Search - Rudy Vallée :: You're Driving Me Crazy

REED PLAYER TURNED WARBLER

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 11/24/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Rudy Vallee rose to fame just as the Grand Depresssion began to bite, and this compilation virtually coincides with the period of that economic downturn. Listening to his somewhat effete tones, it's hard to understand what it was about him that appealed to the great American public. But the music of the Roaring Twenties alienated many of the older generation, who viewed it as the road to perdition.



Given the subsequent slump in record sales, Victor needed someone who could appeal to both generations and they found him in Rudy Vallee. His youth appealed to the college crowd, while his sedate delivery posed no threat to the happy homestead. Today, his music would probably be categorised as middle of the road and if you're looking for that treatment applied to popular songs of the early thirties then this fits the bill perfectly."