THE UNIQUES "RENEGADE / MALAGUENA" (1961)

Dick Jensen was a live musical performer of the Rhythm and Blues, Soul, and Gospel genres; a native Hawaiian athletic song stylist and a prime mover of nightclub shows. For a more detailed biography about him, I suggest that you have a look at this other post available here on Stereo Candies.

Born Richard Hiram Jensen in 1942, he first became interested in music through the numerous luaus his family would attend. When the family was back from the barbecue, his mother would often play the guitar and Dick, along with his five brothers and sisters, would sing, and play along on the ukulele, or a nearby spoon and ladle, or whatever might be handy. His first experience on stage was in the fourth grade when he put together a group for a teacher's show.



Dick continued to sing through his formative years and began to gain a local reputation. While he was at Honolulu's Farrington High School, he entered a local talent contest, winning first place, and adopted the stage name of Lance Curtis at the suggestion of Tom Moffatt and Earl Finch, both active as promoters in the local Hawaii scene; the name was choosen for its illusory Hollywoodian qualities.

The award gained Jensen a spot on one of Hawaii's major television shows and led to his first single recording Bye Bye Baby / Lover's Paradise published by Teen Records in 1959.

Sympathy / Leahi, another single credited to Lance Curtis & The Uniques, was released on the same label the following year; "Leahi" is the first Hawaiian song ever recorded with a rock beat.

The Australian edition of "Renegade / Malaguena" released by Strand Records, Side A

In 1960 Jensen graduated from Farrington and forgot his music momentarily, as he began to pursue a career in athletics. After winning Hawaii's "Athlete of the Year" award, he accepted a swimming scholarship to the University of Washington. While at the Seattle campus he began to get together a group during spare time.

In the meantime, The Uniques released two instrumental singles: (Ghost) Riders in the Sky / Taboo on Amber Records, and Renegade / Malaguena on United Southern Artists, Inc. in the U.S.A. and Strand Records in Australia; both of them were released in 1961, it is unclear if they were recorded before Jensen's departure or not...

The Australian edition of "Renegade / Malaguena" released by Strand Records, Side B

Side A offers "Renegade", a simple instrumental piece written by Jackie Bradford and Bobby Sims; I really have no idea who these guys can be...  My first guess was that they could be members of the group, but a deeper search led me close to discover the names of the other four members of The Uniques, and none of them is similar to those of the song's authors: if you take a look at this YouTube video, at about 2:00 you can approximately read the names of each member of the group on the top left: Richard Jensen, Edward Martin, Aaron Waivafolt, Robert Mahim and Abraham Rebago...

On Side B we find a lovely version of "Malaguena", a piece written in 1928 by famous Cuban composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona. The song has since become a standard and has been provided with lyrics in several languages. Strangely enough, the previous Uniques single featured a piece written by Margarita Lecuona, cousin of Ernesto...

The Uniques, exact date unknown, probably taken in 1959-1960

Here's the track list for this 7" single:

01. Renegade (1:54)
02. Malaguena (2:29)

Both tracks were remastered from vinyl in Novmeber 2013 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files, both formats include scans of the original item in PDF format. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.

The following video offers a preview of the remastered single, enjoy The Uniques' take on "Malaguena"!

More information about Dick Jensen is available here:

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/06/22/news/story02.html

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jun/22/il/FP606220304.html

http://www.oahuislandnews.com/May05/Home.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Jensen

I'm currently compiling a Dick Jensen biography, the first part of this work-in-progress covers the period 1942-1972 and is available here.

I'm also trying to compile a Dick Jensen exhaustive discography, my work-in-progress is available here.

Last but not least, I'm also trying to build a collection of Dick Jensen pictures and memorabilia, my work-in-progress is available here.

All my posts dedicated to Dick Jensen on this blog are available here.

I will post more Dick Jensen stuff in the next months, if you have any other useful information about him and his releases or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

THE UNIQUES "(GHOST) RIDERS IN THE SKY / TABOO" (1961)

Dick Jensen was a live musical performer of the Rhythm and Blues, Soul, and Gospel genres; a native Hawaiian athletic song stylist and a prime mover of nightclub shows. For a more detailed biography about him, I suggest that you have a look at this other post available here on Stereo Candies.

Born Richard Hiram Jensen in 1942, he first became interested in music through the numerous luaus his family would attend. When the family was back from the barbecue, his mother would often play the guitar and Dick, along with his five brothers and sisters, would sing, and play along on the ukulele, or a nearby spoon and ladle, or whatever might be handy. His first experience on stage was in the fourth grade when he put together a group for a teacher's show.

Dick continued to sing through his formative years and began to gain a local reputation. While he was at Honolulu's Farrington High School, he entered a local talent contest, winning first place, and adopted the stage name of Lance Curtis at the suggestion of Tom Moffatt and Earl Finch, both active as promoters in the local Hawaii scene; the name was choosen for its illusory Hollywoodian qualities.

The award gained Jensen a spot on one of Hawaii's major television shows and led to his first single recording Bye Bye Baby / Lover's Paradise published by Teen Records in 1959.

Sympathy / Leahi, another single credited to Lance Curtis & The Uniques, was released on the same label the following year; "Leahi" is the first Hawaiian song ever recorded with a rock beat.

In 1960 Jensen graduated from Farrington and forgot his music momentarily, as he began to pursue a career in athletics. After winning Hawaii's "Athlete of the Year" award, he accepted a swimming scholarship to the University of Washington. While at the Seattle campus he began to get together a group during spare time.

In the meantime, The Uniques released two instrumental singles: (Ghost) Riders in the Sky / Taboo on Amber Records - which is the subject of this post - and Renegade / Malaguena on United Southern Artists, Inc. in the U.S.A. and Strand Records in Australia; both of them were released in 1961, it is unclear if they were recorded before Jensen's departure or not...



Side A offers The Uniques' version of the timeless Country classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky", a song written by Stan Jones and first recorded by Burl Ives in 1949. The song was covered by Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee and Spike Jones among the others, and got back in the charts in the early '60s with the instrumental versions recorded by The Ramrods and The Ventures, before being covered again at a later date by Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. By releasing this song in 1961, it seems like The Uniques tried to cash on the success of the other instrumental versions released the same year; here's a few links to the versions recorded by The Ventures, The Ramrods, The Scorpions and The Spotnicks, with a bonus version featuring Neil LeVang on guitar taken from The Lawrence Welk Show.

On the flip side we find a version of the Exotica anthem "Taboo", written by Cuban singer and songwriter Margarita Lecuona, cousin of famous composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona, who is also remembered for her other classic "Babalù". The first version of "Taboo" was recorded by Cuarteto Machin in 1934; the song was later covered by Les Baxter, Arthur Lyman (....who choose it as the title-track of his best-selling album...), Xavier Cougat, Percy Faith, Ferrante & Teicher, Enoch Light and many more... Here's a few links to the versions recorded by Margarita Lecuona herself, Les Baxter, Arthur Lyman, Ahmad Jamal and... The Cramps!

The Uniques, exact date unknown, probably taken in 1959-1960

Here's the track list for this 7" single:

01. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky (2:12)
02. Taboo (2:36)

Both tracks were remastered from vinyl in August 2013 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files, both formats include scans of the original item in PDF format. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.

The following video offers a preview of the remastered single, enjoy the glorious cavalcade of "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky"!

More information about Dick Jensen is available here:

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/06/22/news/story02.html

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jun/22/il/FP606220304.html

http://www.oahuislandnews.com/May05/Home.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Jensen

I'm currently compiling a Dick Jensen biography, the first part of this work-in-progress covers the period 1942-1972 and is available here.

I'm also trying to compile a Dick Jensen exhaustive discography, my work-in-progress is available here.

Last but not least, I'm also trying to build a collection of Dick Jensen pictures and memorabilia, my work-in-progress is available here.

All my posts dedicated to Dick Jensen on this blog are available here.

I will post more Dick Jensen stuff in the next months, if you have any other useful information about him and his releases or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

THE GRAND AWARD ALL STARS "BRASS, BONGOS, FLUTES AND GUITARS" (1961)

«Grand Award Records have been created to bring to the discerning, discriminating and appreciative person perfection in Spectacular Stereophonic Sound.

The unusually full and brilliantly realistic quality of this Grand Award record is the result of a remarkable new development in stereophonic recording. It is called Spectacular Stereophonic Sound.

Grand Award's Spectacular Stereophonic Sound includes a key element that is not found in other two channel recording systems - the newly developed Grand Award "Phase X" process. "Phase X" is an engineering achievement which creates a complete panorama of sound and eliminates the "hole in the middle" effect which gives the impression that unrelated sound is coming from two separate side sources.

The world's greatest artists possess an ability to achieve exciting musical interpretations. Grand Award's Spectacular Stereophonic Sound with "Phase X" assists the great artists, who record for them, to bring to you the priceless beauty, individuality and "definition" of their performances in true Spectacular Stereophonic Sound.»

[from the liner notes of "Brass, Bongos, Flutes and Guitars"]



Hey, this place is called Stereo Candies, so it's time to post something that really - and literally - fits this concept. I think that "Brass, Bongos, Flutes and Guitars" by The Grand Award All Stars will do the job excellently.

The Grand Award record label was formed in 1955; its president was Enoch Light, who later formed Command in 1959 with the specific aim of capitalizing on the emerging market of stereo fanatics.

Light was a classical violinist, bandleader and recording engineer. He is credited with being one of the first musicians to go to extreme lengths to create high-quality recordings that took full advantage of the technical capabilities of home audio equipment of the late '50s and early '60s, particularly stereo effects that bounced the sounds between the right and left channels.

He was a meticulous engineer and put as much effort into the quality of his recording equipment and production systems as into the music itself. He was the first to arrange the musicians in the studio to suit the audio effects he wanted to achieve. He devoted a considerable amount of prose to describe the acoustic aspects of each number, to the point that he popularized a new LP packaging format, the gatefold, to fit it all in!



"Brass, Bongos, Flutes and Guitars" was released in May 1961; the album features twelve numbers that stock up on popular repertoire from the previous decades, but also include a rendition of "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The Grand Award All Stars members on this record include top session-men and musicians like percussionists Phil Kraus and Bob Rosengarden, trumpeter Doc Severinsen, guitarist Tony Mottola, double bassist Jack Lesberg, accordionist Dominic Cortese, saxophonist Phil Bodner and many, many more.

An advertisement promoting Grand Award Records stereo catalogue taken from an early 1960 issue of Billboards

"Brass, Bongos, Flutes and Guitars" contains the following tracks:

01. This Can't Be Love (2:44)
02. Scheherazade (3:17)
03. The Breeze and I (2:35)
04. Organ Grinder's Swing (2:21)
05. Now Is the Hour (3:39)
06. Harbor Lights (3:03)
07. Heartaches (2:22)
08. Moonlight On the Ganges (3:21)
09. Once In Love With Amy (2:56)
10. You Go To My Head (2:24)
11. Miss Otis Regrets (3:01)
12. Indian Summer (3:22)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in February 2013 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with complete artwork reconstruction and printable PDF files.

Please have a look at the comments for the download links.



Here's another long excerpt from the original liner notes that appear on the back cover of "Brass, Bongos, Flutes and Guitars":

«The brilliance and excitement and sheer magnificence of the musical sounds that have been brought to records by steadily advancing techniques in recording engineering have turned the spotlight on several instruments that used to be given little consideration: bongos, flutes and guitars.

We didn't hear much of them before because they were so hard to record. The sharp, angular transients of the guitars and bongos were muffled and diluted in old-fashioned recordings and the gentle, elusive sound of the flute could not be captured in all its fascinating richness.

But engineering geniuses have advanced sound recording to such a point of honest, full value reproduction that the challenge of reproducing on records every last nuance of these delightful instruments has brought them right to the center of the modern musical picture. This sudden interest in them has opened up all sorts of new possibilities for really inventive musical arrangers - possibilities that they had to bypass in the past because they knew that the recording techniques of that day were not capable of giving a complete, honest reproduction of the sounds of these instruments.

And now the Grand Award All Stars have reached a new peak of musical beauty and excitement in their use of brilliantly recorded bongos, flutes and guitars along with the added body of a brass section that also takes full advantage of the tremendous range of recorded sound that has been achieved by Grand Award's miraculous engineers.

The unmatched skill of these engineers has won for Grand Award Records citations from the United States Department of Commerce for two successive years for the superb quality of their sound reproduction. During these two years, 1959 and 1960, the Department of Commerce selected Grand Award Records to be displayed at exhibits in foreign countries where the United States Government was showing the outstanding products manufactured in America.»



«Only the brilliant full value of Grand Award's world-famous sound reproduction could bring to you - in your own home - such superb reproduction of the tremendously exciting and richly beautiful music that you will find in these unusual arrangements of carefully chosen tunes.

You'll hear an amazing succession of subtly changing, high, rippling sounds as a Chinese bell tree, a triangle and a tambourine follow one another - each reproduced with complete distinction and clarity - to introduce an exotic interpretation of "Scheherazade".

The dark warmth of two alto flutes creates a breathtaking sound on "Now Is the Hour". The amazing sonic contrast of deep, gruff trombones and high, piping piccolos adds some surprising accents to the sandpaper soft-shoe effect in "Once In Love With Amy".

And no trumpet has ever sung out more beautifully, more clearly or with such a full-bodied, sweeping tone as Doc Severinsen shows in this glorious version of "You Go to My Head" which is climaxed by one of the most delicate bongo passages ever caught on a record.

Each of these selections piles musical surprise on musical surprise, brilliance on brilliance, beauty on beauty. There is the startling exchange between perky piccolos and a subterranean baritone saxophone in "Miss Otis Regrets" and, in this same piece, the interweaving of a brooding string bass with a unison passage by xylophone and piccolo, a remarkable blend of sound coloring. There is a lazy flute duet on "Indian Summer" followed by the rising, soaring, irresistible brilliance of a fiery trumpet section. And there is the remarkable organ grinder effect created by guitar and xylophone that sets the tone for "Organ Grinder's Swing".

But half the fun is making these discoveries yourself - these and all the other imaginative uses to which brass, bongos, flutes and guitars have been put by the Grand Award All Stars as they give these unforgettable tunes the most vividly alive performances they have ever received.»

Here's the complete personnel list of "Brass, Bongos, Flutes and Guitars":

Percussion: Don Lamond, Bob Rosengarden, Phil Kraus, Cliff Leman

Trumpet: Doc Severinsen, Mel Davis, Bernie Glow

Reeds: Stanley Webb, Phil Bodner, Ezelle Watson

Trombone: Bobby Byrne, Urbie Green

Bass Trombone: Dick Hixon

Guitar: Tony Mottola, Al Casamenti

Bass: Jack Lesberg, Bob Haggart

Piano: Moe Wechsler, Billy Rowland

Accordion: Dominic Cortese

Originated and Produced by Enoch Light

An iconic picture of Enoch Light

The following videos offer a preview of the remastered album; for this purpose I chose some of my favourite tracks: "This Can't Be Love", "Moonlight On the Ganges" and "Heartaches", enjoy!

A few more information about Enoch Light and Grand Award Records is available here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_Light

http://www.spaceagepop.com/light.htm

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Enoch+Light

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Enoch+Light+And+The+Light+Brigade

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/enoch_light

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/enoch-light-mn0000149718

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Award_Records

http://www.bsnpubs.com/abc/grandaward.html

If you have any other useful information about Enoch Light and "Brass, Bongos, Flutes and Guitars" - especially corrections and improvements to this post - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!