Acrobat Music

Open The Door Richard
Open The Door Richard

Various Artists
Styles: Jazz, R&B
Catalogue Number: ACMCD4365
“Open The Door, Richard” began life as a vaudeville routine performed by a number of black performers, including Bob Russell, Pigmeat Markham and Dusty Fletcher at places like New York’s Apollo Theatre. Jack McVea, sax and clarinet player for the Black & White label’s studio band, wrote a riff to go with the routine and it developed into a song which became a staple of the performances of many different artists. The first hit version was by Count Basie, rapidly followed by McVea’s, and one by Louis Jordan, along with others in early 1947, to the extent that it became the biggest-selling song in the Billboard charts for the year. Over the years many different artists recorded some variant of the song. This collection pulls together as many as we could find and fit on one CD, including the most successful along with some other interesting ones, along with some spin-off recordings. It makes for an entertaining and oblique look at a slice of music and theatre history that obviously struck a chord with American audiences, and became a catchphrase with political significance in the Civil Rights movement.

Disk 1:
Track Title Artist
1 Open the Door Richard Jack McVea & His All Stars
2 Open the Door Richard Live Version Jack McVea & His All Stars
3 Open the Door Richard Dusty Fletcher
4 Open the Door Richard Parts 1 and 2 Count Basie
5 Open the Door Richard Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
6 Open the Door Richard Alternative Version Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
7 Open the Door Richard Sid Catlett
8 Open the Door Richard Hot Lips Page
9 Open the Door Richard Live Version The Three Flames
10 Open the Door Richard The Charioteers
11 Open the Door Richard The Charioteers
12 Open the Door Richard Bill Samuels & His Cats 'N' Jammers Three
13 Open the Door Richard Walter Brown
14 Open the Door Richard Aime Barelli & His Orchestra
15 Open the Door Richard The Pied Pipers
16 Open the Door Richard Ernie Barton
17 Richard Ain't Gonna Open the Door The Four Aces
18 Richard's Jam The Four Aces
19 The Key's in the Mailbox Jack McVea & His Door Openers
20 Richard Gets Hitched Jack McVea & His Door Openers
21 Crow's Being Evicted Jack McVea & His Door Openers
22 The Surch Al Smith & Jack McVea
23 Oldsmobile Song Louis Jordan
24 Slim's Jam Slim Gaillard
©2008 Acrobat Music