Nat King Cole Hittin the Ramp Early Years 1936-1943 Vinyl LP 2019
Disc: 1
1. Honey Hush (1936, Decca master take)
2. Stompin' at the Panama (Skoller's Shuffle) (1936, Decca master take)
3. Bedtime (Sleepy Moan) (1936, Decca master take)
4. Thunder (1936, Decca master take)
5. Mutiny in the Nursery (1938, Standard transcription)
6. F.D.R. Jones (1938, Standard transcription)
7. The Sheik of Araby (1938, Standard transcription)
8. The Blue Danube (1938, Standard transcription)
9. Button, Button (1938, Standard transcription)
10. Jingle Bells (1938, Standard transcription)
11. Swanee River (1938, Standard transcription)
12. With Plenty of Money and You (1938, Standard transcription)
13. Don't Blame Me (1938, Standard transcription)
14. Lullaby in Rhythm (1938, Standard transcription)
15. Dark Rapture (1938, Standard transcription)
16. The Wiggly Walk (1938, Standard transcription)
17. Flea Hop (1938, Standard transcription)
18. Chopsticks (1938, Standard transcription)
19. Patty Cake, Patty Cake (1938, Standard transcription)
Disc: 2
1. Blue Skies (1938, Standard transcription)
2. Liza (1938, Standard transcription)
3. Three Blind Mice (1938, Standard transcription)
4. Caravan (1938, Standard transcription)
5. There's No Anesthetic for Love (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
6. Dixie Jamboree (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
7. Ta-De-Ah (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
8. Riffin' at the Bar-B-Q (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
9. Harlem Swing (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
10. I Lost Control of Myself (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
11. The Land of Make Believe (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
12. That Please-Be-Mine-Able Feeling (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
13. Dancing in the Street (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
14. You're So Different (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
15. I Wouldn't Have Known It (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
16. Let's Get Happy (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription)
17. Undecided (1939, Standard transcription)
18. Taint What You Do (1939, Standard transcription)
19. Do You Wanna Jump, Children? (1939, Standard transcription)
20. Riffin' in F Minor (1939, Standard transcription)
Disc: 3
1. Ol' Man Mose Ain't Dead (1939, Standard transcription)
2. Blue Lou (1939, Standard transcription)
3. Honey (1939, Standard transcription)
4. Russian Lullaby (1939, Standard transcription)
5. Georgie Porgie (1939, Standard transcription)
6. The Limp (1939, Standard transcription)
7. Snug as a Bug in a Rug (1939, Standard transcription)
8. Liebestraum (1939, Standard transcription)
9. Fidgety Joe (1939, Standard transcription)
10. Two Against One (1939, Standard transcription)
11. Some Like it Hot (1939, Standard transcription)
12. Crazy Rhythm (1939, Standard transcription)
13. Moonglow (1939, Standard transcription)
14. Don't Let That Moon Get Away (1939, Standard transcription)
15. My Blue Heaven (1939, Standard transcription)
16. I Was Doing Alright (1939, Standard transcription)
17. I Can't Get Started (1939, Standard transcription)
18. Old Man Moon (1939, Standard transcription)
19. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (1939, Standard transcription)
Disc: 4
1. Moon Song (1939, Standard transcription)
2. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home (1939, Standard transcription)
3. Rosetta (1939, Standard transcription)
4. Trompin' (1939, Standard transcription)
5. You're My Life (1939, Standard transcription)
6. Hoy Soy (1939, Standard transcription)
7. Take 'Em (1939, Standard transcription)
8. Scategoria (1939, Standard transcription)
9. Rhythm Serenade (1939, Standard transcription)
10. Rib Town Shuffle (1939, Standard transcription)
11. Music'll Chase Your Blues Away (1939, Standard transcription)
12. I'll Gather Up My Memories (1939, Standard transcription)
13. A Fool's Affair (1939, Standard transcription)
14. Jump, Jack, Jump (1939, Standard transcription)
15. I Knew a Time (1939, Standard transcription)
16. Mine You'll Always Be (1939, Standard transcription)
17. Doin' the Bow Wow (1939, Standard transcription)
18. Lilla Mae (1939, Standard transcription)
Disc: 5
1. I Like to Riff (1940, Ammo master take)
2. On the Sunny Side of the Street (1940, Ammor master take)
3. Black Spider Stomp (1940, Ammor master take)
4. By the River St. Marie (1940, Ammor master take)
5. Slew Foot Joe (1940, Standard transcription)
6. 1-2-3-4 (1940, Standard transcription)
7. Crazy 'Bout Rhythm (1940, Standard transcription)
8. Off the Beam (1940, Standard transcription)
9. King Cole Blues (1940, Standard transcription)
10. Jivin' with the Notes (1940, Standard transcription)
11. Never Mind, Baby (1940, Keystone transcription)
12. I'm a Perfect Fool Over You (1940, Keystone transcription)
13. Lovely Little Person (1940, Keystone transcription)
14. Love Me Sooner (1940, Keystone transcription)
15. Sentimental Blue (1940, Keystone transcription)
16. Goin' to Town with Honey (1940, Keystone transcription)
17. Syncopated Lullaby (1940, Keystone transcription)
18. Falling in and Out of Love (1940, Keystone transcription)
19. Let's Do Things (1940, Keystone transcription)
20. Jumpy Jitters (1940, Keystone transcription)
21. Nothing Ever Happens (1940, Keystone transcription)
22. What'cha Doin' to My Heart (1940, Keystone transcription)
Disc: 6
1. Bedtime (1940, Standard transcription)
2. Honey Hush (1940, Standard transcription)
3. French Toast (1940, Standard transcription)
4. Vine Street Jump (1940, Standard transcription)
5. B Flat (1940, Standard transcription)
6. You Send Me (1940, Standard transcription)
7. Love Is My Alibi (1940, Standard transcription)
8. Pogo Stick Bounce (1940, Standard transcription)
9. Whatcha' Know, Joe? (1940, unreleased radio broadcast)
10. Sweet Lorraine (1940, Decca master take)
11. Honeysuckle Rose (1940, Decca master take)
12. Gone with the Draft (1940, Decca master take)
13. This Side Up (1940, Decca master take)
14. Jumpin' with the Mop (1941, Standard transcription)
15. Jam Man (1941, Standard transcription)
16. Let's Try Again (1941, Standard transcription)
17. Fudge Wudge (1941, Standard transcription)
18. Smokey Joe (1941, Standard transcription)
19. Windy City Boogie Woogie (1941, Standard transcription)
20. Ode to a Wild Clam (1941, Standard transcription)
Disc: 7
1. Let's Try Again (1941, MacGregor transcription)
2. Whatcha' Know, Joe? (1941, MacGregor transcription)
3. Lazy River (1941, MacGregor transcription)
4. Georgia on My Mind (1941, MacGregor transcription)
5. Rockin' Chair (1941, MacGregor transcription)
6. A Little Jive Is Good for You (1941, MacGregor transcription)
7. You've Changed (1941, MacGregor transcription)
8. Babs (1941, Decca master take)
9. Scotchin' with the Soda (1941, Decca master take)
10. Slow Down (1941, Decca master take)
11. Early Morning Blues (1941, Decca master take)
12. The Romany Room Is Jumpin' (1941, unreleased private recording)
13. This Will Make You Laugh (1941, Decca master take)
14. Stop! The Red Light's On (1941, Decca master take)
15. Hit the Ramp (1941, Decca master take)
16. I Like to Riff (1941, Decca master take)
Disc: 8
1. Call the Police (1941, Decca master take)
2. Are You Fer It? (1941, Decca master take)
3. That Ain't Right (1941, Decca master take)
4. Hit That Jive, Jack (1941, Decca master take)
5. Indiana (1942, Philo w/Lester Young)
6. I Can't Get Started (1942, Philo w/Lester Young)
7. Tea for Two (1942, Philo w/Lester Young)
8. Body and Soul (1942, Philo w/Lester Young)
9. Vom, Vim, Veedle (1942, Excelsior master take)
10. All for You (1942, Excelsior master take)
11. Hip Hip Hooray (1943, AFRS Jubilee #5)
12. I Know That You Know (1943, AFRS Jubilee #5)
13. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town ( 1942 or 1943, L ive from the 331 Club)
Disc: 9
1. Pitchin' Up a Boogie (1943, Excelsior master take)
2. I'm Lost (1943, Excelsior master take)
3. Beautiful Moons Ago (1943, Excelsior master take)
4. Let's Spring One (1943, Excelsior master take)
5. Slender, Tender, and Tall (1943, AFRS Jubilee #29)
6. I've Found a New Baby (1943, Mercury w/Dexter Gordon)
7. Rosetta (1943, Mercury w/Dexter Gordon)
8. Sweet Lorraine (1943, Mercury w/Dexter Gordon)
9. I Blowed and Gone (1943, Mercury w/Dexter Gordon)
10. Solid Potato Salad (1943, AFRS Jubilee #36)
11. F.S.T. (Fine, Seet & Tasty) (1943, Premier master take)
12. Got a Penny (1943, Premier master take)
13. Let's Pretend (1943, Premier master take)
14. My Lips Remember Your Kisses (1943, Premier master take)
15. I'm an Errand Boy for Rhythm (1943, AFRS Jubilee #51)
16. Straighten Up and Fly Right (1943, AFRS Jubilee #51)
Disc: 10
1. Honey Hush (1936, Decca alternate take)
2. By the River St Marie (1938, Standard transcription)
3. I Like to Riff (1939, Standard transcription)
4. Black Spider Stomp (1939, Standard transcription)
5. Sweet Lorraine (1939, Standard transcription)
6. Early Morning Blues (1940, Standard transcription)
7. Gone with the Draft (1940, Standard transcription)
8. Trompin' (1939, Recorded for Cinematone)
9. Sweet Lorraine (1940, Decca alternate take)
10. Gone with the Draft (1940, Decca alternate take)
11. Scotchin' with the Soda (1941, Standard transcription)
12. Gone with the Draft (1941, Standard transcription)
13. The Romany Room Is Jumpin' (1941, unreleased private recording alternate take)
14. Hit That Jive, Jack (1942, AFRS Mail Call #16)
15. Beautiful Moons Ago (1943, Excelsior alternate take)
16. Honeysuckle Rose (1943, AFRS Jubilee #29)
17. I Know That You Know (1943, AFRS Jubilee #36)
18. Solid Potato Salad (1943, AFRS Command Performance #87)
19. My Lips Remember Your Kisses (1943, Premier alternate take)
20. Straighten Up and Fly Right (1943, AFRS Personal Album #227)
Released in partnership with the Nat King Cole estate, Resonance Records' 'Hittin' The Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943)' is the first large-scale collection of the pivotal early recordings (1936-1943) of Nat's 29-year recording career. Most tracks are receiving their first official release in this meticulously restored set of original live-to-disk recordings.
This definitive 7CD and limited-edition 10LP collection draws upon a wide range of sources, including many newly-discovered tracks unearthed for the first time from archives located all over the world, such as "Trompin" (jukebox-only release for Cinematone, 1939), "What'cha Know Joe" (undocumented radio performance, 1940 - now the earliest known recording of Nat "on the air"), "The Romany Room is Jumpin'" (private recording, 1941) and "Beautiful Moons Ago" (longer alternate take, 1943). Sessions include Nat at age 17, playing piano in his brother's band in Chicago, 1936; the first King Cole Trio recordings from 1938, made for radio broadcdast only, for Standard Transcriptions; further radio transcription sessions for Standard, Davis & Schwegler, Keystone, plus his first (uncredited) session for MacGregor, with vocalist Anita Boyer; the Ammor Records Session (Spring 1940 - the first commercial-release sessions for the trio), the Decca Recordings (1940-41), the small-label sessions for Excelsior and Premier labels (1943), many previously-uncirculating Armed Forces Radio performances, and, with producer Norman Granz at the helm, early jazz sessions with Lester Young (Granz historic, first session as a producer) and Dexter Gordon, originally released on Philo and Mercury, respectively.
Boasting an extensive 60+ page booklet with rare photographs; essays by acclaimed author Will Friedwald and guitarist Nick Rossi (with a special focus on Oscar Moore); plus interviews and testimonials from Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, John Pizzarelli, Freddy Cole, Michael Feinstein and many others.
'Hittin' the Ramp' features new remastering from original source disks transferred for this set from a number of personal collections and from the archives at University of California - Santa Barbara, The Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, the the CU Boulder American Music Research Center, and the Library of Congress.
Celebrate Nat King Cole's centennial in 2019 with this definitive early years multi-disc box set. This is the origin story of a great artist just as he was just "hittin' the ramp," launching a distinctive style that would quickly become famous the world over.