''Something Cool'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

recorded by

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a so ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, and

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, and featuring Christy singing 11 (in the original release, seven) jazz songs backed by the orchestra of

Pete Rugolo Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer. Life and career Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...

, and her saxophonist husband, Bob Cooper. First issued in 1954 as a 10" mono LP, an expanded 12" mono LP was released the following year, with four newly recorded selections added to the track listing. In 1960, Christy and Rugolo re-recorded all 11 selections in stereo, so that a stereo version of ''Something Cool'' could be issued. For many years, this re-recorded version of the LP was the only one commercially available. Christy had been associated with "cool" jazz since her vocal work with the

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

Orchestra in the 1940s and early 1950s. As well as launching her career as a solo artist, ''Something Cool'', according to jazz writer John Bush, was responsible for launching the cool movement in jazz singing. It was the first of 18 June Christy albums, most of them recorded with the backing of Pete Rugolo. This debut turned out to be extremely successful with the album reaching the Top-20 album charts in America.Bush, ''AllMusic''.

Release history

Originally released on the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

label as a 10" LP (1954, mono) and a 12" LP (1955, mono), ''Something Cool'' was re-recorded in stereo with a slightly different personnel and released again under the same title in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. It was later rereleased on CD in 1991 with the songs of the 1955 mono LP plus 13 additional tracks, all recorded between 1953 and 1955. Controversially, the songs were sequenced in the order they were recorded, meaning that this package did not duplicate the original running sequence of the album. In 2001, another CD reissue combined the 11 songs of the original 12" mono LP with the same 11 songs as reissued in stereo in 1960, but leaving out all the "bonus tracks" that did not originally appear on either LP.

Track listing

Original 10" mono LP (1954)

The original release of ''Something Cool'' consisted of seven tracks. Side 1: # "Something Cool" ( Billy Barnes) – 4:20 # " It Could Happen to You" (

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

, Johnny Burke) – 1:58 # "Lonely House" (

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...

) – 3:59 Side 2: # "

Midnight Sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

" (

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles ...

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

) – 3:16 # "I'll Take Romance" (

Ben Oakland Ben Oakland (September 24, 1907 – August 26, 1979) 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 ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...

) – 2:21 # "A Stranger Called the Blues"(

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for " The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an ...

, Robert Wells) – 3:59 # "

I Should Care "I Should Care" is a popular song with music by Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston and lyrics by Sammy Cahn, published in 1944. Cahn said that the title came to him by the time they played the first 4 bars. It first appeared in the MGM film ''Thri ...

" (

Paul Weston Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the ...

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

Axel Stordahl Axel Stordahl (August 8, 1913 – August 30, 1963) was an American arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records. With his sophisticat ...

) – 2:11

Original 12" mono LP (1955)

The expanded 12" LP added four newly recorded tracks; all these tracks were recorded specifically for the expanded album in early 1955. Two tracks were added to the end of each side, resulting in the following track listing: Side 1: # "Something Cool" ( Billy Barnes) – 4:20 # " It Could Happen to You" (

, Johnny Burke) – 1:58 # "Lonely House" (

) – 3:59 # "

This Time the Dream's on Me "This Time the Dream's on Me" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1941 film '' Blues in the Night'' when it was sung by Priscilla Lane. 1941 recordings Hit versions in 1941 were by Glenn Miller ...

" (

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

) – 1:32 # " The Night We Called It a Day" (

Matt Dennis Matthew Loveland Dennis (February 11, 1914 – June 21, 2002) was an American singer, pianist, band leader, arranger, and writer of music for popular songs. Biography Dennis was born in Seattle, Washington, United States. His mother was a violi ...

Tom Adair Thomas Montgomery Adair (June 15, 1913 – May 24, 1988) was an American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter. Biography Adair was born on 15 June 1913, in Newton, Kansas, where his father owned a clothing store: he was the only child of Willi ...

) – 4:48 Side 2: # "

" (

) – 3:16 # "I'll Take Romance" (

) – 2:21 # "A Stranger Called the Blues" (

, Robert Wells) – 3:59 # "

" (

) – 2:11 # " Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" (

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

) – 2:21 # "I'm Thrilled" (Sidney Lippman,

Sylvia Dee Sylvia Dee (born Josephine Moore, October 22, 1914 – June 12, 1967) was an American lyricist and novelist best known for writing the lyrics to " Too Young", a hit for Nat King Cole, " The End of the World", a hit for Skeeter Davis and "Bring Me ...

) – 2:43

Original 12" stereo LP (1960)

This was an entirely re-recorded album, but it duplicated the track listing of the 1955 12" LP (above) track-for-track.

Original CD issue (1991)

This CD presented a range of tracks Christy recorded between 1953 and 1955, including the entirety of the 12" mono ''Something Cool'' LP, albeit not in its original running order. # "Not I" (Sammy Gallop,

Dick Manning Dick Manning (born Samuel Medoff (Самуил Медов), June 12, 1912 – April 11, 1991) was a Russian-born American songwriter, best known for his many collaborations with Al Hoffman. Manning composed the first full-length musical to be ...

) # "Whee Baby" (

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

, Alice Larson) # "Why Do You Have to Go Home" (Larry Gilbert, Lee Tompkins) # "You're Making Me Crazy" (Roy Alfred, Bill Darlel) # "Something Cool" ( Billy Barnes) # "Magazines" (

Dick Rogers Dick Rogers (1912—1970) was a singer, comedian, songwriter and pianist, who wrote the lyrics for " Harlem Nocturne". He was a member of the Ray Noble orchestra and the Will Osborne band. Rogers was associated with Will Osborne, a "star cr ...

, Jimmy Eaton, Larry Wagner) # "

" (

) # "Lonely House" (

) # "

" (

) # " It Could Happen to You" (

, Johnny Burke) # "The First Thing You Know, You're in Love" (

) # "A Stranger Called the Blues"(

, Robert Wells) # "I'll Take Romance" (

) # "Look Out up There" (

Milt Raskin Milt Raskin (January 27, 1916 – October 16, 1977) was an American swing jazz pianist. Born in Boston, Mass., Raskin played saxophone as a child before switching to piano at age 11. In the 1930s he attended the New England Conservatory of Mu ...

) # " Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" (

) # "Out of Somewhere" (

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

) # "Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (F.M. Lehman) # "I'm Thrilled" (Sidney Lippman,

) # "

" (

) # " The Night We Called It a Day" (

) # "Kicks" ( Michael Barr, Marvin Fisher) # " Pete Kelly's Blues" ( Ray Heindorf,

) # "

Until the Real Thing Comes Along "(It Will Have to Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936. Background In 1931, Alberta Nichols wrote the music and Mann Holiner wrote the words for a song titled "Till the Real Thing Comes Along" which was ...

" (Mann Holiner, Alberta Nichols,

Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) was an American composer and musical director. He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York. He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he wo ...

, L.E. Freeman) # "I Never Want to Look into Those Eyes Again" (

) Note: Tracks 2, 14, 21, 23, and 24, recorded from 1953 to 1955, were originally released on the album ''This Is June Christy'' in 1958. Tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 11, and 22, also recorded from 1953 to 1955, were originally issued only as 45-rpm singles. Tracks 16 and 17 were released for the first time on this CD. This release included the complete contents of the original mono 12" LP release of ''Something Cool'', but not the stereo release.

CD reissue (2001)

In 2001, another CD release appeared, which included only the tracks that appeared on the original ''Something Cool'' 12" LP releases. The program consisted of the mono 12" LP tracks, in their original running order, followed by the stereo 12" LP tracks, again in their original running order.

Personnel

Original session credits

''(Combined listing for both mono and stereo sessions, several years apart.)'' *

– vocals *

– arranger, conductor * Lee Gillette – session producer *

Harry Babasin Yervant Harry Babasin, Jr. (19 March 1921 – 21 May 1988) was an American jazz bassist. His nickname was "The Bear". Biography Babasin was born in Dallas, Texas to an American mother and an Armenian father. He attended North Texas State Universit ...

– bass * Frank Beach – trumpet *

Harry Betts Harry Betts (September 15 1922 – July 13 2012) was an American jazz trombonist. Background Born in New York and raised in Fresno, California, he was active as a jazz trombonist and played with Stan Kenton's orchestra in the 1950s. He can be hea ...

– trombone *

Gus Bivona Gus Bivona (November 25, 1915 – January 5, 1996) was an Americans, American reed player — covering a range of clarinets, saxophones and flute — at the height of the big band era. Following World War II, he was a staff musician for the Metro ...

– flute, alto saxophone *

Larry Bunker Lawrence Benjamin Bunker (November 4, 1928 – March 8, 2005) was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. ...

– drums *

Conte Candoli Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orc ...

– trumpet * Frank Carlson – drums *

Joe Castro Joseph Armand Castro (August 15, 1927 – December 13, 2009) was an American bebop jazz pianist, based primarily on the West Coast of the United States. Biography Castro was born in Miami, Arizona on August 15, 1927. Castro began playing profess ...

– piano * Geoff Clarkson – piano *

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

– reeds * Bob Cooper – flute, tenor saxophone *

Vincent DeRosa Vincent Ned DeRosa (October 5, 1920 – July 18, 2022) was an American hornist who served as a studio musician for Hollywood soundtracks and other recordings from 1935 until his retirement in 2008. Because his career spanned over 70 years, duri ...

– French horn * Nick Dimaio – trombone * Fred Falensby – tenor saxophone *

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

– trumpet * Russ Freeman – piano *

– tenor saxophone * Bob Gordon – baritone saxophone *

Conrad Gozzo Conrad Joseph Gozzo (February 6, 1922October 8, 1964) was an American trumpet player. He was a member of the NBC Hollywood staff orchestra at the time of his death. Early life Gozzo was born in New Britain, Connecticut on February 6, 1922, ...

– trumpet *

John Graas John Graas (March 14, 1917 – April 13, 1962) was an American jazz French horn player, composer, and arranger from the 1940s through 1962. He had a short but busy career on the West Coast, and became known as a pioneer of the French horn in jazz ...

– French horn *

Herbie Harper Herbert Harper (2 July 1920 — 21 January 2012) was an American jazz trombonist of the West Coast jazz school. Born in Salina, Kansas, he played swing music with Benny Goodman and Charlie Spivak in the 1940s and 1950s. Working on the West Coas ...

– trombone *

Skeets Herfurt Arthur Relsmond "Skeets" Herfurt (28 May 1911 – 17 April 1992) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Career highlights Herfurt was born in Cincinnati and raised in Denver and played in bands while attending the University of Col ...

– alto saxophone * Paul Horn – reeds *

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

– guitar * Harry Klee – flute, alto flute, alto saxophone *

Ray Linn :''Not related to actor-singeRay Linn Jr.(1914–1994)''. Ray Linn (October 20, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois – 4 November 1996 in Columbus, Ohio) was an American jazz trumpeter. Linn's first major engagements came in the late 1930s, playing ...

– trumpet * Shelly Manne – drums *

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

– guitar * Ollie Mitchell – trumpet *

Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career M ...

– bass * Ted Nash – flute, tenor saxophone * Dick Noel – bass trombone *

Tommy Pederson Pullman Gerald "Tommy" Pederson (August 15, 1920 – January 16, 1998) was an American trombonist and composer known for his work in jazz, big band, and classical genres. Career Pederson performed and recorded with big bands and artists that ...

– trombone * Uan Rasey – trumpet * Dick Reynolds – trombone * Tony Rizzi – guitar * George Roberts – bass trombone * Shorty Rogers – trumpet *

Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields ...

– trombone * John Rotella – baritone saxophone * Willie Schwartz – alto saxophone *

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

– flute, alto flute, alto saxophone * Paul Smith – piano * Phil Stephens – tuba * Alvin Stoller – drums * Ray Triscari – trumpet *

Claude Williamson Claude Berkeley Williamson (November 18, 1926 – July 16, 2016) was an American jazz pianist. Williamson was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music before moving to jazz, influenced mai ...

– piano * Jimmy Zito – trumpet

Reissue credits (2001)

Will Friedwald Will Friedwald (born September 16, 1961) is an American author and music critic. He has written for newspapers that include the '' Wall Street Journal'', '' New York Times'', '' Village Voice'', '' Newsday'', '' New York Observer'', and '' New Y ...

– liner notes * Ron McMaster – remixing, mastering *

Michael Cuscuna Michael Cuscuna (born September 20, 1949 in Stamford, Connecticut, United States) is an American jazz record producer and writer. He is the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records. Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and ...

– reissue producer

References

External links

* Bush, John
June Christy biography
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

. Accessed April 24, 2011. * Holden, Stephen
"June Christy, Singer, 64, Is Dead; Gained Fame With Kenton's Band"
''The New York Times'', June 24, 1990. Accessed April 24, 2011. * Yanow, Scott. '' Something Cool' on AllMusic. Accessed April 24, 2011. {{Authority control 1954 debut albums June Christy albums Capitol Records albums Albums arranged by Pete Rugolo Albums produced by Michael Cuscuna Cool jazz albums Albums conducted by Pete Rugolo