Though she would finish her career as one of the most respected jazz singers in American popular music, Rosemary Clooney fought long and hard for those props. This 16-track collection chronicles the early stages of her struggle, mixing the outright, if still vibrant novelty songs (tunes like "Mambo Italiano" and "Come On-A My House" were foisted on Clooney by label exec Mitch Miller) that helped make her a popular film, radio and TV star with more sublime fare like "Tenderly" and the emblematic hit "Hey There." But it's on tracks like Duke Ellington's "Blue Rose" and a pre-Sinatra take on "The Lady is a Tramp" that her true muse comes shining through. Though limited in scope, this anthology manages to showcase the early hits that made Clooney a star and, more importantly, the beginnings of the willful jazz sensibility that forged her legend. --Jerry McCulley

16 Biggest Hits by Clooney, Rosemary

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A superb sampling of Ro's essential '50s recordings! She interprets It Don't Mean a Thing (if It Ain't Got That Swing); I'll Be Around; Blues in the Night; The Lady Is a Tramp; Sophisticated Lady; Come Rain or Come Shine , and 12 more!

While the names Rosemary Clooney and Duke Ellington appear on the cover, the person most responsible for these unusual 1956 recordings was Ellington's regular collaborator, arranger Billy Strayhorn. When the project developed, Clooney was in the midst of a difficult pregnancy and unable to leave Los Angeles. Strayhorn visited her to work on the arrangements, eventually moving in and becoming nurse as well as orchestrator, picking the material with Clooney and arranging familiar Ellington classics and some of his own songs, like "I'm Checking Out (Goombye)," to suit her voice. The situation eventually required that the band and vocal tracks be recorded separately, the first time the technique had been attempted by major artists, and it's remarkable testimony to Strayhorn's writing and supervision that the natural-sounding results were achieved. Clooney's rich timbre, clear diction, and fine rhythmic sense are well suited to the material, and the Ellington band, as always, was both a fine orchestral instrument and a collection of great soloists. There's also an evocatively exotic instrumental performance of Strayhorn's signature "Passion Flower," with Johnny Hodges's trademark alto saxophone standing out. The recording is an unusual chapter in the Ellington band's history, a showcase for Strayhorn's arrangements and an early chance for Clooney to demonstrate just how good a jazz singer lurked behind her lightweight hits of the day. --Stuart Broomer

ROSEMARY CLOONEY / PEREZ PRADO A TOUCH OF TABASCO

106 songs taken from the first ten years of Rosemary's legendary career, years that found her in the company of such bands as those of Duke Ellington, Harry James and Benny Goodman and in the company of such stars as Frank Sinatra, Gene Autry, Guy Mitchell and Marlene Dietrich, plus her ever-popular White Christmas collaboration with Bing Crosby, Vera Ellen and Danny Kaye! Includes Don't Cry Joe; Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me; Me and My Teddy Bear; On a Slow Boat to China; Calcutta; Hey There; I'm in the Mood for Love; Love Won't Let You Get Away; The Lady Is a Tramp; How About You; Botch-A-Me , and more classics.

14 tracks: Includes: 1. No Love, No Nothin' 2. Don't Fence Me In 3. I Don't Want to Walk Without You Baby 4. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye 5. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To 6. Sentimental Journey 7. For All We Know 8. September Song 9. These Foolish Things Remind Me of You 10. They're Either Too Young or Too Old 11. The More I See You 12. There'll Be Blue Birds Over The White Cliffs of Dover 13. Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week. 14. I'll Be Seeing You

For more than 50 years, Rosemary Clooney was one of the best loved singers in America and a star of records, radio, television, films, night clubs and the concert stage. 'Mixed Emotions' box set is one of the most comprehensive collections covering her output of the 1950s and early 1960s, and all of her major hits are here: 'Come On-A My House', 'Mixed Emotions', 'Half As Much', 'This Ole House', 'Botch-A-Me', 'Mambo Italiano', 'Hey There' and many more! Features her sessions with Harry James, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Percy Faith and Paul Weston among others! See also: JASCD335 - Something To Remember Me By