The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s (McFarland Press, 2023). – Additions and Corrections
The following are additions and corrections to information found in both the text and the catalog/inventory of Soundies shorts. If you have any updates that can be added to this list, please contact me at markcantor@aol.com
I will like to acknowledge Soundies collector and historian Christian Seeholzer for his attention or detail and many contributions to this “additions and corrections” page.
All entries are listed by page or session number, followed by the artist credited on screen, and finally, the title and entry number of the Soundie. If no song title is listed, then the information refers to the entire session.
This series of additions and corrections is listed in three parts, in the following order, all noted by page number:
• captions
• narrative text
• session number or individual Soundie within a given session
caption, page 388 (Move It Over) – Betty Bartley’s name is misspelled “Bradley” when first mentioned in the caption; the last sentence in the caption, following the semi-colon, should read, “Madeline Lee stands third from the left on the flatbed truck while Betty Bartley can be seen standing second from the right.”
caption, page 388 (The Man on the Ferry) – amend final sentence to read, “Woman to the Captain’s right is Betty Bartley.”
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page 8, top of the left column: change location of Jimmy Roosevelt’s office from “Irving, California” to “Irvine, California.”
page 12 – Marv Goldberg notes in column 3, final paragraph, “You say ‘with the coming of the draft in September 1940….’ Actually, WW2 draft registration began on October 16, 1940.”
page 28, left column, bottom paragraph:change spelling of name “William Dixon” to “W.K.L. (William) Dickson.”
page 31 – Cinematone: The First True Audiovisual Jukebox – Musicologist Marv Goldberg adds the following biographical information about Gordon Keith Woodard:
Born August 24, 1911 in Havelock, Nebraska to Maynard Woodard and Bertha Payne. In the 1930 census, he was an awning salesman in Los Angeles. On February 1, 1936, he married Vivian C. Anderson in Yuma, Arizona. The wedding was so much fun that he married her again on December 27, 1937 in L.A.
His October 16, 1940 draft registration says that he’s 5’11” and weighs 215 lbs. He’s self-employed (without saying what that employment is).
In the 1950 census, he was manager of a pharmaceutical business. Wife Vivian died on April 15, 1978. On January 16, 1982, he married Patricia Sylvester in L.A.
He died on May 14, 1986 in L.A.
page 35 – Papalini Films – Musicologist Marv Goldberg notes, “Oreste Papalini entered the U.S. on June 17, 1936, on foot, from Mexicali, Mexico, where he’d been living.”
page 84 – middle column, first paragraph – “cache” should read “cachet”
page 85 – date, bottom of the left-hand column, should read “May 1943”
page 96, “Filmcraft Productions” – In addition to the other production personnel mentioned in this section, Leonard Weiss was the lead editor for most of the Filmcraft Soundies, and the head cinematographer – again, for most of the Filmcraft product – was Don Malkames.
page 117 – left-hand column, second paragraph – correct “Armand Wilson” to read “Ormonde Wilson”
page 126 – third column, last line: change “Suzie-Q” to “Susie Q”
page 597 – Musicologist Jeff Sultanof adds the following to the biographical notes on Lothar Perl: “Born in 1910, a student of Paul Hindemith.
Those piano compositions recorded by Alex Hassan were written during the time he was in Germany and were published by Schott. He played a two-piano act with someone else and was all over the radio. He certainly did see what was going on with Jews in Germany, so he traveled by boat to the U.S. in 1935; composer Ingolf Dahl was on the same boat.
He was musical director for Veloz & Yolanda, which was a pretty famous dance duo which indicates how well he was respected. In the later 1940s, he was at MGM with the Joe Pasternack unit. “The Unfinished Dance” and “Three Daring Daughters.” He can be seen playing the “Minute Waltz” on the Ernie Kovacs Show. I know he also did jingles and also composed a piece for Homer Mensch of the NY Philharmonic.
page 634 – The Dreamers – Marv Goldberg adds, “This is a most confusing one. You say that, ‘The Dreamers, also called the Jones Boys in some production documents, was composed of three black singers, Max, Clyde and Herb. Their last names are unknown.’ The three you name are Max, Clyde, and Herb Jones, who appeared from 1939 to 1987 as the Jones Brothers. (However, confusingly, for a couple of years before 1937, they called themselves the Jones Boys.) They were based in Boston, and, as far as I can tell, they never appeared in Los Angeles until 1954.” (They did visit Los Angeles in 1943 and appear in Bundle of Love, entry 930.)
page 677 – The Four Toppers – In response to my comment that there was a “great deal of crossover between the Toppers and Steve Gibson’s Red Caps,” vocal harmoney group expert says, “Nope, not crossover. Rather evolution. The 4 Toppers (Steve Gibson, Jimmy Springs, David Patillo, and Richard Davis) came to the East Coast in 1941, ended up adding a pianist as a fifth member, and replaced Richard Davis with Doles Dickens in early 1943. When they first began to record, there was a musicians’ strike, so they cleverly changed their name to the “Red Caps” to get around it, although they continued appearing as the Toppers. It’s confusing. Just sum it up by saying “in 1941 the 4 Toppers went to New York and eventually became Steve Gibson’s Red Caps”.
page 677 – Freddie and Flo – in the discussion of Fernando (Freddy) Robinson’s death, Marv Goldberg notes, “You end with, ‘The date of Robinson’s passing is not known’. While I can’t find the exact day, he died, in New York, in October 1979. His birthdate is, however, a mess. Official documents are evenly split between June 9, 1900 (e.g., Social Security and his WW1 draft registration) and June 19, 1900 (e.g., his WW2 draft registration and some travel documents). I guess it was in there somewhere.”
page 698 – correct the name of the Manhattan nightclub from “Kelly’s Stables” to Kelly’s Stable”
page 732-33 – In the third column (page 732), replace, “Bob Carver” with “Bob Caver.” Marv Goldberg notes that Gus Simons was gone by 1952, replaced by Mack Stuart. The group was together until at least 1964.
page 762 – correct the name of the Manhattan nightclub from “Kelly’s Stables” to Kelly’s Stable”
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session 1 – Victor Young’s Original Composition of Sweet Sue featuring Six Hits and A Miss with the Lorraine Page Orchestra – Sweet Sue (entry 1) (page 138) – notes: “Sweet Sue, Just You” was written by Will J. Harris and Victor Young in 1928 for silent film star (later talkies actress) Sue Carol. After her acting days were over, Sue became an artist manager. She took a radio actor named Alan Ladd and made him into a movie star. They were married in 1942, remaining together until his death in 1964. Their two children were David Ladd (who was married to “Charlie’s Angel” Cheryl Ladd) and Alana Ladd. [Alan Ladd, Junior was Alan’s son from a previous marriage.] Sue Carol died in 1982, at age 74.
session 8 – Mills Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted by Fredrick Feher – A Musical Joke by Johann Strauss (entry 828) (page 319) – composer: The composer of this song is Johann Strauss, Jr., son of Johann Strauss, Sr., the famed composer of Viennese waltzes; sideline personnel: Rafael Mendez, trumpet, is seen in closeup at 1:12; musician Dan Weinstein notes, “Of the two clarinet players, the one to the right resembles Herman Beradinelli, who I knew as a much older man.” notes: Oddly, the “joke” of the composition isn’t used in this performance: in the original score the musicians rapidly drop in number down to one or two, then abruptly stop. So much for “perpetual motion.”
session 10 – Lou Forbes omnibus session Rita Rio with Alan Ladd – I Look At You (entry 59) (page 151) – soundtrack vocal: In the past various source have suggested that Harry Babbitt recorded the vocal sidelined by Alan Ladd, various documents confirm that it is Ladd who we hear. I spoke with Babbitt many years ago and played the soundtrack for him. He chuckled and said something like, “Hey, Mark, come on. I’m much better than this guy.”
session 12 – Anita Camargo with Theodore – Frenesi (entry 1466) (page 437) – add “reissue of entry 32”
session 22 – The Four King Sisters with Alvino Rey and his Orchestra – St. Louis Blues (entry 973) (page 348) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 107″
session 24 – The Kidoodlers – When the Circus Comes to Town (entry 618) (page 275) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 71”
session 26 – David Rose omnibus session (Johnny Downs and Gale Storm) (page 159) – Penthouse Serenade (entry 108) – reissue information: add Official Films
session 29 – Will Osborne and his Orchestra – A collector of Will Osborne recordings and films – my sincere apology, but I have misplaced his name – commented about the personnel: “Russ Blough (sax) and Rolly Furnas (trombone) were definitely part of the orchestra by at least May 15th, when Downbeat reported them as new members, along with trumpeter Kenny Apperson. Please note that “Dave Shroff” always appeared as Brodie Shroff (or Schroff). These four films appear to be the ONLY actual audio of the entire orchestra’s existence!”
session 29 – Will Osborne and his Orchestra with Maxine and Marilyn – Stardust (entry 135) (page 164) – arranger: add probably Karl Leaf; sideline personnel: the following have been identified on screen: Al Harding, saxophone to the far right; Blaine Pratt, piano; Bob Hartley, string bass; Tommy Romersa, drums
session 29 – Will Osborne and his Orchestra – A Feller In the Band (entry 115) (page 161) – credited artists, soundtrack and sideline vocal: While Ms. Miller’s given name may have been Suzanne, she is credits on screen (and in all other film credits) as “Susan Miller”
session 32 – Eva Ortega with The Eton Boys and Zedra – Lily Hot From Chili (entry 1194) (page 386) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 140”
session 53B – Men and Maid [change to Maids] of Music – In the Good Old Summertime (entry 201) (page 177)
session 53B – Men and Maid [change to Maids] of Music – In the Good Old Summertime (entry 201) (page 357) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 71”
session 65 – Michael Bartlett – Little Gray Home in the West (entry 862) (page 326) – correct film title to read Little Grey Home in the West”
session 78 – Esmereldy with Frank Novak’s Rootin’ Tooters – For Red Nellie’s Honour (entry 873) (page 329) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 293”
session 80 – The Dixieairs – Waiting for the Robert E. Lee (entry 660) (page 284) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 305”
session 84 – Clarence Nordstrom – There’s a Tavern in the Town (page 553) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 352)
session 85 – Bob Chester and his Orchestra (page 204) – sideline personnel: trombones, l-r, probably Herb Spitalny, Al Mastren, Johnny Reynolds
session 87 – Lud Gluskin omnibus session (Johnny Downs and Bonnie Kildare) Love Me As I Am (entry 387) (page 217)– solos: none; dance: none; sideline extras: replace listed extras with the following – three unk African-American extras, train employees (waiter, porter, and bartender); unk male, man in the dining car
session 87 – Lud Gluskin omnibus session (Johnny Downs and Bonnie Kildare) I Don’t Want To Set the World On Fire (entry 388) (page 206) – sideline vocal: mixed vocal choir (“glee club”) is composed of four unk males, three unk females + Bonnie Kildare; other performance: unk sideline extras include three females, girls in sorority room; three college deals (two male, one female); three couples in soda shop booths
session 98 and 119 – Ted Fio Rito and his Skylined Music (pages 219 and 234) – recording and sideline personnel: guitarist and musicologist Nick Rossi comments on guitarist Ernest Varner: “In spite of his playing a standard un-amplified Gibson L-5 on screen, that is most definitely an electric guitar Varner is playing on the soundtrack.”
session 104 – Dolores and Nino and Lenora with Noro Morales and his Orchestra – The Mexican Jumping Bean (“Los Hijos de Buda”) (entry 541) (page 259) – dance: The dancer “Dolores,” noted in the opening credits by first name only, is probably Dolores de Carmen.
session 107 – Cab Calloway and his Orchestra – Virginia, Georgia and Caroline (entry 446) (page 234)– other perf: the title characters, Virginia, Georgia and Caroline, are performed, l-r, by Verna Smith, Marion Egbert, Vivian Brown
session 119 – Cindy Walker – The Farmer’s Daughter (entry 1462) (page 436) – add “reissue of entry 538”
session 124 – Tommy Reynolds and his Orchestra – Smiles (entry 2193) (page 540) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 466)
session 138 – Mary Burton – Oh Gee, Oh Gosh, Oh Golly I’m In Love (entry 1262) (page 399) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 554”
session 142 – Mary Gilbert • Recorded by Hal Borne and his Orchestra – Little Dutch Mill (entry 2357) (page 559) – reissue number should read, “reissue of entry 556”
session 147 – Sonny Dunham and his Orchestra – Sleepy Lagoon (entry 2353) (page 558) – reissue number should read, “reissue of entry 585”
session 147 – Melton Moore and Patti Robbins with Kay Paige, Anne Mace, May Dowell, Mildred Hughes – Heavenly Hideaway (entry 855) (page 325) – sideline personnel: add unidentified trumpet, trombone, three reeds, piano, string bass, and drums; solo: add Sunny Dunham, trumpet; other perf: remove “other extras” and replace with Kay Paige, Anne Mace, May Dowell, Mildred Hughes
session 155A – Carmen D’Antonio – Balinesia (entry 641) (page 279)- dance: should read “three unk female dancers (“Balinese girls”); “other perf” should read “none”
session 159 – The Merriel Abbott Dancers – Sports A La Mode (entry 1711) (page 479) – change Soundie title to “Sports a la Mode”
session 161 – The Dinning Sisters – instrumental personnel: George Barnes has been identified as the guitarist in the Jack Fascinato combo
session 167 – Slim Andrews and “The Fashionaires” – Pop Goes the Weasel (entry 812) (page 315) – correct sideline personnel to read “The Fashionaires”
session 191 – The Balators – Jack and June Blair – Dorn and Delsa – Jolly Joe (entry 836) – dance, in the order present on screen: Dorn and Delsa (Jay Dorn and June Delsa); The Balators (Louis Ballatore + unidentified remale partner); Jack and June Blair
session 195 – Louise Burnett with Arnold Kent and Marina Goya – Tropical Kiss (entry 852) (page 325) – Marina Goya’s presence as a dancer on screen has been confirmed
session 207 – no artist credit – I Won’t Miss You (entry 2495 M) (page 572) – Producer: change “except” to “excerpt”
session 208 – The Grenadiers – Heave Ho! My Lad Heave Ho! (entry 1274) (page 401) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 895”
session 212 – Del Casino and his Rhythm Version of One Look At You (entry 908) (page 336) – add reissue: Sack Amusement; sideline personnel: change to “unk tpt and vln; solos: change to unk tpt; unk violin”; other performance: change to “none”
session 223A – Lynn Albritton – Dispossessed Blue (entry 994) (page 352) – dance: one member of the Four Knobs has been identified at this time. Betty Mays is the dancer in the white blouse with the white flowers in her hair, the first dancer to take the floor.
session 226 – pre-recorded Sam Fox soundtracks – Emily Brown (entry 968)(page 347) – Film historian Leonard Maltin noted that Juanita Moore, who appears here and in a handful of other Soundies as either a dancer or sideline extra, received an Oscar nomination for Imitation of Life in 1959.
session 229 – Carmelita – Sombrerita Mia (entry 1393) (page 423) – change Soundie and song title from “Sobrerita Mia” to “Sombrerita Mia”
session 244 – Lani McIntyre and his Orchestra – Imau Ailuni (In Front and Above) (entry 1181) (page 384) – entry credit and song title: The first word in the title is “Amua,” not “Amau”
session 245 – Freddie Schweitzer and his Fun Makers – Swiss Frolics (entry 1015) (page 356) – German collector Christian Seeholzer notes that, “The first part is an old German drinking song (1882): Trink, trink, Brüderlein trink, lass doch die Sorgen zu Haus’ (Drink, drink, little brother, drink, and leave all your troubles at home).”
session 251 – Al Donahue and his Orchestra (page 358) – instrumental personnel: The correct spelling of the trumpet soloist’s name is Hank Maddalena. The correct spelling of the trombonist’s name is Mickey Iannone. sideline personnel: trumpets, l-r: Hank Maddalana, Pete Castellano, Ben West; trombones: Don Cavanaugh, Mickey Iannone, seated in top row, positions unknown; Bart Varsalona, bass trombone, seated below other trombone players; reeds, l-r, Preston (Pres) Hudson, Dan Ippolito, Al Anthony, Jack Donahue; Bill Haley, piano; Tony Carlson, string bass; Jimmy Felton, drums (This sideline placement is not used in Jumpin’ At the Juke Box (entry 1165) since a Phono-Vue machine is placed out front. For instance, in this one Soundie Hank Maddalan, the trumpet soloist, sits to the far right.)) soloists: Hank Maddalena, trumpet; Dan Ippolito, clarinet; Jack Donahue, tenor sax; Jimmy Felton, drums; Lonesome Road (entry 1183) – recording and sideline vocals: Phil Brito and members of the band; soloists: Bill Haley, piano obligators; Tony Carlson, string bass; Jimmy Felton, drums
session 252 – Art Dixon – We’ll Rest At the End of the Trail (entry 1063) (page 364) – lyricist/composer: add Curt Poulton, Fred Rose
session 255 – The Four Ginger Snaps – Keep Smiling (entry 1042) )page 361) – The confirmed composer of “Keep Smilin’, Keep Laughin’, Be Happy” is Louis (Lou) Singer.
Session 256 – Walter Liberace – Marv Goldberg notes that Walter Liberace’s given name was Władziu Valentino Liberace
session 260B – The Winnie Hoveler Dancers – Hats Off (entry 2155) (page 536) – reissue notation should read, “reissue of entry 1152”
session 268 – Red River Dave and the Cowgirl Cuties – Pistol Packin’ Papa (entry 1188) (page 385) – lyricist/composer: The full names of the songwriters are Jimmie Rodgers and Waldo O’Neal; sideline pers: Red River Dave does not play guitar on screen. The sideline guitarist is unknown.
session 289A – Louis Jordan and his Band (page 402) – The date of recording and sideline photography for all Soundies in this session is January 1944
session 297 – Dick Thomas with Frank Novak & Orchestra – San Fernando Valley (entry 1313) (page 408) – sideline personnel: Milan Hertz, trumpet; possibly Eugene Von Hallberg, accordion; guitar and string bass unknown.
session 302 – Red River Dave and the Red River Boys (page 411) – reissue information: In 1948, Loads of Pretty Women (entry 1484) and Reeling Cowboy Dance (1433)were bundled with My Pin-Up Guy with Ann Parker (entry 1343) by Sack Amusement and released as a one-reel theatrical short titled Pretty Women. However, this is a reissue of the earlier short of the same name, released ca. 1944-45 by William Forest Crouch. The framing action was probably filmed along with the Red River Dave Soundies in this series. Left-to-right on screen we see Jake Watts, guitar; unidentified vocalist; unidentified leading man pining for his gal; Joe Caliente, in the rear; Red River Dave, guitar; Bobby Gregory, accordion; Bill Benner. The group performs a brief version of “Oh! Susanna” at the beginning of the short. Sideline personnel: The trumpet player seen on screen is almost certainly Nick Horan. other performance: Screen star Gloria Graham stands to the right of Dave. She also may be sitting in front of Dave, a table between them, in Reelin’ Cowboy Dance.
session 302 – Red River Dave and the Red River Boys – Reeling Cowboy Dance (entry 1433) (page 430) – sideline personnel: After reviewing this Soundie, Western Swing expert Kevin Coffey noted, “In the Reelin Cowboy segment, we have Jake Watts on guitar, Red River Dave on guitar (though he’s shown playing only rhythm during the sequence, I believe that the acoustic solo mid-number is Dave’s), Bobby Gregory on accordion.” The trumpet player seen on screen is almost certainly Nick Horan.
session 302 – Red River Dave and the Red River Boys – Loads of Pretty Women (entry 1484) (page 440) – sideline personnel: Musicologist Kevin Coffey notes, “In the Loads of Pretty Women sequence, we hear but don’t see Bobby Gregory on accordion. There is a guitarist at left of screen, presumably Jake Watts, but we see only the guitar and not his face. In addition to Dave on guitar and vocals, the fiddler is Bill Benner. However, it may be either Benner or Joe Caliente on the soundtrack.” The trumpet player seen on screen is probably Nick Horan.
session 331A – Burch Mann Dancers – Stepping Fast (entry 1535) (page 449) – dance: In a 2/3/24 e-mail, Kevin Coffey writes, “Can I tentatively suggest the following, l-r: Suzanne Scruggs, Ruth Roller, Patty Ann Ligon, Katherine Brown, Sophia Maroutsos. All were from Tulsa or Sapulpa, OK, where they were students of Mann. Scruggs’ father was a jazz musician, a clarinetist, a fixture in Tulsa, and at one time a member of Al Clauser’s Oklahoma Outlaws.
session 381 – Rubinoff and his Violin – Fiddle Voyage (entry 1765) (page 485) – film title: The inventory, as well as other published sources, include the phrase “with ‘Pistol Packin’ Mama’” in the opening title credit. This is incorrect. The complete title of this Soundie is just “Fiddle Voyage.”
session 319 – the Glenn Miller Modernaires (page 544) – Vocal group historian Autumn Lansing comments about the presence of vocalist Harriet Clark as a replacement in this series for Modernaires regular Paula Kelly: “I’ve researched both Clark and the Modernaires, and I can say with total confidence that she didn’t work with them on any formal basis beyond those Soundies. Paula Kelly took two leaves of absence in the 1940s due to pregnancy, in 1944 and 1947. The Soundies with Clark were made during Kelly’s 1944 absence, which began in March. She was back by early May. The Modernaires don’t appear to have made any live performances sans Kelly during this short period, as their names don’t appear on any routing notices or venue listings I’ve seen. They appear to have taken a break while Kelly was gone, as I’m sure Hal Dickinson wanted to be close for the birth of his first child. The Soundies seem to have been their main output in this period. My guess is that [producer/director] Blake chose Clark to work with the Modernaires because she was pretty and a frequent subject of the gossip columns. Adding in the Glenn Miller name as well, which the Modernaires had the rights to use, was good marketing. Clark at that time was trying desperately to get into film, so she had probably made herself available to any interested parties.”
session 320 – Will Bradley and Band featuring Lloyd and Willis – Deed I Do (entry 2421) (page 565) – reissue should read, “reissue of entry 1429”
session 324 – Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra –
The recording and sideline personnel have been re-written for this session. Thanks to vocalist Jayne Walton, and music historian Kevin Coffey, along with a small number of online photos, there is a fair amount of clarity to the 1944 session, although there are questions where the reeds are concerned.
Lawrence Welk, accordion and leader; trumpets, left-to-right: Wayne Marsh [identified by Jayne Walton], Michal Didyk, trumpets; Lauren “Brownie” Brown, Terrence (Terry) George [identified by Jayne Walton], trombones; three of the following four reeds: Teddy Phillips [possibly the saxophonist remembered by Jayne Walton as “Freddie”], Irvin Voll (Ozzie Clark) [identified by Jayne Walton], Bartley Johnson [possibly seated to far right], probably Hugh O’Kelly; violins, left-to-right: Maurice Fuchs (often given as Maurice Fox), one unidentified, Raphael J. Flanagan; John F. Gallichio, piano; probably Sam Aron, string bass; Robert (Bob) Ladd [identified by Jayne Walton], drums.
Note that Kevin Coffey doubts the presence of Teddy Phillips in the reed section. “It appears that Hugh O’Kelly replaced Ted Phillips and the Union reports would seem to indicate that this occurred before June ’44.”
session 324 – Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra with The Starkaleers – Slap Your Hip Polka (entry 2465) (page 569) – reissue should read, “reissue of entry 1468)
session 346 – George Paxton and his Orchestra • Liza Morrow • Gaylord and Norma – Dance With a Dolly (entry 1538) (page 450) – entry number should be corrected fro 1538 to 1536
session 366B – Bob Hannon – Back to Donegal (entry 2453) (page 568) – reissue should read, “reissue of entry 1653”
session 369 – Frances Langford – Tropical Moon (entry 1620) (page 466) – Soundie title should be changed from “Tropical Night” to “Tropical Moon”
session 387 – Day, Dawn and Dusk – Sleet Kentucky Babe (entry 1868) (page 498) – instrumental personnel: replace “Bob Carver” with “Bob Caver”
session 390 – Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra – Thanks to the research of Kevin Coffey, the sideline personnel for this session has been rewritten.
Most important, the female saxophone player is Vanita White. This musician had been identified by Jayne Walton (and subsequently misidentified by me in the book) as Josephine (Jo) Goldman. The strapping young man, youngest in the section and solo clarinetist, is Norman Lee. The other two suggestions are Terry George and possibly Joe Lepore. However, in the last film in the series, Doing You Good, Norman Lee has been replaced by an DeGiralamo.
Lawrence Welk, accordion and leader; trumpets, possibly left-to-right: Don McDougall [identified by Jayne Walton], one unidentified, possibly Jules Herman (a “slim possibility,” according to Kevin Coffey); Lauren “Brownie” Brown, Terry George, trombones [identified by Jayne Walton]; Venita White, Norman Lee, Terry George, Joe Lepore, one unidentified, reeds; Tony De Giralamo, violin or saxophone [where noted]; Arthur Swanson, string bass; possibly Nick Aden (Addante), drums
session 394 – Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra with Skip Nelson – A Friend of Yours (entry 1910) (page 503) – arranger: add Lou Carter
session 404 – Cab Calloway and his Orchestra (page 513) – sideline personnel:I have reconsidered the sideline personnel in this series of Soundies, and a revision of the listing is required, at least where the trumpet section is concerned. The trumpet to the far left is not Russell Smith, and Lammar Wright is definitely not in the section. No picture of Roger Jones has been located that can confirm that he is the trumpet seated second from the left. Assuming that it is Jones in that position, however, then the trumpet to the far left remains unknown. It has been suggested that this might be Freddie Webster, who sat in with Calloway during this period.
session 417 – Phil Moore and the Phil Moore Four (page 509) – The lyricist/composers for I Want a Little Doggie (entry 1947) are Milton Lance; Phil Moore. The lyricist/composer for Lazy Lady (entry 1995) are Leonard Feather; Phil Moore.
session 426 – The King Cole Trio – Frim Fram Sauce (entry 2035) and Errand Boy for Rhythm (2547M) (pages 520 and 583) – The censorship script notes that “with Shirley Johnson” is found in the opening credits of Frim Fram Sauce. It is not known if that credit also appears on screen, although that would likely be the case. Shirley Johnson is almost certainly the waitress in the cafe. The unidentified female dancer in Errand Boy for Rhythm is the same actress who plays the waitress. Thus, it is highly probable that the unidentified dancer in Errand Boy for Rhythm is indeed Shirley Johnson.
session 430 – Regarding the Dale Cross orchestra, which provided the soundtrack for two (and perhaps three) Soundies, musicologist Kevin Coffey notes, “For what it’s worth, everything I could find pointed to Cross being his actual surname rather than Cohan — unless his father had changed the family name much earlier. Cross is listed in the 1920 census, as a six-year-old, as Maurice Cross.
The most relevant thing is that I could find nothing that placed Cross in New York in December ’45 — in fact, he was playing in LA all month with his own combo. (DownBeat didn’t find it important to ID his musicians). He’d been in the Merchant Marines for a few months earlier in the year (or so the press reported) and had reformed his band upon his return to LA around September. He worked pretty regularly in LA for the rest of ’45. I can’t find him anywhere in the early part of ’46, though he was leading a combo in Las Vegas by the early spring. I guess it’s possible that he was in New York from January ’46 for a short time, but I can’t find anything to corroborate that. All the mentions I could find in ’45-’46 are west of the Rockies and always seem to find him with a combo rather than a big band. In addition to playing sax and singing, he also doubled trumpet (or cornet) and violin with his own groups.”
Coffey’s information probably eliminates a recording date in New York City during the winter of 1945. One strong possibility is that executive producer Neil McGuire, who was based in Los Angeles, either sent pre-recorded music east, or brought it with him if he was in Manhattan when the Soundies were filmed. If this is the case, Cross would be either working with a large studio band, or had augmented his combo with other musicians for these recordings.
session 431 – Johnny Long and his Orchestra – It Must Be Jelly (entry 2084) (page 526) – lyricist/composer: The “J.C. McGregor” noted in the inventory is better known as Chummy McGregor, a long-time pianist with Glenn Miller. George Williams is the swing arranger often referred to as George “The Fox” Williams. It is quite likely that the lyrics, one blues chorus only, were written by Sonny Skylar.
session 432 – Lenny Herman and his Band with Renee Russell – Under the Bamboo Tree (entry 2088) (page 526) – lyricist/composer – While Bob Cole, the lyricist of this tune, is noted in the inventory, J. Rosamund Johnson, the composer of the piece, is mistakenly not credited.
session 438 – Robert Crum – Our Waltz (page 548) – The entry number for this Soundie is incorrect. It should be 2264, not 2263.
session 443 – Arica Wild – You Never Know (entry 2344) (page 557) – notes: correspondent Linda Ruben reports, “‘Arica Wild’ was a stage name. He was also known as “Arico Wild”, but his real name (per his World War 1 and World War 2 registrations, as well as a passport application) was Aaron Z. Wild. His WW2 registration even says “Aaron (known as Arico) Z. Wild.” He was born in Utica, New York in 1894.”
session 448 – Texas Jim Lewis and his Lone Star Cowboys (page 542) – instrumental personnel: Hal Deam is the band’s pianist and does not record on guitar; sideline personnel: musicologist Kevin Coffey comments on the sideline personnel for Hootin’ Nannie Annie (entry 2270): “I guess it’s always a good idea to compare notes, so here’s what I have for the lineup: violins, l-r: Max Fidler, Vern Greenlaw, Les Shear; guitars, l-r: Jack Rivers, Dude Jackson (usually just a singer with Lewis — he was the brother of Spade Cooley vocalist Ginny Jackson), Tommy Sargent (better known as a steel guitarist), and Hal Deam, who is faking up a storm. He was not a guitarist at all but was the band’s piano player at this time, and like several others in this band, a really good jazz player; Buddy Hayes, string bass; Ray Graham, drums.”
session 452 – Dean Hudson and his Orchestra with Francis Colwell – You, Lovely You (entry 2272) (page 548) – lyricist/composer: add Trevor Bacon; Tab Smith; [J. Mayo?] Williams role in the composition is unknown
session 463 – Deuce Spriggins and his Orchestra (page 563) – arranger: According to Rex Call’s widow, the arrangements for this group were done mostly by one of the accordionists, Frank Buckley (Stanley Mickiewicz), who left by the time this was done, and by pianist Eddie Bennett, who she recalled was pretty much the guy who whipped these bands into shape.sideline personnel: Musicologist Kevin Coffey suggests that the l-r order of the fiddles, noted in the catalog as “Sam Leichter, Rex Call, Freddy Ciani,” may instead be “Freddy Ciani, Rex Call, Sam Leichter.”
session 467 – Gretchen Houser and John Fellows – Moitle from Toidy Toid and Toid (entry 2340) (page 557) – catalog number change to 26301
session 476 – Les Elgart and his Orchestra (page 562) – Vocal group musicologists Adrian Daff and Jeff Hanna jointly researched the Tune Tellers, the mixed vocal quartet that appears in three of the four Soundies in this series. It is almost certain that the two female members of the group are sisters Phyllis and Jo-Jean Rogers; the two had appeared earlier as members of The Martins (session 51). (After leaving the Martins, the sisters worked with the Four Teens, appearing with them in the 1941 feature Hit the Ice.) One of the male members of the Tune Tellers is either Pat Haywood or George Richmond.
session 480 – Henri Woode and his Orchestra with Tops and Wilder – Broadway (entry 2585 M) (page 592) – lyricist/composer – B. Bird’s first name is “Wilbur.”
session 482 – All American News #2 (page 572) – The production date is not noted in the inventory. The film was produced in 1942 and was probably released that year. The Soundie was released ca. 1943. sideline personnel: The tenor saxophone (wearing glasses) who receives the closeup is Jerome Richardson. solos: unidentified drums
session 483 – Rusti Stanford • Ferrabee Purnell • Roberta Harris – Harem Revels (entry 2580 M) (page 590) – The last line, middle column, should read, “There is actually no Soundie titled…”
session 489 – The Sun Tan Four with Nickey [sic] O’Daniel – The Pollard Jump (entry 2540 M) (page 582) – sideline personnel: The correct spelling of the alto saxophonist Jackson’s first name is “Allan” (as per multiple mentions in the entertainment trades) or “Allen” (the spelling in the 1946 A.F. of M. directory).
session 494 – The International Sweethearts of Rhythm featuring Anna Mae Winburn – She’s Crazy With the Heat (entry 2570 M) (page 588) – soloists: add Johnnie Mae Rice, piano
session unknown – Louis Jordan Medley #1 (entry 2492 M) (page 572) – change “scrrned” to “screened”