Musicians, and the music they create, can inspire emotional debates among listeners and fans over which type of sound is best, who is the superior artist, etc. Now and then, however, a single artist or group projects a sound which is popular with an impressive cross-section of audiophiles. During the 1960s, for instance, Simon and Garfunkel had a sound which was generally liked and respected by virtually everyone. Extending this analogy to the realm of vocal group harmony, it is safe to say that there are a few scattered groups which are able to cross all the boundaries and receive a positive nod of the head from most collectors. One group which seems to fit into this category is the 4 Vagabonds.
[Note that there's a possibility that they named themselves after a quartet of famous men: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, tire king Harvey Firestone, and America's most famous naturalist, John Burroughs. From around 1915 to 1922 the four took summer trips together. Never missing a chance for publicity, Ford brought photographers and public relations people with him. This served to make them famous as the "Four Vagabonds". Sadly, I didn't know about this when I was doing the interviews.
Unfortunately, they weren't the only group of "Four Vagabonds" around, making it difficult sometimes to figure out if an appearance is actually them. There was a similarly-named group around in the mid-50s, after our group had broken up. The white group associated with Arthur Godfrey, usually just called itself the "Vagabonds".]
The story of the 4 Vagabonds goes back to 1933 when lead tenor John Jordan and baritone Norval Taborn were singing with a forgotten bass and tenor in Vashon High in St. Louis. Soon after this first taste of group harmony, Taborn located first tenor Robert O'Neal and Jordan recruited bass and guitarist Ray Grant, Jr. Following their first rehearsal session, Jordan recalled that the foursome knew they had a good thing going (even though they were only singing glee club songs at the time). After only three weeks of singing together, the 4 Vagabonds were broadcasting their own show over WEW, the University of St. Louis radio station. It was during this four-month stint that the Vashon High glee club was broken down into quartets for a school contest. Although the 4 Vagabonds were by far the most popular entry, the judges awarded first place to another group, pointing out that the quartet's following and radio gig indicated that they were likely to stick together anyway. The judges were certainly correct on that score.
"We learned how to think alike and act alike in building harmony and in doing shows", remembered John. "It is nice to think now that we specialized in harmony and not a lot of clowning around. If you move around too much, you'll lose the blend."
An audition for WIL (St. Louis) netted the group a Sunday show from 5:30 - 6 P.M., sponsored by the Missouri Insurance Co. Besides the weekly pay of $25.00, the quartet gained invaluable experience and developed their harmony patterns, usually engineered by Norval Taborn who had a flair for blending voices ("Norval was a genius with harmony", said John Jordan). During this 2 1/2 year period, the 4 Vagabonds also did a network show on KSD (St. Louis), when they were called on to replace the Mills Brothers. This major break for the Vagabonds may very well have been due to the illness which ultimately took the life of John Mills, Jr. in January 1936, and nearly terminated The Mills Brothers' career for good. This would be ironic, since the 4 Vagabonds were so heavily influenced by the sound of The Mills Brothers.
During the early 1930s, The Mills Brothers were propelled to immediate stardom by the new medium of radio. The Piqua, Ohio quartet was the first black vocal group to achieve nationwide fame, mainly as a result of their ability to imitate the sound of musical instruments with their voices and cupped hands. The 4 Vagabonds were heavily influenced by them (they also did the pseudo-instrumental effects), as well as by the wave of other groups which followed during the 30s: the 3 Keys, the Charioteers, the 3 Sharps and A Flat, the Ink Spots, and the Deep River Boys. More noticeably, the 4 Vagabonds developed their own unique brand of harmony from singing together constantly.
Popularity did not come for the quartet because of records—they did not have a session until several years later—but through radio. In February 1936, a black radio personality named Joseph Richardson Jones brought the 4 Vagabonds to Chicago after he'd heard them on St. Louis stations. They filled the void created by the departure of the 3 Sharps and A Flat when that group joined Duke Ellington's tour. Since none of the quartet could read music at this point, the 4 Vagabonds employed the services of arranger Spencer Odom, who would play arrangements on the piano until the group memorized them. Odom never appeared on any of the 4 Vagabonds' recordings, but did stay on until 1943, when he left to join the spiritual-singing Southernaires. At that time, he was replaced by Bill Sanford, who had been with Ethelene and the Variety Boys, before becoming arranger for the Vagabonds. This chore would be cut short by being drafted during World War 2, but he'd return to them after the war.
The guys made two appearances on the Amos & Andy radio show. On December 4 and December 11, 1936, they were in a "minstrel show" routine put on by the show's "Mystic Knights Of The Sea".
Once in Chicago, the 4 Vagabonds landed a berth on Don McNeill's Breakfast Club, heard daily on the Blue Network. [NBC owned both the Red and Blue Networks until 1941, when an anti-trust court decision required them to dispose of one of them. The Red Network became known as NBC, while the Blue Net was sold and rechristened ABC.] From 1936 to 1946, the group appeared three times a week on the Breakfast Club to sing two pop tunes and one spiritual on each show.
Around 1938, they began appearing daily on the Club Matinee at 4 P.M. Hosted by Durwood Kirby, Garry Moore, and Ransom Sherman, this program was also heard over the Blue Network. Until 1945, the 4 Vagabonds not only sang but had their own comedy lines written into the script. Each member had a nickname on the program: Ray was "Cyclone," Norval was "Contagious," Bob was "Security," and John was "Aloysius."
The two Blue Network shows provided a source of regular exposure, which was augmented by appearances elsewhere. In 1938, they did a 13-week "minstrel show" with Amos 'n Andy. In early September 1938, they were on a show called People I Have Known, originating from Chicago. They later appeared on NBC's Tin Pan Alley Of The Air and on the Curt Massey Show. They also had a 13-week gig on the airwaves with Danny Thomas, in 1943, from the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. During the 1945-46 season, they did the Chesterfield Supper Club show with Perry Como, based in New York; and they frequently guessed on the 15-minute Nat "King" Cole program. The 4 Vagabonds repeatedly made their way into millions of American homes through the medium of radio, and even sang commercial messages. Examples include an Atlas Prager beer spot which was recorded in 1939 and used until 1950, and promotional messages for Uncle Ben's Rice during the 1940s.
A big event in the music industry affected the 4 Vagabond's radio work; it all had to do with ASCAP. The American Society Of Composers, Authors And Publishers is an umbrella organization that makes sure its members get their rightful royalties for song performances. In September 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), representing the nation's radio stations, formed BMI to combat the high rates that ASCAP had announced would be charged, for the right to play ASCAP-published tunes on the airwaves, when the current licensing agreement expired on December 31, 1940. If new agreements weren't signed, no ASCAP-licensed songs could be played on the radio. Therefore, in 1940, to get the public ready, radio stations began playing BMI-licensed songs along with those of ASCAP. Neither side would give in, therefore, beginning January 1, 1941, only BMI-licensed songs were heard over the air. ASCAP knew it was right; ASCAP knew that only they could provide quality tunes; ASCAP knew that soon the public would be clamoring for "real" music. What ASCAP didn't know was that the public didn't care a bit! They were just as happy with the new BMI-licensed songs. The boycott lasted for ten months, until ASCAP finally caved in. During the BMI-ASCAP war, the 4 Vagabonds had to abandon their theme song, the ASCAP-published "St. Louis Blues". Fortunately, they were able to substitute an original composition entitled "The Vagabond Drag", which was registered with BMI and, therefore, acceptable for broadcast.
The 4 Vagabonds' had built up a real following. They had fan clubs in Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore. and Atlantic City. Clubs they appeared in during their career include McBan's in Buffalo, Detroit's Circle Club, Club Niagara in Denver, Billy Berg's in Los Angeles, Nick's Show Club in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and both the Plantation Club and Club Riviera in St. Louis. Among the theaters where the well-traveled foursome appeared are the Fox in St. Louis, the Paradise in Atlantic City, and the Regal, Oriental, and Southtown - all located in the Windy City of Chicago.
The 4 Vagabonds did 90% of their own musical arrangements, and, by 1942, they had a staggering repertoire of 1500 tunes to which all new hits were added as a matter of course. Songs premiered by the 4 Vagabonds on the airwaves included "This Can't Be Love", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "When The Lights Go On Again All Over The World", "Serenade Of The Bells", "Easy Street", "My Heart Tells Me" And "It All Comes Back To Me Now". Their photos also appear on sheet music for "This Can't Be Love" and "Gold Mine In The Sky". In the late 30's, the group also did some experimental television shows free of charge for a Zenith-built station with a range of approximately fifty miles. Billboard had a review of an April 18, 1944 Zenith show (over experimental station W9XZV). The reviewer didn't like any of the acts, except for the 4 Vagabonds.
In considering their career, it should be remembered that, unlike the Ink Spots and Mills Brothers, who made their income primarily through record sales and live appearances, the 4 Vagabonds were radio personalities above all else. In January 1945, they were on a new program called Tin Pan Alley Of The Air, hosted by baritone Jack Owens, which was broadcast in WMAQ in Chicago. Sponsored by the Leaf Gum Company, each week the show honored a different American composer. In July 1947 they had a Saturday afternoon show on NBC. They were also guests on King Cole Trio Time (NBC) on January 4, 1947 and the Vaughn Monroe Show on January 17, 1948.
Just to underscore how important newspapers used to be, this came from the "For Your Information" column in the August 1, 1940 edition of the Bradford Evening Star And Daily Record (Bradford, Pennsylvania). A reader asked: "Are the 'Four Vagabonds' or the 'Vagabonds quartet' which broadcasts on NBC programs , Negroes?" With amazing depth and perception, the columnist answered: "Yes".
In 1941, Victor's Bluebird subsidiary approached the quartet after having heard them on a radio show. Never under contract, the 4 Vagabonds were paid a flat rate of $3000 for each of their four sessions for Victor, and they also relinquished all royalties. NBC was in charge of managing the group.
All sessions took place in Chicago. The first of these was held on December 17, 1941, when they recorded "Slow And Easy", "The Duke Of Dubuque", "My Heart Ran Away With My Head", And "One Broken Heart For Sale". "Slow And Easy"/"The Duke Of Dubuque" was their first Bluebird release (in April 1942) and it featured the simulated instrumental effects á la Mills Brothers. Norval Taborn was the "trumpet", Jordan and O'Neal made convincing "trombones" and Ray Grant was, of course, the "bass fiddle".
John Jordan recalled that the most popular discs cut by the group were their patriotic war tunes, and the first of these were cut at their second session, held on January 15, 1943. The quartet went to the studio with two other songs rehearsed, but at the last moment, the composer refused to sign a release. Bluebird officials gave then "Rosie The Riveter" and "Rose-Ann Of Charing Cross" and told the group that if they liked the tunes, a new session date would be arranged. The versatile group looked the songs over, fooled with them for a half hour, and then informed Bluebird that another hour of practice was all the time they needed. They went on to cut them both in only one take apiece! While they were geared up for action, they also waxed "I Had The Craziest Dream" and "Ten Little Soldiers (On A Ten Day Leave)".
"I Had The Craziest Dream" and "Rosie The Riveter" were released in February, 1943, followed the next month by "Rose Ann Of Charing Cross" and "Ten Little Soldiers (On A Ten Day Leave)".
A crisis in the recording industry made the talents of the 4 Vagabonds even more desirable to Bluebird. James C. Petrillo, President of the American Federation of Musicians, called a strike, concerning musicians' wages, that crippled the music industry. The first "Petrillo Ban," which prevented all union musicians from playing their instruments at recording sessions, lasted from August 1, 1942 to November 11, 1944. Record companies jammed their studios with artists in order to cut as many masters as possible before the ban took effect, and these were released during the ban. This explains, for instance, why the Mills Brothers cut no discs from 1942 until late 1944. The effect of the strike was minimal upon the 4 Vagabonds, who imitated the instruments they needed anyway. However, on discs such as "Ten Little Soldiers (On A Ten Day Leave)", the group had to substitute a ukulele, which the AFM didn't consider to be a "serious" instrument, for Ray Grant's usual guitar accompaniment.
In 1943, the 4 Vagabonds did over 50 known transcriptions for Standard Transcriptions. These recordings (see discography) were pressed up and used by radio stations to work the 4 Vagabonds into many different programs. That is, by playing these recordings, shows could pretend that the Vagabonds were actually in the studio.
Nine of the transcription recordings found them as backup to Patti Clayton (the original voice of Chiquita Banana) and a further ten were behind "Janette", who is almost certainly Janette Davis. Both of these singers would later be associated with Arthur Godfrey.
On May 26, 1943, the 4 Vagabonds held their third Victor session. The two songs recorded were "It Can't Be Wrong" and "Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer", which were issued in June. ("Comin' In" was reviewed as "One of the finest all-vocal versions...".) Their final Victor session was held two years later, on May 12, 1945, and at that time they did two more tunes: "A G.I. Wish" and "If I Were You". These were coupled for a June 1945 release, this time on the parent Victor label.
The Bluebird releases, and the single Victor disc, show the talent of the group not only at reading romantic ballads, but also the up-tempo tunes designed to inspire the sluggish workers on the war-oriented assembly lines. They also sang the quasi-spiritual, "Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer". Despite the popularity of these recordings, however, a postwar slump in the recording industry caused the 4 Vagabonds to leave Victor to record for Robert Sherman's Atlas Records (which had recently been renamed from Premier Records). Jordan said that one regret at leaving Victor was that their discs were promoted far more efficiently there than at any of the subsequent labels.
There was actually a headline in the October 20, 1945 Billboard that trumpeted "4 Vagabonds Quit Bluebird To Star For Atlas, Indie" (an independent label). Their manager, Tim Morrow, said that their Bluebird contract had expired six months previously. Atlas guaranteed them that they'd record eight sides in the six months of their contract and that the group could select half of the tunes. However, it was not to be.
Their sole Atlas release ("I Can't Make Up My Mind"/"Oh What A Polka") was issued around October 1945. While probably all their voices were heard in their radio broadcasts, "Oh What A Polka" is the only one of their recordings on which John Jordan doesn't do lead. On this one, Norval Taborn was out in front.
In 1945, Ray Grant began to go blind and was totally so by the year's end. Undaunted, the quartet rehearsed their entrances and departures from the stages they played, so that the audiences never knew of Ray's handicap.
Then it was off to Irving Green's fledgling Mercury label. (Note that his father, Albert Green, owned National Records.) Here, they recorded "Taking My Chance With You" and "When The Old Gang's Back On The Corner", which were released in February 1946. These Mercury sides got nowhere fast, and new manager Mort Davis got them a contract to record for Ike Berman's Apollo label in New York (another relatively new company).
Although they weren't having any hits, the results of a poll taken by the Chicago Defender (published on April 20, 1946) had the 4 Vagabonds as the fourth most popular "specialty artists" (behind the King Cole Trio, the Ink Spots, and the Mills Brothers). Over 100,000 readers had sent in ballots.
Even though they had no current record, the guys went into the Apollo Theater on September 13, 1946, along with Ella Fitzgerald and the Cootie Williams Orchestra. As a degree of wishful thinking, they were billed as "newest recording stars".
Their first Apollo session was held on November 13, 1946. The four songs recorded were: "Hoe Cake, Hominy And Sassafras Tea", "Kentucky Babe", "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans", and "The Pleasure's All Mine". On this session, John Jordan showed up hoarse. The producer procured a bottle of scotch, and while this succeeded in restoring Jordan's voice, he had no further recollection of the day! The first two songs from this session were issued in December 1946 and the second two were released in February 1947.
"Dreams Are A Dime A Dozen" and "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" were recorded on March 4, 1947 and released the next month. By that time, they'd already been back to the studio (on March 26), at which time they'd laid down four more tracks: "P.S. I Love You", "The Freckle Song", "Ask Anyone Who Knows", and "Oh My Achin' Heart". These were all issued in April also.
Their final four Apollo sides, "Choo-Choo", "Lazy Country Side", "The Gang That Sang Heart Of My Heart", and "That Old Gang Of Mine" were recorded around July, and released in August. Note that by this time they'd done three songs with 'Gang' in the title.
On August 1, 1947, they appeared at the Apollo Theater again, this time as part of an Eddie "Rochester" Anderson show. From there, they went directly into the Regal Theater in Chicago.
Apollo was dismal as far as promotion of the group's discs was concerned, as illustrated by the fact that the only time Jordan even heard his classic "P.S. I Love You" was on a jukebox.
John Jordan told me that the 4 Vagabonds broke up for around a year in late 1947, however, they appeared on Vaughn Monroe's radio show on January 17, 1948, so it was a bit later than that.
In early 1949, Ray Grant's vision returned and the group got back together. Their next recording session seems to have occurred around February 1949, when the group backed up Gloria Van on two recordings released, around March, on the VRT label: "Fireflies In The Night"/"I Thought You Told Your Mother". (Both titles show up in a publication titled "Catalog Of Copyright Entries - 1949 - Unpublished Music" with a copyright date of February 24, 1949.) Pop singer Gloria Van (born Lucille Fanolla) was married to sax player Lynn Allison (brother of Fran Allison, of "Kukla, Fran & Ollie" fame). She normally sang with "Gloria Van & Her Vanguards" (also known as "Cinderella & Her Fellas") and, like the 4 Vagabonds, was based out of Chicago. I couldn't find out anything about VRT Records, but the masters were recorded at Egmont Sonderling's United Broadcasting studio in Chicago. This record is extremely obscure and was brought to my attention by Andy Bohan. The backing on "Fireflies" is most definitely a 4 Vagabonds arrangement and the prominent male voice on "Mother" is, I believe, Norval Taborn. The only mention of this in the trades is a small blurb in the October 8, 1949 issue of Billboard. A record store called "The Juke Box" in Alliance, Ohio was trying to find out information about "Gloria Van and Her Vagabonds". They said, "Several of her disks ... were recorded on the V.R.T. label". (This vague statement could even mean that there are other VRT [spelled without periods on the label] records by them - the master numbers on these two are non-consecutive, so there were other recordings done at the same time.)
Chicago was always a musical hotbed, and on April 1, 1949, WENR-TV broadcast the first all-black television show. The program entitled Happy Pappy (after a character that Ray had created on Don McNeill's Breakfast Club), was emceed by Grant. The 4 Vagabonds sang and the Modern Modes provided instrumental backing for the show, which had an all-black cast and studio audience.
Soon after this, Ray left to form a quintet called the Swanee Larks. He was replaced, for a while, by their arranger, Bill Sanford, who took over at bass and guitar. There was a single release on Lee Egalnik's Miracle label in September 1949: "Mighty Hard To Go Through Life Alone"/"My Heart Cries". These had probably been recorded several months earlier, because by the time the record came out, Bill Sanford, who's on the sides, had already left the group to replace Howard Biggs as the arranger for the Ravens. (This makes sense, since Miracle had announced their signing in June.) The only thing Jordan recalled about Miracle was the dumpy Chicago studios they had. The disc achieved no commercial success. Sanford's place was taken by bass Frank Houston. (Note that the January 28, 1950 Billboard mentioned that Ray Grant's Swanee Larks group had also been signed by Miracle.)
With the Miracle release, the 4 Vagabonds' recording days were over. Ray Grant and a studio group backed up Memphis Slim on "I Guess I'm A Fool", released on Premium in June of 1950 (there's no group on the flip). It's unclear whose decision it was to call the group "The Vagabonds". There's also November 1951's "The Object Of My Affection", by the Ralph Marterie Orchestra, with vocal by the Vagabonds, a white vocal/comedy Pop group that appeared on the Arthur Godfrey show a lot (and who were, maddeningly, also referred to as the "4 Vagabonds" by Billboard throughout the 40s and 50s).
The last appearances of the 4 Vagabonds on record were on the Lloyds label (a subsidiary of Apollo). In July 1953, Lloyds re-released "P.S. I Love You" to compete with the Hilltoppers' smash version. It was backed with "Lazy Country Side", another old Apollo cut. There was also a Lloyds EP in late 1953; it contained "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now", "Dreams Are A Dime A Dozen", "That Old Gang Of Mine", and "Heart Of My Heart", four Apollo releases from 1947.
The 4 Vagabonds continued traveling, playing the "845" in Brooklyn, Atlantic City's Nomad Club, the Cove and Palumbo's in Philadelphia, and New York's Cafe Society and the Zanzibar Club.
In November 1951, the 4 Vagabonds became part of Johnny Desmond's radio show (Johnny Desmond Goes To College), broadcast on Monday nights at 9:30 on NBC. The show only lasted five months and the group didn't last much longer, disbanding in 1952. Primarily radio entertainers, the 4 Vagabonds were among the many casualties of the onslaught of television's attack upon radio markets. Very few black vocal groups were able to achieve success on the small screen, the notable exception being The Billy Williams Quartet. We should note that the 4 Vagabonds' career started at the time black vocal groups began to achieve popularity in America, and ended just as the vocal group explosion of the Rock and Roll era was starting.
By July 1953, John Jordan was a Chicago cab driver. He had been the lead of one of the most respected Chicago vocal groups of all time (even though they were originally from St. Louis); one which could have blown the Flamingos off any stage. He eventually formed the Johnny Jordan Quartet, but they never recorded.
Even with their rather mild success or lack of it, on records it cannot be denied that the 4 Vagabonds were a key group in the long parade of recorded black harmony.
The main discography is, as usual, from Ferdie Gonzalez. Gino Alfano upbraided me for not having a listing of the 4 Vagabonds' transcription discs; fortunately he sent me the list. You'll find it at the end of the discography. Thanks to Galen Gart for bringing the Lloyds EP to my attention.
BLUEBIRD
11519 Slow And Easy/The Duke Of Dubuque - 4/42
30-0810 I Had The Craziest Dream/Rosie The Riveter - 2/43
30-0811 Rose Ann Of Charing Cross/Ten Little Soldiers (On A Ten Day Leave) - 3/43
30-0815 Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer/It Can't Be Wrong - 6/43
UNRELEASED BLUEBIRD:
My Heart Ran Away With My Head
One Broken Heart For Sale
VICTOR
20-1677 A G.I. Wish/If I Were You - 6/45
ATLAS
111 I Can't Make Up My Mind/Oh What A Polka - ca. 10/45
MERCURY
2050 Taking My Chance With You/When The Old Gang's Back On The Corner - 2/46
APOLLO
1030 Hoe Cake, Hominy And Sassafras Tea/Kentucky Babe - 12/46
1039 Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans/The Pleasure's All Mine - 2/47
1055 Dreams Are A Dime A Dozen/I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now - 4/47
1057 P.S. I Love You/The Freckle Song - 4/47
1060 Ask Anyone Who Knows/Oh My Achin' Heart - 4/47
1075 Choo-Choo/Lazy Country Side - 8/47
1076 The Gang That Sang Heart Of My Heart/That Old Gang Of Mine - 8/47
RCA VICTOR
20-1677 A G.I. Wish/If I Were You - 6/48
VRT (Gloria Van & 4 Vagabonds)
102 Fireflies In The Night/I Thought You Told Your Mother - ca. 3/49
MIRACLE
141 Mighty Hard To Go Through Life Alone/My Heart Cries - 9/49
LLOYDS (Apollo Records subsidiary)
102 P.S. I Love You/ Lazy Country Side - 7/53
EP 706 I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now/Dreams Are A Dime A Dozen//That Old Gang Of Mine/Heart Of My Heart - 53
X-126 - 42
Move It Over
There Are Such Things
Steam Is On The Beam
Stop Telling Lies
Rosie The Riveter
Big Fat Mama
Massachusetts
I Had The Craziest Dream
Yeah Man
Juke Box Saturday Night
X-127 - 42
Hip Hip Hooray
Can't Get Out Of This Mood (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
Slender, Tender And Tall
Three Dreams (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
Take It From There
Hasta Luego
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
Moonlight Mood
Why Don't You Fall In Love With Me (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City
X-128 - 43
Saving Myself For Bill (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
Hit The Road To Dreamland (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
I've Heard That Song Before (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
Could It Be You (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
It Can't Be Wrong (Patti Clayton & 4 Vagabonds)
Can't Get Stuff In Your Cuff
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Sharp As A Tack
Stick To Your Knittin' Kitten
Hey, Good Lookin'
X-131 - 43
I Don't Want Anybody
Murder, He Says
There's A Ray Of Sunshine
Jumpin' With A G. I. Gal
Four Buddies
X-132 - 43
[Note: all evidence points to "Janette" being Janette Davis]
Old Man Romance
On The Alamo
Cabin In The Sky
Hit That Jive, Jack
Just A Dream Of You
The Right Kind Of Love (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
You'll Never Know (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
On Time (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
I Never Mention Your Name (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
Lonesome Mama Blues (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
X-133 - 43
[Note: all evidence points to "Janette" being Janette Davis]
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
Lonesome (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
More Than Anything In The World (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
St. Louis Blues (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
In The Blue Of Evening (Janette & 4 Vagabonds)
X-134 - 43
You Linger Near
Sho Nuff
Thru The Darkness
I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes
'Tain't A Fit Night Out
KBS 495 (five songs, on side one, all reissues of Standard Transcriptions) - 3/45
On The Alamo
Hit That Jive Jack
Lonesome Mama Blues (with Janette)
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (with Janette)
St. Louis Blues (with Janette)
PREMIUM (Memphis Slim and the Vagabonds - Ray Grant and a studio group backing Slim)
850 I Guess I'm A Fool/[Flock Rocker - Rev. Bounce] - 6/50
MERCURY (Ralph Marterie Orchestra and the Vagabonds - a white Pop group)
5759 The Object Of My Affection/(Lulu - Ralph Marterie Orchestra) - 11/51