Fred Waring was a remarkable and high-profile personality in American popular music over many decades, becoming famous during the 1940s and ‘50s for his radio and TV shows which brought him the accolade of being “The Man Who Taught America How to Sing”.
However, he began his career as a trombonist and bandleader performing “hot” dance music in the early 20s, and with his brother Thomas formed Waring’s Pennsylvanians, whose recordings for Victor over the ensuing decade into the 1930s became hugely popular in the era often called The Roaring Twenties, before Waring’s band abruptly stopped recording in 1932.
Although there were no record sales charts in those days, there were sheet music and other listings, which have been analysed by researchers to produce chart listings for records.
This 46-track 2CD set consists entirely of recordings by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians which feature in Top 15 positions in those chart analyses, and it comprises most of their listed hits. It includes early recordings of some of the songs from the era which became classics over the years, and features the No.1s Sleep, Memory Lane, Laugh, Clown, Laugh!, Little White Lies and I Found A Million Dollar Baby.
It’s a hugely evocative musical snapshot of a remarkable era in popular music as it became a mass market phenomenon.
REVIEWS
“Here we have 46 tracks which underline just what a popular outfit Fred Waring fronted during the twenties and early thirties. An entertaining time capsule of a bygone era and there is of course plenty more material available for a further set if Acrobat are so inclined!” – Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 342)
“This great-value 46-track double CD set consists entirely of recordings by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians which features in Top 15 positions in those chart analyses, and it comprises most of their listed hits. It's a hugely evocative musical snapshot of a remarkable era in popular music, as it became a mass-market phenomenon.” – Pete Lay (Just Jazz Issue 269)
CD1
1 Sleep
2 Stack O' Lee Blues
3 Memory Lane
4 Down Home Blues
5 Maytime
6 June Night
7 At The End Of The Road
8 Collegiate
9 Freshie
10 I Love My Baby
11 Thanks For The Buggy Ride
12 Cherie, I Love You
13 Looking At The World Thro' Rose-Coloured Glasses
14 The Little White House (At The End Of Honeymoon Lane)
15 It Made Me Happy When You Made You Made Me Cry
16 I Love The College Girls
17 Where Do You Work-A John
18 Hello, Swanee, Hello
19 Just Another Day Wasted (Waiting For You)
20 The Sweetheart Of Sigma Chi
21 I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream
22 Was It A Dream!
23 Laugh, Clown, Laugh!
CD2
1 I Can't Do Without You
2 Ah! Sweet Mystery Of Life
3 Roses Of Yesterday
4 I'm Sorry, Sally
5 The Song I Love
6 Button Up Your Overcoat
7 My Lucky Star
8 I'll Always Be In Love With You
9 Jericho
10 My Sin
11 Cryin’ For The Carolines
12 There's Danger In Your Eyes, Cherie
13 So Beats My Heart For You
14 Little White Lies
15 Love For Sale
16 Elizabeth
17 I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In A Five-And-Ten-Cent Store)
18 Dancing In The Dark
19 High And Low
20 Let's Have Another Cup O' Coffee
21 Soft Lights And Sweet Music
22 Fit As A Fiddle
23 You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me
