The 15th addition to Retrospective’s invaluable series of the great songwriters pays tribute to the man who set the ‘Roaring Twenties’ to music, Buffalo-born Raymond Brost (1896-1970). As Ray Henderson, he created so many of the most popular songs of the era, with the 27 finest collected on Retrospective’s The Best Things In Life Are Free. He was best known as the composing third of the all-conquering song writing team of De Sylva, Brown & Henderson, with whom he wrote such happy evergreens as Together, You’re The Cream In My Coffee, Button Up Your Overcoat, The Black Bottom, I’m A Dreamer Aren’t We All, and of course, Sonny Boy. Henderson also worked with other lyricists, with hits including Bye-Bye Blackbird, I’m Sitting On Top Of The World, Five Foot Two Eyes Of Blue. His music still never fails to bring instant cheer. As with each of the songwriter issues, an amazing roster of artists has been gathered, carefully chosen to give the best presentation of each song, and mostly contemporaneous with the title’s first appearance. The line-up includes Bing Crosby, Ruth Etting, Gracie Fields, Dick Haymes, Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Dinah Shore, The Andrews Sisters and many more. Enjoy some of ‘the best things in life’.
Artists
Dinah Shore, Gene Austin, May Singhi Breen, Dave Franklin, Frank Crumit, The Revelers (band), Annette Hanshaw, Ruth Etting, Nick Lucas, Johnny Marvin, George Olsen, Helen Kane, Johnny Hamp, Gracie Fields, McKinney's Cotton Pickers (band), Rudy Vallée, Cliff 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards, Bing Crosby and Jack Teagarden featuring Jack Teagarden & His Orchestra, Bing Crosby (vocals), Jack Teagarden (trombone), Jack Teagarden & His Orchestra (band), Helen Forest and Dick Haymes featuring Victor Young & His Orchestra, Helen Forest, Dick Haymes, Victor Young & His Orchestra (band), Al Jolson, The Andrews Sisters, Vic Schoen & His Orchestra (band), Johnnie Ray, Dorothy Provine, Leslie 'Hutch' Hutchinson
The Andrew Sisters
