Johnny Maestro & The Crests - Sixteen Candles: The Definitive Collection 1957-62 (2022)

Phil Harris was a singer, drummer, bandleader, songwriter, comedian, actor and broadcaster, who combined those disciplines in a long and successful career which encompassed making hit records with a novelty twist and becoming a voice artist in movies, most famously as Baloo in the 1967 film “The Jungle Book”. He started his recording career as drummer and co-leader of a hotel orchestra in San Francisco and over the years developed a signature style of comedy on record using the narrative “talking blues” style, positioning himself as an archetypal southerner, with his signature composition being “That’s What I Like About The South”. He reached a career peak as a recording artist with the humorous novelty US No. 1 with “The Thing” in 1950. This excellent value 52-track 2-CD set comprises selected A & B sides from his releases on the Victor, Columbia, Decca, Vocalion, Varsity, ARA, Hit & RCA-Victor labels from this era, including early titles by the Lofner Harris St. Francis Orchestra and Phil Harris Cocoanut Grove Orchestra. It features all his career chart entries, including the 1950 No. 1 “The Thing”, the No. 2 “One-Zy Two-Zy”, and the Top 10 hits “What Have We Got To Lose?”, “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)”, “The Old Master Painter” and “Chattanoogie Shoe-Shine Boy”, plus his Top 20 hit with The Bell Sisters “Hambone”. He was a multi-faceted artist, and this collection provides a highly entertaining selection of his work on record that showcases his unique style of music and comedy.