Listing Favorite Records of Lester Young, Miles Davis, Ellington, et al, 1958

We previously mentioned society columnist Dorothy Kilgallen and the fact that she was a huge jazz fan. Well, today we’re looking at a column that appeared as part of her series, but which she did not write. As you’ll see, this article was written by a guest, Eugene St. Jean, night manager of Colony Record Shop in Manhattan, N.Y.C. This shop was originally on 52nd Street and Broadway, from 1948 through 1970, when it moved to the famous Brill Building at 49th and Broadway, home to many music businesses. Officially it was open until 3 a.m. seven days a week—in its later years it closed at midnight—but they were known to stay open past closing time if customers kept coming. They finally went out of business in 2012.

The idea behind Colony, and the reason it was a local legend here in Manhattan, is that tourists and residents who enjoyed the big Broadway musicals, the jazz clubs, and other musical entertainments in the area of Times Square, could go at almost any hour and buy the relevant sheet music and recordings (originally 78s, later LPs and 45s). This also meant that many performers and celebrities frequented the shop. The manager paid attention to what they purchased, and later wrote this article.

As an N.Y.C. resident (in the Bronx), I can tell you that I never bought recordings there, because their prices were considerably higher than at other stores, especially for used LPs. But their collection of sheet music was legendary, and the staff members were known to be very knowledgeable. In any case, I can easily understand that people who wanted something right away, whether printed or recorded music, would patronize this shop.

Kilgallen’s column was syndicated, which means that this installment appeared in many newspapers across the U.S.A. and Canada on various days during the first week of August 1958. I chose the one from the Las Vegas Daily Optic on Tuesday, August 5, 1958, because it’s a clear and easy-to-read copy, and it has no typos. The editor of each paper also reviewed the text, and I found one version where the editor added two typos due to misunderstanding the story. But this one looks good.

Then and now, editors have the final say on titles (this applies to news headlines, book titles, and so on), so here it has the somewhat odd headline “Night in Record Shop is Unusual.” In the Ottawa Journal it was called “Picking Platters,” But in many papers it appeared under Kilgallen’s usual heading, “The Voice of Broadway,” with her headshot.

Below you’ll read Eugene St. Jean’s memories of selling recordings to sports stars, the Baroness Nica, Sammy Davis, Jr., cartoonist Charles Addams, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Shostakovich, Ellington, Miles Davis, and Julie Andrews. He also tells a story about the famous columnist Walter Winchell arriving well after 3 a.m.. To understand his tale about the wealthy Doris Duke, you need to know that the store had an arrangement with jazz radio host Symphony Sid. In fact, for a while in the spring of 1958, Sid had actually been broadcasting from the Colony store. (Thanks to Evan Spring for this information.) He told his listeners, “Mention that you listen to my show, and Colony Record Shop will give you a 10 percent discount.”

I trust St. Jean’s memories, because the recordings that he lists for Pres, Miles and others match what they said in interviews, and what others said about them. For example, Young specifically mentioned Kay Starr as one of his favorite singers, and friends said that he generally enjoyed listening to Sinatra and other singers. And in 1958, when there was not yet such a thing as video for home use, St. Jean predicted that music would be on video in the future. He was correct, of course!

Please read it, and enjoy it for yourself:

That last sentence seems to me that it may have been written by the column’s usual editor, in order to make a stronger ending. In any case, it’s fun stuff, and informative, yes?

All the best,
Lewis

P.S. Thanks to subscriber and friend, saxophonist Jay Brandford, here are links to the recordings mentioned by Bird and Pres:

Blackberry Boogie - Tennessee Ernie Ford

Noah - Kay Starr

Why Try To Change Me Now - Sinatra