The Word: Lenny Dee, Dick Hyman, Korla Pandit, Ethel Smith, Klaus Wunderlich, and others took the pop organ out of the skating rink, the shopping-center music store, and church and pointed the way to contemporary music-making. From the Hammond to the super-organ to the modular Moog to the computer-driven synthesizer, pop organ made it happen.
As with Moog, the organ is best appreciated with uptempo tunes and especially sambas and Latin. Musicians in Brasil and South America really wrote the book on pop organ, as the organ traditionally dominated bars and other gathering places the way only jukeboxes would in North America.
Further below: Organ 45s
Links: are to subpages or 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
The John Buzon Trio: Cha Cha On the Rocks; Liberty LRP-3124; white-label promo, deep groove E-/E- $30 -- like the later Three Suns (Hammond, sax/flute/clarinet, drums); the rarer LP by the intriguing trio featuring a Cuban horn man; great jacket of couple dancing on/in a cocktail (this one has it all and actually delivers on the promise); Don't Worry 'Bout Me, When It's Sleepy Time Down South, When My Sugar Walks Down the Street, Blue and Broken Hearted, A Ghost of a Chance, Cha Cha on the Rocks, I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me, Does Your Heart Beat for Me?, Down by the Station, Stars Fell on Alabama, It Must Be True, Squatty Roo
The John Buzon Trio: Inferno!; Liberty LRP-3108; white-label promo, deep groove E+/N $20 -- classic LP by the trio featuring a Cuban horn man; like the better, later Three Suns (Hammond, sax/flute/clarinet, drums) and "Jungle Exotica" nightclub music if it was all as first-rate as this!; Caravan, Ill Wind, Smoke Rings, Mambo Rock, Mr. Ghost Goes to Town, Moonlight, Tzena Tzena Tzena, Blues in My Heart, Sheik of Araby, Idaho, Diga Diga Doo, Love's Serenade; jacket back stained but hard to beat otherwise
The John Buzon Trio: Inferno!; Liberty LST-7108; blue-label promo E+/E+ S $25 -- classic LP by the trio featuring a Cuban horn man; like the better, later Three Suns (Hammond, sax/flute/clarinet, drums) and "Jungle Exotica" nightclub music if it was all as first-rate as this!; Caravan, Ill Wind, Smoke Rings, Mambo Rock, Mr. Ghost Goes to Town, Moonlight, Tzena Tzena Tzena, Blues in My Heart, Sheik of Araby, Idaho, Diga Diga Doo, Love's Serenade
Lenny Dee: Dee-Licious!; Decca DL-8275; deep groove E-/E $15 -- Hammond "Hi-Fi Organ Solos with a Beat"; this masterful, early, pre-stereo wonder is one of his scarcest; Delicious, Fan Tango, Stompin' at the Savoy, Diane (I'm in Heaven When I See Your Smile), Honky Tonk Train Blues, Alabamy Bound, Tarragona, At Sundown, Jersey Bounce, Hawaiian War Chant, What is This Thing Called Love, Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye
Lenny Dee: Dee-Most!; Decca DL-8308; black label E/E- $15 -- Hammond; a great early one by the master--not only at his freshest and hardest-working but --especially these days-- hard to find; Jumpin' On the Organ, Avalon, Somebody Stole My Gal, Hot Foot Boogie, Josephine, Yodelin' Organ, 'Way Down Yonder In New Orleans, Oh You Beautiful Doll, Indian Love Call, Ain't She Sweet, Yodelin' Organ, Let Me Call You Sweetheart (I'm In Love With You), China Boy (Go Sleep)
Lenny Dee: Hi-Dee-Fi; black label E/E- $15 -- Hammond; another great early one by the master--hard to find!; This Can't Be Love, I'll See You in My Dreams, Tara Lara, Goodnight Sweet Love, In the Mood, Stormy Weather, Undecided, Rose Room, If You Knew Suzie (Like I Know Suzie), My Blue Heaven, HighTide Boogie, Dream
Lenny Dee: Dee-Day!; Decca DL-8628; cutout E-/V+ $15 (or black deep groove E-/V+ $15, specify) (or UK import Brunswick LAT-8258 E/V+ $15, specify) -- Hammond; one of the rarest early Lenny Dee LPs; Satan Takes a Holiday (Spooky Takes a Holiday), Basin Street Blues, Big Boogie Dee (an early incarnation of Plantation Boogie!), Side by Side, Cecilia, Oh Lady Be Good!, Little Rock Getaway, Where or When, Sleep, It's a Sin to Tell a Lie, Spring Beautiful Spring, When Day is Done, Nobody's Sweetheart
Lenny Dee: Happy Holi-Dee; Decca DL-74146; sealed cutout S $25 -- Hammond/Christmas; the Anita Kerr Singers add punch to 3 songs, but wow!--Dee is at his best & getting some wild tones on some rockin', uptempo zippers; you'll want to mix this w/the Three Suns (their good Xmas LP, that is), Esquivel, and any other primo space-age Xmas pop you can wangle into your stocking; Sleigh Ride, Xmas Song, Rudolph, Let it Snow, Mr. Santa, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bell Rock, Silver Bells, Parade of Wooden Soldiers, Santa is Comin' to Town, Xmas Time is Here, Auld Lang Syne
Lenny Dee: Most Requested; MCA/Decca DL-74572; cutout E-/N- S $15 -- Hammond; some great tunes make it essential for the Dee fan, which everyone should be; Hello Dolly!, Canadian Sunset, Girl from Ipanema (dreamy!), Baby Elephant Walk, Bluesette, Moonlight Cocktail, Java, Summertime in Venice, Cafe Oriental (exotic), On Green Dolphin Street, The Pink Panther, Honky Tonk Train Blues
Sir Julian Gould: The 13 Fingers of Sir Julian; RCA Victor LSP-2372; 1962; E+/E S $20 -- "Dazzling Electronic Organ"; classic first LP of Sir J. (not a real knight but a zany maestro of the space-age cheesy keys nonetheless); Caravan, On the Street Where You Live, Misty, Canadian Sunset, The 3rd Man Theme (cha cha cha), Sir Julian's Mambo, Bach Goes Berserk, Diane, Song From "Moulin Rouge" (Where is Your Heart), The Peanut Vendor, Sir Julian's Blues, Lover
Sir Julian Gould: A Knight at the Organ; RCA Victor LSP-2591; 1962; E/E- S $20 -- second of two for the label, much rarer than the first and quite exciting for its sparser arrangements (in which bongos figure prominently); Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Swingin' Down the Lane, Do You Ever Think of Me, The Breeze & I, Time on My Hands, April in Paris, Bye Bye Blackbird, Can't Help Falling in Love, Satin Doll, Isle of Baion, I Love Paris, Lullaby Of Birdland
Sir Julian Gould: Love is Blue; United Artists/Unart MS-21029; 1968; N/N shrink S $20 (or E/N- S $15, specify) -- organ/mod; swingin' mod, mod, mod fourth of his four groovy LPs and on UA (more fun than RCA); great stuff in super bright clear sound, though we can't help but question why anyone would ever think the label name "Unart" would have any appeal to the musical artist; Love is Blue, A Man & A Woman, Goin' Out of My Head, Green Tambourine, Live for Life, The Good the Bad & the Ugly, It Must Be Him, You Only Live Twice, In the Heat of the Night, Make Me Rainbows
Bill Irwin & Group: Organ Mistique (a.k.a. Seduction); Stereo Sounds SA-9 (reissues HIFI/Life L-1022); N-/N S $30 -- Hammond organ/exotica; terrific, swinging, instrumental organ exotica similar John Buzon Trio's Inferno; produced by Rod McKuen; born in NY, Irwin used to give concerts for the Hammond company and had a radio show in Pennsylvania before arriving in Hollywood; this version is perhaps even rarer than the original and highly desirable for being in top shape, stereo, and with different jacket art (although on both editions the tune order is different than as printed on the jacket); Romance in the Tropics, Song of India Bossa Nova, Claire de Lune, Desert Sands (Mid-East), La Paloma, Montana Magic (best cut, an original mambo like Tequila), Seduction, A Swingin' Samba, Fascination, Wistful, Chopin's Nocturne in Eb, Voyage to Hawaii (Aloha Oe)
Leroy Lewis: Wizard of the Organ; Earsa 1005-S; AUTOGRAPHED E+/E S $15 -- organ; local Pennsylvania pipe organist made several LPs, some Panamanian; this one notable for (aside from the supremely dorky jacket) a nutty version of "These Boots are Made for Walking" with all kinds of sound effects, such as car horn (Lee Hazlewood would groan but it's fun); Who Can I Turn To, Winchester Cathedral, Lindo Panama, Baby Elephant Walk, Somewhere My Love, "K" Street Hop, Stranger on the Shore, Compadre Pedro Juan, Shadow of Your Smile, Tijuana Taxi--Mexican Flea (Spanish Flea), Call Me, These Boots are Made for Walking
Eddie Osborne: Percussive Baldwin Organ & Bongos; Audio Fidelity DFM-3004; 1960; (jacket: AFLP-1974; 1962) deep groove N-/N $15 -- organ/bongos (good for collectors of either); jacket features photo of conga player; as with Lenny Dee's early LPs, you have some Vaudeville-era tunes but done in a modern style; here the percussion (bongos) and bass are emphasized; the organ sound is a bit like Dick Hyman's later Lowery (organ fans may disagree, but the tone is distinctive and unlike the ubiquitous Hammond); El Cumbanchero, South of the Border, Frenesi, Muskrat Ramble, Sid's Blues, Ma He's Making Eyes at Me..
Korla Pandit: Virtuoso (The Universal Language of Music, Vol. 1); India 400 Series Private Collection; AUTOGRAPHED E/E- $75 -- organ/piano/exotic; signed "Best Wishes to Rose" in Glendale, CA on 11/18/66; 1st of 3 vols., deadly rare (private press) and featuring some of his most interesting, varied work (just look at the titles); The Banjello, Claire de Lune, Stormy Weather, Over the Rainbow, Samba, Trance Dance, Theme from Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony, Aicha's Dance (Moghul Suite), Intermezzo, Beyond the Sunset, Chopin's Waltz in A Major
Korla Pandit at the Pipe Organ; Fantasy 8018; tan ('70s pressing) E-/E+ S $30 -- organ; for reliable pressing quality (noisefree sound), the classic, early Fantasy LPs usually are best had in stereo reissues from the '70s, which this is!!!; we love the liner notes telling a whopper about Pandit being from India but at least each of the tunes is described poetically too; some noise (inescapable with Fantasy red vinyl); Greensleeves, Jalousie, Tales of the Vienna Woods, Secret Love, Someday, Autumn Leaves, Tenderly, Moonlight & Shadows, Song of Songs, Come Back to Sorrento
Korla Pandit at the Pipe Organ; Fantasy 8018; red vinyl blue-label original E+/E- S $25, specify) -- organ; for reliable pressing quality (noisefree sound), the classic, early Fantasy LPs usually are best had in stereo reissues from the '70s, which this is!!!; we love the liner notes telling a whopper about Pandit being from India but at least each of the tunes is described poetically too; some noise (inescapable with Fantasy red vinyl); Greensleeves, Jalousie, Tales of the Vienna Woods, Secret Love, Someday, Autumn Leaves, Tenderly, Moonlight & Shadows, Song of Songs, Come Back to Sorrento
Korla Pandit: Speak to Me of Love; Fantasy 3293; red vinyl N/E+ $35 -- organ; we love the liner notes telling a whopper about Pandit being from India; Korla calling...feel the love!; If I Loved You, No Love is Lost, Once Again, Because, Sometime But When, Mona Lisa, Speak to Me of Love, Yours is My Heart Alone, One Night of Love, My Hero, Rose of Descanso, Ah Sweet Mystery of Life
Korla Pandit: Music of Hollywood; Fantasy 3334; red vinyl E+/E+ $30 -- organ; the turbaned hypnotist to housewives hangs his hat in Tinseltown this time: Tara's Theme (from Gone with the Wind), Exodus, Green Leaves of Summer (the Alamo), Love is a Many Splendored Thing, As Time Goes By, Over the Rainbow, Laura, Around the World in 80 Days, Smile, Never on Sunday, Brahms Melody, Houseboat
Korla Pandit in Paris; Fantasy 8347; 1963; blue "full radial stereo" N-/N- S $40 (or flexi, later pressing E+/N- S $30, specify) -- organ/piano; rare in gorgeous stereo!; Gaite Parisienne, La Vie en Rose, April in Paris, Musetta's Waltz, Gavotte, Moulin Rouge, Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup, French March Melody, Paris in the Spring, La Seine, C'est Magnifique, Under Paris Skies
Ethel Smith: Latin from Manhattan; Decca DL-8457; 1st/deep groove E/E $15 -- Hammond "organ solos w/instrumental accompaniment" gone Latin; one of her most desirable LPs; with new artwork and liners, it reissues the classic "Souvenir Album" 10"/78 set (for the first time in superior hi-fi sound!) and adds four more tunes: Brazil, April in Portugal, Cose Cose Cose, Hernando's Hideaway; the original set: Tico Tico, Lero Lero/Bem Te Vi Atrevido, Toca Tu Samba, Dinorah, Alla en el Rancho Grande/Las Altenitas, Breeze and I, The Parrot, Paran Pan Pan/Cachita
Ethel Smith: The Many Moods of Ethel Smith; Decca DL-74145; cutout N/N S $20 (or mono Decca DL-4145 1st press E+/N $15, specify) -- Hammond organ; perfect! late enough to be in true stereo but not too late to be great; the highlight is "Smithtown Special," a train number co-written with Don Sebesky that really moves; also there's an update of her signature samba "Tico-Tico"; Tico-Tico, I've Found a Brand New Baby, Carnival (theme), Carinhoso, Honeysuckle Rose, Ethel Meets the Count (another with Don Sebesky), Quizas Quizas Quizas, That Old Black Magic, Love for Sale, Brazil, The Gyspy in My Soul, Smithtown Special
Klaus Wunderlich: Südamericana/South Americana--Klaus Wunderlich Plays South American Rhythms; Telefunken 6.21027 (licensed in Australia as Carinia SLE-14.415)cutout N-/E- S $30 -- organ/Latin/Brasil; look high and low, you won't find this easily in the US, at least (we've only ever seen this Australian pressing); 16 tracks of what you want most from KW in his pre-Moog period: mostly organ sambas and a few Latin organ hits (mainly as made famous by Perez Prado); good Klaus always gets us very excited, and this is one we've been dying to find again and make available; see Moog page for his later LPs
The John Buzon Trio: Side Saddle/Lizette; Liberty F-55189; N $40 (or E+ $30, specify) (or white-label promo E- $20, specify) -- Armenian-esque pop organ/instrumental; 2 great, scarce sides (on neither of their two Liberty LPs!) by the famous "Inferno" combo; similar to Ross Bagdasarian/David Seville's non-Chipmunk work
Ethel Smith & the Bando Carioca: Souvenir Album EP; 2-disc gatefold EP Decca ED-622; copyright 1949; E/E- $15 -- Hammond "organ solos with the Bando Carioca"; collectors item in top shape (plays fine) & glorious, noiseless hi-fi which you'll never get with either the 10" LP or 78 album; notable as the classic Hammond pop, Ethel Smith, or "Tico Tico" album; has nearly all the tunes on the 10" LP; Tico-Tico, Cachita, Lero Lero, Toca Tu Samba, Dinorah, Las Altenitas..
Ethel Smith & the Bando Carioca: Souvenir Album 45 Boxed Set; Decca DL-9-39; copyright 1949; N-/N $75 -- Hammond "organ solos with the Bando Carioca"; collectors item in impeccable condition (& w/original sleeves) & glorious, noiseless hi-fi which you'll never get with either the 10" LP or 78 album; notable as the classic Hammond pop, Ethel Smith, or "Tico Tico" album; has nearly all the tunes on the 10" LP; Tico-Tico, Cachita, Lero Lero, Toca Tu Samba, Dinorah, Las Altenitas..
Ethel Smith & the Bando Carioca: Dance to the Latin Rhythms of Ethel Smith EP; Decca ED-708; copyright 1951; E-/E+ $15 -- Hammond; complete set in the original sleeves!; Mambo Jambo, Cuban Cutie, Green Cockatoo, Blame it on the Samba, La Bamba de Vera Cruz, Tic-Toc Rhumba, The Samba Polka, Catana
Ethel Smith & the Bando Carioca: Dance to the Latin Rhythms of Ethel Smith 45 Boxed Set; Decca DL-9-213; copyright 1951; E/E+ $15 -- Hammond; complete set in the original sleeves!; Mambo Jambo, Cuban Cutie, Green Cockatoo, Blame it on the Samba, La Bamba de Vera Cruz, Tic-Toc Rhumba, The Samba Polka, Catana
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