Mercury Records Collection: Wing MGW-60005: Thelma Gracen

MGW-60005: Thelma Gracen

Label Type :	blue Wing type A
Matrix Number :	SIDE-A	MG W60005A MF3 MS A1 I
	SIDE-B	MGW60005B MF1 MS A2 I

Comments

Medium scratches and tearoffs on Side-B's label, but the disc itself is in nice condition and plays fine.

MGW-60005 is an original issue of EmArcy MG-36096.

Inside The Groove

A seldom-known female vocalist's (probably) the only LP.

Personal Impression (and brief notes)

Thelma Gracen was born in 1922, then she started singing when she was 15 years old. She then sang with such famous bands as Shep Fields and Jimmy Dorsey.

This album, her only LP, was recorded in 1955, with such great studio musicians as Georgie Auld and Barney Kessel. Her singing is very neat and pretty, and when she is backed up with such musicians, the overall mood becomes supreme - nothing but very jazzy.

Miss Jorie B. Gracen (Thelma's niece) kindly contacted me to say thanks for this page - “...if my aunt was alive she'd be very proud to know people are still listening to her beautiful voice...” - it is my pleasure!

Strictly Personal Rating (to what extent I could enjoy this album)

10 out of 10

Track Listing

SIDE-A
A-1	W365 (12379)	I'll Remember April (Raye - DePaul - Johnston)	2:45
A-2	W370 (12398)	Night And Day (Cole Porter)	3:00
A-3	W371 (12399)	I'll Never Be The Same (Kahn - Malneck - Signorelli)	2:56
A-4	W372 (12400)	Tea For Two (Caesar - Youmans)	2:25
A-5	W369 (12397)	I'll Get By (Turk - Ahlert)	3:37
A-6	W366 (12380)	Out Of Nowhere (Heyman - Green)	2:32
SIDE-B
B-1	W367 (12381)	Solitude (Mills - Ellington - DeLange)	3:54
B-2	W368 (12382)	Just You, Just Me (Klages - Greer)	2:45
B-3	W361 (12383)	I'm Yours (Harburg - Green)	3:53
B-4	W362 (12384)	People Will Say We're In Love (Rodgers - Hammerstain)	2:45
B-5	W363 (12385)	More Than You Know (Rose - Eliscu - Youmans)	3:30
B-6	W364 (12386)	Let There Be Love (Grant - Rand)	2:15

Personnel

Personnel/recorded date/master numbers confirmed with the Ruppli's discography.
(“The Mercury Labels - A Discography” by Ruppli and Novitsky, Greenwood Press, 1993)

The Ruppli's book mentions recorded place as “Mercury Sound Studio, NYC”. However, as many reviews and liner-notes mentions, it is highly probable that the recording was made in Hollywood, CA (maybe at Capitol Studios?), judging from the backing musicians (such as Georgie Auld and Barney Kessel).

B-3, B-4, B-5, B-6:
Thelma Gracen (vo),
Quen Anderson (tb), Georgie Auld (ts),
Lou Levy (p), Barney Kessel (g), Joe Comfort (b), Sid Bulkin (ds).
Recorded in Hollywood, CA on November 9, 1955.

Side-A, B-1, B-2:
same personnel as above.
Recorded in Hollywood, CA on November 10, 1955.