15 December 1948, Los Angeles
Sinatra's long career could be divided according to record label: the Columbia Years, the Capitol Years and the Reprise Years. Each move allowed him greater control over production, and he rerecorded many songs to keep them in his catalogue, to take advantage of technical advances (like the LP and stereo) and the talents of particular arrangers. It is curious that he did not choose to rerecord "Why Can't You Behave" (which would have made a lovely number on the album, Close to You), but we should be thankful we have it. 1948 was the peak of his first wave of pop stardom: besides a fundamental change in American musical taste, there were management decisions at Columbia that proved unfavourable to Sinatra's talent: within two years it seemed that Sinatra was well on his way to becoming a full-fledged has-been. The record made little impression at the time: perhaps Sinatra forgot all about it. The Phil Moore Four (which you will notice is in fact a quintet) seems an unbeatable combo to support Sinatra for this outing. Phil Moore has been described as being in the Nat Cole School; he was also an arranger, a composer and a vocal coach. It is he who provides the wordless vocal that creates the momentary impression that Slam Stewart is at the date. Of particular interest is the presence of Marshall Royal, who in a few years would join the newly reformed Count Basie Orchestra (the "New Testament" band) where he remained a member of the reed section (playing alto sax) until the early sixties. "Bop! Goes My Heart" is an indication of one of the musical changes occurring at the time. Even Benny Goodman was incorporating the BeBop revolution in his orchestra. The composer, Jule Styne, may not fully command all of the intricacies of bop, but the lyricist, Walter Bishop has a connection to the musical movement: his son, Walter Jr, familiarly known as "Bish," was Charlie Parker's pianist from 1951 until Bird's death in 1955. It may be a slight piece, but it points to Sinatra's abilities as a jazz singer: he swings, he bops, and listen to Sinatra scat! |
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