Sunday, June 30, 2019

The Ted Lane Sound


I get a kick out of today's billing, and that's what's referenced in the name of this post. More on that just below. But first, I am featuring today one of the singers at the Sterling label, who hasn't been featured enough (because she's not on that many records, and because I have even fewer than that), Shelley Stuart. I have consistently - during three other posts feature her work - misspelled her name as Shelly, despite the fact that the correct spelling was clearly evident on the labels of all three records featured in those posts. I hope to fix those posts, or at least the labels, soon.

Anyway, in this case, Shelley has a peppy, pleading number to sing, titled "Come and Take Care of Me". She is accompanied (as is the case with her label mate on the flip side), by "Ted Lane's Orchestra", a combo which shows up infrequently enough on Sterling records that it is not found on any of the records indexed on the Sterling page of the song-poem website. But here's the thing: You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who can tell the different between Ted's band and Lew Tobin's ensemble, which is usually credited (if a backing "orchestra" is identified at all. This is clearly the same band. So what's the story there? I recognize that I may well be the only person who cares.

Download: Shelley Stuart, Ted Lane's Orchestra - Come and Take Care of Me
Play:

On the flip side is everyone's favorite Norm, Norm Burns, here going by the more formal Norman Burns, backed again by Ted and the boys, led off by a loping and appealing guitar introduction, and then going into a tune, "Little Butterfly", that is completely in Norm(an)'s wheel house. It's fairly slight, but his vocal is appealing,and I sure do like that repeating guitar phrase.

Download: Norman Burns, Ted Lane's Orchestra - Little Butterfly
Play:



3 comments:

Stu Shea said...

I really dig both of these. Thanks for posting!

Perhaps prospective s-p buyers were given the option of having the billing be a singer AND a band, or just a singer.

Sometimes I also wonder if the song-poets could pay more and get a full, rather than partial, songwriting credit.

Timmy said...

Yessum's... BOTH these two completely different sides are winners.

Zoey R said...

I enjoyed reading thhis