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1. Love Grows On The White Oak Tree 2:48
2. This Is The Moment 3:00
3. She's Funny That Way 3:13
4. Didn't Know About You 3:15
5. I Should Care 3:08
6. All Of My Life 2:52
7. These Foolish Things 3:05
8. My Guy's Come Back 2:54
9. Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin' 2:54
10. Hurry Home 3:05
11. Bill 2:53
12. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man 3:12
13. Seems Like Old Times 2:57
14. A Jug Of Wine 3:01
15. I'm A Fool About Someone 3:18
16. Just You, Just Me 2:24
17. Pie In The Basket 3:07
18. Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho With The Ames Bros 2:28
19. American Lullaby With The Ames Bros 2:46
20. Harlem On My Mind 2:57
21. Bali Ha'i 3:28
22. I'm Just Wild About Harry With Avon Long 2:10
23. Gypsy Blues With Avon Long 3:16
24. Diga-Diga Doo 3:30
25. I Must Have That Man 3:36
26. Doin' The New Low-Down 3:05
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Title:
Seems
Like
Old
Times
Artist:
Thelma
Carpenter
Catalogue
No:
SEPIA
1080
Barcode:
5055122110804
Release
Date:
6
November
2006
Thelma
Carpenter
was
singing
on
the
"Kiddies
Hour"
radio
show
at
age
five
and
by
11
had
her
own
show
on
WNYC.
She
was
16
when
she
got
hired
as
vocalist
for
the
new
Teddy
Wilson
Orchestra.
The
band
lasted
less
than
a
year,
but
Thelma
managed
to
cut
her
first
sides
with
them,
two
of
which
are
heard
here,
the
bouncy
"Love
Grows
On
The
White
Oak
Tree"
and
the
more
tender
"This
Is
The
Moment,"
recorded
in
1939.
As
luck
would
have
it,
Coleman
Hawkins
was
returning
from
a
five-year
stay
in
EUROPE,
and
Thelma
joined
his
new
band
later
that
same
year,
resulting
in
the
now-classic
recording
of
"She's
Funny
That
Way".
When
Helen
Humes
left
the
Count
Basie
orchestra
in
1943,
Thelma
took
her
place.
She
toured
extensively,
gaining
national
exposure
and
broadcasting
nearly
every
night
with
Basie.
Unfortunately,
there
was
also
a
record
ban
in
effect
and
only
one
commercial
78
was
issued,
the
1944
"I
Didn't
Know
About
You."
In
1945,
she
was
"discovered"
by
Eddie
Cantor,
who
hired
her
as
the
singing
star
of
his
hugely-popular
weekly
radio
show,
breaking
colour
barriers
and
resulting
in
a
new
pinnacle
of
stardom.
She
released
popular
singles
like
"Seems
Like
Old
Times,"
"These
Foolish
Things"
and
the
wartime
hits
"Hurry
Home"
and
"My
Guy's
Come
Back."
On
the
swinging
"Joshua
Fit
De
Battle
of
Jericho"
and
the
sardonic
"American
Lullaby,"
she
was
backed
by
a
trio
making
their
recording
debuts
billed
as
the
Amory
Brothers,
later
to
achieve
their
own
stardom
as
the
Ames
Brothers.
Thelma
returned
to
Broadway
in
the
hit
revue
"Inside
U.S.A."
starring
Beatrice
Lillie,
joining
the
show
during
its
Philadelphia
tryout.
She
continued
to
be
a
popular
nightclub
attraction,
including
headline
engagements
at
the
Capitol
and
the
Palace
among
others
and
performed
with
Duke
Ellington
at
Carnegie
Hall.
She
recorded
four
sides
for
Columbia
-
one
of
which,
"Pie
In
The
Basket"
with
Luther
Henderson's
orchestra,
was
banned
from
radio
because
of
its
suggestive
lyric.
She
then
starred
in
a
1952
revival
of
the
revue
"Shuffle
Along"
on
Broadway
that
resulted
in
a
delightful
recording
conducted
by
its
composer
Eubie
Blake.
Sidney
Lumet
brought
her
to
the
big
screen
as
Miss
One,
the
first
good
witch
in
"The
Wiz"
with
Diana
Ross
and
Michael
Jackson.
She
then
played
the
mother
of
Gregory
and
Maurice
Hines
in
Francis
Ford
Coppola's
1982
film
"The
Cotton
Club"
and
worked
for
Coppola
again
in
his
1989
"New
York
Stories."
Thelma
continued
to
work
until
her
passing
in
1997,
most
notably
on
the
"Cosby"
show
but
surprisingly
for
a
singer
of
her
longevity
and
success,
this
Sepia
collection
comprises
nearly
the
entire
output
of
recordings
from
her
most
productive
period,
and
almost
all
are
on
CD
for
the
first
time.
They
fill
an
important
gap,
rescuing
a
great
vocalist
from
obscurity
and
ensuring
that
her
music
will
continue
to
be
heard
and
enjoyed
for
generations
to
come.
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