Gaylord Carter & Connee Boswell

Renowned theatre organist Gaylord Carter swings on the Hammond electric organ as he accompanies the marvelous Connee Boswell (of the Boswell Sisters) singing "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" in this clip from the 1937 MGM short "Sunday Night At The Trocadero". Note: The original soundtrack, as it survives today, is dreadfully bad. This clip has been filtered and evened out to remove noise and improve the overall sound. One astute viewer pointed out that this organ may be the Hammond model "BC", and not the original "A". The console case does seem to be the larger version. The "BC" went into production in 1936, so could have been the one used here.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Gaylord
• Carter
• Connee
• Boswell
• Hammond
• Organ

[OrganCat]

Did Carter invent the so-called 'Chicago-style' of 2-beat bass against quarter-note accompaniment comping?

[cinematone1]

Good question. Gaylord was an amazingly versatile musician who could play any style. Other Hollywood studio musicians have remarked that they never had to worry when he was on a recording session since it rarely required more than one take. He was always in demand for his ability to play any style that was needed. And, he was a superb accompanist. Instrumentalists and vocalists loved working with him.

[cinematone1]

Thanks to the viewers who pointed out that this organ may be the Hammond "BC" which was introduced in 1936. It does appear to have the larger console case of the "AB" and "BC" models.

[MrMoviefan30]

Beautiful woman and voice.

[stlgtrace]

Connie is the Goddess! She didn't have it in her to sing anything less than perfect! And her sweetness, spunk and sincerity always shines through in every song!

[redrockclimber83]

Ms. Boswell is one of the singers that Ella Fitzgerald tried to pattern herself after and it was even a Connee Boswell song that Ella sang at the Apollo which in part lead to her being recognized.

We'll miss you Ms. Boswell and thank you!

[stlgtrace]

Connie Boswell, a tragically underrated and underappreciated singer. A beautiful and exciting lady! Her haunting cello-like tones are absolutely incredible! Where are singers like her today!!!

[pipeorganistken]

(continued) At the time I had the "A", a B3, an X-66 and a 6 rank Robert Morton Theater pipe organ. Gaylord had been a great friend until his passing and Jerry Kautz of Vintage Hammond was another great friend who found a good home for S/N 112 with a Hammond collector who had the time to restore it. S/N 112 had a very colorful history and Gaylord acquired the organ from Rudee Valee. All I can say was that to know Gaylord was a privilege. I miss his friendship to this day.

[pipeorganistken]

This is from the movie "Sunday Night at the Trocardero" which has a date on it of 1937. The organ was indeed a Model "A" and the reason for that is that it was S/N #112 which I owned until only a couple of years ago. It came to me with an autographed bench from Gaylord a couple of years before his passing. The instrument had been stored at Gaylords home in the garage next to his Cadillac overlooking the pacific ocean and the moisture in that garage was not kind to it.  (to be continued)

[grenadian11]

Bravo!

[falvo244]

Thank's for posting this. Connee is GREAT!!

By the way, do you have the rest of this film? I'd really enjoy it if you would post the trio singing the song about "every talking picture you see". And, I'm sure that others may enjoy it too.

Thank's & have a wonderful day!!

[guitarslim56]

Bach did that.

[waynebrasler]

Connee certainly transcends time and style, doesn't she.