Connie Haines - The Connie Haines Collection 1939-54 (2021)

Connie Haines was one of female vocalists who established their reputations as singers with the prominent big swing bands of the early 1940s before going on to forge a solo career in the post-war era as the viability of the big bands declined and television offered new opportunities for a new generation of photogenic solo performers. Working first with the orchestras of Harry James and then Tommy Dorsey, in the latter case alongside Frank Sinatra, she had notable success during the war years before recording with Gordon Jenkins for the fledgling Capitol label, and recording for Mercury, Signature and primarily for Coral in the post-war era. This 50-track 2-CD set comprises recordings from all those relationships, the selection of performances with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, with one or two featuring Sinatra, The Pied Pipers and Jo Stafford, including four Top 20 hits with “Two Dreams Met”, “You Might Have Belonged To Another”, “Kiss The Boys Goodbye” and “What Is This Thing Called Love?”. The selected A & B sides of her solo singles also feature her solo hits on Coral from 1949 “How It Lies, How It Lies, How It Lies!” and “Maybe It's Because”. She was a talented song stylist, equally at home singing with big bands, or performing the mainstream pop that characterised the post-war decade, and this will appeal to lovers of what is often called “golden age of popular music”.