Here is the result: Sentimental Songs, a 10-inch album from 1951, although the recordings were taken from 1943-47 Decca singles. And while the title promises sentimentality, it would be more accurate to simply call them love songs.
Such ballads were a specialty of the artist, and no one did them better. His only peer was Sinatra.
1943 trade ad - Haymes was popular with record buyers, moviegoers and hair product manufacturers |
The accompaniment to the Haymes record is interesting. In it, the Song Spinners, a white group, adopted some of the stylistic cues of the contemporary black groups, notably bum-bum-bums from the bass and falsetto vocalise.
All other songs save one have backing by Decca's Victor Young. These include "Our Waltz" and "I Don't Want to Love You (Like I Do)" from 1944, and "Love Letters," "Till the End of Time" and "The Night Is Young (and You're So Beautiful)" from 1945. The impossibly romantic "Love Letters" is Young's own composition; it is the title tune from the film of the same name. Young also did a good Xavier Cugat impression with his arrangement on "The Night Is Young."
The final song in this collection is 1947's "What'll I Do," with a characteristic backing from Gordon Jenkins. It isn't far removed from the charts he wrote for Sinatra a decade later.
Please note that "Our Waltz" also appears on the Serenade album I recently reuploaded.
Excellent sound from this early LP. Hope you enjoy Haymes as much as I do.