Columbia XLP 36209 / 36210 (Album)
Columbia House Party – Various Artists
Issued 1955 (Date unknown) - 33 rpm LP
Side 1:
NEW YORK HOUSE PARTY WITH MITCH MILLER
(Too Late, by Guy Mitchell)
(Dry Bones, by The Four Lads)
(I Get A Kick Out Of You, by Rosemary Clooney with The Buddy Cole Trio)
(Taking A Chance On Love, by Tony Bennett)
(Manon, by Mitch Miller & Percy Faith)
(Honeysuckle Rose, by Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton)
Side 2:
HOLLYWOOD HOUSE PARTY WITH JO STAFFORD AND PAUL WESTON
Cripple Creek; Goin’ Down The Road
with Paul Weston (piano)
Matrix No. unknown * Recorded in late 1954 (date unknown)
(Mona Lisa, by Frankie Laine)
(Swanee River, by Liberace)
(Hey Ho, Anybody Home; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, by The Norman Luboff Choir)
Nice Work If You Can Get It
with Paul Weston (piano)
Matrix No. unknown * Recorded in late 1954 (date unknown)
(Camille, by The Dave Brubeck Quartet)
NOTES
People who bought a Columbia phonograph late in 1955, often received this Columbia promotional album for free (see images at the bottom of this page).
The first newspaper ad I found in which the album was mentioned, was published at the end of August (Corpus Christi Caller-Times, August 29, 1955). Earlier in 1955, buyers of a Columbia phonograph received the double album ‘Columbia Star Time’ (which included the Jo Stafford track ‘Early Autumn’). This makes me think the new campaign, featuring the give-away LP ‘Columbia House Party’, started in August (although, after August, several stores still offered the ‘Star Time’ album as a gift; I even saw it mentioned in ads published in December).
This is what the liner notes of the album say about side 2, ‘Hollywood House Party’: ‘Jo Stafford and Paul Weston invite you to a delightful party with Columbia stars, a light-hearted evening of entertainment and gaiety. Some of the greatest performers in popular music give impromptu performances of music they have never presented on records (and only available on this Columbia “Lp”) as they – and you – enjoy a visit at home with the Westons.’
The complete side 2 is included in the CD ‘Sincerely Yours, Jo Stafford’ (Sepia Records Sepia 1068, 2006). In the CD’s booklet, Jim Marshall writes about the ‘impromptu’ character of the recording: ‘In theory, it’s a “live” recording made at a party at their Hollywood home, hosted by Jo and Paul, but that’s probably stretching the truth a little far. The Frankie Laine contribution to the proceedings apparently originated as a radio transcription, but we do get to hear Jo in an informal setting – and that, at least, sounds fairly authentic’.
According to Jim Marshall and Sepia, the album was ‘recorded in late 1954’. Given the probable date of issue, however, it might as well have been recorded in the first half of 1955.
Back to 1955
Below: clips from advertisements published in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (August 29, 1955), the Baltimore Sun (October 9, 1955), the Reno Gazette-Journal (October 21, 1955), and the Medford Mail Tribune (November 8, 1955)
