Jerry Murad's Harmonicats - Greatest Hits/Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White

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Customer reviews

review by: Beth date: 2008-12-27 rating:
HARMONICATS
This was a replacement for a stolen one and its really good has more on the cd than the other one.

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review by: remember when... date: 2008-04-05 rating:
Here comes the band
We played "Cherry Pink" at every corner and listened to this version for inspiration.....the 60s lived in this fun, uplifting music.

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review by: date: 2007-08-13 rating:
I Don't Think So
Turkey-born Jerry Murad, along with Al Fiore and Don Les, formed The Harmonicats in 1944, and after securing a recording contract with the small independent Vitacoustic Records in 1947, reached back to 1913 for Peg O' My Heart. Neither the label nor the group could have made a better choice for their first record as, with the mellow "mouth organ" blend, it shot to # 1 and stayed there for eight weeks, spending exactly half a year on the charts. It also went into the record books as the first major hit for an independent label.

In November, by which time Universal had bought out their contract and re-released the same song on their label, their second hit wasn't faring nearly as well as Peggy O'Neill, itself dating back to 1921, could only manage a # 21, and then it wasn't until August 1948 that they found their third hit, Hair Of Gold (Eyes Of Blue) from the film Singing Spurs (# 15 billed as Jerry Murad's Harmonicats).

After nothing else worked at Universal, they next turned up at Mercury where they were immediately coupled with pianist Jan August and assigned to the song Bewitched from the popular Broadway show Pal Joey. EVERY label, it seems, rushed out a recording of that in 1950, but the overall winner was Bill Snyder & His Orchestra for the small Tower label as his rendition reached # 3 in May/June.

Right behind Snyder came the Decca release by Gordon Jenkins & His Orchestra which, with Bonnie Lou Williams on vocal, topped out at # 4. Tied for third at # 8 was the Jan August & Jerry Murad's Harmonicats version and that on Capitol by Mel Torme with Pete Rugulo's orchestra. For Columbia, Doris Day's cut reached # 9, Larry Green & His Orchestra's instrumental offering made it to # 13 for RCA Victor while Mindy Carson's vocal with Andrew Acker's orchestra peaked at # 20 for the same label, MGM had David Rose & His Orchestra see his level off at # 26, and for Decca's Coral subsidiary, the backing band for most of The Ames Brother's hits, Ray Ross & His Orchestra, took it to # 28.

So, all in all, not a bad performance by the trio, and this time they found two more hits before 1950 was out. Buffalo Billy, billed to Roberta Quinlan, Jerry Murad's Harmonicats & Jan August, was a # 22 that June, and in October their version of another multi-recorded song, Harbor Lights, reached # 19 billed to Jerry Byrd & His Steel Guitar & Jerry Murad's Harmonicats. That, however, placed them last among seven charted versions, the # 1 and 2 slots being taken by the Sammy Kaye [Columbia] and Guy Lombardo [Decca] bands.

More than a year would then pass before Charmaine, billed to Jerry Murad's Harmonicats, and yet another multi-recorded [seven hit versions] song, topped out at # 21 in January 1952. This time they finished second-last, beating out the Vaughn Monroe cut for RCA Victor, but finishing well back of Paul Weston's # 8 for Columbia and Mantovani's # 10 for London.

In March 1953 they tried competing again, this time on Till I Waltz Again With You, and again finished last among four charted versions as theirs only made it to # 26, behind the # 1 Teresa Brewer smasn, the # 17 by Dick Todd and Russ Morgan & His Orchestra's # 23. The final Mercury hit then came in October 1953 when The Story Of Three Loves, based on Rachmaninoff's Paganini, reached # 14 billed to Jerry Murad Of The Harmonicats with Richard Hayman & His Orchestra.

Eight long years later they would have their last hit, this time for Columbia, when a cover of the 1955 hits by Perez "Prez" Prado and Alan Dale - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White from the film Underwater - peaked at # 56 Billboard Pop Top 100 b/w Lonely Love.

While both of the last two sides are here, you can see that most of the other hits are missing, in fact too many for an album blaring "greatest hits."

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review by: loriprorok date: 2007-04-10 rating:
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats
My father has parkinsons and this album keeps him playing and that keep his voice. He loved the songs.


review by: date: 2006-11-10 rating:
Jerry Mrrad's Harmonicats - Greatest Hits/Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White
It's Wonderful and likeable. I like music of this kind, only with harmonics(like Jerry Murrad and Jonnhy Puleo).

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