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"Compared to the Golden Age of Song reputations of Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter and the Gershwin's and their identifiable popular catalogues, Sam Coslow's song-writing status has somewhat faded into the mists of time and he is now recalled as somewhat second league. However, Coslow was a prodigious contributor to Hollywood's early musicals and provided TRUE BLUE LOU, IF YOU CAN'T SING IT, YOU'LL HAVE TO SWING IT (MR PAGANINI) and I'M IN LOVE WITH THE HONORABLE MR SO-AND-SO as enduring songs. Surprisingly, he failed to crack the Broadway stage musical/revue to any extent and generally provided numerous popular hits until the 50's when he moved to London to undertake a similar movie function before he died in 1982.
"Therefore this excellent collection serves as a pleasant reminder of Coslow's extensive body of work which with his collaborators included songs which became early hits for the upcoming Bing Crosby who naturally provides JUST ONE MORE CHANCE, LEARN TO CROON, THANKS and THE DAY YOU CAME ALONG for this collection. Covering the years 1928-1947, it's a joy to hear crisp and clear recordings by largely forgotten names like Annette Hanshaw (MOON SONG), Valaida Snow (SING YOU SINNERS) and Carl Brisson (COCKTAILS FOR TWO) with that latter number perhaps not surviving it's 1944 parody slaughter by Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Familiar vocalists - amongst them Dick Haymes (JE VOUS AIME), Margaret Whiting (BEWARE MY HEART), Maurice Chevalier (SWEEPIN' THE CLOUDS AWAY), Connee Boswell (IN THE MIDDLE OF A KISS) and last but not least Noel Coward (FARE THEE WELL) also contribute unfamiliar numbers with sometime singer Coslow himself providing the vocals for LAY YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER, DEAR.
"Revealing many surprises, it can be argued this overview is well worth its weight in nostalgic musical gold considering the somewhat neglected standing of Sam Coslow and with excellent remastering, informative notes and discography adding quality, this compilation is highly recommended."
(This text adapted from notes accompanying the YouTube video below by edmundusrex)
Sam Coslow was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher, and market analyst who began writing songs as a teenager. During a varied career, he contributed songs to Broadway revues, formed the music publishing company Spier and Coslow in 1928, and made a number of recordings singing both his own songs and those by other songwriters.
With the explosion of film musicals in the late 1920s, Hollywood attracted a number of ambitious young songwriters and Coslow joined the exodus in 1929. Coslow and his partner Larry Spier sold their publishing business to Paramount Pictures and Coslow became a Paramount songwriter. One of his first assignments for the studio was the score for the 1930 film The Virtuous Sin. He formed a successful partnership with composer Arthur Johnston and together they provided the scores for a number of films including several Bing Crosby vehicles, such as
Coslow became a film producer in the 1940s and won the Academy Award for Best Short Film for his production "Heavenly Music" in 1943. He was married to actress Esther Muir from 1934 to 1948, and they had a daughter Jacqueline Coslow, who also worked as an actress.
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Cafe Songbook
Master List of Great American Songbook Songwriters
Names of songwriters who have written at least one song included in the Cafe Songbook Catalog of The Great American Songbook are listed below.
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