The Top 5 Albums from 1950–1955

And Honorable Mentions

I was often under the impression that popular music exploded in 1956 and 1965, and that everything before that time was not worth exploring. Now I feel like an idiot… Big Band, Bebop… Louis and Frank, and my #1 pick has absolutely blown my mind since I first heard it. Here are five albums that cannot be missed.

Honorable Mentions

Clifford Brown and Max Roach — Clifford Brown and Max Roach (1954) — 7.5

Dizzie Gillespie — Afro (1954) — 7.5

Louis Armstrong — Satchmo’s Serenades (1953) — 7.5

5. Thelonious Monk — Thelonious Monk Trio (1954)

Prestige Records

8

I had heard the greatness of Thelonious Monk ever before I heard a note, but he had been described to me as “oddball”. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant until listening to these early 50s albums and collections. His clever playing and unique choices make for such a refreshing listen. I thought Monk would surely be someone I appreciated more than I loved, but his tracks can be real earworms.

My favorite piece that was published in the early 50s was Thelonious Monk Trio. It is difficult to know exactly what version was released when, as the original 10-inch LP has been rereleased and compiled on different compilations. My favorite release of the sessions is probably the one that begins with the 7-minute “Blue Monk” and ends with “These Foolish Things” and “Little Rootie Tootie” is in the middle.

However, whatever running order you prefer, the genius of the tracks shines through. The shorter tracks each have some offbeat melody or rhythm that makes repeat plays increasingly rewarding. Whether the playful and infectious opening riff of “Bye Ya” or the saloon stomp of “Little Rootie Tootie”, Monk is one-of-a-kind if nothing else. I do think there are times when Monk doesn’t hit, but it is the big swings that he takes that make him so enjoyable to listen to…

Prestige Records

If you are beginning with Monk’s catalogue, make sure you give him repeat listens. More than any other jazz musician of his era, he requires some patience to work out what he is doing. I think Genius of Modern Music Vol. 1 and Thelonious Monk Trio are great starting points for Monk, and they’re not just primers for better material, but the genius of Monk is evident on them immediately.

4. Billie Holiday — An Evening With Billie Holiday (1953)

February 1947, New York. William Gottlieb

8

Most prefer 1952’s Billy Holiday Sings, noting that there is only one review of An Evening With Billie Holiday on music site rateyourmusic, and the review is by me! Perhaps it is the fact that this was a 10-inch LP, clocking in at under half an hour, or the fact that many tracks appear on later compilations. However, this has always been one of my favorite Billie Holiday releases. Beyond the fact that I really enjoy “Stormy Weather”, this is the best snapshot of her mood music.

Recorded in two different sessions in 1952, with two different backing bands, these songs are in a sort of transition period for Billie. Her voice is still in great shape, but she is starting to gain a newfound weariness that adds a lot of weight to her vocals. Her talent is undeniable in that period from 1948 to 1952, and I would argue that’s some sort of golden age in her vocal work. She would go on to release better albums, but this remains a favorite of mine.

Many may like these tracks on the longer LP released a few years later, A Recital by Billie Holiday; however, I think this is the perfect amount of late-night sad laments. As much as I love In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra, which was a concept album full of mood pieces for lonely souls, that album has about fifteen minutes that could be shaved off nicely. We can’t all sit around too long thinking about how our babies left us, and Billie gives us the perfect amount of aching heart. “Yesterdays” and “Tenderly” are some of my other favorites that would often get used in later compilations.

3. Frank Sinatra — In the Wee Small Hours (1955)

Capitol Records

8

By 1953, Sinatra’s career was not looking promising. His personal and professional life was in shambles. However, after starring in the movie From Here to Eternity, and releasing the excellent 10" album Song for Young Lovers, Sinatra was back. The return story was not only a narrative of renewed confidence and lucky breaks, but the entrance of Nelson Riddle into Sinatra’s life. Sinatra’s voice and Riddle’s arrangements began a fruitful partnership for decades. Perhaps the best example of their partnership is in the classic 1955 album, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.

Often heralded as an album of firsts — the first concept album, the first breakup album, the first purely mood album etc. I’m really not sure how much of that is true to the facts or critical hyperbole, but it is the first song on the album that interests me more than the album's supposed influence. “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” is simply a masterful song, and it is the quality of the songs that makes this stand out as a must-listen for the 1950s. The opening track is easily my favorite Frankie song, if not one of my favorite songs from the 50s.

It sets a chilling, lonely night atmosphere and the rest of the album follows suit. The rest of the tracks may not reach the high quality of the title track, but the atmosphere remains. That is not to say the rest is bad at all, as there are several highlights like “Can’t We Be Friends”, “I’ll Be Around,” and “What Is This Thing Called Love”. Its only fault is that the atmosphere and mood do a lot of the heavy lifting, so that deep into the album, nothing quite stands out or distinguishes itself from the surrounding tracks. With that critical caveat aside, In the Wee Small Hours is truly a lovely album, and there is no better soundtrack for late nights and lost love.

2. Louis Armstrong — Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954)

Columbia Records

8.5

W.C. Handy was a superstar before superstars. He self-identified as The Father of the Blues, but he at least had a point. He wrote and published the first commercially successful blues song, “Memphis Blues.” In 1914, he made his fame — and fortune — writing and publishing “The St. Louis Blues”, which was a hit, in the 1910s meaning of the word!

Louis Armstrong was in the back end of his career, and the 40s were not particularly kind to him. Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy served as a kind of resurgence. While he had released songs from Handy’s songbook before, the full 12-inch LP allowed him to truly explore these numbers more deeply. And the results are excellent.

“St. Louis Blues” is a worthy development of Armstrong’s previous interpretation, and Velma Middleton has an amazing chemistry with Satchmo. Every number here allows Louis with rook to work and his natural skill and charisma are on full display. “Beale Street Blues” and “Atlanta Blues” show why Louis Armstrong was both a masterful jazzman and pop star that had such an intuition and energy.

Columbia Records

My favorite though is “Long Gone (From Bowling Green)”. In fact, it’s one of my all-time favorite Armstrong songs, as Middleton and Armstrong sound like they are just having a blast. I’m a super fan of Tom Waits, and it wasn’t until I heard the vocals on “Long Gone”, and the whole album in general that I truly understood what Waits’ was going for… Armstrong’s footprints are all over modern music, and this may be his best full-length offering.

1. Benny Goodman — The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (1950)

Columbia Masterworks

9

I vaguely knew of the historical importance of The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert. I knew that the album documented Benny Goodman’s 1938 concert, and the fact that it broke boundaries musically, culturally, and racially. I knew of its importance in jazz history in giving the genre an even wider audience. I had heard the fascinating story of its recordings being stowed away, uncovered years later, and then published to great renown. I had been told that Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Rushing, and Duke Ellington were in attendance in 1938. I knew this was a landmark in American music and a once-in-a-lifetime show.

What I did not know was just how amazing the music actually is and how well it has stood the test of time. Even if one has only a minor interest in jazz or Big Band, it does not take much work to get into it. The ease of entry was surprising to me, as it starts with the electric “Don’t Be That Way” and the energy stays high throughout. I was preparing myself for a lot of dragged-out numbers that showed their age, but what I got was a double album full of incredible songs that rarely left me uninterested. There are pockets of less inspired numbers, but they are exceedingly rare.

What I found was a live recording that was full of amazing playing, infectious energy, and pure fun. The drums! Oh man, Gene Krupa was channeling something here from another universe. The last few minutes of “Honeysuckle Rose” are so impressive, and Krupa has tons of moments all over this album. The drum solo on “Sing, Sing, Sing”… come on! Equally exhilarating is Harry James on trumpet, who really provides a backbone for the whole concert. This is not to mention Count Basie and Jess Stacy on the piano, and of course, the wild perfection of Goodman himself.

Columbia Records

“Stompin' at the Savoy” and “Dizzy Spells” show the blistering brilliance of Goodman. Each performer and soloist has time to shine on these songs, but it is the moments on the album where everything comes together that the music truly transcends into something special. The third minute of “Sing, Sing, Sing”, the outro of “One O’Clock Jump”, the fast and swinging “Swingtime in the Rockies”, and several incredible moments in the epic “Honeysuckle Rose”. Benny Goodman’s The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert released in 1950, led to a resurgence in big band music, and I can clearly see why. It is the most fun I've had listening to a record from the 50s.

P.S. Please listen to the last minute of “One O’Clock Jump”, it’s my favorite moment on the album.