The Tony Pastor Collection 1940-51

Tony Pastor was a jazz and big band saxophonist, singer and bandleader who was with Artie Shaw’s orchestra during the ‘30s before launching his own band in 1940, subsequently enjoying a highly successful chart career through the 1940s with a distinctive style of upbeat and entertaining middle-of-the-road music, including the novelty-flavoured material popular in that era. In the later years of the decade, he provided an early career opportunity for Rosemary Clooney and her sister Betty, who recorded with Pastor through 1948-49, and who are featured on a dozen or more titles here. This 72-track 3-CD set comprises selected A and B sides from his singles on the Bluebird, RCA-Victor, Cosmo and Columbia labels during this era, and features all his fifteen US chart entries, including the Top 10 hits “Maria Elena”, “Dance With A Dolly”, “Bell Bottom Trousers”, Sioux City Sue”, “Red Silk Stockings And Green Perfume” and “The Lady From Twenty-Nine Palms”. It features at least one side of a significant proportion of his releases during these years. Along with Tony Pastor himself and The Clooney Sisters, featured vocalists include Johnny McAfee, Eugenie Baird, Dorsey Anderson, Kay Little, Elisse Cooper, Kay Foster, Rita McCullough and Virginia Maxey. It’s a substantial and enjoyable showcase for the music of an artist who is not much talked about these days but who made a significant contribution to the popular music of this primary decade and more of his career.