Larry Clinton was a trumpeter, trombonist and clarinettist who, when in his twenties, became a successful arranger for Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Gay's Casa Loma Orchestra and Bunny Berigan during the mid-1930s before starting his own orchestra in 1937. Playing a mixture of current pop in the "sweet" style, ambitious jazz-styled instrumentals and swing arrangements of classical pieces, he had a string of nearly 40 hits through into the early '40s, and when he picked up the threads after service during WWII. Most of his hits featured the fine voice of his star vocalist Bea Wain, whose contributions were a key element of his success. This excellent-value 48-track 2-CD set comprises all his 38 hits plus other selected releases on the Victor, Bluebird and Decca labels, many featuring Bea Wain, and features the No. 1s "Cry, Baby, Cry", "Heart And Soul", "My Reverie", and "Deep Purple", along with sixteen other Top 10 hits, with many examples of the early commercial recordings of some of the landmark compositions of the Great American Songbook era. Along with Bea Wain, other featured vocalists are Dick Todd, Ford Leary, Mary Dugan, Helen Southern, Peggy Mann and Butch Stone. The collection provides not only a thoroughly entertaining showcase for a top class orchestra about which not much is heard these days, as well as for the vocal talents of Bea Wain, but also an enlightening overview of some of the most popular music of those years.
