Lola Albright

2-LPs ON 1 CD Plus BONUS TRACKS

Once rather dismissively regarded as one of the few blondes in Hollywood whose hair was its own natural color, the glamorous actress Lola Albright (1924-2017) had a chequered movie career until her definitive big break arrived in 1958. That was when she was cast as the sophisticated night-club singer in NBC’s newest television hit, the detective thriller “Peter Gunn,” which aired from 1958 to 1961. The role made her a personality in her own right.


In February 1959, she recorded her second album, titled “Dreamsville,” this time for Columbia and surrounded by some excellent West Coast jazzmen under the direction of Henry Mancini. Her voice, pleasant as always, carried a group of jazz-flavored standards and six Mancini originals from the already-famed Peter Gunn score, in a pervasive and smoky jazz atmosphere. And that was that. Always independentminded, she subsequently pursued a widely-varied career in film and television until, tiring of the spotlight, she withdrew from public life in the 1970s.

PERSONNEL:

ON TRACKS [1-12] from the album LOLA WANTS YOU (Kem LP-101)

LOLA ALBRIGHT with Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by DEAN ELLIOTT

(1,3,4,7,9 & 12): Don Fagerquist (tp); Jack Dumont, Ben Kanter, Howard Terry, Chuck Gentry (reeds);
Vince Terri (g); Phil Stephens (b); Milt Holland (d).
Recorded at Gold Star Recording Studios, Hollywood, May 9, 1957

(2,5,6,8,10 & 11): Don Fagerquist (tp); Hymie Gunkler, Ben Kanter, Howard Terry, Chuck Gentry (reeds)
Bob Gibbons (g); Phil Stephens (b); Nick Fatool (d)
Recorded at Gold Star Recording Studios, Hollywood, May 16, 1957.

ON TRACKS [13-24] from the album DREAMSVILLE (CS-8133)

LOLA ALBRIGHT with Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by HENRY MANCINI

(14,15,19 & 20): Dick Nash (tb); Ted Nash (fl); John Williams (p); Victor Feldman (vib)
Bob Bain (g); Red Mitchell (b); Shelly Manne, (d)s, plus string section.
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, February 24, 1959.

(13,17,18 & 21): Same personnel but Ronny Lang, flute, replaces Ted Nash.
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, February 26, 1959.

(16,22,23 & 24): John Williams (p); Victor Feldman (vib); Tony Rizzi (g);
Rollie Bundock (b); Jack Sperling (d)
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, April 2, 1959.

[25-32] BONUS TRACKS 25-32, taken from the NBC TV Series PETER GUNN:
LOLA ALBRIGHT sings on the ‘Peter Gunn’ TV series (1958-1961)
Music under the direction of Henry Mancini.

TRACKS:

01. A Man, a Man, a Man
02. Candy
03. Put Your Arms Around Me
04. Goodbye My Lover
05. Aren’t You Kinda
06. I’ve Got a Crush on You
07. Here ‘Tis
08. All of You
09. There’s a Man
10. Think Of Me
11. Do What You Gotta Do
12. He’s My Guy
13. Two Sleepy People
14. Dreamsville
15. We Kiss in a Shadow
16. Brief and Breezy
17. You’re Driving Me Crazy!
18. They Didn’t Believe Me
19. Soft Sounds
20. Slow and Easy
21. It’s Always You
22. Straight to Baby
23. Just You, Just Me
24. Sorta Blue
25. How High the Moon
26. September in the Rain
27. Dancing on the Ceiling
28. Goody Goody
29. Straight to Baby
30. Lonesome Road
31. A Good Man Is Hard to Find