The Manhattan Transfer (album)
Encyclopedia
The Manhattan Transfer is the second album by The Manhattan Transfer. However, it is the first of four albums to be released by the line-up of Tim Hauser
, Laurel Massé, Alan Paul
and Janis Siegel, and the first to establish the sound and style for which the group would become known. It was released on April 2, 1975 with Atlantic Records
as distributor, and was produced by Ahmet Ertegün
and Tim Hauser
.
This incarnation of the group had been together for three years before this album was released. Ertegün, founder and chairman of Atlantic Records
, attended one of their performances at the New York cabaret Reno Sweeney. He offered them a contract, which they accepted.
Track 12, "Heart's Desire" is virtually identical to the 1931 song "That's My Desire
," which has music by Helmy Kresa and lyrics by Carroll Loveday.
:
album chart on May 3, 1975, reaching #33. The single "Operator" went to #22 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart.
"Tuxedo Junction
" reached #24 on the British pop charts.
Tim Hauser
Tim Hauser is an accomplished singer who was a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer.-Early life:He was born in Troy, New York. Hauser, his sister Fayette, and their parents moved to the Jersey Shore when he was seven years old. He lived in Ocean Township, New Jersey and Asbury Park,...
, Laurel Massé, Alan Paul
Alan Paul
Alan Paul is a Grammy Award- winning singer and composer, best known as one of the founding members of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. He played Teen Angel and Johnny Casino in the original Broadway cast of Grease where he introduced the songs "Beauty School Dropout" and "Born to Hand Jive"...
and Janis Siegel, and the first to establish the sound and style for which the group would become known. It was released on April 2, 1975 with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
as distributor, and was produced by Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
and Tim Hauser
Tim Hauser
Tim Hauser is an accomplished singer who was a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer.-Early life:He was born in Troy, New York. Hauser, his sister Fayette, and their parents moved to the Jersey Shore when he was seven years old. He lived in Ocean Township, New Jersey and Asbury Park,...
.
This incarnation of the group had been together for three years before this album was released. Ertegün, founder and chairman of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, attended one of their performances at the New York cabaret Reno Sweeney. He offered them a contract, which they accepted.
Track 12, "Heart's Desire" is virtually identical to the 1931 song "That's My Desire
That's My Desire
"That's My Desire" is a 1931 popular song with music by Helmy Kresa and lyrics by Carroll Loveday.The highest-charting version of the song was recorded by the Sammy Kaye orchestra in 1946, although a version of the song recorded by Frankie Laine has become better known over the years, being one of...
," which has music by Helmy Kresa and lyrics by Carroll Loveday.
Reviews
Shaun Considine reviewed the album in May 1975 for The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
:
- "Vocally, The Manhattan Transfer is one of the slickest group's on today's market. Their intro number, "Tuxedo Junction", is a precise recreation of the 1940 Glenn MillerGlenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
oldie, with the group's four part vocal harmonies and jazz riffs supplanting the Miller instrumentals. They have done their homework; they have studied their old 78s in detail. In the honors section, "Blue Champagne", a Dorsey beauty, and "Candy" evoke all of the magic and hazy charm of the 30's and 40's."
Charts
The Manhattan Transfer debuted on Billboard's Top PopTop Pop Catalog Albums
Top Pop Catalog Albums is a fifty-position weekly albums chart produced by Billboard magazine which ranks the best selling catalog titles, regardless of genre. Billboard defines a catalog title as one that is more than eighteen months old and that has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200...
album chart on May 3, 1975, reaching #33. The single "Operator" went to #22 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart.
"Tuxedo Junction
Tuxedo Junction
"Tuxedo Junction" is a song co-written by Birmingham, Alabama composer Erskine Hawkins and saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. Julian Dash is also credited for the music. The song was introduced by Hawkins's orchestra. Lyrics were by Buddy Feyne...
" reached #24 on the British pop charts.
Track listing
- "Tuxedo Junction" (3:03) (Buddy FeyneBuddy FeyneBuddy Feyne was an American composer and lyricist of the swing era.He penned the lyrics for the standards "Tuxedo Junction" and "Jersey Bounce"...
, William Johnson, Julian DashJulian DashJulian Dash was an American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist born in Charleston, South Carolina, probably better known for his work with Erskine Hawkins and Buck Clayton.-Discography:...
, Erskine HawkinsErskine HawkinsErskine Ramsay Hawkins was an American trumpet player and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is most remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson...
) - "Sweet Talking Guy" (2:25) (Doug MorrisDoug MorrisDoug Morris is an American music executive. He is the current Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011.-Life and career:...
, Elliot Greenberg) - "Operator" (3:09) (William Spivery)
- "CandyCandy (1944 song)"Candy" is a popular song. The music was written by Alex Kramer, the lyrics by Mack David and Joan Whitney. It was published in 1944.The recording by Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 183. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on...
" (3:26) (Mack DavidMack DavidMack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
, Joan WhitneyJoan Whitney KramerJoan Whitney Kramer was an American singer and songwriter.She was born as Zoe Parenteau in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended Finch College in New York City. In 1934, while playing a showgirl in The Great Waltz on Broadway, she took the stage name Joan Whitney...
, Alex KramerAlex Kramer (songwriter)Alex J. Kramer was a Canadian songwriter....
) - "Gloria" (2:57) (Esther Navarro)
- "Clap Your Hands" (2:55) (Ira NewbornIra NewbornIra Newborn is an American musician and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks....
, The Manhattan Transfer) - "That Cat Is High" (2:53) (J. M. Williams)
- "You Can Depend on Me" (3:30) (Earl HinesEarl HinesEarl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
, Charles Carpenter ) - "Blue Champagne" (2:21) (Frank RyersonFrank L. RyersonFrank L. Ryerson was an American trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator.Ryerson played trumpet with such big bands as Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, Vaughn Monroe and Mal Hallett. He appeared on several recordings with big bands beginning in 1927 into the...
, Grady Watts, Jimmy Eaton) - "Java Jive" (2:44) (Milton Drake, Ben OaklandBen OaklandBen Oakland was an American composer, lyricist and pianist most active from the 1920s through the 1940s. He composed mainly for Broadway and vaudeville, though he also worked on several Hollywood scores including for the film My Little Chickadee.Oakland often composed music only, collaborating...
) - "Occapella" (3:04) (Allen ToussaintAllen ToussaintAllen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
) - "Heart's Desire" (2:36) (Hugh X. LewisHugh X. LewisHubert Brad Lewis , known professionally as Hugh X. Lewis, is an American country music singer. He recorded between 1964 and 1979 for various labels, and charted fifteen singles on the Hot Country Songs charts. Lewis's debut single, "What I Need Most", peaked at number 21 on this chart...
, George Cox, James Dozier, Ralph Ingram, Bernard PurdieBernard PurdieBernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American session drummer, and is considered an influential and innovative exponent of funk...
)