The J's with Jamie - Hey, Look Us Over! Plus Their Columbia Singles

So far this blog's slow-motion look at the career and recordings of the J's with Jamie hasn't included that group's best LP - their first, Hey, Look Us Over! That's because I owned only a mono copy until recently. Now, with a good stereo pressing in hand and digitized, I am presenting it along with a significant bonus - all the 14 single sides that weren't included on their second and final Columbia LP, The Remarkable J's with Jamie.

Hey, Look Us Over!

The title Hey, Look Us Over comes from the song "Hey, Look Me Over," which Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh wrote for the 1960 musical Wildcat, where it was introduced by Lucille Ball, of all people. This was one of a spate of show tune marches that may have been kicked off by Meredith Willson and The Music Man's"76 Trombones" in 1957. Its high spirits also may have spawned such songs as "I Ain't Down Yet" (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) and "If They Could See Me Now" (Sweet Charity).

The idea of using "Hey, Look Me Over" or its plural cousin as an album title appealed to any number of artists - including Jerry Vale, Vicki Carr, Julius LaRosa, Susan Maugham, the Pete King Chorale and even Stan Freberg.

On the J's with Jamie LP, "Hey, Look Me Over" is followed by a nice blend of old songs ("The Touch of Your Hand,""But Not for Me,""Smile") and recent pop or show tunes ("A Lot of Livin' to Do,""Fly Me to the Moon,""The Second Time Around"). The set closes with the wonderful Matt Dennis-Tom Adair "Will You Still Me Mine," which is perfectly suited to this group's sunny virtuosity.

The album's imaginative orchestrations were by Hoyt Jones, a Chicago-based arranger who later arranged the 1977 Art Van Damme/Singers Unlimited LP Invitation. Len Dresslar and Gene Shelton of the J's with Jamie were charter members of the Singers Unlimited. Jones also contributed charts for the local rock groups the New Colony Six and the Ides of March during the 60s.

The Columbia Singles

The J's with Jamie's two Columbia LPs both date from 1963, but the group released singles for the company from 1962-64. These were mainly show tunes, although not the most popular of the species. Even so, their choices make for good listening from lesser-heard sources.

The group's first single came out in April 1962 and coupled two songs from Harold Rome's I Can Get It for You Wholesale:"The Sound of Money" and "Momma, Momma, Momma." The former is distinctly superior to the latter, and was included on The Remarkable J's with Jamie. The latter is in this set.

The next single, from June, led with a good Cahn/Van Heusen song, "Let's Not Be Sensible," from The Road to Hong Kong. The 45 also had a Milton Schafer-Ronny Graham song, "One Little World Apart," from their short-lived musical Bravo Giovanni. Both are fine songs sympathetically handled.

The group's next effort was "Nowhere to Go But Up," which was introduced by Dorothy Loudon in the show of the same name. The J's issued their worthy version in September 1962; the James Lipton-Sol Berkowitz musical opened and closed in mid-November. The flip side of this 45 was "Laugh It Up," which also is on The Remarkable J's with Jamie. It came from the Irving Berlin show Mr. President.

Another show tune, Cahn and Van Heusen's "Come on Strong," was featured in the short-lived Garson Kanin production of the same name. The show Come on Strong was not a musical; however, the song was heard as incidental music in the second act, via a Lena Horne recording. It's a characterful number that fits Jamie as well as Lena. 

Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh followed Wildcat with the Sid Caesar showcase Little Me. It had a impressive score, but the J's chose the title song rather than "I've Got Your Number" or "The Other Side of the Tracks.""Little Me" does suit their upbeat, skillful style, admittedly. Both Little Me and Come on Strong date from late 1962.

"Your Dog" promo picture sleeve

The group's next single wasn't until August 1963, and represented a break from the parade of show tunes. Columbia matched the J's with Chicago-based arranger Dick Marx, who likely had done commercial work with them. The pick side was "Your Dog," is a rhythm song done to a turn. The other original was "For the Last Time," a compose-by-numbers pop song characteristic of its era.

The record label showcased the group during the September Music Operators of America convention, and they serenaded the crowd with a special version of "Wimoweh" called "MOA." Columbia issued it on a promotional copy of the "Your Dog"/"For the Last Time" single, and it's included in the download. Most enjoyable material, even with contrived lyrics.

The group's follow-up single was the title song from Meredith Willson's show Here's Love, which appeared on the second album. It's backing was "Au Revoir," a Gilbert Bécaud composition. It's not one of his best songs and not particularly suited to the J's style.

Late in 1963, Columbia came out with a coupling of Stuart Hamblen's "This Ole House," which was featured on the second album. It was backed with the non-album track "London (Is a Little Bit of All Right)," a Noël Coward song from The Girl Who Came to Supper. The noisy Tessie O'Shea introduced the latter number. You have to enjoy cod-English accents to like this one.

At the end of the year, the J's won an award for "Most Played Vocal Group," which they celebrated via the Billboard ad above.

March 1964 saw a release of "Yoshiko" coupled with Stephen Sondheim's "Everybody Says Don't" from Anyone Can Whistle. The latter is the group's most successful show tune recording, and can be found on their second LP. The former is, as far as I can tell, an attempt to follow up on the success of Kyu Sakamoto's "Ue o Muite Arukō," which had been nonsensically retitled "Sukiyaki" for the US market. The "Yoshiko" composer was Elijah Whitney, Jr. It's actually one of the catchiest items in this collection.

The J's final Columbia single is one of their best. The A-side is a vocal version of the "Theme from A Summer Place," which had been an instrumental hit for Percy Faith in 1960. The reverse is Bock and Harnick's "Popsicles in Paris." This came from the 1964 New York World's Fair show To Broadway with Love, and seems tailor made for the group.

Hey, Look Us Over! comes from my collection. I am indebted to a very old series of posts on the WFMU site for the single transfers. These were lossy originals in the strident and boomy sound that Columbia favored for its singles of the time, but have been suitably tamed and pitch-corrected in this remastering.

Despite my occasional complaints about the material, this is a highly enjoyable collection that finished the group's best period. The British Invasion had arrived by the time the J's with Jamie switched to ABC Paramount records late in 1964 and changed their name to Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers. Beatles songs and the like were much less well suited to them than show tunes. Even so, I plan to present the second and final release by the successor group before too long.