Mel Carter - The Heart & Soul Of Mel Carter (2009)

Piano/arr. - Randy Randolph; Bass - James Leary; Drums - Dean Koba; Guitar - Grant Geissman; Trumpet - Charlie Peterson; Trombone - Duane Benjamin; Alto Sax - Tim Messina.

Let me take you on a personal musical journey and feel the joy I had of remembering special moments in my life connected with the songs I’ve chosen for this CD. I was a big fan of Hoagy Carmichael in my teens, seeing and hearing him do his songs in films. One of these was “Heart And Soul” which was the second most played song at parties, next to the number one being “Chopsticks.” The Cleftones had a doo wop hit with this song in the fifties.

In 1957 I recorded an Ivory Joe Hunter song called “I Need You So” for Mercury Records. Among the other songs submitted to me was “It May Sound Silly.” This minor hit for Ivory Joe Hunter later became a mega-hit for the McGuire Sisters — and now this was my chance to keep the hit going. I’m lucky that as a teen I got to go to stage shows. They would have the regular movies playing at the theatres during the week, and on the weekends there would be live performances by popular artists of the day. I was at every one of those shows and saw lots of performers. Buddy Johnson and his sister Ella Johnson was one of the acts I saw. Ella was the first blues singer that sang so you understood all the words. “Baby, I’m Yours” was one of her songs that stayed with me through the years.

I hope you enjoy this musical journey as much as I have enjoyed recording these special songs for you. I give you, “The Heart and Soul of Mel Carter.” Thanks for listening... MC