Available Recordings
At long last a record company has taken the plunge and released some of the Decca gems from the 1940's that Denny recorded with the orchestras of Stanley Black, Bob Farnon and Phil Green. Well done Sepia Records and sincere thanks.
The CD will be available on the Sepia website. www.sepiarecords.com
The CD includes excellent restorations of some 26 titles, 18 of which have not seen any re release in sixty years, the other 8 being completely unavailable anyway. The CD also features a booklet with excellent liner notes from Mike Carey, Denny's biographer, outlining Denny's career, plus full recording details and dates. This is a CD not to be missed. Its been a long time coming. It is an absolute gem.
The tracks included are:
'Let's Call The Whole Thing Off '(Live - with Jack Wilson and his Versatile Five - Radio Normandy 1939) 'It's You That I Love', 'How Blue The Night', 'How Little We Know', 'There's No You', 'There Must Be A Way', 'I'll Always Love You', It's A Beautiful Day', 'Mary Lou', 'It's The Bluest Kind Of Blues', 'Make Believe World', 'But Beautiful', 'A Fella With An Umbrella', 'Stepping Out With My Baby', 'Every Time I Meet You', 'By The Way', 'Glen Echo' (Will Ye No Come Home) 'I'd Love To See You Home Tonight', 'After All', 'Judaline', 'Feelin' Low', 'My Golden Baby', 'The Four Winds And The Seven Seas', 'I'll Always Love You', Bolero'.
Here is the review (by Allen Pollock) of the Sepia CD from the April 2008 issue of 'INTUNE' magazine:
Sepia's THE BLUEST KIND OF BLUES (1108) is an appropriate appraisal of the somewhat neglected balladeer Denny Dennis (1913-1993) which will please many as such reissued have been few and far between. Despite being rated one of the top singers of the late '30s and into the '40s, and working with Roy Fox, Ambrose and Tommy Dorsey, Denny's share of bad luck was exacerbated by changing vocal styles and the emergence of younger talent during the early '50s. However, these excellent Decca sides showcase his talent during the '40s with the exception of Denny's opening song LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF, a Radio Normandy broadcast of 1939. HOW BLUE THE NIGHT, BUT BEAUTIFUL, BY THE WAY and THE FOUR WINDS AND THE SEVEN SEAS are amongst the remaining rare twenty-five smoothly applied selections with a preponderance of ballads broken by easy-going songs like A FELLA WITH AN UMBRELLA. The album's title song, recorded with an orchestra conducted by Stanley Black, and based on the Django Reinhardt composition NUAGES, remains his most identifiable songs and apart from Black, Robert Farnon and Phil Green take good care of Denny's orchestral needs to maximum effect with good sound, recording dates and thorough notes by Denny's biographer Mike Carey.
In recent years there has been renewed interest in Denny and there have been a few more Denny Dennis cd releases. The definitive CD is the ‘Retrospective’ double cd to mark Denny’s centenary in 2013. (See the latest news page.)
Many of the recordings that Denny made with the dance bands of the 1930’s are available. They are usually included as part of compilations, or within CD’s that features the bands themselves. One should look under Roy Fox, Ambrose, and also Jay Wilbur, Jack Hylton, and Jack Jackson to a lesser extent. Such compilations come and go quite frequently. They are too numerous to list.
One should also look in the catalogues of the following record companies - Vocalion, Pegasus, 'Living Era', 'Sepia'. (Note - Living Era and Castle Pulse are no more, snap up any CD on these labels while you can, they will disappear forever!)
CD - Denny Dennis - 'The Singer They Called Britain's Bing Crosby' - Evergreen Melodies
This lovely collection is released through 'This England' magazine and is currently available through their website. The tracks on this CD cover the period 1933-1943 and feature some excellent dance band sides with Roy Fox and Ambrose, plus some rare solo recordings with Eugene Pini and Arthur Young.
The tracks are: 'I'm Getting Sentimental Over You', 'Little Sir Echo' (With Vera Lynn) 'Would You', ''Time On My Hands', 'Let's Call The Whole Thing Off' (With Mary Lee), 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart', 'Mexicali Rose', 'Stardust', 'Two Sleepy People' (With Vera Lynn), 'June In January', 'Hear My Song Violetta', 'South Of The Border' (With organ acc), 'Angels Never Leave Heaven', 'Louise', 'Goodbye To Summer', 'What More Can I Say', 'Just One More Chance', 'Everything I Have Is Yours', 'Until The Real Thing Comes Along', 'I'll Sing You A thousand Love Songs'.
The website for 'This England' is: www.thisengland.co.uk Go to the 'Links' section, then 'Yesterday's Music CD Catalogue', then 'Dance Bands' page 4.
Tracks: Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?, I'll String Along With You, In The Middle Of A Kiss, I Wished On The Moon. I Was Lucky, Let's Face The Music And Dance, Bird On The Wing, The Glory Of Love, Would You?, Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, The Way You Look Tonight, In The Mission By The Sea, I Fall In Love With You Every Day. Blue Skies Are Just Around The Corner, Mexicali Rose, Hear My Song Violetta, Two Sleepy People, Angels Never Leave Heaven, Stardust, Just One More Chance, South Of The Border (Solo), If You Please, Whispers In The Dark, Louise, Goodbye To Summer.
Tracks: May I Have The Next Romance With You?, I Stumbled Over Love, Time On My Hands, Hurry Home, Rosita (Her Name was Rosita), Sweet Is The Word For You, I Have Eyes, If I Should Fall In Love Again, Will You Remember?, Goodnight My Love, Sweet Someone, The Pretty Little Quaker Girl, Thru' The Courtesy Of Love, Deep Purple, I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart, Blue Hawaii, South Of The Border (Ambrose), Always and Always, Dearest Love, Where Are The Songs We Sung?
LP – ‘Starlight Serenades – Four Vocalists of The 40’s’ Decca RECDL 3 1986
Denny is one of four vocalists on this double LP. The others are Vera Lynn, Anne Shelton and Donald Peers. Nine recordings from 1944-1948 are featured, some being alternative takes. The transfers are a little dull compared to the original 78’s.
Tracks: Danger Ahead, After All, Ch Baba Chi Baba (My Bambino Go To Sleep), It’s The Bluest Kind Of Blues, Stepping Out With My Baby, The Music Stopped, Judaline, A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening, I’d Give A Million Tomorrows.
CD - Sid Phillips And His Orchestra - 'High Jinks'. Timeless Classics THLCD80001 2005
A very nice 25 track CD featuring some quite rare Sid Phillips material, mainly from the early 1950's. Denny Dennis is featured on several tracks. If'n (With Alma Cogan), Without A Memory, Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?, Didja Ever?, Your Gonna Be Sorry, Goody Goody, Blackberry Boogie, Bruce And The Spider.
'Without A Memory' is a fine ballad, with Denny performing well in the style he knows best. What a pity that more ballads were not recorded with Phillips. 'If'n' is a nice period piece reminiscent of the earlier duets between Doris Day and Buddy Clark. 'Blackberry Boogie' is a fine attempt to compete with the Boogie style of Tennessee Ernie Ford, so popular at the time, but Tennessee Ernie is the genuine article for this style. 'Bruce and the Spider' is an attempt to compete with the Mitch Miller Style of Guy Mitchell and others. This title, which was popular, does not rank amongst Denny's finest.
Sid Phillips And His Band - Castle Pulse / Sanctuary Records 2007 PDSCD 673
This double CD of Sid Phillips is a must for any fan of Sid Phillips. The CD also features some quite rare Denny Dennis material from the period 1951-1953. The Blacksmith Blues, Skip To My Lou, Rhythm Rag, Goody Goody, Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?, Walkin' To Missouri, You're Gonna Be Sorry, Bruce and the Spider, My'Na Shay-Na Ty-Ra, (My Sweet and Dear One), Without a Memory.
Denny does a fine job on all of the numbers but with the exception of 'Without a Memory' the material is typical of many early fifties novelty numbers and we do not hear Denny at his best. It is however a blessing that these numbers have seen a release and that more recordings from Denny's overall career are available to us.
Roy Fox - Volume 4 - 'Two Shadows' Vocalion CDEA 6123 2007
Eighteen of the twenty four tracks on this CD feature Denny with the Roy Fox band from the period 1936-1938. It almost qualifies as a Denny Dennis CD in itself. Two tracks feature Barry Gray, who in reality was Denny's brother Eric. Two tracks feature the new singing discovery, fourteen year old Mary Lee, plus another track features a duet with Mary and Denny. The track 'Gone With The Wind seems to have nothing to do with the film of that name. The quality of sound restoration on these tracks is second to none.
Volume three of this series is still available. It is entitled Roy Fox Volume Three - 'Lullaby Of The Leaves' - CDEA 6117 (2007). It features another three tracks with Denny, 'Play To Me Gypsy', 'Give Me A Heart To Sing To' and 'My Heart Was Sleeping'. All date from 1934.
'The Complete Denny Dennis' - a series of cassettes issued by the Denny Dennis Music Society.
Mike Carey, Denny's biographer , issued fourteen cassettes for fans of Denny and his music via the Denny Dennis Music Society. Sadly, the Society is no more and the cassettes are now all gone. However, they are a unique collection and well worth looking out for.
The first cassettes trace chronologically all of Denny's recordings with Jack Jackson and Roy Fox, plus broadcast and solo recordings, up to 1938. Two cassettes include rare and unique broadcasts with Roy Fox, plus wartime broadcasts, many from Denny's own private collection. A final cassette includes rare and unique broadcast recordings made with Tommy Dorsey in the post war period, plus the commercial recordings that Denny made with the band.
This project was a real labour of love. Many of Denny's fans, young and old, made the original 78rpm recordings available for restoration and release. It is a unique collection, matched nowhere else. Sadly, the project ended before the recordings with Ambrose and Denny's later solo recordings for Decca and REX could be released.
CD – A Tribute To Denny Dennis – ‘The English Troubadour’. ASV: AJA 5127 1994
This excellent compilation features recordings from 1933, with Jack Jackson, Roy Fox and Ambrose, to some of his solo sides up to 1943, including two rare ORBS recordings with Norman Stenfalt.
CD - ‘I’ll Sing You A Thousand Love Songs’ Parade: PAR 2026 1994
This CD does not feature the song in the title, but it is an excellent collection of material from 1937-1940 made with the bands of Roy Fox, Ambrose, Jay Wilbur, plus some fine solo recordings under the musical direction of Eugene Pini.
LP ‘Yours For A Song’ Decca Ace Of Clubs ACL 1262 1969
An excellent LP that features solo recordings from 1939-1949, including wonderful recordings with the Stanley Black and Robert Farnon Orchestras. This is a must have LP for serious fans. It comes up on E Bay quite often.
Tracks: Yours For A Song, Where Or When, Stardust, It’s Always You, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, What More Can I Say, Time Was, Is It too Late, Just Naïve, Stepping Out With My Baby, In Between The Showers, By The Way, Feeling Low, I’ll Always Love You.
New Denny Dennis CD - November 2010.
Memory Lane magazine have recently ventured successfully into the CD market with some marvellous CD’s from the dance band era. This new Roy Fox / Denny Dennis CD features many very rare recordings and some favourites from the mid 1930s.
The CD is available from the Memory Lane website:
SADLY - THIS CD IS NOW DELETED
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Rare ‘Vocalion’ Cd’s to look out for.
Below are two Vocalion Cd’s from several years ago. They are not available through ‘Vocalion’ anymore, but they are to be found on the internet. They are beginning to attract high prices so it is best to search around. All tracks are of course beautifully restored by Mike Dutton.
‘Rise n Shine’, the first Cd in the Roy Fox series, includes twelve rare tracks from Denny’s first year with Roy Fox. The second in the series ‘Over on The Sunny Side’ features another seven rarities from his early years with Roy Fox. All in all, these cd’s contain very rare material that is not always available elsewhere.
SILHOUETTE - DENNY DENNIS - HENRY JACQUES AND HIS DANCELAND ORCHESTRA.mp3
Danceland DL645V Circa 1951. (Click on the title above to hear the song, right click to download it)
Lost Denny Dennis Record Found.
A Lost Denny Dennis recording. This record was all but forgotten by Denny, but upon hearing it many years later he identified himself as the singer.
The record was made with Henry Jacques and His 'Correct Tempo' Orchestra. Henry Jacques was a well known dance teacher and he lent his name and reputation to amalgamations of bands that performed in strict tempo dance time. As the advertisement suggests, ballrooms could play the records for dancers free of the constraints of the 'Performing Rights Society'. The records, made in unbreakable plastic, came with a stroboscopic pattern in the outer edge of the label, to ensure precise speed when played.
Here Denny performs a waltz number. The recording does not rank among Denny's finest, but he is as always professional and competent. It dates from a time when Denny was struggling to find regular work and in which he took all kinds of work that he would not have needed to a few years before.
New Denny Dennis CD
Memory Lane magazine have recently ventured successfully into the CD market with some marvellous CD’s from the dance band era. This new Roy Fox / Denny Dennis CD features many very rare recordings and some favourites from the mid 1930s.
The CD is available from the Memory Lane website:
Many thanks to ‘Vocalion’ Records
Vocalion records treat us to some very nice dance band CD’s twice a year. Their website is well worth a visit.
The latest CD in the Roy Fox series brings several early numbers by Denny. Several have seen releases before,
but many not before on CD. It is possible that the recording of ‘Lou’siana Lullaby’ is a first time release.
Great re-mastering from Mike Dutton will ensure that we hear Denny in pristine quality. The rest of the CD is excellent too!
Denny’s first ever 78 rpm release with Jack Jackson and his Orchestra - available now!
I have featured this very rare 78 on the ‘Listen to Denny Sing’ page for some years. But the crack in my 78 is simply getting wider. It is with great joy that I see both sides of the 78 are featured on this Jack Jackson CD release. Denny was mid stage between being rejected or finally accepted by Roy Fox at the point when these numbers were recorded. Roy said that Denny needed to develop his singing skills further. Denny did just that and finally got the job. In between times, new and aspiring band leader Jack Jackson, one of the hottest trumpet players in the land, gave Denny some work, on broadcast, and on three recordings. The classic ‘I’m Getting Sentimental Over You’, plus the two featured here, which form both sides of a 78 rpm record.
Denny was just 19 at the time, and in later years fondly recalled these two numbers, ‘Reflections In The Water’ and ‘From Me to You’, with some pride. He could even sing the words some sixty years later. It was a humble beginning to what was to become a great career.
I know the cd only features Denny on two tracks, but each side is worth more than the £5.99 asking price. (Well, of course I would say that!)
Well done Mr Dutton - keep the gems coming.
Another big thanks to ‘Vocalion’ Records
Another gem from the Dutton laboratories. This latest and unexpected CD in the Roy Fox series brings several early numbers by Denny during the Cafe de Paris period. I believe this may be a first time release of the number ‘Cherie’. ‘Midnight Stars and You’ is worth the price of the CD alone. Many of the titles have not been available since the 1980s, so a welcome release indeed.
Vocalion Records can be found at:
Memory Lane magazine has released some rare Denny Dennis recordings on their ‘Singers on Parade’ cd. Denny appears on a couple of tracks only, so it does not count as a Denny Dennis cd. But it’s very rare to hear him with famous Harry Roy pianists, Ivor Morton and Dave Kaye. www.memorylane.org.uk
Still available - Retrospective double CD to mark Denny’s Centenary
Retrospective Records have released a brand new double CD compilation of the very finest recordings by Denny Dennis, representing the whole of his career. the CD, still available, is produced to the very highest quality, with totally new and masterful restorations, the CD is a fitting tribute to Denny to mark his centenary on November 1st 2013.
All the hits and the favourites are included, plus many unreleased gems.
See the Latest news page for more details.
