Search - Perry Como :: V-Disc Recordings

A Collector's Gem ~ "Goodbye Sue" with orchestration

townsend@istar.ca | Nova Scotia, Canada | 07/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first ten songs recorded by Perry for the RCA Victor Records label, beginning in the summer of 1943, were recorded a capella ( without orchestration ) due to a musicians union strike. Perry's first recordings with orchestral accompaniment weren't to happen 'till December of 1943. This may be where he learned to be so unflappable through the years to come. However, Perry's very first recording "Goodbye Sue" was recorded again with orchestra, believed to be Benny Goodman's Orchestra, for distribution to America's armed services overseas during the Second World War through what was known as the V-Disk Programme where union musicians were permitted to perform for this specific purpose. These recordings, not commercially released, are replicated here and represent a real collector's gem for Como fans familiar with the original records. Some of the tracks here are duplications of the original release and some were never released commercially at all. Given the plethora of bootleg recordings now being offered in his name, this compilation might easily get painted with the same brush . . . but wrongly so because this collection is "absolutely" legitimate! Thanks to Collector's Choice these rare recordings are now available for everyone to hear."