Acrobat Music

Four by Four
Four by Four

Various Artists
Styles: Doo Wop, Easy Listening, Pop
Catalogue Number: ADDCD3071
Vocal groups have been with us since – well since forever – but the ones of today bear little resemblance to those of yesteryear, and probably the greatest years for groups, when they consisted of competent vocalists who may or may not have provided their own instrumental accompaniment, was during the Fifties. A lot of those groups – all of them featured in this set are American - consisted of four guys, usually comprising a tenor, baritone, bass and a lead singer. And when they were looking for a group name, well, they often weren’t that imaginative and a lot of them became some variant of The Four Somethings, and many enjoyed significant chart success on both sides of the Atlantic. Compiled by ’50s collector and expert, Ossie Dales, this 2-CD collection comprises 52 tracks, made up of four tracks, or in some cases two tracks, by each of 16 different “Fours”. Some were huge hits and absolute classics – The Four Preps “Big Man”, The Four Aces “Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing”, for example – while others are magnificent obscurities. All of them are a celebration of a genre of popular music that was very much of its time, and which largely got run out of town by rock ‘n’ roll (some of them going on to success in the new era, like The Four Seasons). It’s a highly entertaining listen, and it is sure to find an audience amongst the lovers of classic ‘50s pop.

Disk 1:
Track Title Artist
1 Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing The Four Aces
2 Three Coins In The Fountain The Four Aces
3 There Goes My Heart The Four Aces
4 You’ll Always Be The One (For Me) The Four Aces
5 The World Outside The Four Coins
6 My One Sin The Four Coins
7 Magnolia The Four Coins
8 Story Untold The Four Coins
9 In This World The Four Coquettes
10 Sparkle And Shine The Four Coquettes
11 Love Me Forever The Four Esquires
12 Steam Heat The Four Esquires
13 The Sphinx Won’t Tell The Four Esquires
14 Three Things (A Man Must Do) The Four Esquires
15 Charmaine The Four Freshmen
16 Graduation Day The Four Freshmen
17 Malaya The Four Freshmen
18 It Never Occurred To Me The Four Freshmen
19 Oh How I Love-A You The Four Guys
20 This Must Be The Place The Four Guys
21 Sometimes (When I’m Alone) The Four Joes
22 These Are The Things I Remember The Four Joes
23 Oh Baby Mine I Get So Lonely The Four Knights
24 Oh Happy Day The Four Knights
25 Gratefully Yours The Four Knights
26 Me The Four Knights
Disk 2:
Track Title Artist
1 Moments To Remember The Four Lads
2 Standing On The Corner The Four Lads
3 Goona Goona The Four Lads
4 The Real Thing The Four Lads
5 (You’re The) Apple Of My Eye The Four Lovers
6 Girl In My Dreams The Four Lovers
7 Mobile The Four Populaires
8 Too Pooped To Pop The Four Populaires
9 I’ll Never Smile Again The Four Populaires
10 42 Barrels Of Oil The Four Populaires
11 Twenty Six Miles (Santa Catalina) The Four Preps
12 Big Man The Four Preps
13 Kaw-Liga The Four Preps
14 The Sand And The Sea The Four Preps
15 45 Men In A Telephone Booth The Four Tophatters
16 Wild Rosie The Four Tophatters
17 I Understand Just How You Feel The Four Tunes
18 The Ballad Of James Dean The Four Tunes
19 Let Me Go Lover The Four Tunes
20 Sayonara The Four Tunes
21 Comin’ In On A Wing And A Pray’r The Four Vagabonds
22 Rosie The Riveter The Four Vagabonds
23 Every Hour Every Day Of My Life The Four Voices
24 You Know I Do The Four Voices
25 The Ties That Bind The Four Voices
26 I’m Dreaming Of Wedding Bells The Four Voices
©2008 Acrobat Music