this move
ment-it has long since ceased to
be a trend-and IT was not at all
complimentary. In most cases, the
Just doesn't pos
sess THAT VOICE.
This observation was brought on
by a 12-inch LIP just out, entitled
THE VOICE IS RICH" featuring
Buddy Rich fronting his orchestra
and singing IL favorites Of other
years. Buddy, as you no doubt
know, is a jack of all trades, en-
tertainment-wise. Once an actor
vaudeville, movies and TV); lead
er of his own band in the early
jazz era and subsequently small
units, Rich, in the jazz picture,
stands out chiefly for his work on
the skins. Yet it seems he must
have acclaim as singer.
This is not Rich's first expert
ment with vocalizing. He was on
LIP before with something called
BUDDY RICH SINGS" But this
waxing for Mercury seems a better
effort and thus will decide whether
he is an also-ran, or a conner. His
choice of material is good -
DOWN THE OLD OK ROAD"
(from an early Bing Crosby finn ;
BORN TO BE BLUE" I'VE
HEARD THAT SONG BEFORE"
II WANT A LITTLE GIRL" (rem-
iniscent of Jimmy Rushing); II
CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING
BUT LOVE-" YOU'VE CHANG
ED" ME AND MY SHADOW
"a la Ted Lewis), WHEN THE
WORLD WAS YOUNG" IT'S
BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME"
IT DON'T WANT TO WALK
WITHOUT YOU, BABY" and
BACK IN YOUR OWN BACK
YARD"
However, individual taste will de-
eide whether Buddy makes the
grade or founders. Personally,
rather think of him as drummer.
band leader. He fits there well. In
cidentally the sound reproduction
is tops.
Dinah Scores Again
Dinah Washington, who recently
has been turning out hit tunes
with production-line regularity, has
still another one going strong for
her on Mercury. This time, how,
ever, it is an entire LIP, instead
of a single. Entitled WHAT A
DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES
1.-THE title of her juke box hi
single), featured are IL slow
ballads sung in the warm, solicit,
uous style which distinguishes
Dinah. No blues in her repertoire
but that hardly makes a difference
as the songs treated here are al
appealing. II Won't Cry Any More
(another juke hit) seems to rival
the title tune. Also, this waxing Is
better than Dina's previous release
THE QUEEN, same label, al
though both are good.
Worried Blues
The Kingston Trio earned it's
reputation singing country songs
with a novelty twist. The singers
are also fine showmen. On their
latest Capitol effort, they are again
in top form as they sing their cur
rent hit, "a WORRIED MAN"
and IL other ballads, some such as
Across the Wide Missouri" and
The Unfortunate Miss Bailey"
AS might be expected, the trio is
bounding with energy on this LIP,
called HERE WE GO AGAIN,
which comes in both monaural and
stereo. If you like folk songs that
are bouncey, then you'll enjoy this
entry by this popular group.
Singlewise, the Platters are out
with an offering called What
Does 1t Matter" Flip, my Secret, /"
for Mercury which is solid. Both
songs are sung in the ballad-with-
a-bit fashion so characteristic of
the Platters, with the Eddie Beal
orchestra giving a big assist. If
not a hit, this one should hold the
Platters until another big one
comes their way.
Next week, the column will pre-
sent a special review of Handers
Messiah on Columbia label.