I've got quite into early Harry James. As well as being a star trumpeter and long-time bandleader, he wrote a lot of songs, including:zzzzoom wrote:Now because of this thread I'm sitting at work, listening the Harry James in my collection.
There are really only two that I consistently dj . . .
Flash
and
Texas Chatter
I'm Beginning To See The Light
One O'Clock Jump
Peckin'
Two O'Clock Jump
Few Harry James tracks seem to be played at dances, and those that are are usually the later 1950s recordings - Two O'Clock Jump, Strictly Instrumental etc. But I think the earlier recordings have much more energy. Early recordings of Flash always seems to go down well . I've played Sharp As A Tack and it seemed to be well received. There are some stonking early versions of Two O'Clock Jump (This is the 1939 version, but I prefer the slower 1941 version, which you can find on eMusic (see below) - this goes down well with dancers). Most early versions have tons more energy than the popular 1955 one.
A lot of people seem to dismiss Harry James after being disappointed with the later stuff and don't discover the 'hot' earlier tracks that you can find on albums like Record Session: 1939-1942. This album is also on eMusic as is Flight Of The Bumble Bee (check out the 'Two O'Clock Jump' on this album). There are lots of other good tracks recorded between 1937 and 1942 which I think would work at lindy hop dances. The tracks can be hard to find, but an increasing number are on eMusic (and, I'm sure, on iTunes and Amazon mp3 downloads).