I first began looking into the recordings of 1940s singer Jeri Sullivan because I had a Signature label 78 of hers that I liked. I soon found out that her career was far more interesting than I had suspected. You can read more about her in the earlier posts devoted to her life and recordings.

Today we come full circle back to the first recording I owned, but on a different label. This post - courtesy of vocal aficionado Bryan Cooper - consists of the 12 Sullivan recordings issued by Standard Transcriptions in the 1940s, which are almost certainly sourced from session or sessions that also came out at least in part on the short-lived Signature label.

The origin of the Signature/Standard recordings is not entirely clear. I believe that they first were the property of United Artists Records (UAR), which had been a semi-vanity label. As Billboard explained in 1948, "UAR assumed pressing operations of masters produced by individual artists on a profit-sharing basis. UAR and producers split net profits equally after production and pressing costs were deducted."

A good assumption might be that Sullivan proffered her recordings to UAR on this basis. Then, when UAR went under in 1948 it sold the 12 masters to Signature. At some point, Standard Transcriptions leased or acquired the same masters as fodder for its business of supplying recorded music to radio stations.

I previously speculated that the United Artists/Signature/Standard masters could have been made as early as 1944, because they contain a version of "Dream House," the theme song of Sullivan's radio show of the time. It now seems more likely that they come from 1946. At that time, her backing artists (the Les Baxter Singers and the Johnny White combo) were recording together. Vibist White was a member of Benny Goodman's orchestra throughout 1946, while Baxter was making records with Mel Tormé as one of the Mel-Tones.

Another one of my speculations was that the Les Baxter group backing Jeri was the same as the Mel-Tones. The Standard Transcriptions seem to bear that out - they call the singers the Mel-Tones on the labels. Perhaps Siganture did not want to or could not use the name Mel-Tones when Tormé was recording for the rival Musicraft company.

Now let's discuss the music at hand, and how it relates to what we have heard in previous Sullivan posts.

First, there are several new items: "I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You," "But Beautiful," "I Wish I Had a Penny," "Let's Do It," "There's a Small Hotel" and "Forgotten Blues." As far as I know, Signature did not release these masters. A few of these songs also can be heard in different versions from rare and probably unique demo recordings graciously contributed by Simon Buckmaster in a previous post.

Two additional songs - "Love Ain't No Good" and "Regular Man" - were previously heard only in incomplete versions also contributed by Simon. (That post also contains two additional rare songs that were issued on the Metro Hollywood label.)

"Cowboy Jamboree," "Dream House," "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" and "You've Been So Good to Me Daddy" have previously been uploaded from Signature pressings found in my collection and that of Bryan Cooper.

The sound on the Standard Transcriptions is at least as good as the Signature masters. However, all the recordings were pitched too high, which I have adjusted. The transfers come from two 16-inch Standard discs, R-193 and R-197. The download also includes two rave reviews from Cash Box.

These are all exceptional recordings from a much underrated singer, who is heard here at her warm and intimate best. I am so grateful to Bryan Cooper for his generosity, and want to thank him and Simon Buckmaster again for sharing their treasures with us.

Looking ahead, Bryan has sent me eight Hal Derwin recordings from his collection that weren't included in my recent post of that singer's discs. Coming up soon!

This is a continuation of two ongoing series - one devoted to the music of Howard Swanson, the other to the recordings of conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. The record also contains music by Sergei Prokofiev, which the blog has presented a number of times as well.

This 1950 LP is unusual in that represents the only appearance of Mitropoulos on US Decca records. At the time, he was recording for Columbia with his band, the New York Philharmonic.

Dimitri Mitropoulos

The Philharmonic does not appear here, but the featured ensemble is related to the Philharmonic even so. Its unwieldly name, "The New York Ensemble of the Philharmonic Scholarship Winners," signifies that the musicians all had received scholarships from the Philharmonic in younger years. In gratitude, they banded together to provide their own scholarships to other worthy young musicians. Mitropoulos was the honorary chair of the effort.

While the term "Scholarship Winners" might lead you to think participants were neophytes, that was not the case. All were well-regarded professionals generally in their 30s. The members included clarinetist David Weber, pianist William Masselos, cellist Avron Twerdowsky of the Kroll Quartet, violinist Jacques Margolies and bassist Fred Zimmerman, who were in the Philharmonic at the time, bassoonist Harold Goltzer and his oboist brother Albert, who also were in the Philharmonic for many years, and the well-known horn player David Rattner.

As far as I can tell, this is the only record that the Ensemble made. It is entirely a chamber program, so Mitropoulos' presence may only have been to lend prestige to the affair.

Sergei Prokofiev and Howard Swanson

The bulk of their program is devoted to two Prokofiev works, his Quintet, Op. 39 and his wonderful Overture on Hebrew Themes. Howard Swanson's then-new "Night Music" completes the enjoyable program, which is well played by the talented ensemble. That said, the Swanson perhaps could have sounded more nocturnal and less careful. Also, the witty Prokofiev overture may have benefitted from a more relaxed approach.

Decca's engineers produced sound that was close and a little harsh. It benefited from my adding a small amount of convolution reverberation to the mix. The download includes a review from The Gramophone.

The LP's cover art is by Erik Nitsche, who handled many assignments for Decca during the period. His cabalistic symbols look like they ought to represent something, but I have no idea what. Interpretations are welcome.

My namesake above appears unenthusiastic, but I am pleased to be marking an even (or uneven) 1,000 posts on this blog, spread out over the last 12 years. To celebrate, I've put together a post consisting of 19 tracks either involving artists named Buster or songs with Buster in the title.

So we have Busters Moten, Harding, Bailey, Dees, Benson, Ferguson, Brown, Larsen, Falkenberry and Bennett among the artists, plus songs titled "Button Buster," "Finger Buster," "Atom Buster," "Skull Buster," "Banjo Buster" and "Buster Astor." There are jazz, country, blues and pop records, but no classical items by Buster Heifetz or Buster Toscanini.

My thanks go out to my great pal Ernie Haynes, who has been encouraging me since the beginning - and who actually came up with the concept of this post. And of course thanks to all of you who have followed this blog through the years, especially those who comment. Your contributions make the comment sections just as lively than the posts themselves, if not more so.

Here is some commentary on today's selections, as usual presented in chronological order.

The first selection is "Button Buster" from 1922, a version of the laughing record that was inexplicably popular back then. No artist is listed on this cheapo Grey Gull pressing, but it is thought that the original was recorded in Berlin in 1920 for the Beka label. By the way, I think the record is called "Button Buster" not because you bust your buttons from laughing but you bust the buttons on your player in your frenzy to shut the darn thing off.

Our next item, "Just You, Just Me," comes from 1929 and the almost certainly pseudonymous Buster Benson and His Band, on the Jewel label. The name "Buster Benson" appears on just this one record, and is possibly the better known and wildly prolific recording artist Adrian Schubert under another name. I did need to make a small edit to this transfer to eliminate noise.

Also from 1929 is the Gus Arnheim band on Victor with "One Sweet Kiss," vocal by Buster Dees. The singer did not record much, but managed to make 10 records in 1929 with Arnheim, Henry Halsted and Jackie Taylor.

Buster Moten

From 1932 comes the superb and important Bennie Moten band from Kansas City, featuring Count Basie, Lips Page, Walter Page and Eddie Durham. The song "Toby" was written by Bennie's brother Buster Moten and arranger Eddie Barefield.

Moving on to 1937, we have the wonderfully vulgar Western swing anthem "Ain't Nobody Truck Like You" by the Texas band Ocie Stockard and the Wanderers, with a vocal by Buster Ferguson. Despite the title, Buster repeatedly insists that "ain't nobody truck like me" in the lyrics.

The Tune Wranglers, with Buster Coward to the right of the microphone

Another excellent Western band with a fellow named Buster as singer was the fecund Tune Wranglers, also from Texas, who present "Honey, Smile for Me" with Buster Coward on vocals. This, too, was from 1937.

Buster Bailey

Switching styles, we hear from clarinetist Buster Bailey and His Rhythm Busters in "Chained to a Dream," from 1938. I could have made a post of Bailey' records alone - he worked with everyone from W.C. Handy to King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson and John Kirby, among others.

Another key artist was the famous New Orleans pianist Jelly Roll Morton, heard here on "Finger Buster" from 1938, a few years before his early death. I've corrected the pitch on this one.

Our next selection comes from 1940 and returns us to the sound of Kansas City jazz. This record involves two Busters. One is again Buster Moten, who composed "Moten's Swing" with his brother Bennie. As "Moten Swing," this became a standard both in Bennie's own recording and in the Count Basie version of 1940. Our record is a rendition by a studio group led by guitarist Eddie Durham with solos by the brilliant alto saxophonist Buster Smith.

Buster Harding

Our next Buster is Buster Harding, an influential arranger and composer. Here is his composition "Bedford Drive," which he arranged in 1945 for Artie Shaw's band.

Buster Bennett

A much different sound from Shaw's suave tones is provided by the singer and altoist Buster Bennett, who tells us about his "Reefer Head Woman" in this 1945 Columbia recording of his own blues concoction.

Atomic bombs were on everyone's mind in the postwar era, and any number of songs at that time made use of the theme. This 1946 record not only includes it in the title, "Atom Buster," it came out on the Atomic label. The composition, which sounds like it is based on "I Got Rhythm," is by guitarist Barney Kessel, who leads an excellent ensemble in this swinging outing.

I couldn't resist adding another Buster Bennett opus to the mix. This is his entertaining double-entendre blues "Fishin' Pole" (in which he brags about his "very long pole," of course). This came out under the name of tenor saxophonist Tom Archia in a 1947 issue on the Aristocrat label. I faded this one in after a few moments because of groove damage at the record's edge.

Also from 1947 is "Silver and Gold," a pleasant country tune from the obscure Bob Pressley and His Sagebrush Serenaders, with whistling by the even-more-obscure Buster Falkenberry. Pressley cut a total of six sides for Decca at about this time.

Larry Vincent

The Pearl label was mainly if not exclusively a vehicle for the Pearl Boys, who were mainly if not exclusively a vehicle for label owner Larry Vincent and his mildly risque party-record compositions. "Buster Astor" from 1949 is a typical example of his inspirations.

"Skull Buster" from 1949 came out under the name of bop pianist Al Haig, but is mostly a showcase for the superb tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, who was making a name for himself at about this time as a member of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers" band.

Smilin' Ed O'Connell and Froggy the Gremlin

The "Witch-a-Ma-Jig Song" comes to us courtesy of the great Smilin' Ed McConnell and His Buster Brown Gang, who had a well-remembered children's show on both radio and television. The Buster Brown Gang, named after the sponsor, Buster Brown Shoes, featured the inimitable gravel-voiced Froggy the Gremlin, who became one of my favorite impersonations as a annoying teenager ("Hiya, kids! Hiya, hiya!"). I also wore the shoes (see below), although not as an adolescent.

Buster Brown's stylish selections

Quick aside - Buster Brown Shoes were one of the leading examples of a commercial image well outliving its inspiration. Buster Brown was a cartoon character (supposedly inspired by the young Buster Keaton) who had disappeared by the mid-1920s, but he, his pageboy haircut, enormous chapeau and floppy cravat were still selling shoes well into the 50s. Notable recent examples of this atavistic phenomenon are Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, minstrel show stereotypes who are still hawking packaged food today - although not for long.

Arthur Smith and His Cracker-Jacks

Arthur Smith was known as a many-noted guitar player (he is dubbed "Arthur (Guitar Boogie) Smith" on the label of this tune), but on "Banjo Buster" from 1950 he became a many-noted banjo player. As sometimes happened with these knock-'em-out virtuoso exercises, the record company sped up the master to make the playing more impressive, but I've tamed the pitch. Billboard called this selection a "sparkling hunk of hominy," which is saying a lot. The flip side was "Mr. Stalin, You're Eating Too High on the Hog." (Mr. Stalin and his hog are not included here.)

Buster Larsen

Our final Buster is Buster Larsen, a Danish stage, film and TV actor of the time. His selection is titled "På Bustur Med Buster" ("On a Bus Trip with Buster"). Could you imagine something like this today - "On a Bus Trip with Lady Gaga." "På Bustur" comes from 1957.

Thanks, everyone, for taking this bus trip through my record collection for the past 12 years! Hope you have enjoyed yourselves.

In closing, let me mention some frequent commenters and contributors, knowing that I am sure to forget some people - in no particular order, Charlot, centuri, David Federman, Bryan Cooper, 8HHaggis, JAC, Ernie, A N Other, Scoredaddy, Eric, Grover Gardner, Andy Propst, jserraglio, coppinsuk, Sky Raven, gpdlt2000, Phillip, alfred venison, Boursin, Lennonka, Your Pal Doug, Rich, Addison, rev.b, styles, Jim, StealthMan, Rich, Rootie, SwingKing, Morris, RonH, monkeeboy, RecordHunter, hkitt42, iracema1, Jim in Seattle, flurb, TupeloBrian, Badgercat, kiken, 78heretic, dave_bruce, Geoconno, Nigel, Nick, Randy, Lee Hartsfeld, Ronnie, Alan Eichler, Kevin WOlf, luckymike, boppinbob, bhowani, jeronimo, barba, thedentist, Kwork, BobSanders, Muff Diver, Ravel, flyingfinger, woolfnotes, Moahaha, Wortley Clutterbuck, Andrew, dgrb, MOQChoir, tony, DonHo57, Richard Bock, Rio Veneno and Unknown. Thanks to them and everyone else who has been part of this wonderful community!