Record #0868: Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me) / All Dressed Up with a Broken Heart – PEGGY LEE

Capitol 15022 (original), USA, January 1948
Words & Music by:  Side A – Dave Barbour, Peggy Lee; Side B – Fred Patrick, Claude Reese, Jack Val
Musicians:  Peggy Lee (lead vocals, percussion on side A), Dave Barbour (guitar, orchestra lead), Laurindo Almeida (acoustic guitar on side A), the Brazilians (the additional musicians on side A), Dave Barbour’s Orchestra (the additional musicians on side B)
Recording sessions:  Produced by Lee Gillette at Capitol Studios (Melrose Ave.), Los Angeles, CA; Side A – 25. November 1947; Side B – 26. November 1947
Highest chart positions:  Side A – US #1, Australia #2, Brazil #11; Side B – none

“Mañana” was a huge international hit, but the success can not be measured with the charts, as most countries didn’t have those in place in the 1940’s, yet.

When Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour were writing the song, they wanted a very specific, driving Latin rhythm. During the frantic November 1947 recording session, the studio didn't have all the traditional Latin percussion instruments on hand. To solve this, Peggy Lee herself stepped in as a percussionist. She famously tracked down a pair of standard studio chairs and used them as instruments. By slapping the leather seats of the chairs in perfect sync with the band, she created the distinct, sharp, clapping-like backbeat that drives the entire record.

While the record was a massive financial triumph for Capitol Records, it also led to one of the most high-profile plagiarism battles of the era.

A songwriter named Louis J. "Chico" Alvarez sued Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour for $2.25 million (an astronomical sum in 1948). Alvarez claimed that "Mañana" stole its melody and structure from his own copyrighted song, "The Samba-Caramba." Because "Mañana" was dominating the charts and making millions, the legal battle became front-page entertainment news. Ultimately, the court ruled in favour of Lee and Barbour, stating that the similarities were common to the traditional Samba genre and did not constitute copyright infringement.

List price: The median price on Discogs is $3,13. 45cat.com price guide has this at €20. I didn’t find any copies sold in eBay.

 

Record #0867: Honeycomb / Their Hearts Were Full of Spring – JIMMIE RODGERS

Roulette R-4015 (original), USA, July 1957
Words & Music by:  Side A – Bob Merrill; Side B – Bobby Troup
Musicians:  Jimmie Rodgers (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Hugo Peretti & His Orchestra
Recording sessions:  Produced by Hugo & Luigi (possibly at Bell Sound Studio) in New York, NY, spring 1957
Highest chart positions:  Side A – US #1, US Country #7, US R&B #1, US Cashbox #1, Canada #1, UK #30; Side B – none

Jimmie Rodgers was discovered on Arthur Godfrey’s famous “Talent Scouts” television show, where he performed "Honeycomb" while still a struggling, unknown artist. Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore were watching the broadcast and instantly recognized the song's massive potential. However, they felt the TV version lacked energy. The very next day, they signed Rodgers to their brand-new label, Roulette Records, and immediately rushed him into the New York studio to completely revamp the song. They replaced the slow, traditional pop feel of the original 1954 composition with an upbeat, rockabilly-tinged arrangement, transforming the track into a million-selling Billboard number-one hit.

List price: Les Docks lists this at $15-$20. The median price on Discogs is $4,00. 45cat.com price guide has this at €33. Six copies have been sold in eBay in the range of $20-$45.

 

Record #0866: Oooh-Oooh-Oooh / Restless Heart – LLOYD PRICE

Specialty X-SP 440 (original), USA, September 1952
Words & Music by:  Side A – Lloyd Price; Side B – Lloyd Price
Musicians:  Lloyd Price (lead vocals), Dave Bartholomew (trumpet, band leader), Salvador Doucette, Huey “Piano” Smith or Edward Frank (piano), Wallace Davenport (trumpet), Herbert Hardesty (lead tenor sax), Lawrence E. Marioneaux Jr. (tenor sax), Joe Harris (alto sax), Ernest McLean (guitar), Frank Fields (bass), Earl Palmer (drums), Larry Price (backing vocals), others unknown
Recording sessions:  Produced by Art Rupe at J&M Recording Studio, New Orleans, LA, on 26. June 1952
Highest chart positions:  Side A – US R&B #4; Side B – none

Price’s debut single “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” topped the US R&B chart and this follow-up didn’t do bad either. The flipside of this record sounds like a copy of the debut. 😊

The record was captured using a single, small microphone setup in the tiny backroom of Cosimo Matassa's J&M Recording Studio. Because the studio was so small, the musicians had to be positioned carefully around the room to mix the sound naturally. This accidental acoustic environment created a heavy, warm bass and bleeding brass sound that became a highly sought-after trademark worldwide.

Specialty briefly used the "X" prefix to designate records pressed at a Monarch Records Mfg. Co. in Los Angeles and intended for specific jukebox promotional routes before switching entirely to the standard "SP" catalog numbering.

List price: Les Docks lists this at $10-$20. The median price on Discogs is $8,45. Three copies have been sold in eBay in the range of $20-$45 (all in the States).