High Society is a 1956 soundtrack album, featuring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Grace Kelly. This was Crosby's fifth LP album, and his first recorded for Capitol Records. It was the soundtrack for the MGM feature film High Society, also released in 1956. Initially issued on vinyl either in mono or stereo format, the album has been issued on CD by Capitol in Japan (CD: TOCP-6587) in 1991 and by Capitol in the UK (CD: CDP 793787-2) in 1995. The album was also included in a 3-CD box set called "Original Soundtrack Recordings" issued by the EMI Music Group Australasia
| High Society: A New High Fidelity Recording From the Sound Track of the MGM Picture | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 1956 | |||
| Recorded | January 1956 | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Bing Crosby chronology | ||||
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Crosby's exclusive recording contract with Decca Records expired at the end of 1955 and he chose to go freelance.
After his recording of "True Love" with Grace Kelly went gold, Crosby joked that it was the only gold record to feature a real-life princess. "True Love" was the only song in the album to be nominated for an Academy Award but it lost out to "Que Sera, Sera".
Reception
editThe UK magazine The Gramophone liked the album saying: "...Lastly on Capitol LCT6116 El Bingo is heard along with nearly everybody else—Louis Armstrong, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra, for example—in the film "High Society". These numbers by Cole Porter are mostly available by the same artists on 45s, but whichever way you buy it do not neglect the wonderful 'Now You Has Jazz', in which Crosby introduces the band. It is an old gambit, but seldom fails, and certainly not here."[1]
Personnel in Louis Armstrong band
editLouis Armstrong (tpt); Trummy Young (tbn); Edmond Hall (clt); Billy Kyle (pno); Arvell Shaw (bs); Barrett Deems (dms)[2]
Track listing
editAll songs written by Cole Porter.
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "High Society(Overture)" | Johnny Green, conducting the MGM Studio Orchestra | 3:32 |
| 2. | "High Society Calypso" | Louis Armstrong and His Band | 2:14 |
| 3. | "Little One" | Bing Crosby | 2:33 |
| 4. | "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" | Celeste Holm, Frank Sinatra | 2:08 |
| 5. | "True Love" | Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly | 3:07 |
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You're Sensational" | Frank Sinatra | 3:56 |
| 2. | "I Love You, Samantha" | Bing Crosby | 4:30 |
| 3. | "Now You Has Jazz" | Louis Armstrong and His Band, Bing Crosby | 4:18 |
| 4. | "Well, Did You Evah!" | Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra | 3:50 |
| 5. | "Mind If I Make Love to You?" | Frank Sinatra | 3:46 |
Note: the stereo version of "Well, Did You Evah!" does not include Crosby's adlib "You must be one of the newer fellas." Note 2: "Well, Did You Evah!", as b-side of "True Love", was edited to 2:52 on the 78 rpm-single.
Chart positions
edit| Chart | Year | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 1957 | 1[3] |
| Billboard Best-Selling Pop Albums Chart | 1956 | 5[4] |
| Billboard Most Played by Jockeys Albums Chart | 1956 | 1[4] |
Credits
edit- Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, Grace Kelly - vocals
- Louis Armstrong - trumpet, vocals
- Louis Armstrong's Band:
- Edmond Hall – clarinet
- Trummy Young – trombone
- Billy Kyle – piano
- Arvell Shaw – double bass
- Barrett Deems – drums
- Saul Chaplin - arranger, music supervisor
- Johnny Green - arranger, conductor, music supervisor
- Skip Martin, Nelson Riddle, Conrad Salinger - arranger
References
edit- ^ "The Gramophone". The Gramophone. January 1957.
- ^ Reynolds, Fred. The Crosby Collection 1926-1977 (Part Four - 1951-1960 ed.). John Joyce. p. 158.
- ^ "High Society - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Billboard". Billboard. November 3, 1956. p. 24.
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