Hit 7112, 78 RPM
Record is in E- condition, sounds great. Labels are good.
Chu Chu Martinez with Ray Sinatra Orchestra performing Let Me Love You Tonight / Whispering.
1944 issue
Little remembered today, Chu Chu Martinez was a fine Mexican singer of some renown in the 1940s.
Ray Sinatra is greatly overshadowed by his much more famous cousin, singer Frank Sinatra. Ray Sinatra's father was a cousin of Frank Sinatra's father, making them second cousins. While Frank Sinatra never helped Ray to any great extent, Ray helped Frank by arranging some songs for him.
Ray should be better known. He had worked as the pit band leader for a number of Broadway shows. He was also the leader on Mary Martin's famed recording of the Cole Porter tune "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" (rec'd: January 25, 1940, originally from the 1938 Cole Porter Show: Leave It To Me). Ray also led bands on several radio shows, including both conducting and arranging the songs on singer Mario Lanza's radio show.
He was also one of the better, and, at the time, better known American arrangers. Just two of his hit arrangements include 1939s "Our Love" (w and m by Larry Clinton, Buddy Bernier & Bob Emmerich). It was orchestrated by Ray for singer Mary Martin. Another of his arrangements was 1940s "Hear My Song, Violetta" (the original German lyric was by Ermenegildo Carosio & Othmar Klose, and the the music was by Rudolf Luckesch & Othmar Klose. The English lyric was by Buddy Bernier & Bob Emmerich. Ray orchestrated the tune for singer Tony Martin. Still another of his 1940s recording was "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (lyric: Lorenz Hart, music: Richard Rodgers) for famed singer Hildegarde.
In 1944, Ray led his own band in public for the first time when he appeared in a New York City night club called 'The Versailles'. His band alternated with 'Machito's Rhumba Orchestra'. (Machito's birthname was Frank Grillo, and the orchestra's musical director was Mario Bauza, -Machito's brother-in-law. Bauza was a good saxophonist & trumpeter who had played with the Chick Webb & Cab Calloway orchestras.) There is a very interesting sidelight to that appearance. At the Versailles, Ray was arranging for singer Perry Como, who was, in a manner of speaking, a rival to Ray's cousin, Frank Sinatra, many of whose early arrangements he had also written.
In private correspondence, Mr. J. Adams has recalled that
"After Tony Martin ended his association with Ray Noble, it was Ray Sinatra who
led the band that backed him on records. .....(Ray) made no commercial records
but he did make a transcription disk for Muzak-Associated with great arrangements
and, if I remember correctly, Joey Nash was on vocals. Late in the war, he led
the band for the Jerry Lester Sunday night radio show. Lester was the comedian
whose Broadway Open House was the first late night TV show." (from http://www.nfo.net/usa/s2.html)
Terrific and Scarce Record in Very Nice Condition.
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