#921 (3/2/19)

SPOTLIGHT ON THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS -
PART THREE OF THREE (SEGMENT "B")

"But She's My Buddy's Chick" The Delta Rhythm Boys on Decca 18911 A released in 1946

"Just Squeeze Me"/ "Hello, Goodbye, Forget It" The Delta Rhythm Boys on Decca 23771 A/B released in 1946

"Jenny Kissed Me"/ "Bye, Bye, Alibi Baby" The Delta Rhythm Boys on RCA Victor 20-2183-A/B released in 1947

"I'm Awfully Strong For You" The Delta Rhythm Boys on RCA Victor 20-2271-A released in 1947

"Dancin' With Someone" The Delta Rhythm Boys on RCA Victor (DJ) 20-5217 released in 1953

(Includes Audio For Twenty-Four Songs)

[Above photo courtesy of Paul Ressler with restoration by Tony Fournier.]

Above: The Delta Rhythm Boys (L-R) Clinton Holland, Traverse Crawford, Harry Lewis, Rene DeKnight, and Lee Gaines.

Above: The Delta Rhythm Boys switch to RCA Victor. Clipping is from The Billboard dated 2/1/47.

ARTICLES AND BLURBS.... THE BILLBOARD, November 2, 1946: NIGHT CLUB REVIEW—CHARLEY FOY'S, SHERMAN OAKS, CALIF. It's a short, zippy show at Charley Foy's, featuring the Delta Rhythm Boys. Vocal group dishes out a well-rounded assortment of pop and novelty tunes to everyone's liking. Harmonizers open with an original arrangment of St. Louis Blues, followed by Black Magic. By the time they offer Dry Bones, a number which they helped popularize via platters, ringsiders were clamoring for more. Encore couplet offered a parody on Rigoletto and Doin' What Comes Natur'lly with new lyrics. Boys prove equally at home on nitery floor or before radio mikes. Adds up to sock entertainmemt.... PITTSBURGH COURIER, May 24, 1947: DELTA RHYTHM BOYS ON POLICE SHOW HOLLYWOOD—The sensational Delta Rhythm Boys, regular fixture during the entire season on two of the country's most popular radio shows—the Joan Davis revue (CBS, Mondays) and the Amos 'n Andy program (NBC, Tuesdays)—will be one of the chief attractions every evening during this year's annual Police Show at the Shrine Auditorium June 14-25, it was announced this week. The quintet, whose recent Victor recording of "Jenny Kissed Me" and "Alibi Baby" is sweeping the country, has become one of America's top singing combinations. The unit leaves Hollywood shortly after the Shrine affair to open an extended engagement at the swank Last Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev., in July. THE BILLBOARD, October 9, 1948: NIGHT CLUB REVIEW—BLUE ANGEL, NEW YORK ....The Delta Rhythm Boys (four singers and a pianist) had the joint rocking. The boys started slow with How High The Moon but got to them and never let go with Dry Bones, The Power Of A Woman and Juana. The last two had sock lyrics, with Juana's double entendres good for plenty of laughs. In their choice of numbers and in their slick manners, the unit fits the room like a glove.... JET MAGAZINE, May 1952: OLYMPICS BOUND: The Delta Rhythm Boys arrived in Stockholm. Sweden, where they will make recordings in Swedish as well as appear in numerous concerts during their two and one-half month tour of Europe. From Stockholm, they will go to Finland to sing at the Olympic Games, then to Italy, Belgium and France. (See accompanying picture at right) THE BILLBOARD, July 26, 1952: DELTA RHYTHM CLICK ABROAD IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES STOCKHOLM—America's Delta Rhythm Boys, who have found the going smoother and more successful ever since their arrival in Europe a few seasons ago, have mastered several foreign tongues, and it's really paying off for them. Aside from their vast repertoire of American tunes, the group has also hit the jack-pot singing songs in Swedish. Exclusive recording artists for the Metronome (Mercury represenatives in Sweden and Finland) label, the Delta Rhythm Boys have recently sold over 100,000 disks here of an old Swedish folk tune, "Flickorna i Smaland [The Girls In Smaland]." This figure is equivalent to at least a 500,000 seller in America in the opinion of music men in Scandinavia. The Deltas' Swedish-singing success is also evident with the soaring sales of a current favorite "Flottarkarlek," and they are also sparking the revival of an old Swedish number, "En Rod Liten Stuga [A Small Red Cottage]," which Duke Ellington introduced more than a decade ago on a European tour. Metronome President Larry Burman announced that the boys will spend 12 days next month recording material in other languages—Finnish, French and Italian. All this in addition to another set of American standards which the group had been popularizing on current tour of one-nighters in Sweden. After their Swedish junket, they play Belgium and England.

EXTRA AUDIO #1 (Windows Media Player):

AT LEFT: RCA Victor 20-2588-A label. Both sides were recorded on October 31, 1947. The record was released in December 1947. "Little Small Town Girl" was also done by The Blenders and Ella Fitzgerald with Bill Kenny of the Ink Spots, both of these on Decca in 1951 (see below). The Cash Box Review (1/3/48): DELTA RHYTHM BOYS — RCA VICTOR 20-2588.... Little Small Town Girl/Ain't Gonna Worry 'Bout A Soul More mellow tones of harmony, this time by the Delta Rhythm Boys. The stuff they spiel with makes you want to set awhile — it's that good. Labeled "Little Small Town Girl", the group spill their wax message in first rate tones of musical splendor to rate heavily. Title gives off the lead here with the background music blending ace high. On the flip with "Ain't Gonna Worry 'Bout A Soul", the crew come back again to turn in another grade A performance. Ops with spots that go for real clever work, are sure to want to get this duo. LISTEN: 1. "Little Small Town Girl (With The Big Town Dreams)" - The Delta Rhythm Boys - RCA Victor 20-2588-A - 1947. 2. "Ain't Gonna Worry 'Bout A Soul" - The Delta Rhythm Boys - RCA Victor 20-2588-B - 1947. BOTH SIDES played in sequence.

AT FAR LEFT: Decca 27403 white "DJ" label. The record was recorded on October 4, 1950 and released in January 1951. AT IMMEDIATE LEFT: Decca 27419 label. The record was recorded on December 20, 1950 and released in February 1951. While the label states "Ink Spots", it is essentially Bill Kenny "of The Ink Spots." The Cash Box Review (2/3/51): THE BLENDERS — DECCA 27403.... Little Small Town Girl A terrific singing group, The Blenders, turns up with a tune that's making headway. Given a very smooth going over by the boys, this disk is very easy to listen to and has a great deal to offer ops.... LISTEN: 1. "Little Small Town Girl (With The Big Town Dreams)" - The Blenders - Decca 27403 - 1951. 2. "Little Small Town Girl (With The Big Town Dreams" - Ella Fitzgerald And The Ink Spots - Decca 27419 - 1951. BOTH SIDES played in sequence. ALL THREE VERSIONS OF THIS SONG played in sequence.

EXTRA AUDIO #2 (Windows Media Player):

THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS SING ON THE AMOS 'N' ANDY RADIO SHOW (Thank you, Phil Beauchamp, for your assist in locating these shows.) The Delta Rhythm Boys were the often featured singers on the Amos 'N' Andy radio show from 1945 to 1947. LISTEN TO SONGS EXTRACTED FROM THE AMOS 'N' ANDY SHOW: SHOW DATE 03/05/46............. 03/12/46............. 10/01/46............. 10/15/46............. 01/14/47............. 01/21/47............. 02/04/47............. 03/25/47............. 04/08/47............. 04/29/47............. SONG TITLE LIGHTNING ALWAYS CHASING RAINBOWS LOUISE BLUES IN THE NIGHT SOONER OR LATER BREEZING ALONG WITH THE BREEZE ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH ROUTE 66 APRIL SHOWERS/SINGING IN THE RAIN YOU CAN'T SEE THE SUN WHEN YOU'RE CRYING ALL TEN SELECTIONS played in sequence.

EXTRA AUDIO #3 (Windows Media Player):

AT LEFT: The Delta Rhythm Boys autographing their latest releases on the Metronome label in Sweden. Viewable in the photo are (L-R) Carl Jones, Lee Gaines, and an interested youngster. Metronome Records was established in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1949 by brothers Anders and Lars Burman (Note "Andrew Burman's Band" on label below). The Delta Rhythm Boys had many releases on the Metronome label. Esquire Records, located in England, was founded in 1947. Their catolog included recordings supplied, under license, from Metronome. LISTEN: 1. "I've Got You Under My Skin" - The Delta Rhythm Boys - Metronome B 522 - 1950. 2. "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" - The Delta Rhythm Boys - Esquire 5-072 - 1950. 3. "9:20 Special" - The Delta Rhythm Boys - Metronome B 575 - 1951. ALL THREE SIDES played in sequence.

[Above photo provided by Hans-Joachim Krohberger.]

Above: Photo is Sweden in 1952.
(Standing L-R) The Deep River Boys: Edward Ware, Carter Wilson, Harry Douglass, Vernon Gardner, and Cameron Williams.
(Seated L-R) The Delta Rhythm Boys: Carl Jones, Cliff Holland, Lee Gaines, Rene DeKnight, and Traverse Crawford.

Above Left: Label image of Decca 18911 recorded on May 17, 1946 and released in July 1946.

Above Right: Label image of Decca 23771 recorded on October 17, 1946 and released in December 1946. The flip was recorded on March 21, 1946.

Above: Label image of RCA Victor 20-2271 recorded on January 30, 1947 and released in May 1947.

The Billboard Review (5/24/47):

DELTA RHYTHM BOYS — Victor 20-2271....I'm Awfully Strong For You
The Delta Rhythm Boys style it neatly for George M. Cohan's I'm Awfully Strong For You,
contrasting the slow ballad stanza by the solo voice with a frame for their rhythmic harmonies in the bounce tempo.

NOTE: Most discographical information provided at this website is from Ferdie Gonzalez' Disco-File.

Listen to this week's selections featuring The Delta Rhythm Boys on Decca/RCA Victor from 1946/1953 using Windows Media Player:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]

1. But She's My Buddy's Chick           2. Just Squeeze Me           3. Hello, Goodbye, Forget It           4. Jenny Kissed Me           5. Bye, Bye, Alibi Baby           6. I'm Awfully Strong For You           7. Dancin' With Someone             ALL SEVEN ABOVE SIDES played in sequence           [To download audio files, right-click on song title           link and then click "Save link (target) as..."]                      At Right: Delta Rhythm Boys Clipping           From Vancouver Sun 8/5/47

Click HERE for SPOTLIGHT ON THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS - PART ONE (FEATURING MILDRED BAILEY).
Click HERE for SPOTLIGHT ON THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS - PART TWO (FEATURING ELLA FITZGERALD).
Click HERE for SPOTLIGHT ON THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS - PART THREE (SEGMENT "A").
(Above links will open in a separate window)