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Dick Haymes: On the Air-Volume 5 (1945-47)

By Dave Nathan
July 1, 2000
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Just released, this is the 5th volume of the Dick Haymes Society's project to issue as much of previously unavailable Haymes material as possible. Covering the years 1945 to 1947, most of the cuts on this CD come from his Auto Lite shows of this period. Other cuts are from the Personal Album series made for the Army and Air Force Radio Service. The Auto Lite series was done before a live audience and featured the orchestra and arrangements of Gordon Jenkins. Helen Forrest, Haymes' favorite singing partner, does a solo and one duet with Haymes. The singing group, 4 Hits & A Miss, back Haymes on four cuts. Jenkins' arrangements provide the musical backdrop which highlight the strengths of Haymes' vocalizing.

All of the material on this disk was familiar to the listening public of the day and many of them have moved on to become well-thumbed pages in the Great American Songbook. There are some very forgettable musical odds and ends here as well, but the good stuff is in the majority. Unfortunately, the two duets with Forrest fall into the "why did they record that?" category. Haymes delivers everything, the good and the bad, with his very recognizable voice. There's a good balance between up tempo, novelty tunes and those lovely ballads which seem to be just made for Haymes' deep, melodic baritone. Tunes like "I Can't Begin to Tell You", "I Could Write a Book", "More than You Know" and especially "No Greater Love" are entrees for a banquet of song on this 78 minute long CD. Haymes' way with romantic lyrics carried him to the highest echelons of popularity rivaling those two other crooners of note, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Perhaps one of the strongest testimonials to his abiding popularity is that 2000 begins the Dick Haymes Society's 26th year of operation.

For Dick Haymes fans, this is a welcome addition to his discography. For those who are not died in the wool "I have to have everything" Haymes devotees, On the Air-Volume 5 provides a good cross section of Haymes' work during some of his most productive years. For more on Haymes, visit Susan Calter's interesting Dick Haymes web page at http://members.aol.com/cozzy7/index.htm.

Tracks:Wait'll I Get My Sunshine in the Moonlight; Aren't You Glad You're You; Let's Fall in Love; It's a Good Day; All Through the Day; Accentuate the Positive; Please Don't Say No; Waitin' for the Train to Come in; My Silent Love; I Could Write a Book; Symphony; Dancing in the Dark; I Got a Gal I Love; Everyone Is Saying Hello Again; The Whiffenpoof Song; Old Folks; That Feelin' in the Moonlight; I Can't Begin to Tell You; More Than You Know; It's only a Paper Moon; Saturday Night; In the Middle of May; The Song Is You; Magic Is the Moonlight; Ole Buttermilk Sky; Slowly; The Girl That I will Marry; Personality; Malibu; No Greater Love; How to Write a Song

Personnel

Dick Haymes

vocals

Dick Haymes - Vocals; Gordon Jenkins - Orchestra; 4 Hits & a Miss - Vocals; Helen Forrest- Vocals

Album information

Title: On the Air-Volume 5 (1945-47) | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Dick Haymes Society

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About Dick Haymes

Instrument: Vocals

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