Oh Johnny! The Golden Years 1938-49

Orrin Tucker was a saxophonist, singer and bandleader who had his heyday during the late 1930s and into the ‘40s, and whose orchestra played in the popular “sweet” style of the era, broadly favouring a relaxed style of swing, using featured vocalists to present popular standards and new compositions of the day. He was popular on radio and from 1939 to ’42 racked up a string of hits, notably a No. 2 with a revival of the oldie “Oh! Johnny, Oh! Johnny, Oh!”. This 50-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A and B sides from his releases on the Okeh, Vocalion, Columbia, Musicraft, Mercury and Universal labels during this era, and features all his sixteen career hits, including “Oh! Johnny, Oh! Johnny, Oh!”, and his other Top 10 entries “Stop! It’s Wonderful”, “Billy”, “Apple Blossoms And Chapel Bells”, “At The Balalaika”, “Pinch Me” and “You’d Be Surprised”. It features Tucker himself on vocals, as well as performances by his other vocalists and vocal groups, including Bonnie Baker, Gil Mershon, Jack Bartell, Eddie Rice, Bob Haymes, Scottee Marsh, Jeri Ray and The Bodyguards. It’s an entertaining showcase for an artist about whom not much is known or heard about these days, but who very much captured the musical zeitgeist of the era.