''Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones'' is a 1956 album by
The Four Freshmen
The Four Freshmen is an American male vocal quartet that blends open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, and The Mel-Tones, founded in the barbershop tradition. The singers accom ...
"It reached number six nationally and resided on the charts for over eight months."
It was the first album bought by
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
, who would be greatly influenced by the Four Freshmen when starting
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
.
Later, the Four Freshmen were acclaimed as "the most innovative and imitated jazz vocal quartet ever to grace vinyl". Straddling vocal jazz and pop music, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Jazz Hall of Fame in 2001.
The album was rereleased as one of two
LPs on one CD.
Track list
# “
Angel Eyes” (
Matt Dennis
Matthew Loveland Dennis (February 11, 1914 – June 21, 2002) was an American singer, pianist, band leader, arranger, and writer of music for popular songs.
Biography
Dennis was born in Seattle, Washington, United States. His mother was a violi ...
, Earl Brent) – 3:32
# “
Love Is Just around the Corner "Love Is Just Around the Corner" is a popular song with music by Lewis E. Gensler and lyrics by Leo Robin, published in 1934. It was introduced in the 1934 Bing Crosby film ''Here is My Heart'' and was also included in the 1935 film ''Millions in th ...
” (Lewis Gensler,
Leo Robin
Leo Robin (April 6, 1900 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope and Shirl ...
) – 2:00
# “
Mam'selle "Mam'selle" is a bittersweet song about a ''rendez-vous'' with a "mam'selle" ('' mademoiselle'') in a small café. The music was written by Edmund Goulding, the lyrics by Mack Gordon.
The song originally appeared in the movie, ''The Razor's Edge'' ...
” (
Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...
,
Mack Gordon
Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American composer and lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years betwee ...
) – 3:03
# “
Speak Low
"Speak Low" (1943) is a popular song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Ogden Nash.
Background
It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the Broadway musical ''One Touch of Venus'' (1943). The 1944 hit single was by Guy Lombardo and ...
” (
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...
,
Ogden Nash
Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's best ...
) – 3:06
# “
The Last Time I Saw Paris
''The Last Time I Saw Paris'' is a 1954 American Technicolor romantic drama made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story " Babylon Revisited." It was directed by Richard Brooks, produced by Jack Cummings ...
” (
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...
,
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...
) – 2:40
# “
Somebody Loves Me
"Somebody Loves Me" is a popular song, with music written by George Gershwin, and lyrics by Ballard MacDonald and Buddy DeSylva. The song was published in 1924 and featured in ''George White's Scandals'' of 1924.
This is not to be confused with ...
(
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
,
Ballard MacDonald
Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley.
Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...
,
Buddy DeSylva
George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Re ...
) – 2:06
# “
You Stepped Out of a Dream
"You Stepped Out of a Dream" is a popular song with music written by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Gus Kahn that was published in 1940. The song has become a pop and jazz standard, with many recorded versions.
It was a centerpiece in the 1941 mu ...
” (
Nacio Herb Brown
Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American songwriter, writer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work ...
,
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...
) – 2:17
# “
I Remember You” (
Victor Schertzinger
Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930 in film, 1930), ''Something to Sing About (1937 fil ...
,
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...
) – 3:10
# “Love” (
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane (July 26, 1914 – November 13, 1995) was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.
Life and career
Blane was born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He attended Tulsa Central High School. He studied singing with ...
,
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garland ...
) – 2:45
# “
Love Is Here to Stay
"Love Is Here to Stay" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin for the movie ''The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938).
History
"Love Is Here to Stay" was first performed by Kenny Baker in ''The Goldwy ...
” (George Gershwin,
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...
) – 3:12
# “
You Made Me Love You” (
James V. Monaco
James Vincent Monaco (January 13, 1885 – October 16, 1945) was an Italian-born American composer of popular music.
Life and career
Monaco was born in Formia, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States when he was six, and he grew up i ...
,
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
) – 2:14
# “
Guilty
Guilty or The Guilty may refer to:
* Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard
Law
*Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction
*Guilt (law) ...
” (
Richard A. Whiting,
Harry Akst
Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011
: Don Barbour,
Ross Barbour,
Bob Flanigan, Ken Errair – vocals
*
Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist.
Biography
Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, Gen ...
,
Harry Betts
Harry Betts (September 15 1922 – July 13 2012) was an American jazz trombonist.
Background
Born in New York and raised in Fresno, California, he was active as a jazz trombonist and played with Stan Kenton's orchestra in the 1950s. He can be hea ...
,
Milt Bernhart
Milt Bernhart (May 25, 1926 – January 22, 2004) was a West Coast jazz trombonist who worked with Stan Kenton, Frank Sinatra, and others. He supplied the solo in the middle of Sinatra's 1956 recording of ''I've Got You Under My Skin'' conducted ...
,
Tommy Pederson
Pullman Gerald "Tommy" Pederson (August 15, 1920 – January 16, 1998) was an American trombonist and composer known for his work in jazz, big band, and classical genres.
Career
Pederson performed and recorded with big bands and artists that ...
,
George Roberts – trombone
*
Claude Williamson
Claude Berkeley Williamson (November 18, 1926 – July 16, 2016) was an American jazz pianist.
Williamson was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music before moving to jazz, influenced mai ...
– piano
*
Barney Kessel
Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...
– guitar
*
Joe Mondragon
Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist.
Early life
Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin.
Career ...
– bass
*
Shelly Manne
Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...
– drums
*
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer.
Life and career
Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...
– arrangements
References
{{Authority control
1956 albums
The Four Freshmen albums
Capitol Records albums
Albums arranged by Pete Rugolo