Artist:Rosemary Clooney w/The Benny Goodman Trio
Song:Memories of You
Album:Jazz Singer
Of course Rosemary Clooney was best known for her novelty songs recorded for Columbia Records in the early 50s. But she always wanted to be a jazz singer. She sang jazz before she was famous. So she was always butting heads with Columbia A&R head Mitch Miller. Not to mention that Rosemary was in the 1954 film White Christmas. Also The Benny Goodman Story was coming out. So Miller relented and let Rosemary record jazz. First she recorded the album Blue Rose with Duke Ellington. Then she recorded A Date with the King with Goodman. Memories of You reached #20 on the pop charts. Certainly not on a par with Rosemary's novelty songs but pretty good for what is supposed to be a jazz record. And Columbia wasn't promoting Rosemary anymore. Memories of You was written by Andy Razaf and Eubie Blake in 1930. Louis Armstrong popularized the song. Then a version by the vocal group The Four Coins appeared in The Benny Goodman Story. Rosemary's recording charted higher. Though Goodman was famous for his big band recordings, I always preferred his small band recordings. On this recording, we get his trio of Dick Hyman on piano and Bobby Donaldson on drums. A Date with the King was released as a 10" LP in 1956. Collectables has bundled it with a couple of Rosemary's 10" LPs. But I like this 2003 CD that Columbia Legacy released to focus on Rosemary's jazz recordings. It has some Goodman, Ellington and other stuff. And it's a budget CD. A Date with the King was at the end of Rosemary's run at Columbia. After one more album, she left for MGM. Here's a video for Memories of You by Rosemary Clooney with The Benny Goodman Trio.
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