Although Jack Sterling played drums on this 1959 release on Columbia's Harmony budget label he was better known as the early morning disc jockey from 1948 to 1966 on New York's WCBS, known today as Newsradio 88. Sterling replaced Arthur Godfrey as the morning DJ on the CBS flagship station when Godfrey took to network radio and TV gigs full-time.
When Cocktail Swing came out Sterling was still featuring live music on his radio show, a rarity for the late 1950s. Although his skills on the drum kit were rudimentary Sterling surrounded himself with top New York studio musicians for the date: bass – Buddy Jones, clarinet – Andy Fitz, guitar – Mary Osborne, piano – Tony Aless, vibraphone – Tyree Glenn.
The sample track is Goody, Goody, composed in 1936 by Marty Malneck with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Benny Goodman and Bob Crosby both recorded it that year and Frankie Lymon had a hit with it again in 1957.
Goody, Goody
Cocktail Swing and another Columbia/Harmony LP, Music from Gypsy (Broadway show), appear to be the entire recorded output of Jack Sterling. Neither album has appeared in a digital format.
Sterling died of lung cancer in Stuart, Fla., on Oct. 31, 1990. He was 75.
No comments:
Post a Comment