George Olsen - The Hits Collection 1925-45 (2025)

He played the characteristic mix of styles of dance bands in the 1920s. George Olsen was a drummer and bandleader from Portland, Oregon, who made his name playing in hotels and then in Broadway shows, and despite latterly not being one of the best known names of the era had a string of 49 hits between 1925 and 1945. He played the characteristic mix of styles of dance bands in the 1920s, featuring a blend of hot dance music alongside his more familiar style of middle-of-the-road orchestral music, gradually introducing featured singers after his initial hits, and becoming typical of the "sweet" orchestras of the 1930s who were popular on radio. This 49-track 2-CD collection solely comprises all his career hits, which came out on the Victor, Columbia and Majestic labels. It includes the No. 1 hits "Who", "Always", "A Precious Little Thing Called Love", "Lullaby Of The Leaves" and "The Last Round-Up", plus the Top 3 hits, "Sunny", "Drifting And Dreaming", "Horses", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Blue Skies and "The Best Things In Life Are Free". There were no notable stars among his featured vocalists, but they include Fran Frey, Bob Borger, Bob Rice, Jack Gifford, his wife Ethel Shutta, Paul Small, Dave Marshall, Joe Morrison Judith Blair and Ray Adams. Featuring only his hits, this is a thorough look at one of the consistently popular and successful bandleaders of the '20s and '30s.

Tracklist
Disc 1
01. I'm Knee Deep In Daisies (And Head Over Heels In Love)
02. Who?
03. Sunny
04. Always
05. Drifting And Dreaming (Sweet Paradise)
06. Horses
07. The Girl Friend
08. Katinka
09. Lucky Day
10. Do-Do-Do
11. Someone To Watch Over Me
12. Ev'ry Little While
13. Blue Skies
14. Where's That Rainbow?
15. At Sundown (When Love Is Calling Me Home)
16. The Best Things In Life Are Free
17. Lucky In Love
18. The Varsity Drag
19. Good News
20. My Heart Stood Still
21. I'm On The Crest Of A Wave
22. Old Man Sunshine, Little Boy Bluebird
23. Doin' The Raccoon
24. A Precious Little Thing Called Love
25. South Sea Rose

Disc 2
01. It Happened In Monterey
02. I'm In The Market For You
03. The Moon Is Low
04. The Kiss Waltz
05. Beyond The Blue Horizon
06. By The Fireside
07. There's Nothing The Matter With Me
08. Lullaby Of The Leaves
09. It Was So Beautiful
10. Say It Isn't So
11. Love Me Tonight
12. All-American Girl
13. Pink Elephants
14. Please
15. Rock-A-Bye Moon
16. Play, Fiddle, Play
17. The Girl In The Little Green Hat
18. Underneath The Arches
19. Louisiana Lullaby
20. The Last Round-Up
21. Night Owl
22. Everything I Have Is Yours
23. Throw Another Log On The Fire
24. Chickery Chick