Lee Hale-Dino's best friend

My wife Madeline and I have been working on Lee Hale's book and its almost complete. Madeline designed the cover and formatted it and I edited and set it up for presentation, then published it. Lee was musical director on Dean Martin's  TV show for the entire nine years it was on the air. He was a stand -in for Dean and handled the rehearsals and wrote songs and composed skits and directed the Goldiggers dancers on the show. The book tells his own bio first and then all about his experiences on the show. Everyone loved Dean and everyone loved Lee. There are testimonials from many stars from Frank Sinatra,Jr. to Michael Feinstein. South Pacific star Mitzi Gaynor wrote a loving foreword. It should be out in December 2011-Richard Grudens Presents Lee Hale- check it out on Amazon this Christmas. You will love the stories and anecdotes on most of America's  film and television stars from Carol Burnett to John Wayne to Orson Welles to Frank Sinatra to Dom DeLuise.

Perfect Harmony-a new book

My new book, Perfect Harmony is due out by Christmas, I hope. Everyone is in it. That is, every singing group with our kind of music, Check out this table of contents. I even found three girls who sing and dress and perform like the Andrews Sisters perfectly and have included The Three Belles from London, England in the book next to Patty,Maxine and LaVerne.

TABLE OF MUSICAL CONTENTS

Foreword - by Patty Andrews

Opening Set - by Richard Grudens

A View From England- by Alan Brown

Memories of Harmony Days - by Frankie Dee,GMMY Radio

Harmony- A Lesson from Professor Grudzinski , Berklee Music School, Boston

PART ONE

ROYAL VOCAL GROUPS 

TOP TEN

The Rhythm Boys

The Mills Brothers

Andrews Sisters 

The Three Belles a/l/oAndrews

The  Brox Sisters

Ink Spots 

Pied Pipers 

Modernaires 

King Sisters 

McGuire Sisters

The Four Freshmen 

PART TWO 

LADIES FIRST

The Gumm Sisters

De Castro Sisters 

Clooney Sisters

Lennon Sisters  

Chordettes 

Puppini Sisters

Connie Haines & Four Gospel Girls 

FOLLOW THE BOYS

Ames Brothers 

Four Aces  

Four Lads 

Sons of the Pioneers 

Kingston Trio

Hi-Lo’s 

The Letterman

The (Andy) Williams Brothers 

SPECIALTY MIXED GROUPS

Lambert, Henricks & Ross - 

Six Hits and a Miss 

Meltones 

Manhattan Transfer

The Manhattans- open

ROYAL DUETS

Astaire & Rogers

Crosby & Hope 

Rooney & Garland

Jackie & Roy

PART THREE

FINE GROUPS OF DISTINCTION

Mary Kaye Trio

Hilltoppers

Gaylords

Delta Rhythm Boys

Three Suns

Anita KerrSingers

Charioteers 

Kirby Stone Four

Four Preps

Crew Cuts

The Osmond Brothers

Deep River Boys

Four Knights

Billy Williams Quartet

Dinning Sisters

Fontane Sisters

The Moon Maids

Stafford Sisters

Clark Sisters

DeJohn Sisters

Barry Sisters

Paulette Sisters

Merry Macs

PART FOUR 

TOP EIGHT 

 BEYOND THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK

The Beach Boys

The Supremes - OPEN

Weavers 

Peter, Paul & Mary 

Mama’s & the Papa’s  

The Temptations 

The Platters 

The Drifters - OPEN

NOVELTY GROUPS

The Hoosier Hotshots

SPECIAL FEATURE

Voices from Europe- Max Wirz

Bibliography

Author’s Acknowledgement

Dedication 

Index

Warner bros. kid star gone.

Sybil Jason died last month. We had been friends and penpals for a few years, always contributing to each others books and writing reviews on amazon, She was a fine star who sang with Al Jolson in the Singing Kid and co-starred with Shirley Temple as Becky in the Little Princess and was the top star in a number of films including The  Little Big Shot andThe Great O'Malley with Humphrey Bogart and Pat O'Brien-she got top billing over those two great stars. Read her book My Fifteen Minutes and enjoy her life's work in the movies. I shall miss her kindness and blessings,

Margaret is gone.

We have lost one of the best singers ever. Margaret Whiting, who, under the tutilage of songwriter Johnny Mercer, make her first recording with Capitol Records, "That Old Black Magic."  I knew Margaret for over 25 years ever since we first met at Westbury Music Fair on Long  Island. I was introduced to her by the one and only William B. Williams of WNEW, perhaps the most famous of all disc jockies in New York. Willie had carried the torch for the show for some thirty years. The date was November 5th, 1983. I was elected to help Margaret set up her entrance to the show from the top runway. Billy Eckstine and Dizzy Gillespie was there and Billy would be singing in this Make Believe Ballroom Showcase too, along with Maggie.  Willard Alexander, Big Band booker,  was there overseeing the Glenn Miller Orchestra with Larry O'Brien as the director. We had a wonderful time together. Margaret and I had to wait to go on, so we talked about her favorite recordings-my favorite was "A Tree in the Meadow." " Moonlight in Vermont" is Margaret's signature song.
"I grew up in a house where world-famous show business people were always present. People like Al Jolson, Johnny Mercer, Judy Garland, Eddie Cantor, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, and Jerome Kern were regular visitors. My dad was Richard Whiting, a songwriter who wrote " My Ideal,"  " Til We Meet Again," and many other tunes. I will miss the wonderful voice of Margaret Whiting. Last year I brought Margaret to one of the Al Jolson get-togethers in Oceanside where President of the Society Jan Hernsted presented her with a special award. I had to help Margaret up to the stage. Her legs were weak ever since she fell on the ice in New York a few years ago. she couldn't sing, so Tony B. (Babino) sang for and to her. Tony appreciates all the singers who came before him from Sinatra to Darin and even the beautiful
Goodbye, Margaret, and may the Lord take care of you from now on.

Finding Patty Andrews

Well, Van Alexander ( the Big Band leader who wrote "A Tisket-A Tasket",and LeeHale, who was the musical director for the Dean Martin TV show for it's entire run of nine years, trekked out to Patty's house and practically knocked the door in to find her. She hadn't been answering her phone or answering the door bell. We finally got her to write up a foreword for my upcoming book H*A*R*M*O*N*Y which will feature her Andrews Sisters story and the Mills Brothers, Ink Spot, McQuires, and dozens of other singing groups of the 20s to the 80s.
I have been receiving many nice fan letters on the book STAR*DUST-The Bible of the Big Bands as well as my 2002 Crosby Book. Today I received a wonderful tribute Christmas letter from Lydia Heston, wife of my good friend Charlton Heston, whom  I considered one of the Top Ten movie stars of all time. We always wrote back and forth for many years after first meeting him at a book signing in Huntington where we exchanged books and signatures.
Another friend, Larry O'Brien, who had been musical director for the Glenn Miller Orchestra for many years, finally has retiredwith his lovely wife Judy. I received a Christmas card from their new home in Hawaii, where they plan to live out their lives. Larry and I first met when William B. Williams of New York's radio station WNEW where he presided over the famed "Make Believe Ballroom" disc jockey show. We were at the Westbury Music Fair working in a show that featured Margaret Whiting, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. That was in 1982 and we have been pals ever since. Larry directed one of his last performances at the Patchogue Theater in late November 2010.The young  Miller players were just sensational. I have also been working on Lee Hale's autobiography, editing and formatting. Look for it on amazon in about March of 2011.Great batch of stories as Lee worked with just about every living personality  as director of music ans sketches for Dean Martin's television variety show. That's it for now.

Kay Starr-Happy Birthday and other news.

Well, on July 25th Big Band host Chris Valenti on WYYR-Yesteryear Radio, had an on-air birthday party for Kay Starr. You remember Kay-"Wheel of Fortune," "Rock and Roll Waltz," and other favorites. Van Alexander, bandleader and co-author with Ella Fitzgerald on their tune " A Tisket-A-Tasket," that everlasting tune from way back when, was present, as was I, Peter Marshall, Bandleader Ben Grisafi, and others who spent 90 minutes talking over old times and her career. Kay Starr has always been an appreciative artist. She sang with Charlie Barnet, Glenn Miller ( On only two sides "Love with a Capitol You," and "Baby Me," when Marion Hutton was unavailable at the time.)
We have to sadly report that Patty Andrews husband Wally Weschler, her piano player and manager, passed away. Patty is worried about staying alone, but many are coming to her rescue.
Frankie Dee, leader of GMMY Radio just had a heart bypass and is already back to work dispensing our kind of music. And, of course, Tony Bennett is still tearing them up all over the place, from Italy, from England and Wales, and venues all over the globe,  and receiving deserving accolades from everywhere he performs, this according to his great follower Mark Fox from the UK who sends us almost daily reviews and comments about Tony's tour.
Sinatra Singing is going well and listed high with Amazon.com, being # 1 in relevance. One of the young stars of the book, Dana Marcine, is scoring well with her album "Crossing Lights" receiving a great review from Chris Spector of the Midwest Review who says, "it's not often that you get a new jazz diva that writes her own rather than dip into the chestnuts, but Marcine is out to break the mold. This album is a nice set of satisfying dult listening that works well throughout."
We are thinking about writing a book about songwriter Ervin Drake who wrote " It's a Very Good Year," "I Believe," "Al Di La," among many more including "Good Morning Heartache," for Billie Holiday. I am having a Sunday brunch with him in late September to work it out.
Actress Rhonda Fleming and Pat Boone both wrote nice letters praising "Sinatra Singing." And lastly, it was great to see Tony B. Babino at the annual Al Jolson festival in Oceanside New York where he performed Jolson and his own song " Fifty Years" which is the most played recording on Long Island station WHLI. He sang it beautifully with his golden voice and the couples filled the dance floor with golden smiles.
Talk to you soon.
Richard Grudens

New Sinatra Book is out! It's called Sinatra Singing

I am happy to say that I finally produced a book about America’s greatest singer FRANK SINATRA. This book is special in that it’s strictly about singing and singers: Sinatra Singing.

For this book I called upon a wide variety of artists who were asked to explain how they sing, how they practice their craft, especially before a recording session or in preparation for a live concert, and if they learned anything from Sinatra by listening or studying him.  Did Sinatra inspire them? If so, they tell us about it.

You will find lots of things not included in this book. Things that are usually part of most Sinatra books: The Rat Pack, Ava Gardner and his other wives and friends,  the angst and trouble that filled some of Sinatra’s life.

This is a book about  SINATRA SINGING. Inside you will meet his arrangers, conductors, musicians, the songwriters, the songs, technical notes on bel canto, breathing, vocal cord problems, conquering stage fright, song polls taken over the years, singing instruction, the albums, and more.

This is the Sinatra book that is indeed different, and that clears away all the dust and let’s you in on the important aspects of Sinatra’s singing career.  You will love the great selection of  250 photos. Many are rare. 

Thanks, once again, and hope you enjoy Sinatra Singing.