Imagine the spot where the four states meet: New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah. That’s what Guy Mitchell is about. He is about where country meets pop meets rock and roll meets easy listening.
Until the Elvis phenomenon he was just totally easy listening, a kind of poor man’s Jerry Vale. Then he became Mitch Miller’s secret weapon. Miller, the A & R man at Columbia was the anti rock and roll man. So he got Mitchell to keep people quiet.
This is a collection called The Definitive Guy Mitchell, and it lives up to its title. I found it at the Grande Biblioteque, not all that long ago.
Guy Mitchell:
• Giddy Ap! – A very silly horse riding metaphor for a romantic encounter
• Me And My Imagination – We could not survive if we couldn’t daydream. I like the way John Sebastian said it better though; Mitchell does this lush ballad just this side of maudlin.
• You’re Not In My Arms Tonight – The absence of one’s love throws the rest of the world into a kind of sad relief. Romance without one’s partner is just sad.
• You’re Just In Love – With Rosemary Clooney. We heard this before…
• My Heart Cries For You – Ok, here is where “maudlin” kicks in big time.
• The Roving Kind – It’s about a girl, a nice girl, a proper girl, but one of the roving kind. And, get this, she makes him walk the plank!!!
• Sparrow In The Tree Top – The bird is a misbehaving husband, coming home late, but really he didn’t misbehave at all…
• Christopher Columbus – Musical history. Johnny Horton made a career of songs like this.
• A Beggar In Love – Self deprecation never gets you anywhere. This guy seriously needs therapy…
• Unless – Kind of like “Till” I guess.
• My Truly, Truly Fair – Mitch Mitchell gets co-credit on this, which makes sense, because it has a profound sing-along feel to it.
• Sweetheart Of Yesterday – Comes in with a chorus that sounds like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Mitchell comes in with a faux Jerry Vale vocal that will curdle all the milk your fridge, and curl your cat’s hair…
• Belle Belle My Liberty Belle – I’m not sure if this is song to the actual Liberty Bell, or a girl named Belle. Either way, it’s dumb. A wartime song
• I Can’t Help It – This is the Hank Williams song, I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You, and so Mitchell joins Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett and Frankie Laine among “easy listening” artists of the 50s who covered Williams. Ricky Nelson did this song, and better.
• There’s Always Room At Our House – A song about hospitality.
• Pittsburgh Pennsylvania – That’s where his romantic tragedy happened. I’ve never been there myself.
• The Day of Jubilo
• Gently Johnny – Seduction and resistance to a marching rhythm…
• She Wears Red Feathers – A gal with a sense of style…
• Feet Up (Pat Him On The Po Po) – A song about a baby, obviously. Couldn’t be anything else, could it? Lie back, dear, and let me pat you on the po po...
• That’s A-Why – A love song, with Mindy Carson.
• Train Of Love – With Mindy Carson. Not the Annette song. Stepping into what would become Johnny Cash territory, but not really.
• Wise Man Or Fool
• Times Are – Another bouncy bouncy song
• The Cuff Of My Shirt – He wrote down her info on the cuff of his shirt, and now he can’t find the damned shirt…
• A Dime And A Dollar – Carefree Guy…
• Bob’s Yer Uncle – Kind of the adult version of See You Later Alligator
• I Met The Cutest Little Eyeful – I wonder if she’d like being described as such. But she is French, which I get totally…
• Gee But You Gotta Come Home – A marching song. No wonder she won’t come home. That plus the nasty things he said…
• Otto’s Gotta Go – A reference to Crazy Otto, the piano roll maestro…
• When Binky Blows (The Trombone Blues)
• Ninety-Nine Years (Dead Or Alive) – We finally reach the “modern era.” Guy is in jail. Bad boy. Thinks his girl will wait. Keep thinking. From the winter of 1956.
• Perfume Candy And Flowers – The first flush of love…
• Give Me A Carriage With Eight White Horses – It seems like this is a song about domestic bliss but it’s so over the top it’s hard to tell.
• Singing The Blues – This is actually a country song, originally done by Marty Robbins. Mitchell finally hit his stride with this, which went to number 1 as 1956 drew to a close. Ray Conniff gets co-credit. Tommy Steele put in on the UK charts, and Paul McCartney remade years later.
• Crazy With Love – Here is where Mitchell gets into faux rock and roll. His whole style changes. But he’s no rock and roller; I guess this is as much as Mitch Miller could stand. From the fall of 1956, the b side of Singing The Blues.
• Take Me Back Baby – From winter 1957. The b side of…
• Knee Deep In The Blues – This Singing The Blues rewrite was a hit in the winter of 1957.
• Rock-A-Billy – In case we didn’t get the point. From the spring of 1957.
• Sweet Stuff – More faux rock and roll, real faux. From the summer of 1957.
• Call Rosie On The Phone – The night has a thousand eyes, he’ll know if she’s not true. Guy tells his friend to make a date with his girl, see if she says yes. What a scheme. The only Rosie I can think of is the daughter of some friends, who is now teaching at my kids’ school…
• Honey Brown Eyes – Brown eyes are nice. My wife has brown eyes…
• Heartaches By The Number – Another country song, originally by Ray Price. Mitchell’s version was number 1 at the end of 1959.
• Silver Moon Upon The Golden Sand
• My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You – Very country, this. Ray Price? From the fall of 1960, Guy Mitchell’s last hit.
• Your Goodnight Kiss (Ain’t What It Used To Be) – Love is never static…
• Soft Rain
• Big Big Change – Organ aplenty here, a bit odd overall
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