The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography And Videography:
An Inquiry Into The 1940s Ara Masters
by Iván Santiago-Mercado
Generated on Aug 31, 2011
Return To Table Of Contents
I. Contents And Scope
This supplementary page discusses various topics pertaining to a date by The Bob Crosby Orchestra with Peggy Lee, during which she sang two masters ("It's Anybody's Spring" and "On The Atchinson, Topeka And The Santa Fe"). This poorly documented date took place at some point between 1944 and 1946. Both Lee-sung masters were eventually released by Ara Records, a small and short-lived label.
The discussion below assumes the reader's acquaintance with the primary details about the date, as given in the 1944-1945 page of the sessionography. Some readers might wonder why this discussion has not been placed in that sessionographical page. There are two reasons for the abstention: (1) the inordinate length and (2) the highly speculative nature of the covered topics. By placing lengthy and speculative discourse in miscellaneous pages such as this one, I am hoping to make the main session pages easier to scroll down, and thus more amenable to browsing.
II. Sources
Through this page, my primary source for the basic data has been Charles Garrod and Bill Korst's discography of Bob Crosby, published in 1987 by the music collectors' label Joyce Record Club. (The same data can also be found in certain jazz discographies which have obviously copied it from Garrod and Korst's pamphlet.) There is reason to doubt, however, the full accuracy of a few of the details offered by the discographers; see below, under Dating. As the highly speculative discussion below will amply show, no other official or reliable documentation is accessible to me -- or even known to exist.
III. Bob Crosby's Radio Show
According to various old-time radio books, including Ron Lackmann's The Encyclopedia Of American Radio, Peggy Lee spent various seasons in the role of female vocalist for The Bob Crosby Show. Unfortunately, none of the books in question supplies a timeline for Lee's alleged participation in this radio program. What's more, the claim that Lee was a regular in the show has no corroboration in any reliable Lee sources. Then again, those sources contain no evidence that may contradict the possibility, either.
Further corroboration of Peggy Lee's participation in Bob Crosby's show is necessary because, in my experience, books about old radio broadcasts tend to have a fair share of factual errors. Since Lee was definitely a semi-regular of The Bing Crosby Show, a confusion between brothers Bing and Bob could be at play.
The Bob Crosby [Radio] Show ran from 1935 to 1950. During those 15 years, it experienced a few interruptions and network changes. After being off the air from 1941 to the first half of 1943, the program then moved to NBC, where it ran from June 18, 1943 to June 25, 1944. During the rest of 1944 and in 1945, another hiatus happened because Crosby had been drafted. After his return, the show jumped to CBS, where it ran for just one season (January 1 - July 17, 1946). It did not come back on the air until the second half of 1949. (Later on, in 1953, Crosby moved the show to CBS' daytime television, but Lee is not known to have ever participated in the TV version, whose final season took place during the summer of 1958, on NBC evening television.)
Independently of whether she was a guest or a regular, Peggy Lee did appear in The Bob Crosby [Radio] Show. I have found definite proof of one appearance, broadcast on June 25, 1944. (The episode also happened to be Crosby's goodbye broadcast before his departure to fulfill military duties.) Though I have not come across details of any other Lee appearances, bear in mind that episode data for this show is, as already mentioned, scant. Hence the possibility of regular appearances by Lee cannot be discarded. Overall, however, the assertion that she was "a regular for several seasons" strikes me as likely to be a big stretch.
In any case, the exact origin of Lee's two performances ("It's Anybody's Spring," "On The Atchinson, Topeka And The Santa Fe") is actually unclear. According to a statement made by discographers Garrod and Korst, they were not originally produced by the record company that released them. Instead, Ara Records just bought them from Bob Crosby. Garrod and Korst seem to think that the performances originated in an actual recording session.
I am more inclined to believe that they stem from radio broadcasts which Crosby & Co. had recorded to disc. Unfortunately, this hypothesis of mine will have to remain in the realm of speculation for the time being, due to the insufficiency of evidence -- be it against or on its behalf.
IV. Ara Records
A big band and popular music record company, Ara Records is listed as having started operations in 1943. The company was originally owned by Borris Morros, who administered it with the help and supervision of his son Richard Morros. A Russian by birth, Morros senior has gone into the history annals as not only a figure from the music and movie media (owner of a record label and a sheet music company, film producer at Paramount Studios) but also as a double agent, working first for the Soviet Unit and later for the FBI. In mid-1945, the Morros sold their interest to another pair of father-and-son businessmen, Samuel and Mark Leff, who in turn sold their interest in mid-1946. The Leffs, the Morros, and attorney Morton Garbus were said to be in charge of Ara's stock when, around September 1946, the company closed, went into receivership, and became embroiled in lawsuits. The Leffs settled in 1949. Some of Ara's titles were reissued later, in the 1950s, by at least one obscure, minor company -- Rem.
A different record company also called Ara but dedicated mostly to country music started operations in 1964. It proved short-lived, too, closing in 1968.
Despite the alleged 1943 opening date for the original Ara, I have found no evidence of releases during that year or during the next one. The earliest known issues are 78s numbered 101 and 102, both by Joe Reichman & His Orchestra, and believed to have been released in early 1945.
The company's catalogue of releases did not reach the 100-title-mark. The last issue of which discographers seem to be aware is Ara #162, by Lou Bring & His Orchestra.
V. Location
Both of this session's masters bear the prefix RR, which probably stands for Radio Recorders. However, I suspect that the recording of these Crosby-Lee sides actually took place wherever the CBS or NBC radio networks held its episodes of The Bob Crosby Show. I thus presume Radio Recorders to be just the studio that Bob Crosby hired to process and master what are broadcast numbers. (Of course, the hypothetical radio broadcasts could have been performed and transmitted from the Radio Recorders studios. My point is that, if these are truly broadcast performances, I do not know the location in which they were originally performed.)
During an interview conducted in the 1970s, Peggy Lee told radio broadcaster Fred Hall that both Mañana [recorded on November 25, 1947] and On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe "were done at Melrose Studios for Capitol." Nevertheless, Lee was not referring to her own version of On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe with Bob Crosby: after mentioning the Melrose location, she proceeded to tell Fred Hall that she "wasn't in it." Most probably, Lee had in mind Johnny Mercer's bestselling Capitol recording. (As an aside, Lee also seems to have misremembered the correct location for both performances, because Capitol did not begin using the Melrose Studios until mid-1949.)
VI. Dating
The exact date on which this session's masters were recorded remains unknown. Discussed in the ensuing paragraphs are the reasons why various conceivable dates are (or are not) viable options. A very tentative conclusion will be found at the end of this long discussion.
Bob Crosby discographers Garrod and Korst note that the four masters from this date "were the last things Bob Crosby did before entering the Marine Corps on July 18, 1944. They were done at Radio Recorders Studio ... and evidently the masters were sold to ARA and released in late 1945. Test pressings of the above session were given to me by Boris Morros who was the owner of ARA. Written on all the tests is the date 6/30/44." Garrod and Korst's chronology is, in my estimation, partially off the mark. My reasons for believing so are given immediately below, in the first of 5 succeeding points about this session's possible recording dates.
A. Reasons Why 1944 Cannot Be The Correct Recording Year
The proposal of June 30, 1944 as the right recording date for "On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe" and "It's Anybody's Spring" faces an insurmountable obstacle: those two songs were not in circulation until 1945. Both come from films that premiered in 1946 (January 18: The Harvey Girls; March 22: Road To Utopia). Some of the earliest versions can actually be traced to the first months of 1945, but none can be dated as far back as June 1944 -- with one exception, noted below.
The song "On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe" bears a 1945 copyright date. (It comes from the movie The Harvey Girls, whose shooting schedule began on January 12, 1945.) Very early versions of which I'm aware include a radio transcription by The King Sisters, recorded on March 6, 1945, and a Frank Sinatra radio performance, broadcast on March 28, 1945. The song's lyricist, Johnny Mercer, recorded his version well in advance of all others -- on December 13, 1944 -- but his record company did not release it until June 1945. Hence Mercer's recording (a duet with Jo Stafford) charted on July 14, 1945, and was the most successful of the various recorded versions. Other hit recordings, such as those by Bing Crosby and Judy Garland, charted during the second half of 1945.
In the case of "It's Anybody's Spring," very early versions include one by Woody Herman, recorded on January 3, 1946, and another by Gordon MacRae, probably recorded on the same month as Herman's, or otherwise in December 1945. The movie's leading actor, Bing Crosby, recorded a studio version at a significantly early date -- on July 17, 1944 -- but his record company did not release it until January or February 1946. Bing himself waited until April and May 1946 (i.e., shortly after the movie's debut) to sing the number on his radio show. Decca's delay (and Bing's modus operandi) suggest that contractual reasons prevented all parties from releasing and promoting the song before the movie was ready to premiere. It thus seems very unlikely that, as early as 1944, Ara Records and Bing's brother Bob would have been allowed to lay their hands on this movie soundtrack number.
In short, the date on the aforementioned test pressings ("6/30/44") does not apply to the two film numbers that Peggy Lee sang with Bob Crosby.
Instead, the test pressing date is likely to apply to the masters sans Lee ("Come To Me, Honey" and "Java Junction"). I have actually found a radio listing that could corroborate a June 30, 1944 dating for one of those non-Lee masters. The listing in question is for an extant episode of The Bob Crosby Show that began with "Come To Me, Honey," as sung by The Town Criers with backing from Crosby's orchestra. Unfortunately, I have not listened to the episode, and hence I am unable to ascertain if the exact same performance of "Come To Me, Honey" is heard in the radio broadcast and in the Ara 78. If it is the same performance, then 6/30/44 could simply be the day on which radio performances of "Come To Me, Honey" and "Java Junction" were processed and saved for future use.
B. Reasons Why 1945 May Be The Correct Recording Year
The main justification to pin down 1945 as the year in which Lee's two performances were recorded is the presumed release date of Ara 78 Rm 114. I have tracked down information showing that, in the indicated weeks, the following Ara 78s were advertised as new:
Ara #103, #104, and #116 – week of March 29, 1945
Ara #118 – week of April 21, 1945
Ara #120, #123 – week of June 9, 1945
Ara #127, #128, #129 – week of February 16, 1946
Ara #131 - week of March 23, 1946
Given the apparently sequential order in which these 78s were released, we could tentatively assume that Ara #114 came out in March or April 1945. (Bear in mind, however, that any record company may postpone or reschedule a given issue.)
Ara #103, advertised as already available during the week of March 29, 1945, contains this session's two non-Lee performances. Additional Bob Crosby performances (sans Lee) can be found in Ara #129 and #131, both advertised in early 1946. (Notice, incidentally, the significant time gap between the June 1945 and the February 1946 Ara singles. It looks like Ara might have not issued any 78s during the second half of 1945.)
C. Reasons Why 1945 May Not Be The Correct Recording Year
According to one biographical source, Bob Crosby spent 18 months in the Marines. If that source is correct, Crosby's time in the military would span from July 1, 1944 to December 1945. (We know that July 1 is the starting date because of the aforementioned radio episode, broadcast on June 25, 1944, in which it is announced that Crosby would start serving on that day. Notice that Garrod and Korst give the departure date as later, though not by much -- July 18.)
In order to consider 1945 as the correct recording year for the Peggy Lee performances, we would thus need to assume
a) that Bob Crosby spent some time on leave (on vacation?) from the military, possibly in early 1945,
and
b) that during such a time Crosby scheduled either a recording date or a radio program from which the Lee performances under discussion were isolated and mastered for release.
Assumptions (a) and (b) are not out of the realm of possibility, but I know of no factual data which can back them up.
On the matter of the date "c. November 1945" which one of the jazz discographies gives to a large number of Bob Crosby's Ara masters (including those under discussion), notice that it is presented as approximate, and that no rationale for it is given. If Crosby was not relieved from military service until the end of 1945, such an extensive recording activity in November 1945 would be highly unlikely.
On the matter of possible radio work in 1945, Crosby's show definitely remained on hiatus during the year and a half that he was on military service. Therefore, regular radio networks did not feature fresh material from Bob Crosby until 1946. (Granted, he participated in a few radio broadcasts which seem to date from the second half of 1945, but all of those broadcasts are actually Armed Forces shows in which Crosby is heard as a guest. I write that they "seem to" be from the second half of 1945 because the American Radio Forces Service is not a fully reliable dating source. Oftentimes, AFRS incorporated old, pre-taped performances into its shows, thereby mixing material from more than one period of time, without revealing the age or source of the material.)
Bear also in mind that most other early versions of "It's Anybody's Spring" date from early 1946.
D. Reasons Why 1946 Could Be The Correct Recording Year
A more logical date for the recording of these Bob Crosby numbers with Peggy Lee vocals is 1946, when Bob Crosby was back from the Marines and doing his own radio show again. The post-war installment of The Bob Crosby Show is known to have begun on January 1 and to have lasted until July 17, 1946. Within that period, Lee could have performed this session's numbers in one of the show's episodes.
Garrod and Korst's discography of Bob Crosby contains one additional detail that could point to a 1946 dating for Lee's vocals. As previously mentioned, the authors list the same performance of "On the Atchison, Topeka, And The Santa Fe" under two different master numbers. Whereas the date June 30, 1944 is assigned to master #9757, the date March 4, 1946 is given to master #1137. Could March 4, 1946 be the correct recording date for "On the Atchison, Topeka, And The Santa Fe" (and for "It's Anybody's Spring," too)? Notice that the two dates in question (3/4/46 and 6/30/44) share the exact same digits -- with the exception of an additional zero in the later date. Could this digital similarity be more than a coincidence? There is certainly room for suspicion and speculation: someone could have inadvertently transposed the first set of numbers, turning them into the second set.
E. Reasons Why 1946 May Not Be The Correct Recording Year
One obstacle for the advancement of a 1946 date is that, by that year, Lee was already under exclusive contract with Capitol Records. Therefore, Capitol's approval would have been necessary. (But if the numbers came from a radio broadcast, as I am willing to believe they did, perhaps the magnitude of the obstacle was somewhat lessened?)
Another objection to a 1946 date is that, in comparison with her Capitol vocals from that year, Lee's voice sounds so much younger in these two numbers -- so much closer, that is, to the canary sound that she sported while she was a member of The Benny Goodman Orchestra. (But perhaps she adopted her previous tone and style because she was again singing with a big band -- Crosby's big band -- rather than solo.)
VII. Tentative Conclusions
Peggy Lee's guest vocals with Bob Crosby's Orchestra were eventually released through Ara Records but might have been originally broadcast on the Bob Crosby Show, and transferred to disc at Radio Recorders. Since extant documentation about both the radio show and the record company is minimal, ascertaining the date on which these vocals were performed is a particular complicated task. Clearly, however, they do not date back to 1944, even if that's the given year on the batch of test pressings which Bob Crosby apparently sold to Ara in 1946. Instead, they must have been recorded in 1945 or 1946.
An inspection of the release dates of Ara's 78 series suggests that their issuing of Lee material could date from the early months of 1945 -- more specifically, before April of that year. Since other artists' early performances of "On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe" were broadcast in March 1945, such a month and year must be taken into particular consideration.
Then again, the other song under discussion ("It's Anybody's Spring") does not seem to have been in circulation until early 1946, and Bob Crosby is said to have spent all of 1945 away in the military. We might want to ponder, though, whether 1946 was too late a year for any involvement between Lee and Ara, because by then she already was an exclusive Capitol recording artist.
We are thus left with both 1945 and 1946 as options, each with its pros and cons. Details given above suggest that, if the correct date is 1945, the recording date could fall between January and March. And, if the correct date is 1946, the date should fall between January and July 1946. Before a more specific date can be offered, more relevant details need to be located, or some of the above-given factual data needs to be proven as incorrect.
Return To Table Of Contents