DON NELSON - THE WIND - Mode LP-116

Personnel:
Don Nelson: Vocals, Recorder
Jimmy Rowles: Piano
Leroy Vinnegar: Bass
Stan Levey: Drums

Tracks:
IT’S YOU OR NO ONE (1:38) (Styne, Cahn)
GONE WITH THE WIND (2:34) (Wrubel, Magdison)
NOBODY’S HEART (3:13) (Rodgers, Hart)
IT’S HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE (3:00) (Bobby Troup)
SPRING CAN REALLY HANG YOU UP THE MOST (4:34) (Landesman, Wolf)
THERE’LL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU (2:15) (Gordon, Warren)
TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE (2:31) (Duke Fetter, Latouche)
IF YOU EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND (2:41) (Green, Sigler, Watts)
THE WIND (3:31) (Gladstone, Freeman)
AS LONG AS I LIVE (2:14) (Koehler, Arlen)
THAT’S ALL (3:11) (Brandt, Haymes)
THIS IS ALWAYS (3:25) (Warren, Gordon)

Recorded: July, 1957 at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA
Engineer: Bones Howe
Liner Notes: Joe Quinn
Producer: Red Clyde
Cover Design: Eva Diana

Don Nelson, Ozzie Nelson’s brother, recorded for Mode Records in July of 1957. At the time, Don with his partner Jay Sommers, were writing for the Ozzie and Harriet show which was being filmed at the General Services Studios lot in Hollywood. Mode’s owners, Morry Janov and Charles Weintraub, also worked at General Services Studios, and Don was introduced to Mode’s production team of Red Clyde and Joe Quinn. A session was called, and the selections agreed upon. As it turned out, Don had considerable talent as a singer and a second recording date was planned employing Marty Paich arrangements and group. However, due to Mode’s premature demise, this second record never came about. Don Nelson is joined by Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar and Stan Levey. Don also peforms on the recorder on a few tracks, but his primary task at hand is singing, which he does very well (at this time and later, Don Nelson performed professionally as a tenor and soprano sax player). Of the various vocalists who recorded for Mode Records, Don is among the most talented. The material was specifically selected by Don and is particularly well suited for his voice. Among the selections, recent compositions such as Bobby Troup’s “It Happened Once Before”, Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman’s “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most”, Russ Freeman’s “The Wind” and Bob Hayme’s “That’s All” are featured. In addition, Don provides excellent treatment to great standards such as Jules Styne and Sammy Cahn’s “It’s You Or No One”, Allie Wrubel and Herb Magdison’s “Gone With The Wind”, Mack Gordon and Harry Warren’s “There’ll Never Be Another You” and “This Is Always”, Vernon Duke’s “Taking A Chance On Love”, and several other fine compositions. This is a surprisingly good album.