Ethyl Smith

I recently acquired an old record collection. This funky little record was in the mix.

Apparently she was popular in her time. What can ya tell me?

Ethel Smith was probably the first to achieve success as a pop organist. Spotted by a talent agent while working as the house organist at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City, she began appearing on radio in the late-1930s, she moved to Hollywood in 1940 and appeared in a string of minor musicals, including "Cuban Pete" with Desi Arnaz in 1941 and "Bathing Beauty" with Esther Williams in 1944. She co-wrote the theme song to "Cuban Pete" and recorded the best-selling cover of "Tico Tico," which later became her own theme song. She recorded and appeared on television through the 1950s and had a lively nightclub act, adding dancing, singing, brightly colored dresses and outlandish hats, and comedy routines to her already spicy organ playing. She also formed her own publishing company and put out a series of instructional books on the Hammond organ. She continued to perform at local clubs in the Palm Beach area after retiring in the mid-1970s.

How's that for some fancy cut & paste work? :wink:

Daaaamn, and quick too. Thanks Mach.

:D

Raffer,

Have you had a chance to listen to it yet? Sounds like it might be pretty fun.

Is this a cllectible? Who here likes her stuff? It sounds a bit odd to my unaccustomed ear.

That's amazing cover art too. Just the type I like to frame.

Sabu

On 2004-09-09 16:31, Raffertiki wrote:
Is this a collectible? Who here likes her stuff? It sounds a bit odd to my unaccustomed ear.

One website I found had 2 copies going for $5 - $48. It didn't say why there was such a big difference in the price.

I own about 4 Ethel Smith LPs -- they tend to be quite upbeat, lively, often with over-the-top arrangements. Her sound reminds me a bit of Raymond Scott and his Looney Tunes cartoon sounds.

I always thought they should be a battle of the organ sounds, between Ethel Smith and Lenny Dee - each of these artists (that pop up frequently in thrifts) released at least 20 LPs featuring an upbeat sound.

Vern

Among her many other accomplishments, Ethel Smith was in the Disney short, Blame It On The Samba, one of my favorite segments from Melody Time, a 1948 compilation of shorts. Cool & Strange Music magazine did a piece on her, which was quite good. Here are some caps from Melody Time...

-Randy

Damn! Just as I always get good and sick of all things Disney, something comes up to remind me of why I fell in love with it in the first place!

OMG, as soon as I saw those pictures I remembered seeing that short when I was a kid. Thanks for posting them.