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Plays an Album of Popular Music
Plays an Album of Popular Music
Studio album by Artie Shaw
Released	February 8, 1939
Recorded	January 17 and 23, 1939
Studio	Studio 2, Victor, New York
Genre	Dance band, Orchestral jazz
Length	??:??
Label	Bluebird
Artie Shaw chronology

Artie Shaw Plays an Album of Popular Music is a studio album of phonograph records released in 1939 by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra. One of only four popular music 78 rpm albums ever released on Bluebird Records, it catalogued Shaw's

Background and reception[edit]

In the late 1930s, parent company Victor Records, owned by RCA, attempted to release albums on their 35-cent budget label Bluebird Records.

After ____________, Bluebird mainly shut down and was only later revived for children's albums.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
The American Music Lover	A A A A^[1]
Variety	(favorable)^[2]
Radio and Television Mirror	(recommended)^[3]

Track listing[edit]

These newly issued songs were featured on a 5-disc, 78 rpm album set, Bluebird BP-1.

Disc 1: (B-10124)

"Frenesí", recorded March 3, 1940.
"Begin the Beguine", recorded July 24, 1938.^[4]

Disc 2: (B-10125)

"Star Dust", recorded October 7, 1940.
"Back Bay Shuffle", recorded July 24, 1938.^[4]

Disc 3: (B-10126)

"Dancing in the Dark", recorded January 23, 1941.
"Traffic Jam", recorded June 12, 1939.^[4]

Disc 4: (B-10127)

"Moonglow", recorded January 23, 1941.
"Serenade To a Savage", recorded June 22, 1939.^[4]

Disc 5: (B-10128)

"Moonglow", recorded January 23, 1941.
"Serenade To a Savage", recorded June 22, 1939.^[4]

Release history[edit]

The original album was issued on four ten-inch 78 rpm records, September 5th, 1941 on Victor Records.^[5] Imprints of the album produced after February–March 1946 feature RCA Victor on the cover and labels. In 1949, truncated as six songs, the album was reissued on 45 rpm, WP 85. In 1950, after the format war between vinyl discs subsided, RCA Victor reached a cross-liscening agreement with Columbia to issue their recordings on LP. The following year, the label reissued the six-track album on a 10" LP, LPM-30.

1949 EP track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"Frenesí"	Alberto Domínguez	March 3, 1940	3:01
2.	"Begin the Beguine"	Cole Porter	July 24, 1938	3:14
3.	"Star Dust"	Hoagy Carmichael	October 7, 1940	3:31
4.	"Traffic Jam"	Teddy McRae–Artie Shaw	June 12, 1939	2:13
5.	"Moonglow"	Will Hudson	January 23, 1941	3:33
6.	"Serenade To a Savage"	Joe Garland–Edgar Battle	June 22, 1939	2:33
Total length:				18:07

1951 LP track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"Frenesí"	Alberto Domínguez	March 3, 1940	3:01
2.	"Star Dust"	Hoagy Carmichael	October 7, 1940	3:31
3.	"Moonglow"	Will Hudson	January 23, 1941	3:33
4.	"Serenade To a Savage"	Joe Garland–Edgar Battle	June 22, 1939	2:33
5.	"Traffic Jam"	Teddy McRae–Artie Shaw	June 12, 1939	2:13
6.	"Begin the Beguine"	Cole Porter	July 24, 1938	3:14
Total length:				18:07

Chart performance[edit]

While Four Star Favorites saw release nearly 31⁄2 years before the first Billboard magazine Best Selling Popular Albums chart appeared, the continued public interest in Shaw's recordings (and those of the Swing era in general) kept the album in print for over 11 years. As such, it did chart, peaking at number 4 on July 28, 1945. The later 45 rpm edition also charted, debuting in late 1951 and reappearing at number 8 in early 1952.

Six out of the album's eight tracks charted upon their original release. "Beguine" and "Frenesí" were both number-one hits, as well as the only selections in the album to chart outside the United States. The four other songs all reached the Top 10 in the US.^[6]

Singles

Release date^[5]	Single	Peak position^[6]^[A]
Release date^[5]	Single	US	UK	AUS
August 17, 1938	"Begin the Beguine"	①⁶	–	6
August 24, 1938	"Back Bay Shuffle"	8	–	–
August 21, 1939	"Traffic Jam"	9	–	–
March 29, 1940	"Frenesí"	①¹³	8	–
December 6, 1940	"Star Dust"	6	–	–
February 14, 1941	"Dancing in the Dark"	9	–	–

Album

Peak date^[6]^[7]	Chart	Peak position^[6]
Peak date^[6]^[7]	Chart	US
July 28, 1945	Billboard Best-Selling Popular Record Albums	4
January 19, 1952	Billboard Best Selling 45 r.p.m.	8

Notes

^ Exponents represent number of weeks at the number ① position.

Personnel[edit]

Track numbers reference the 78 rpm album configuration. Complete personnel per the Glenn Miller Archive, University of Colorado Boulder.^[8]^[9]

Woodwinds

Artie Shaw – clarinet, leader
Joe Krechter – bass clarinet (track 1)
Bud Carlton – alto saxophone (track 1)
Blake Reynolds – alto saxophone (track 1)
Les Robinson – alto saxophone (tracks 2–8)
Hank Freeman – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Neely Plumb – alto saxophone (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Jack Stacy – tenor saxophone (track 1)
Dick Clark – tenor saxophone (track 1)
Ronnie Perry – tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 4)
Tony Pastor – tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Jerry Jerome – tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Bus Bassey – tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Phil Nemoli – oboe (track 1)
Mort Ruderman – flute (track 1)

Brass

Manny Klein – trumpet (track 1)
Charles Margolis – trumpet (track 1)
George Thow – trumpet (track 1)
Claude Bowen – trumpet (tracks 2, 4)
Chuck Peterson – trumpet (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Johnny Best – trumpet (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Jack Cathcart – trumpet (track 3)
Billy Butterfield – trumpet (tracks 3, 5, 7)
George Wendt – trumpet (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Clyde Hurley – trumpet (tracks 5, 7)
Bernie Privin – trumpet (tracks 6, 8)
John Cave – flugelhorn (track 1)
Bill Rank – trombone (track 1)
Babe Bowman – trombone (track 1)
Randall Miller – trombone (track 1)
Ted Vesely – trombone (tracks 2, 4)
George Arus – trombone (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Harry Rodgers – trombone (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Vernon Brown – trombone (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Jack Jenney – trombone (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Ray Conniff – trombone (tracks 5, 7)
Les Jenkins – trombone (tracks 6, 8)

Strings

Harry Bluestone – violin (track 1)
Robert Barene – violin (track 1)
Sid Brokaw – violin (track 1)
Dave Cracov – violin (track 1)
Peter Eisenberg – violin (track 1)
Jerry Joyce – violin (track 1)
Alex Law – violin (track 1)
Mark Levant – violin (track 1)
Alex Beller – violin (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Truman Boardman – violin (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Bill Brower – violin (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Ted Klages – violin (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Eugene Lamas – violin (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Bob Morrow – violin (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Jack Ray – viola (track 1)
Stan Spiegelman – viola (track 1)
Dave Sturkin – viola (track 1)
Keith Collins – viola (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Allan Harshman – viola (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Irv Lipschultz – cello (track 1)
Jules Tannenbaum – cello (track 1)
Fred Goemer – cello (tracks 3, 5, 7)

Rhythm

Stan Wrightsman – piano (track 1)
Les Burness – piano (tracks 2, 4)
Johnny Guarnieri – piano (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Bob Kitsis – piano (tracks 6, 8)
Bobby Sherwood – guitar (track 1)
Al Avola – guitar (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Al Hendrickson – guitar (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Jud DeNaut – bass (track 1, 3, 5, 7)
Sid Weiss – bass (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Carl Maus – drums (track 1)
Cliff "Mr. Time" Leeman – drums (tracks 2, 4)
Nick Fatool – drums (tracks 3, 5, 7)
Buddy Rich – drums (tracks 6, 8)

Arrangers

Artie Shaw (oversaw all arrangements; wrote many)
William Grant Still – track 1
Jerry Gray – track 2
John Bartee – track 4 (possibly)
Lennie Hayton – tracks 5, 7
Teddy McRae – track 6 (possibly)

References[edit]

^ Van Norman, Horace (October 1941). "In The Popular Vein". The American Music Lover. Vol. 8, no. 2. Peter Hugh Reed.
^ Cite error: The named reference Variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Alden, Ken (January 1942). "Facing The Music". Radio and Television Mirror. Vol. 17, no. 3. Macfadden Publications. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Victor 78rpm numerical listing discography: 27500". 78discography.com. The Online Discographical Project. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b
Discographies:
- Bolig, John R. (2017). The Victor Black Label Discography: Victor 25000, 26000, 27000 Series. Vol. 5. Mainspring Press.
- Bolig, John R. (2017). The Bluebird Label Discography. Mainspring Press.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d
American charts:
- Whitburn, Joel (2015). Pop Memories, The History of American Popular Music 1900-1940. ISBN 978-0-89820-216-8.
- Whitburn, Joel (2002). Pop Hits, Singles and Albums 1940-1954. ISBN 978-0-89820-198-7.
English charts:
- Waters, Steven (2013). The British Hit Singles Jan 1940 - Oct 1952: The Missing Charts. ISBN 978-0-95768-810-0.
Australian charts:
- Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book (1940–1969). Turramurra: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
^ "Best Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). American Radio History. The Billboard. 19 January 1952. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
^ Scheer-Hennings, Reinhard; Spragg, Dennis (2018-04-09). "Artie Shaw 1938-1939" (PDF). www.colorado.edu. Glenn Miller Archive.
^ Scheer-Hennings, Reinhard; Spragg, Dennis (2018-04-09). "Artie Shaw January 1940-March 1941 "The West Coast Band"" (PDF). www.colorado.edu. Glenn Miller Archive.

Category:1939 albums Category:Bluebird Records albums Category:Artie Shaw albums

[7] Exponents represent number of weeks at the number ① position.

[AMUL-1] Van Norman, Horace (October 1941). "In The Popular Vein". The American Music Lover. Vol. 8, no. 2. Peter Hugh Reed.

[Variety-2] Cite error: The named reference Variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[RTM3-3] Alden, Ken (January 1942). "Facing The Music". Radio and Television Mirror. Vol. 17, no. 3. Macfadden Publications. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[78_discography-4] "Victor 78rpm numerical listing discography: 27500". 78discography.com. The Online Discographical Project. Retrieved 3 March 2019.

[Discogcompile-5] Discographies:
Bolig, John R. (2017). The Victor Black Label Discography: Victor 25000, 26000, 27000 Series. Vol. 5. Mainspring Press.

Bolig, John R. (2017). The Bluebird Label Discography. Mainspring Press.

[7] Bolig, John R. (2017). The Victor Black Label Discography: Victor 25000, 26000, 27000 Series. Vol. 5. Mainspring Press.

[8] Bolig, John R. (2017). The Bluebird Label Discography. Mainspring Press.

[Chartcompile-6] American charts:
Whitburn, Joel (2015). Pop Memories, The History of American Popular Music 1900-1940. ISBN 978-0-89820-216-8.

Whitburn, Joel (2002). Pop Hits, Singles and Albums 1940-1954. ISBN 978-0-89820-198-7.
English charts:
Waters, Steven (2013). The British Hit Singles Jan 1940 - Oct 1952: The Missing Charts. ISBN 978-0-95768-810-0.
Australian charts:
Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book (1940–1969). Turramurra: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.

[10] Whitburn, Joel (2015). Pop Memories, The History of American Popular Music 1900-1940. ISBN 978-0-89820-216-8.

[11] Whitburn, Joel (2002). Pop Hits, Singles and Albums 1940-1954. ISBN 978-0-89820-198-7.

[12] Waters, Steven (2013). The British Hit Singles Jan 1940 - Oct 1952: The Missing Charts. ISBN 978-0-95768-810-0.

[13] Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book (1940–1969). Turramurra: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.

[8] "Best Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). American Radio History. The Billboard. 19 January 1952. Retrieved 13 September 2019.

[9] Scheer-Hennings, Reinhard; Spragg, Dennis (2018-04-09). "Artie Shaw 1938-1939" (PDF). www.colorado.edu. Glenn Miller Archive.

[10] Scheer-Hennings, Reinhard; Spragg, Dennis (2018-04-09). "Artie Shaw January 1940-March 1941 "The West Coast Band"" (PDF). www.colorado.edu. Glenn Miller Archive.

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