''Penthouse Serenade'' is an instrumental jazz quartet album by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. It was released initially as a 10-inch LP in September, 1952, on Capitol Records. An expanded (12 track) version was reissued in 1955 and a 19 track version (13-19 being vocal tracks) was reissued in 1998.

Track listing

''original 1952 10 inch LP album release:'' #"Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)" (Val Burton, Will Jason) – 3:06 #"

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 ...

" (

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 Recor ...

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 ...

) – 3:03 #" Laura" ( Johnny Mercer,

David Raksin David Raksin (August 4, 1912 – August 9, 2004) was an American composer who was noted for his work in film and television. With more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music ...

) – 2:43 #" Once in a Blue Moon" (

Anne Caldwell Anne Marsh Caldwell (August 30, 1867 – October 22, 1936), also known as Anne Caldwell O'Dea, was an American playwright and lyricist. She wrote both pop songs and Broadway shows, sometimes working with composer Jerome Kern. Biography Anne Ma ...

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 ove ...

''based on Rubenstein's Melody In F)'' – 2:55 #"

Polka Dots and Moonbeams "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, published in 1940. It was Frank Sinatra's first hit recorded with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. The song is one of the top 100 most-frequently r ...

" ( Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:03 #"

Down by the Old Mill Stream "Down by the Old Mill Stream" is a song written by Tell Taylor. It was one of the most popular songs of the early 20th century. The publisher, Forster Music Publisher, Inc., sold 4 million copies. Background The song was written in 1908 while T ...

" ( Tell Taylor) – 2:18 #" If I Should Lose You" (

Ralph Rainger Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films. Biography Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...

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 Academy Award for Best Original Song, Oscar-winning song "Thanks for t ...

) – 3:11 #"

Rose Room "Rose Room", also known as "In Sunny Roseland", is a 1917 jazz standard, music by Art Hickman, lyrics by Harry Williams. It is almost always performed as an instrumental. Composed at a time when the popularity of ragtime was fading in favor of t ...

" (

Art Hickman Arthur George Hickman (June 13, 1886 – January 16, 1930) was a drummer, pianist, and bandleader of one of the first big bands. Career Hickman founded a sextet in San Francisco in 1913. The band's first job was playing at training camp for the b ...

, Harry Williams) – 2:46 ''4 tracks added for the 1955 12 inch LP re-issue:'' #

I Surrender Dear "I Surrender Dear" (sometimes written as "I Surrender, Dear") is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with Bing Crosby in 1931, which became his first s ...

" (

Harry Barris Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use "scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby an ...

, Gordon Clifford) – 2:57 #" It Could Happen to You" (Burke, Van Heusen) – 2:46 #" Don't Blame Me" (

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, Ju ...

) – 3:02 #" Little Girl" (Francis Henry,

Harry Hyde Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired t ...

) – 1:48 ''additional bonus tracks added to later 1998 CD release:'' #

"I Surrender Dear" (Barris, Clifford) (alt. take) – 3:00 #" Walkin' My Baby Back Home" ( Fred E. Ahlert,

Roy Turk Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

) – 2:11 #" Too Marvelous for Words" ( Johnny Mercer, Richard Whiting) – 1:53 #" Too Young" ( Sylvia Dee,

Sidney Lippman Sidney Lippman (March 1, 1914 – March 11, 2003) was a composer and songwriter. He wrote the music for Nat King Cole's 1951 No. 1 hit "Too Young". "Too Young (popular song), Too Young's" words were written by Sylvia Dee, a lyricist and longtim ...

) – 2:32 #"That's My Girl" ( Duke Ellington, Barbara Tobias) – 1:45 #"

It's Only a Paper Moon "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. Background It was originally titled "If You Believed in Me", but later went by the more popular title "It's On ...

" ( Harold Arlen,

Yip Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...

, Billy Rose) – 2:09 #" Unforgettable" (

Irving Gordon Irving Gordon (February 14, 1915 – December 1, 1996) was an American songwriter. Biography Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family, and later lived on Coney Island. He was named Israel Goldener but later changed his na ...

) – 3:05

Personnel

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* John Collins -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Jack Costanzo -

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

, congas * Charlie Harris - bass * Norris "Bunny" Shawker - drums *

Lee Young Leonidas Raymond Young (March 7, 1914 – July 31, 2008) was an American jazz drummer and singer. His musical family included his father Willis Young and his older brother, saxophonist Lester Young. In 1944 he played with Norman Granz's fir ...

- drums ;Production * Lee Gillette - producer *

Michael Cuscuna Michael Cuscuna (born September 20, 1949 in Stamford, Connecticut, United States) is an American jazz record producer and writer. He is the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records. Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and ...

- reissue producer *

Will Friedwald Will Friedwald (born September 16, 1961) is an American author and music critic. He has written for newspapers that include the ''Wall Street Journal'', ''New York Times'', ''Village Voice'', '' Newsday'', '' New York Observer'', and ''New Yor ...

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

References

*''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'' album review link*

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

94504 1952 albums Nat King Cole albums Capitol Records albums {{1950s-pop-album-stub