"Great Day for the Irish," 1952

The following is an excerpt of the song "It's a Great Day for the Irish," as sung on Your Hit Parade, NBC-TV, on March 15, 1952. 

My mother is the song's featured vocalist; she is joined by The Hit Paraders, the television show's choral group. The show's "Lucky Strike Orchestra" is led by Raymond Scott.

http://www.luckystrikepapers.com/images/Great_Day_For_The_Irish,_NBC-TV,_1952.wav

"Hold On Girl," The Monkees

After the death of Davy Jones, I was looking up Monkees songs, online, and found a song that I had loved, when it came out: “Hold On Girl.” I don’t believe I had thought of the song for decades.

“Hold On Girl” features Davy Jones’s lead vocal, and appeared on the album More of the Monkees, which was released at the start of 1967.  As with many Monkees songs, I think that "Hold On Girl" (which you can hear below) has held up well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px83F7XOhqk

Davy Jones (1945-2012)

The Monkees released a great many wonderful pop songs, in the 1960s.

Here are three of my favorites, via YouTube, and each features Davy Jones as lead singer.  The first is “When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)" (written by Carole Bayer Sager and Neil Sedaka); the second is “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” (written by Neil Diamond); the third is “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” (also written by Neil Diamond).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umt_7jXfFfA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ccw2t0FnVk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaxwBSyiya8

Sheet Music, "Your Hit Parade," 1951

To the left is the first page of a vocal score, for a 1951 telecast of Your Hit Parade, on NBC. The score was for the song "The Loveliest Night of the Year"; my mother and singer Russell Arms, about whom I wrote in the previous post, performed the song, along with the show's choral group, the Hit Paraders. 

Later, in the 1952-1953 TV season, Arms became one of the show's primary stars. He passed away last week.

Russell Arms

Singer and actor Russell Arms, I was sorry to learn, died this past Monday, at his home in Illinois. He was 92, and is survived by his wife, Mary Lynne. Mr. Arms is best known for his work on TV’s Your Hit Parade. He was one of the show’s primary stars from 1952 to 1957.

I had a very enjoyable conversation with Mr. Arms, in 1981; at the time, he was living in the Los Angeles area. He was extremely gracious, in welcoming me into his home, and lengthy excerpts of the interview appear in my book about early television.

Here is an obituary, from The Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings-20120216,0,3171070.story

Here, too, is the amazon link to Mr. Arms's 2005 memoir, My Hit Parade...and a Few Misses.  The book was published by BearManor Media.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Hit-Parade-Few-Misses/dp/1593930240/

Above: the cover of a TV magazine from 1956. The cover features (left to right) Hit Parade singers Snooky Lanson, Dorothy Collins, Mr. Arms, and Gisele MacKenzie.

Hit Parade radio show, January,1952

I have mentioned previously, in this space, that during the time my late mother was a featured singer on Your Hit Parade, on NBC-TV (during the 1951-1952 season), she made two guest appearances on the radio version of the Hit Parade, also on NBC. One of those appearances took place in April of 1952; the other appearance took place on this date, sixty years ago.

Here is a press release about the January, 1952 appearance, from the BBD&O advertising agency. BBD&O was the agency which oversaw the Hit Parade radio and television programs.

Diane Sinclair

I learned a few days ago that Diane Sinclair, a well-known dancer in early television, passed away last May. She was 90.

Ms. Sinclair and her dance partner, Ken Spaulding, were the featured dance team on Kay Kyser’s 1949-1950 TV show on NBC-TV (they joined the show in early 1950). They also starred on Dave Garroway’s 1953-1954 NBC show, and on The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show, also on NBC, from 1951 to 1953.

In 1954, Ms. Sinclair appeared on the cover of Life magazine; the photograph of her was taken by Gordon Parks. A photo feature by Mr. Parks, inside the issue, concerned Ms. Sinclair and Ken Spaulding.

I interviewed Ms. Sinclair at length, in 1984, for my book about early television. I loved the conversation: Ms. Sinclair’s comments, I have long felt, are some of the most interesting, and insightful, in the book.

After the book was published, at the end of 2007, I sent her a copy, and we ended up speaking by phone, on several occasions, over the next few years.

I remain grateful for the interview she gave me, in 1984. I am also grateful for the friendship (a warm, if intermittent, one) which came about, years later, and am very saddened to learn about her death.

Here is a Wikipedia page about Ms. Sinclair:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Sinclair

(Image above: Gordon Parks's photograph of Diane Sinclair, on the cover of the January 25 1954 issue of Life magazine)