Post War Male Vocalists
The musical styles in the Knott’s record collection took a hard turn in the mid-1940s. The war and a musician’s strike decimated the big bands. The record companies responded by recording singers.
These three male singers from the late-1940s reveal the influence of Bing Crosby.
Andy Russell sang “Magic is the Moonlight” in the 1944 comedy film, Breakfast in Hollywood. He went on to be a major recording artist in the late-1940s before returning to his roots and becoming a film star in Latin America. In this recording, he alternates between English and Spanish lyrics:
https://archive.org/details/78_magic-is-the-moonlight_andy-russell-grever-pasquale_gbia002253
Perry Como started out as a barber but when Ted Weems put him in front of his band, the crowds went crazy. In addition to his decades on radio and television, he recorded for RCA Victor for forty-four years. “Carolina Moon” was an early hit:
Frank Sinatra was surely the most durable vocalist to emerge from the post war period. He spent the last days of the swing era in the bands of Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, but once he went solo his star shined brightly for decades. Here is “Dream”, an early success from 1948:
Russell, Como, and Sinatra were the most important male vocalists to come out of the late-1940s. Although Andy Russell is less well known today, he has more recordings in the Knott family record collection than either Como or Sinatra.
Andy Russell (1944)
A: “Magic is the Moonlight”
Frank Sinatra (1945)
“Dream”
1986.2013.0251 (1948)
B: “Carolina Moon”
Perry Como
