Search - The Anita Kerr Singers :: From Nashville...The Hit Sound

Anita Kerr set the standard for excellence in vocals.

Dick Bobnick | Burnsville, Minnesota United States | 04/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Over the last 65 years vocal groups have come and gone. The good ones have lasted and some have become legendary: The Mills Brothers, The Andrews Sisters, The Four Aces, The Maguire Sisters, The Four Freshmen, The Hi Los and more recently, the Manhatten Transfer. One group that may not at first have that instant recognition, but surely belongs in the "legendary" column, are the Anita Kerr Singers. They have been heard by more music lovers than probably any other group in record history because the Anita Kerr Singers, for many years, were the pre eminent "back up" group to a Who's Who of musical greats on their hit records and albums: Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Bobby Bare, Perry Como, Brenda Lee, Floyd Cramer, Chet Atkins, Al Hirt and dozens of others who were in the RCA stable in Nashville.



In the late '50's Anita and her quartet released several fine albums for Decca under her own name. In 1961 she recorded "The Hit Sound" album for RCA which exemplified the "Nashville Sound" she co-created along with Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Bob Moore, Boots Randolph and a tight clique of other stellar Nashville studio musicians. This new re-mastered CD is the end product of that 1961 LP. Anita, the purest most lyrical soprano in recorded music, gathered together ace studio vocalists Lou Nunley, bass, tenor Gil Wright, alto Dorothy Dillard and achieved the greatest blend of voices and consistent purity of sound of any group that ever recorded commercially. She wrote, arranged and vocalized the music and often lead the studio orchestra in addition to her studio executive status with RCA until the mid '60's when Hollywood and network television (The Smothers Brothers Shows) beckoned. More recordings with Rod McKuen, the San Sebastian Strings and her own group followed with many Grammy Awards. That continued into the early '70's and then came a move to Switzerland with more composing, recording and directing.



This album features some of Country Music's "classics" and finest renditions of those songs I have ever heard, most notably, "Last Date", "I'll Hold You In My Heart 'Till I Can Hold You In My Arms", "Four Walls" and "You Don't Know Me."



Anita went on to record many other albums through the '80's under her own name and now has her own website. Back in 1962 she recorded a great tribute album to Ray Charles entitled "The Genius In Harmony." I hope that album will soon be reissued in re-mastered CD form as it features some unique and extraordinary versions of his hits. I highly reommend any Anita Kerr Singers album to those who appreciate the most beautiful blend in vocal group harmony, a genre that has all but disappeared in the current pop music scene milieu."

Any new Anita Kerr CDs?

J. Kan | 11/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album is not bad. Far from the best of AK, but it's about the only CD from her work. I give it 4 stars because it's AK. I hope 'they' would produce more CDs from the vast selection. Anyone knows why there are practically no Anita Kerr CDs?"