The Pied Pipers

Originally consisting of eight members, The Pied Pipers had their greatest success after nearly half of the members left the group. The remaining Pipers (Billy Wilson, Chuck Lowry, Jo Stafford, and her then-husband John Huddleston) joined the Tommy Dorsey Band in 1939, backing Sinatra on many classic recordings. In 1942 The Pied Pipers broke away from Dorsey, and Huddleston joined the army, to be replaced by Hal Hopper, one of the original eight members. The group backed Johnny Mercer on several tracks during the early 40s, including "Candy" and "Blues in the Night." Their first single ("Deacon Jones"/"Pistol Packin' Mama") was released in 1943. Stafford had become quite busy with her solo career and left the group in 1944, to be replaced by June Hutton. Throughout the rest of the decade The Pied Pipers charted frequently, yet their popularity waned in the '50s.

Discography

Dream With The Pied Pipers

"Dream" is a great (all accompanied) collection of 26 original mono recordings from 1939 to 1949, featuring vocals by Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Connie Hanes and Johnny Mercer. The history of this popular 3-man, 1 woman quartet is complex and interesting, (and well-covered in the liner notes), but it's clear the group took off when they were hired in Chicago by Tommy Dorsey to sing with his band in 1939. The next year he hired Sinatra, the wisdom of this quickly becoming clear in The Voice/Pipers hit "I'll Never Smile Again," which enjoyed 12 weeks at #1 on the US pop chart. The group went on to have 11 more hits on RCA Victor, many featuring Sinatra, including #2 success "Oh, Look at Me Now!" with Connie Haines sharing the solos, Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" and the chart-topping "Dolores," but 3 years later they broke with the hotheaded Dorsey as their #1 hit with Sinatra, "There Are Such Things" was filling the airwaves. The CD has 5 hits pre-Dorsey, including "Polly Wolly Doodle All The Day" and the title tune "Dream;" 7 with Dorsey, Sinatra and Haines, including "Let's Get Away From It All; 9 with Paul Weston and Orchestra including "The Trolley Song" with Jo Stafford and "Candy" with Johnny Mercer and Stafford; and 3 with Skip Martin and His Orchestra, including "Kiss Me Goodnight." Some of the best big-band swing music we've ever heard, fresh and hot from the 30s and 40s!

Dreams From The Sunny Side of the Street

In the 1940s, in comparison to the rest of the world, Americans had it all—nylons, chewing gum and harmony groups like the Merry Macs, Modernaires and the Pied Pipers. Originally an octet when first hired by Tommy Dorsey, they were fired when his sponsors disapproved of "Hold Tight—Want Some Sea Food Mama" as unsuitable broadcast material (this is the first we've ever heard of this—possibly it had a hidden sexual connotation?). In any case, they reduced to a quartet and were on the verge of disbanding when they were hired back by Dorsey to join his new solo vocalist Frank Sinatra. With Sinatra the Pipers recorded quite a few hits including "I'll Never Smile Again," which was the very first #1 record on Billboard's Best Selling record chart, which began in 1940. The group's Jo Stafford also had solo hits, including "Yes Indeed." After an argument with Dorsey the group left for Hollywood and signed to newly-formed Capital Records. "Deacon Jones/Pistol Packin' Mama" was the first of a string of hits on their own and with Johnny Mercer and other solo artists, including "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive," "Personality," "Winter Wonderland," "The Trolley Song," "In The Moon Mist," "My Happiness" and "Dream." All songs are Swing-band accompanied. This is one of those 2-CD, 50-song collections we love so well because they are such a bargain and have so much great music. The Pipers were one of the most popular harmony groups of the Swing Era, and this is their "greatest hits" collection. What a treat from one of our favorite eras in American music!

"Good Deal, Macneal"

Pied Pipers were the resident vocal group on Frank Sinatra's radio show Songs By Sinatra, which is where tracks one through six were recorded. Other highlights include the Duke Ellington song "Just A Sittin' and A Rockin'" along with a bright and lively arrangement of "I've Got The Sun In The Morning" a classic, originally recorded by Irving Berlin. A must have collection for vintage harmony enthusiasts. 25 great tracks

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