jim henson

Bandleader, composer and inventor Raymond Scott had risen to prominence and acclaim by the late 1930's, and remained busy for decades.

Following World War II he left radio and toured the US with a new line-up in his orchestra.

In the course of just the next few years he would compose scores for films and Broadway shows, establish Manhattan Research, his electronics corporation, and patent a couple of 'electro-mechanical music inventions'.

By 1947, when the first of these 78s was released, Scott had a new nationally broadcast radio show, and had embarked on another tour with yet another new orchestra line-up.





Listen to:
Raymond Scott and his Orchestra -
Tired Teddy Bear
(MGM 78, 1947)

(click for audio)









This MGM recording of 'Huckleberry Duck' was a new version of one he'd done with his
'New Orchestra' on Columbia back in 1940.
The melody was among the Scott repertoire that had been adapted for inclusion in various Warner Bros. cartoons.

Listen to:
Raymond Scott and his Orchestra - Huckleberry Duck
(MGM 78, 1947)

(click for audio)








Listen to:
Raymond Scott and his Orchestra -
Jackrabbit
(MGM 78, 1948)

(click for audio)



1948 and '49 would find Scott composing more scores and inventing more 'gadgets', including his first electronic music synthesizer.
He also established his own label,
Master Records, and formed his 3rd incarnation of the Raymond Scott Quintette.

By the end of '49, he became the bandleader on CBS' 'Your Hit Parade' program, a position which would soon take him from radio to television heading into the 1950's.

(Bio information via the Scott 'timeline' at The Official Raymond Scott Website.)

- See also: This and all my previous Raymond Scott posts gathered together on one page.

By the late 1930's Raymond Scott's renowned 6-piece 'Quintette' had received much acclaim and were kept busy.

But times were changing, and brilliant innovator Raymond Scott was restless.

According to Scott biographer Irwin Chusid, Scott "...expanded the Quintet into a big band for several reasons: large dance bands were in vogue; a larger ensemble presented a challenge to this restless musical nomad; and Scott probably wanted to follow the example of one of his idols, Glenn Miller."

Here are a couple of 'New Orchestra' studio tracks that (to my knowledge) are currently out-of-print. Enjoy!





Listen to:
Raymond Scott and his New Orchestra -
Just A Gigolo (Columbia 78, 1939)
(click for audio)














Listen to:
Raymond Scott and his New Orchestra - Business Men's Bounce (Columbia 78, 1940)
(click for audio)




See also:
- The Official Raymond Scott Website

- - and two of my previous posts:
- The Raymond Scott Quintet playing
'The Girl With The Light Blue Hair' (1939)

- Raymond Scott and his Orchestra, circa 1944

Composer / Bandleader
Raymond Scott expanded his famous Quintet into a full orchestra in 1939.

- (See my previous post on The Raymond Scott Quintet, and for more info and photos, click over to The Official Raymond Scott Website.)

By then he had been named music director for the CBS radio network.
The arrangements for his new orchestra moved away from the 'proto-bop' music his Quintet had been known for, favoring the Big Band Swing sound that was now popular.

After a period in the early forties of touring with the new band, he returned to CBS and brought aboard some new high-caliber musicians, including Ben Webster, Cozy Cole, Charlie Shavers and others.
Scott had broken new ground; His recruiting had made his the first racially integrated network studio orchestra.

This album collects a few musical selections from 'The Raymond Scott Show', a 15 minute daily (?) program that ran in 1944, originating at CBS in New York and rebroadcast over Armed Forces Radio.

These cuts are easily on a par with the better-known big bands of the era - - Some rollicking hot swing, and a few sweetly syrupy slowdance numbers, with vocals by Dorothy Collins* (soon to be the second Mrs. Scott) on a few tracks.

- Click on link for an oversized image of the LP's back cover liner notes in a new window.

From the LP -
'The Uncollected Raymond Scott And His Orchestra, Vol. 2 - 1944'
(Hindsight Records, 1985)

Listen to:

Two Way Stretch
Show Me The Way To Go Home
Mairzy Doats *
The Beard
Shoo-Shoo Baby
Pop Goes The Weasel
Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby *
The Lark Leaped In
Paper Doll
Look At You Looking At Me
Tain't Me *
A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening
I'll Be Around
Moccassin Glide

(click for audio)

- - OR download all 14 tracks in one 38 Mb zipfile.









































(ADDENDUM, 10/31/07: ⬆ Added December, 1944 Metronome magazine cover image and 'about the cover' inset.)