The Word: Inventor, bandleader, wacky composer, film star, studio head -- these are just some of the hats worn by Raymond Scott. Pop and jazz fans alike come together in agreement over classics such as "Powerhouse" and other tunes that smack of high-level cartoons (as in old Merrie Melodies) and novelty--years ahead of David Seville and others. Just plain fun, yet sophisticated and astoundingly original.
Further below: Raymond Scott 45s
Links: are to artists bio/discog pages in the Hyp Records guide:
Images: accurately represent items but are not always the exact copy listed/purchased
Discount: ALWAYS try to buy more than one item at a time
Dave Harris & the Powerhouse Five: Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals; Decca DL-4113; deep groove/1st press N-/E+ $90 -- very rare, excellent Raymond Scott Quintet tribute (all their greatest hits covered in modern, hi-fi style) led by the featured sax soloist of the original Quintet; the sensational jacket steals the show, however; very slight dishpan warp does not affect play
Raymond Scott & the Secret 7: The Unexpected; Top Rank RM-335; 1962; deep groove 1st/only? E-/E $60 -- big-band jazz/odd pop/space; rare, well-produced, and one of his best later works; w/Elvin Jones, Milt Hinton, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Costa, Sam "the Man" Taylor, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Wild Bill Davis, and Toots Thielemans; "And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon" and "And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon" feature sped-up vocals (like Oz's Munchins, Chipmunks, and Renato Carosone) to great effect (singular masterpieces of "space-age pop"), while other tunes lean more on instrumentation and arrangement (it is Ray Scott, after all); Temptation, Waltz of the Diddles, Over the Rainbow, Jill..
The Complete Raymond Scott Volume 1; AJAZ 293; N/N- $25 -- big band/odd pop; latterday release of radio-broadcast/lo-fi-era recordings Feb 20, 1937 - Jun 12, 1939; w/Dave Harris, Russ Case; disc labels are reversed; Minuet in Jazz, Twilight in Turkey, Toy Trumpet, Powerhouse, Reckless Night On Board an Ocean Liner, Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals, War Dance for Wooden Indians, The Penguin, The Happy Farmer, Egyptian Barn Dance, Bumpy Weather Over Newark, Peter Tambourine, Moment Musical, In an 18th Century Drawing Room
The Complete Raymond Scott Volume 2; AJAZ 300; N/N- $20 -- big band/odd pop; latterday release of radio-broadcast/lo-fi-era recordings Jun 12, 1939 - Dec 21, 1939; w/Dave Harris, Russ Case; Boy Scout, Siberian Sleigh Ride, Girl at the Typewriter, New Year's Eve in a Haunted House, Tobacco Auctioneer, Girl with the Light Blue Hair, Carmen, Just a Gigolo, Mexican Jumping Bean, Get Happy, In a Subway far from Ireland, Peanut Vendor
The Complete Raymond Scott Volume 4; AJAZ 314; N/N- $15 -- big band/odd pop; latterday release of radio-broadcast/lo-fi-era recordings Sep 10, 1940 - Apr 7, 1941; some vocals by Gloria Hart and Clyde Burke; Eagle Beak, Happy Birthday to You, All Around the Christmas Tree, When Cootie Left the Duke, Blues My Girl Friend Taught Me, Keep Cool Fool, Key West, On the Jersey Side..
Raymond Scott: Get Happy; Swing Era LP-1013; E/N- shrink $20 -- big band/odd pop; latterday release of radio-broadcast/lo-fi-era recordings; dramatic jacket photo; 16 cuts; Secret Agent, Pan-American Hot Spot, Carrier Pigeon, Kodachrome, Caterpillar Creep, Get Happy, Naked City, Key West, Shadow Dance, Toy Trumpet, The Beard, 37th Secret..
Raymond Scott: One Night Stand with Raymond Scott; Joyce 1095; N/N $20 -- big band/odd pop; latterday release of radio-broadcast/lo-fi-era recordings; Business Man's Bounce, Bambalina, Xmas Night in Harlem, Peanut Vendor, Boy Scout, Toy Trumpet, Tiajuana, Creepy Weepy, Caterpillar Creep, Powerhouse, Huckleberry Duck, Pretty Little Petticoat
Raymond Scott: One Night Stand with the Swingin' Raymond Scott (featuring Dorothy Collins, 1944); Joyce 1123; N/N $20 -- big band/odd pop; latterday release of radio-broadcast/lo-fi-era recordings; Tain't Me, Jumpin' Jack, Toonerville Trolley, Mr. Basie Goes to Washington, Section B, Moccasin Glide, 18th Century Drawing Room, Now I Know, Pretty Pretty..
The Uncollected Raymond Scott & his Orchestra; Hindsight HSR-201; 1984/1940; N/N shrink $20 -- big band/odd pop; latterday release of radio-broadcast/lo-fi-era recordings 1940, live at the Panther Room Hotel Sherman, Chicago; some vocals by Nan Wynn; worth it just for the extensive liners, which include interview w/Scott about the Electronium, a random music-generating device; Huckleberry Duck, Peanut Vendor, Arabian House Party, Birdseed Special, Crosstown, A Million Dreams Ago..
Raymond Scott Quintet: In an 18th Century Drawing Room/The Toy Trumpet; Columbia Hall of Fame Series 4-50013; N $15 -- neither of these greatest hits is hard to find, but the trick is getting an early pressing that's clean and plays well, which this is and does
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