402. Manhattan Transfer – Chanson D’Amour (1977)

The Intro

Manhattan Transfer were, like many chart-toppers of the 70s, in thrall to the past. But they went further back then the rock’n’roll retro bands like Showaddywaddy. They paid tribute to swing, jazz and acapella music. Surprisingly, the second incarnation of the group found themselves at number 1 in the UK for three weeks in the early spring of 1977.

Before

Founder member of both versions of the group was Tim Hauser. He had dabbled in doo-wop in his youth but moved into a career in advertising. Then in 1969 he formed The Manhattan Transfer. Named after a novel by John Dos Passos, set in New York City at the dawn of the Jazz Age. The original line-up also featured Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Pat Rosalita and Gene Pistilli. Signing to Capitol Records, they released one album, Jukin’ in 1971. Unlike the later incarnation, the quintet also covered rock and country genres. Capitol declined to release another LP and The Manhattan Transfer split up.

In 1972 Hauser was working as a taxi driver in New York when waitress Laurel Massé got into his cab. They got talking about music and it transpired she had ambitions to make it big. Hauser clearly hadn’t given up on his dream either. Soon after he met jazz singer Janis Siegel at a party. She had recorded a single as a member of Young Generation (not Engelbert Humperdinck’s mates) and had been a member of folk trio The Loved Ones. An idea began to form and Hauser decided to invite Massé and Siegel to be members of a new Manhattan Transfer and they recorded some demos before starting live performances.

Among the crowd at one of the early shows was session drummer Roy Markowitz, who had played with Don McLean. Markowitz was part of the band in the Broadway version of a hit musical called Grease and he suggested one of the cast members could be a good fit for The Manhattan Transfer. Alan Paul, who played both Johnny Casino and the Teen Angel, agreed to join their ranks. Markowitz produced a demo and sent it to Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records and he agreed to sign them. Their eponymous LP was released in 1975, featuring bona fide jazz musicians including trumpeter Randy Brecker. They were an instant success in the US, with debut single Operator reaching 22. That same year they hosted a four-week series on CBS. A cover of 30s jazz tune Tuxedo Junction was their first taste of UK fame – it peaked at 24 in 1976. That summer they released the album Coming Out, which featured Chanson D’Amour, which has a connection to one of the very first UK number 1s. The LP featured a certain Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner and Dr John.

Chanson D’Amour, French for ‘Love Song’, had been written by US songwriter and producer Wayne Shanklin, who gave it to Art and Dotty Todd in 1958. The husband-and-wife duo had charted in the UK in 1953 with the original version of Broken Wings. It went to six, but a cover by vocal group The Stargazers became the first UK number 1 by a British group later that year. The older generation, somewhat frightened and unsure about rock’n’roll, loved this taste of more gentle times and it was a big hit.

Acclaimed producer Richard Perry worked with Manhattan Transfer on Coming Out, and he liked their demo of Chanson D’Amour. They recorded their number 1 version in one take, featuring Siegel on lead. Backing the group were John Barnes on piano (not that John Barnes), Steve Paietta on accordion, Ira Newborn and Ben Benay on guitar, Andy Muson on bass and Jim Gordon on drums.

Review

I have never enjoyed this track. And that’s for not one, but two reasons. Siegel’s vocal is so over-the-top it’s painful. She’s trying to sound like Edith Piaf but comes across more like Edith Artois in sitcom ‘Allo! ‘Allo!. Every syllable is stretched out interminably. And then there’s the ‘rat-a-tat-a-tat’. My god, it’s irritating. It’s not even amusing to me as a ‘so bad it’s good’-style novelty number 1. Not a lot else to say, really. The most interesting aspect is the fact it’s produced by Perry, making it his second UK number 1 in a row, as it toppled his first, When I Need You by Leo Sayer.

After

Despite its success in the UK and in many other countries, Chanson D’Amour was only a moderate hit in the States. Further UK hits followed in Blighty, including Walk In Love (number 12) and On a Little Street in Singapore (number 20), both in 1978. The following year Massé was involved in a car accident and left the group, to be replaced by Cheryl Bentyne. The single Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone went to 25 in 1980. Also on its accompanying album, Extensions, was Birdland, an instrumental by Weather Report, which now had lyrics and earned Siegel a Grammy for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. In 1981 their version of The Boy from New York City was a big hit Stateside, climbing to seven, and they won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. A version of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square won the Grammy for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices. And there were more. Until I Met You (Corner Pocket) saw them pick up the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. And then in 1982 – Route 66 won them the Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group. Impressive stuff.

Manhattan Transfer’s last charting single was Spice of Life, written by former Heatwave member and Michael Jackson collaborator Rod Temperton. It peaked at 19 in the UK. Yet more Grammy nominations and wins were to come, though. 1985 album Vocalese had 12 nominations – at the time second only to Thriller for most nominated single album ever. It won two – Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group, and Best Arrangement for Voices. In 1987 their album Brasil won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. No more albums released until 1991’s The Offbeat of Avenues. Its track Sassy won a Grammy in 1992 for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, Instrumental. It was their 10th.

The Outro

The rest of the 90s saw the acclaim slide but Manhattan Transfer diversify, with The Christmas Album in 1992 and children’s album The Manhattan Transfer Meets Tubby the Tuba in 1995. They continued through the 00s with material like The Symphony Sessions, a collection of orchestral reworkings of previous material and The Chick Corea Songbook in 2009. This was their last album for nine years, as health problems crept up on the members. Original member Rosalia died in 2011. Bentyne left several times to battle Hodgkin’s lymphoma, replaced first by Margaret Dorn in 2011, then Katie Campbell in 2014. Hauser, the founder member and only person to bridge both incarnations, passed away in 2014 of cardiac arrest. He was replaced by Trist Curless. Pistilli died in 2017. The following year Manhattan Transfer’s last album to date, The Junction, was released.

The Info

Written by

Wayne Shanklin

Producer

Richard Perry

Weeks at number 1

3 (12 March-1 April)

Trivia

Deaths

26 March: Composer Madeleine Doing
1 April: Partitioner of India Cyril Radcliffe, 1st Viscount Radcliffe

Meanwhile…

14 March: The government reveals inflation has pushed prices up by nearly 70% within three years.

15 March: Car manufacturers British Leyland announce their intention to dismiss 40,000 toolmakers who have gone on strike at the company’s plant in Birmingham. 

23 March: The government wins a vote of no confidence after Prime Minister James Callaghan strikes a deal with David Steel, the leader of the Liberal Party.

27. Dickie Valentine with the Stargazers and Johnny Douglas & His Orchestra – Finger of Suspicion (1955)

1955-dickie-valentine-christmas-alphabet-1353318873-view-0.jpg

The Intro

By the time 1955 rolled around, people were a bit exhausted from a month of honky tonk madness courtesy of Winifred Atwell. Let’s Have Another Party was toppled by Finger of Suspicion, sung by Dickie Valentine with The Stargazers. The Stargazers had twice before took number 1, with Broken Wings and I See the Moon, but this was Valentine’s first of two that year.

Before

Valentine, born Richard Maxwell in Marylebone, London on 4 May 1929, had been a child actor, starring in Jack’s the Boy in 1932 when he was only three years old. he moved into music as a teen, impersonating famous singers, before music publisher Sid Green brought him to the attention of bandleader star Ted Heath. He joined Ted Heath’s band in 1949, singing alongside Dennis Lotis and Lita Roza, who had a number one in 1953 with (How Much is That) Doggie in the Window?.

Looking rather like a young Orson Welles, Valentine demonstrated star quality and was voted Top UK Male Vocalist in 1952, and again in 1954. By this point he was a solo artist. Following the success of his Royal Command Performance that November, Finger of Suspicion worked its way to the top.

Review

https://youtu.be/ByrWKWVlzOE

Written by Paul Mann and Al Lewis, Finger of Suspicion trundles along nicely. At first unassuming, it’s somewhat of an earworm. It’s not a song about crime, unless the crime is taking Valentine’s heart. Yes, the singer is just being a bit of a charmer really. He’s not sleeping well, he’s so in love with this girl, which might explain the song’s stately pace. The Stargazers work well as his backing singers, making up for the abomination that was I See the Moon.

After

Finger of Suspicion had somewhat of a chart war with Rosemary Clooney and the Mellomen’s Mambo Italiano. She knocked him off the top after only a week, before Valentine took over again for a fortnight, only for Clooney and co. to win out again. 1955 was easily Dickie Valentine’s biggest year of success. with three more top 10 hits, before getting the Christmas number 1 spot. The Stargazers had further hits that year, but their time at number 1 was over, and by the end of the 50s they were no more.

The Info

Written by

Paul Mann & Al Lewis

Producer

Dick Rowe

Weeks at number 1

3 (7-13 January, 21 January-3 February)

Trivia

Births

3 February: Presenter Kirsty Wark

Deaths

7 January: Artist Lamorna Birch
10 January: Dancer Annette Mills
29 January: Conservative MP Sir Rhys Rhys-Williams

Meanwhile…

23 January: An express train derailed at Sutton Coldfield railway station after taking a curve too fast. 43 were injured, and 17 killed.

27 January: Michael Tippett’s controversial opera The Midsummer Marriage was premiered at the Royal Opera House.

18. Doris Day with Orchestra conducted by Ray Heindorf – Secret Love (1954)

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The Intro

US smash-hit musical western Calamity Jane was first released in November 1953. Loosely based on the life of the title character and her alleged romance with notorious folk hero “Wild Bill” Hickok, it starred Doris Day and Howard Keel in the central roles.

Before

Day, born Doris Mary Kappelhoff on 3 April 1922 was one of the most well-known singers and actresses of the era. Originally she wanted to be a dancer, but an accident at the age of 15 forced her out of action and she discovered a talent for singing, with Ella Fitzgerald her idol.

She took singing lessons, and caught the attention of jazz musician Barney Rapp. Kappelhoff began working with him, but he understandably felt she needed a new stage name. Admiring her rendition of Day After Day, he suggested Doris Day.

The sugary timbre of her voice and film-star looks soon captivated radio, film and television audiences, right from her first hit, Sentimental Journey, back in 1945.

Her first UK singles success came in 1952, with a Frankie Laine duet, Sugarbush, and the following year she duetted with Johnnie Ray on the number four hit Let’s Walk That-a-Way.

On 16 April, 1954, UK singles buyers saw sense and decided that this track from Calamity Jane was more deserving of the number 1 spot than the execrable I See the Moon by The Stargazers. The ballad was written by composer Sammy Fain, with Paul Francis Webster providing the lyrics that describe the joy of finally being able to tell the world of a love kept under wraps.

Day was visibly moved when Fain visited her to play it for the first time. The day of the recording, she warmed-up her voice, cycled to the studio and announced to musical director Ray Heindorf that she would only perform one take of her vocal. Despite understandable misgivings, Heindorf was ecstatic after the take, agreeing that she could never outdo herself.

Review

It would seem this song had special meaning for Day, she clearly loved it and it shows in that one-take performance. A cut above other songs of this ilk, her authentic vocal turns from typically sweet to barely-contained delight at times. The stirring strings replicate the chorus and add to its hit factor.

After

Secret Love gave Day her fourth US number one, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song on 25 March. However she caused controversy by refusing to perform it at the ceremony. The subsequent bad press saw Day housebound with depression for some time afterwards. Nonetheless, a few weeks later it became her first UK number 1.

The Outro

In a clear display of how mad the British record-buying public can often be, I See the Moon returned to the top after only a week. Not for long though, and on 8 May, Secret Love toppled Johnnie Ray’s Such a Night, beginning eight weeks as best-selling single.

The Info

Written by

Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster 

Producer

Ray Heindorf

Weeks at number 1

9 (16-22 April, 8 May-1 July) *BEST-SELLING SINGLE OF THE YEAR*

Trivia

Births

19 April: Footballer Trevor Francis
8 May: Entertainer Gary Wilmot

Deaths

7 June: Mathematician Alan Turing

Meanwhile…

29 May: Diane Leather became the first woman to break the five-minute mile.
29 June: The IRA returned after a long period of inactivity.

17. The Stargazers with Syd Dean & His Orchestra – I See the Moon (1954)

The Intro

If Eddie Calvert’s nine-week run seems odd now, well, I See the Moon having a five-week stint, followed by a further week later on, is just staggering.

Before

I See the Moon was written by US playwright and composer Meredith Wilson, who later became best known for being the man behind hit Broadway musical The Music Man.

Review

This was the radio comedy group’s second of three number 1s. Broken Wings, was quite a staid, serious affair, but I’d always take that over this, unless I needed to torture someone.
The actual song isn’t too bad, but the production and performance, full of self-consciously wacky noises that harm the ears, are nauseating. The only real selling point is that it offers a curious glimpse into what passed as comedy in 1954. The Stargazers, for some unfathomable reason, decide to sing as though they are pissed-up and tone deaf. Easily the worst number 1 so far.

After

Hard to believe now but for five weeks this was considered the best song in the country, until Doris Day toppled it with the more deserving Secret Love. Yet somehow I See the Moon went back to number 1 on 23 April. Strange days indeed.

The Info

Written by

Meredith Wilson

Producer

Dick Rowe

Weeks at number 1

6 (12 March-15 April, 23-29 April)

Trivia

Births

17 March: Actress Leslie Anne-Down

Deaths

26 March: Rugby union international James Peters

Meanwhile…

24 March: Following an eight-day trial, The Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Peter Wildeblood and Michael Pitt-Rivers were convicted for ‘conspiracy to incite certain male persons to commit serious offences with male persons’. Sent to prison for being gay, basically. Montagu protested his innocence, and eventually public opinion turned in his favour, and his case is considered one of the main reasons for the reform of the law on homosexuality.

7. The Stargazers – Broken Wings (1953)

The Info

The ‘comic’ stylings of She Wears Red Feathers was knocked from number 1 on 10 April, and we were back to appropriately mournful ballad territory, but for the first time, it was a British vocal group.

Before

The Stargazers went through several incarnations following their inception in 1949. The original line-up consisted of Dick James, Cliff Adams, Marie Benson, Fred Datchler and Ronnie Milne. 

The Stargazers became famous via their appearances on radio shows of the era, including The Family Hour and The Goon Show. By 1953 James had departed. He went on to be a music publisher, establishing Dick James Music in 1961 and becoming one of the founders of The Beatles publishing arm, Northern Songs in 1963. Bob Brown replaced him in the group.

Review

Broken Wings has not aged well. Written by John Jerome and Bernard Gunn, the lyrics point out correctly that with broken wings, no bird can fly. The subject of the song has been let down by their lover, who has been unfaithful.

‘With broken wings, no bird can fly
And broken promises mean love must fade and die
I trusted you, you can”t be true
My heart no longer sings
It”s wings are broken too’.

Musically, The Stargazers’ cover is a dirge, with only two points of interest. One is the sparse instrumentation, dominated by an electric piano. Very different to what had been top of the pops up to this point. Second is that the producer was Dick Rowe, the man who famously said ‘Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr Epstein’ when The Beatles failed their audition for Decca. He made up for his mistake by signing, among others, The Rolling Stones, Them, Tom Jones and Small Faces.

The Outro

If you want to hear a catchier song called Broken Wings, there is of course, this track by Mr Mister.

The Info

Written by

John Jerome & Bernard Gunn

Producer

Dick Rowe

Weeks at number 1

1 (10-16 April)

Trivia

Births

11 April: Mathematician Andrew Wiles 
13 April: Labour MP Stephen Byers 

Meanwhile…

13 April: Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, was published, beginning an almighty cultural legacy.