''Rosemary Clooney Sings the Music of Irving Berlin'' is a 1984

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

, of songs composed by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

and released on

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

label. Most of the album features Clooney singing with a small swing group directed by pianist John Oddo, though Clooney performs two of the selections ("Be Careful, It's My Heart" and "What'll I Do") as duets with guitarist

Ed Bickert Edward Isaac Bickert, (November 29, 1932 – February 28, 2019) was a Canadian guitarist who played mainstream jazz and swing music. Bickert worked professionally from the mid-1950s to 2000, mainly in the Toronto area. His international reputat ...

. The album is notable for the presence of

Kansas City jazz Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to the much more improvisational style of bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy tra ...

drummer Gus Johnson in the rhythm section. Johnson played with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

and the

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson (trumpeter), Bernard A ...

Orchestra, and replaced Clooney's regular drummer

Jake Hanna Jake Hanna (April 4, 1931 – February 12, 2010) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States. Hanna first performed in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the house drummer at Storyville nightclub in Boston, ...

. Johnson is teamed with bassist Phil Flanigan, who was at the time a regular member of Scott Hamilton's band (which specialized in pre-World War II swing styles).

Chris Flory Chris Flory (born November 13, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. Flory began playing professionally in Providence, Rhode Island, in the 1970s. He played with Benny Goodman from 1979 to 1985, toured throughout China in 1992, and among his othe ...

, also a member of the Hamilton band at the time of the session, appears on acoustic rhythm guitar for two of the selections.

Track listing

# "

It's a Lovely Day Today "It's a Lovely Day Today" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for his successful musical ''Call Me Madam'' (1950) when it was introduced by Russell Nype and Galina Talva. The musical was adapted as a movie in 1953 and the song "It's a Love ...

" – 3:16 # "Be Careful, It's My Heart" – 3:20 # "

Cheek to Cheek "Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35, specifically for the star of his new musical, Fred Astaire. The movie was ''Top Hat'', co-starring Ginger Rogers.

" – 5:18 # "

How About Me? "How About Me?" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1928. The song is an expression of sorrow over a love affair that is over. The first recording by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians (vocal by Clare Hanlon) was popular in 1928 and the song ha ...

" – 4:51 # " The Best Thing for You" – 4:25 # " I Got Lost in His Arms" – 3:04 # "

There's No Business Like Show Business "There's No Business Like Show Business" is an Irving Berlin song, written for the 1946 musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and orchestrated by Ted Royal. The song, a slightly tongue-in-cheek salute to the glamour and excitement of a life in show b ...

" – 4:34 # "Better Luck Next Time" – 4:30 # "

What'll I Do "What'll I Do" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1923. It was introduced by singers Grace Moore and John Steel late in the run of Berlin's third '' Music Box Revue'' and was also included in the following year's edition."American Classics - ...

" – 3:02 # "

Let's Face the Music and Dance "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film ''Follow the Fleet'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The jazz song has als ...

" – 4:12 All music and lyrics by

Personnel

* Rosemary Clooney – vocals * Warren Vaché Jr. – cornet, flugelhorn * Scott Hamilton – tenor saxophone *

John Oddo John Oddo (''Née'' John Frank Oddo; March 21, 1953 – April 2, 2019) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He is most notably associated as pianist and musical director for Woody Herman, Rosemary Clooney and Michael Feinstein. ...

– piano *

– guitar (tracks 1,2,5-10) *

– rhythm guitar (tracks 3,7) * Phil Flanigan – bass * Gus Johnson – drums

References

1984 albums Irving Berlin tribute albums Rosemary Clooney albums Concord Records albums {{1980s-jazz-album-stub