| When I saw the film, I was entranced by the vocal, and was surprised by the closing credits, stating the singer was Pat Suzuki, whom I had loved on the FLOWER DRUM SONG CAST album. I then knew that the song had to be a 50's recording, and I thought there was a touch of (unintended)irony in having a Japanese -American sing the song at the start of A WWII dram about boot camp.. Later it seemed even odder(?) when I learned that Miss Suzuki and her family had spent 42-45 in one of our shameful internment camps. The new CD, featuring all four of her RCA albums is a delight........Now this all leads up to my question, does anyone know who chose "How High the Moon" as the opening song? It was very popular during WWII era , but how did they hit upon Miss Susuki's vocal, other than it being extraordinarily beautiful rendition?...or was it all perhaps by chance...But I can recommend the Susuki 4-fer. You don't get the amazing arrangements as in the early Streisand albums, but here it's the material and the vocals that count. |
