George Olsen was a drummer and bandleader from Portland, Oregon, who made his name playing in hotels and then in Broadway shows, and despite latterly not being one of the best known names of the era had a string of 49 hits between 1925 and 1945. 

He played the characteristic mix of styles of dance bands in the 1920s, featuring a blend of hot dance music alongside his more familiar style of middle-of-the-road orchestral music, gradually introducing featured singers after his initial hits, and becoming typical of the “sweet” orchestras of the 1930s who were popular on radio. 

This 49-track 2-CD collection solely comprises all his career hits, which came out on the Victor, Columbia and Majestic labels. It includes the No. 1 hits “Who”, “Always”, “A Precious Little Thing Called Love”, “Lullaby Of The Leaves” and “The Last Round-Up”, plus the Top 3 hits, “Sunny”, “Drifting And Dreaming”, “Horses”, “Someone To Watch Over Me”, “Blue Skies and “The Best Things In Life Are Free”. 

There were no notable stars among his featured vocalists, but they include Fran Frey, Bob Borger, Bob Rice, Jack Gifford, his wife Ethel Shutta, Paul Small, Dave Marshall, Joe Morrison, Judith Blair and Ray Adams. 

Featuring only his hits, this is a thorough look at one of the consistently popular and successful bandleaders of the ‘20s and ‘30s.

Tracks

CD 1
1. I'M KNEE DEEP IN DAISIES (AND HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE) George Olsen & His Music (Victor 19761) 1926 
2. WHO? George Olsen & His Music (Victor 19840) 1926 
3. SUNNY George Olsen & His Music (Victor 19840) 1926 
4. ALWAYS George Olsen & His Music (Victor 19955) 1926 
5. DRIFTING AND DREAMING (SWEET PARADISE)  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 19969) 1926 
6. HORSES George Olsen & His Music (Victor 19977) 1926 
7. THE GIRL FRIEND George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20029) 1926 
8. KATINKA George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20100) 1926 
9. LUCKY DAY George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20101) 1926 
10. DO-DO-DO George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20327) 1927 
11. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20392) 1927 
12. EV'RY LITTLE WHILE  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20409) 1927 
13. BLUE SKIES George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20455) 1927 
14. WHERE'S THAT RAINBOW? George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20455) 1927 
15. AT SUNDOWN (WHEN LOVE IS CALLING ME HOME) George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20476) 1927 
16. THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20872) 1927 
17. LUCKY IN LOVE George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20872) 1927 
18. THE VARSITY DRAG George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20875) 1927 
19. GOOD NEWS George Olsen & His Music (Victor 20875) 1927 
20. MY HEART STOOD STILL George Olsen & His Music (Victor 21034) 1928 
21. I'M ON THE CREST OF A WAVE  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 21500) 1928 
22. OLD MAN SUNSHINE, LITTLE BOY BLUEBIRD  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 21566) 1928 
23. DOIN' THE RACCOON  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 21701) 1928 
24. A PRECIOUS LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE George Olsen & His Music (Victor 21832) 1929 
25. SOUTH SEA ROSE George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22213) 1930

CD 2
1. IT HAPPENED IN MONTEREY  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22370) 1930 
2. I'M IN THE MARKET FOR YOU George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22391) 1930 
3. THE MOON IS LOW George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22392) 1930 
4. THE KISS WALTZ George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22462) 1930 
5. BEYOND THE BLUE HORIZON George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22530) 1930 
6. BY THE FIRESIDE George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22947) 1932 
7. THERE'S NOTHING THE MATTER WITH ME  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22968) 1932 
8. LULLABY OF THE LEAVES  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 22998) 1932 
9. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24070) 1932 
10. SAY IT ISN'T SO  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24124) 1932 
11. LOVE ME TONIGHT  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24124) 1932 
12. ALL-AMERICAN GIRL  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24125) 1932 
13. PINK ELEPHANTS  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24138) 1932 
14. PLEASE George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24139) 1932 
15. ROCK-A-BYE MOON George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24165) 1932 
16. PLAY, FIDDLE, PLAY George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24165) 1932 
17. THE GIRL IN THE LITTLE GREEN HAT  George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24220) 1933 
18. UNDERNEATH THE ARCHES George Olsen & His Music (Victor 24229) 1933 
19. LOUISIANA LULLABY George Olsen & His Music (Columbia 2590) 1933 
20. THE LAST ROUND-UP  George Olsen & His Music (Columbia 2791) 1933 
21. NIGHT OWL George Olsen & His Music (Columbia 2820) 1933 
22. EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS  George Olsen & His Music (Columbia 2842) 1933 
23. THROW ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE  George Olsen & His Music (Columbia 2857) 1934 
24. CHICKERY CHICK George Olsen & His Orchestra (Majestic 7155) 1945