There was a time when big bands were the background music for America. Russ Morgan (1904-1969) created a series of orchestras that dominated not only the airwaves with recordings, but was a major sound on radio and the early days of a thing called television. This two disc set covers, as the liner notes say, “Music in the Morgan Manner.”
While his sound was created for popular tastes, Morgan knew how to make a band swing, and swing hard. Material like his 1935 “Tidal Wave” has a hard drive reminiscent of Fletcher Henderson. Most of the time, however, he used his band as a frame for vocalists, sometimes even himself, along with The “Skylarks, Lewis Julian, Mert Curtis and Jimmy Lewis. By 1949 he had a number of big hits such as “So Tired,” “Cruising Down the River,” Sunflower” and “Forever and Ever.” His recording of “Dogface Soldier” was in support of the war movie To Hell and Back.
The charts and pulse are polished and timeless, with a nice read of “Bye Bye Blackbird” and the fun “I Double Dare You” reflecting the underappreciated sweet sounds of the Swing Era. This collection gives an impressive overview of a bandleader that created music with impressive professionalism for dancers, something present artists need to reconsider if they want to survive.