Uploaded December 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS - 1965
Song that entered the charts : "A Taste Of Honey"
Performed by : Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass
HCP (Highest chart pos) = 1
"A Taste Of Honey" won the Grammy Award for Record Of The Year. The song was written by Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott .It was released on the album "Whipped Cream & Other Delights"
THE CASA LOMA ORCHESTRA
.The Casa Loma Orchestra was a popular American dance band active from 1927 to 1963. From 1929 until the rapid multiplication in the number of swing bands from 1935 on, the Casa Loma Orchestra was one of the top North American dance bands. It did not tour after 1950 but continued to record as a studio group.
The future members of the band first came together in 1927 as the Orange Blossoms, one of several Detroit-area groups that came out of the Jean Goldkette office. The band had adopted the Casa Loma name by the time of its first recordings in 1929, shortly after it played an eight-month engagement at Casa Loma Hotel in Toronto. The band never actually played the Casa Loma under that name, still appearing as the Orange Blossoms at that time.
In 1930, the Casa Loma Orchestra was officially incorporated in New York as a corporation with the members all stockholders and board members. The band members were hired on the grounds of "musical and congenial" competence and followed strict conduct and financial rules. Members who broke the rules could be summoned before the "board", have their contract bought out and be ejected from the band.
The band was fronted for the first few years by violinist Hank Biagini, although the eventual leader, saxophonist Glen Gray (1900-1963) was from the very beginning "first among equals." The complex arrangements called for talented musicians such as trombonist Pee Wee Hunt, trumpeter Frank L. Ryerson, trumpeter Sonny Dunham, clarinetist Clarence Hutchenrider, drummer Tony Briglia and singer Kenny Sargent. Arrangements were by Gene Gifford, who also composed much of the band's book, Spud Murphy, Larry Wagner, Salvador "Tutti" Camarata and Horace Henderson. Some arrangements were written by Gray himself. Gifford's arrangements were credited in large part to giving the band its sound, but even he fell victim to the band's strict rules, being bought out in 1935 due to alcohol-related infractions.
Manager Cork O'Keefe was made a Vice President in the corporation and arranged bookings in venues such as Glen Island casino, which they helped popularize, and the Essex House Hotel, that lead to their radio appearances
Their mid-1930s appearances on the long-run radio comedy-variety program, the Camel Caravan (introduced with their theme, "Smoke Rings") increased their popularity. Interestingly enough, Gray chose not to conduct the band in the early years, playing in the saxophone section while violinist Mel Jenssen acted as conductor. In 1937, the band overwhelmingly voted in favor of Glen leading the orchestra, and Gray finally accepted the job.
Hits included "Casa Loma Stomp," "No Name Jive" and "Maniac's Ball". Part of the reason for the band's decline is that other big bands included in their books hard-swinging numbers emulating the hot Casa Loma style. In the late 1930s Gray took top billing, and by the mid-1940s (as the other original players left) Gray would come to own the band and the Casa Loma name. For a time, during this period, the band featured guitarist Herb Ellis, trumpeter Bobby Hackett, pianist Nick Denucci and cornetist Red Nichols. By 1950, the Casa Loma band had ceased touring, Gray retired to Massachusetts, and the later recordings on Capitol (beginning with Casa Loma in Hi-Fi in 1956 and continuing through the Sounds of the Great Bands series) were done by studio musicians in Hollywood.
TAKE THE A TRAIN
"Take the 'A' Train" is a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn that was the signature tune of the Duke Ellington orchestra. The title refers to the then relatively new A subway service that runs through New York City, going at that time from eastern Brooklyn (opened in 1936) up into Harlem and northern Manhattan, using an express track section (opened in 1932) in Manhattan.
"Take the 'A' Train" was composed in 1939, after Ellington offered Strayhorn a job in his organization and gave him money to travel from Pittsburgh to New York City. Ellington wrote directions for Strayhorn to get to his house by subway, directions that began, "Take the A Train". Strayhorn was a great fan of Fletcher Henderson's arrangements. "One day, I was thinking about his style, the way he wrote for trumpets, trombones and saxophones, and I thought " I would try something like that."
MHO
Big Band music at it's best with one of the best jazz standards ever written, played by the best musicians "around" and arranged by the "elite" of the music business ! Smooth sounding saxes, terrific trombones and tentalizing trumpets.... so, sit back, relax and enjoy this tempo driven train trip !
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS - 1965
Song that entered the charts : "A Taste Of Honey"
Performed by : Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass
HCP (Highest chart pos) = 1
"A Taste Of Honey" won the Grammy Award for Record Of The Year. The song was written by Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott .It was released on the album "Whipped Cream & Other Delights"
THE CASA LOMA ORCHESTRA
.The Casa Loma Orchestra was a popular American dance band active from 1927 to 1963. From 1929 until the rapid multiplication in the number of swing bands from 1935 on, the Casa Loma Orchestra was one of the top North American dance bands. It did not tour after 1950 but continued to record as a studio group.
The future members of the band first came together in 1927 as the Orange Blossoms, one of several Detroit-area groups that came out of the Jean Goldkette office. The band had adopted the Casa Loma name by the time of its first recordings in 1929, shortly after it played an eight-month engagement at Casa Loma Hotel in Toronto. The band never actually played the Casa Loma under that name, still appearing as the Orange Blossoms at that time.
In 1930, the Casa Loma Orchestra was officially incorporated in New York as a corporation with the members all stockholders and board members. The band members were hired on the grounds of "musical and congenial" competence and followed strict conduct and financial rules. Members who broke the rules could be summoned before the "board", have their contract bought out and be ejected from the band.
The band was fronted for the first few years by violinist Hank Biagini, although the eventual leader, saxophonist Glen Gray (1900-1963) was from the very beginning "first among equals." The complex arrangements called for talented musicians such as trombonist Pee Wee Hunt, trumpeter Frank L. Ryerson, trumpeter Sonny Dunham, clarinetist Clarence Hutchenrider, drummer Tony Briglia and singer Kenny Sargent. Arrangements were by Gene Gifford, who also composed much of the band's book, Spud Murphy, Larry Wagner, Salvador "Tutti" Camarata and Horace Henderson. Some arrangements were written by Gray himself. Gifford's arrangements were credited in large part to giving the band its sound, but even he fell victim to the band's strict rules, being bought out in 1935 due to alcohol-related infractions.
Manager Cork O'Keefe was made a Vice President in the corporation and arranged bookings in venues such as Glen Island casino, which they helped popularize, and the Essex House Hotel, that lead to their radio appearances
Their mid-1930s appearances on the long-run radio comedy-variety program, the Camel Caravan (introduced with their theme, "Smoke Rings") increased their popularity. Interestingly enough, Gray chose not to conduct the band in the early years, playing in the saxophone section while violinist Mel Jenssen acted as conductor. In 1937, the band overwhelmingly voted in favor of Glen leading the orchestra, and Gray finally accepted the job.
Hits included "Casa Loma Stomp," "No Name Jive" and "Maniac's Ball". Part of the reason for the band's decline is that other big bands included in their books hard-swinging numbers emulating the hot Casa Loma style. In the late 1930s Gray took top billing, and by the mid-1940s (as the other original players left) Gray would come to own the band and the Casa Loma name. For a time, during this period, the band featured guitarist Herb Ellis, trumpeter Bobby Hackett, pianist Nick Denucci and cornetist Red Nichols. By 1950, the Casa Loma band had ceased touring, Gray retired to Massachusetts, and the later recordings on Capitol (beginning with Casa Loma in Hi-Fi in 1956 and continuing through the Sounds of the Great Bands series) were done by studio musicians in Hollywood.
TAKE THE A TRAIN
"Take the 'A' Train" is a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn that was the signature tune of the Duke Ellington orchestra. The title refers to the then relatively new A subway service that runs through New York City, going at that time from eastern Brooklyn (opened in 1936) up into Harlem and northern Manhattan, using an express track section (opened in 1932) in Manhattan.
"Take the 'A' Train" was composed in 1939, after Ellington offered Strayhorn a job in his organization and gave him money to travel from Pittsburgh to New York City. Ellington wrote directions for Strayhorn to get to his house by subway, directions that began, "Take the A Train". Strayhorn was a great fan of Fletcher Henderson's arrangements. "One day, I was thinking about his style, the way he wrote for trumpets, trombones and saxophones, and I thought " I would try something like that."
MHO
Big Band music at it's best with one of the best jazz standards ever written, played by the best musicians "around" and arranged by the "elite" of the music business ! Smooth sounding saxes, terrific trombones and tentalizing trumpets.... so, sit back, relax and enjoy this tempo driven train trip !
