#741 (Week of 1/21/12 - 1/27/12)

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IN MEMORY OF AL "STOMP" RUSSELL
(WHO LEFT US ON DECEMBER 24, 2011)

"Dig Mister K. Kay Kay"/"More Than You Know"
by Al "Stomp" Russell Trio
Vocal by "Doc" Basso And Trio
on Excelsior OR-180A/B
released in 1946

Above: Excelsior clipping of Al "Stomp" Russell Trio from The Billboard 6/8/46. (Top) Al "Stomp" Russell (piano), (Bottom L-R) Joel Cowan (guitar), William "Doc Basso" Joseph (bass fiddle). All three were tenor singers.

Excerpts from The Billboard:
(5/5/45) Hollywood: Al (Stomp) Russell Trio at Venetian Room, Long Beach, Calif. Just cut four sides for Peerless Records....
(NOTE: Peerless was associated with Coast Records.)

(5/4/46) Hollywood: ....Al Russell Trio is latest combo to sign exclusive contract with Excelsior.

(5/17/47) Chicago: Al (Stomp) Russell Trio cut four sides for DeLuxe platters here this week....

Click HERE for an article about The Al Russell Trio/Do Ray Me Trio by Marv Goldberg.
(Will open in a separate window)

Above: Al "Stomp" Russell Trio clippings from The Billboard.... (Left) review dated 8/10/46 and (Right) column dated 7/20/46.

Above: Label images of Excelsior OR-180A/B released in July 1946. It was the Al "Stomp" Russell Trio's fourth of four releases on Excelsior (1946). In addition, they backed Timmie Rogers on two records (one side each) as their initial efforts for Excelsior (1945). They also had releases on Coast (1945), 20th Century (1946-47), Sapphire (1947), Apollo (1947), and DeLuxe (1947).

In 1947, William "Doc Basso" Joseph left the group and was replaced by Joe Davis (bass fiddle). They then changed their name to Do Ray And Me (and seemingly countless variations of this name thereafter).

Listen to this week's selections by Al "Stomp" Russell Trio on Excelsior OR-180A/B from 1946:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]

A. Stream RealAudio...             1. Dig Mister K. Kay Kay           2. More Than You Know             BOTH played in sequence      B. Download RealAudio...             1. Dig Mister K. Kay Kay           2. More Than You Know      C. Stream/Download Media Player...             1. Dig Mister K. Kay Kay           2. More Than You Know

     [To download audio files, right-click on link and then select "Save (Link) Target As..."]

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