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GREAT BRITISH DANCE BANDS PLAY THE MUSIC

OF NACIO HERB BROWN

Text Box: Nacio Herb Brown b. 22 February 1896, Deming, New Mexico, USA, d. 28 September 1964, San Francisco, California, USA.   After studying piano with his mother (his father was the local sheriff), Brown graduated from Musical Art High School, Los Angeles, but then took a course in business administration.   Before long, however, he was playing piano as accompanist to vaudeville singer Alice Doll. A year later he became a tailor in Hollywood, dabbling in real estate on the side, and by 1920 was wealthy enough to hang up his tailors' scissors and start writing songs. His first was Coral Sea, written in 1920 with Alice Doll's husband, Jack (who used the pseudonym Zany King).   Later in the decade he collaborated with Richard Whiting (father of singer Margaret Whiting) and Arthur Freed, with whom he wrote songs for the movie The Broadway Melody (1929). This collaboration produced the songs Broadway Melody, You Were Meant For Me and The Wedding Of The Painted Doll. Another film of the same year, The Hollywood Revue featured Singin' In The Rain.   Brown also collaborated with Whiting and Buddy De Sylva on Eadie Was A Lady for the 1932 Broadway show Take A Chance. Brown continued to collaborate with Freed on film songs, one of which was All I Do Is Dream Of You, written for Sadie McKee (1934) and reprised in 1953 in Singin' In The Rain.   Also heard again in that film were the Freed-Brown songs, You Are My Lucky Star and I've Got A Feelin' You're Foolin', written for The Broadway Melody Of 1936. The team also wrote Alone for the Marx Brothers film A Night At The Opera (1935). The 1939 film Babes In Arms, which starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, included Good Morning, yet another song to delight a later generation of filmgoers in Singin' In The Rain.   In the early '40s Brown had other collaborators for songs such as You Stepped Out Of A Dream (with Gus Kahn) and Love Is Where You Find It (with Earl K. Brent). Brown retired at the end of the '40s, but saw his music revived thanks largely to Singin' In The Rain, a film produced by Freed and said to trace aspects of the life of the duo. In celebration of their return to acclaim, they wrote one original song for the film, Make ' Em Laugh. In February 1960 the authorities in Deming celebrated the 64th birthday of their most famous citizen by naming a city park after him. Brown died in September 1964.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume One

 

1)      The Doll Dance  Debroy Somers Band  Col 4462  7/7/1927

2)      Moonlit Waters  Savoy Orpheans  HMV B-5369  9/30/1927 – vCyril Ramon Newton

3)      Broadway Melody  Arthur Rosenberry and His Kit-Cat Dance Band  Par R-383  6/7/1929 – vLen Lees

4)      Wedding Of The Painted Doll  Jack Hylton and His Orchestra  HMV B-5637  4/26/1929 – vSam Browne

5)      You Were Meant For Me  Arthur Rosebery and His Kit-Cat Dance Band  Par R-383  6/7/1929 – vLen Lees+

6)      Pagan Love Song   Jack Hylton and His Orchestra  HMV B-5697  8/29/1929 – vSam Browne

7)      Broadway Melody/You Were Meant For Me  Jack Hylton and His Orchestra  HMV B-5659  5/31/1929 – vSam Browne

8)      Singin' In The Rain  Jack Hylton and His Orchestra  HMV B-5700  9/9/1929 – vSam Browne

9)      Wedding Of The Painted Doll – Ambrose And His Orchestra   Dec M-37  6/13/1929 – spBert Ambrose

10)   Broadway Melody  Phillip Lewis and His Dance Orchestra  Dec F-1508   7/20/1929 – vMaurice Elwin

11)   Chant Of The Jungle  Jack Hylton and His Orchestra  HMV B-5792  2/14/1930 – vPat O’Malley

12)   Pagan Love Song – Ambrose  Dec M-79  10/7/1929 – vLou Abelardo

13)   Blondy – Ambrose and His  Orchestra  Dec M-115  January 22, 1930 – vSam Browne

14)   Should I?  White Star Syncopators  Pic 603  ca. 1930

15)   Singin' In The Rain  Arcadians Dance Orchestra - Bert Firman 11/13/1929

16)   After Your Kiss  Jack Hylton and His Orchestra     HMV B-5898  9/9/1930 – vPat O’Malley

17)   Paradise  Ambrose and His Orchestra  HMV B-6178  5/6/1932 – vSam Browne

18)   All I Do Is Dream Of You –  Ray Noble  7/11/1934 – vAl Bowlly

19)  You’re An Old Smoothie -  Debroy Somers  Col CB-658  9/9/1933

20)    Fit As A Fiddle  Carroll Gibbons & His Boyfriends  DB 1081  2/2/1933

21)  Going Hollywood Medley  Jack Payne and The BBC Orch  Rex 8751     2/28/1934

22)  All I Do Is Dream Of You  Henry Hall and The BBC Dance Orchestra  Col CB-779  8/18/1934 – vLes Allen

BONUS TRACKS

23)  You Stepped Out Of A Dream – Hutch

24)  Good Morning – Celia Lipton (The British Judy Garland)

25)    Broadway Rhythm – The Radio Three

 

 

GREAT BRITISH DANCE BANDS PLAY THE MUSIC OF NACIO HERB BROWN

Volume Two

 

1)      Fit As A Fiddle  The Three Keys  Br 1402

2)      Broadway Rhythm  Harry Roy and His Orchestra  Par F-314  11/5/1935 – vHarry Roy + Chorus

3)      Alone   Mrs. Jack Hylton and Her Band  Crown 167  3/23/1936

4)      You Are My Lucky Star  Mrs. Jack Hylton and Her Band  Crown 79  10/29/1935

5)      All I Do Is Dream Of You – Roy Fox  Dec F-5123  7/12/1934 – vSid Buckman

6)      Would You?  Henry Hall and The BBC Dance Orchestra  Col FB-1426  6/2/1936

7)      I've Got A Feelin' You're Foolin'  Charlie Kunz and The Casani Club Orch  Rex 8681  12/1/1935

8)      You Are My Lucky Star  Carroll Gibbons and The Savoy Hotel Orpheans  Col FB-1229  11/12/1935

9)      Good Morning – Geraldo And His Orchestra  1935

10)  Broadway Rhythm – Carroll Gibbons  And The Savoy Orpheans  Col FB-1202  10/28/1935

11)  Alone – Maurice Winnick And His Band  Par F-395  2/5/1936

12)  Would You? – Henry Hall And His Orchestra  Col FB-1426  6/2/1936 – vBert Yartlett

13)  You Are My Lucky Star – Ambrose And His Orchestra Dec F-5740  11/13/1935

14)  Good Morning – Victor Sylvester And His Ballroom Orchestra  Par F-1670  2/8/1940

15)  Would You? – Jay Wilbur And His Orchestra with Gracie Fields  7/1/1936

16)  Alone – Jack Payne Rex 8751  3/1/1936 – vRonnie Genarder

17)  We’ll Make Hay While The Sun Shines – Billy Merrin And His Commanders  RZ MR-1235  1/26/1934

18)  Broadway Rhythm – Ambrose And His Orchestra  Dec F-5740  11/5/1935

19)  I'm Feelin' Like A Million  Nat Gonella and His Georgians  9/15/1937 – vNat Gonella + two others

20)  Your Broadway and My Broadway  Jack Harris And His Orchestra  HMV BD-5292  11/1/1937 – vFred Latham

21)  Good Morning  Jack Hylton and His Orchestra  HMV BD-5556  12/22/1939 – vDolly Elsi

22)  Fit As A Fiddle  The Three Keys  Br 1402

BONUS TRACKS

23)  Broadway Melody – Layton and Johnston

24)  The Wedding Of The Painted Doll – Layton and Johnston

25)  You Were Meant For Me – Layton and Johnston