The Big, Big Voice Of Lovelace Watkins

‘© Metro-Gotdwyn-Mayer Inc. Printed in U.S.A.

) | MGM RECORDS presents

THE BIG, BIG VOICE OF

ELACE

HELLO YOUNG LOVERS from Musical Production “The King And I”
SUMMERTIME from Musical Production “Porgy And Bess”

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YOU DO

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YOU’LL NEVER KNOW

TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT |

ANYTHING GOES from. Musical Production “Anything Goes”

\

New man here— name of Watkins, Lovelace Watkins. Easy name
to remember. Easy voice to remember. A big voice with a swelling
masculine rumble in it. A voice that can fit the shape of a tune in
SO personal a way that you begin to think you and Watkins own
the song all by yourselves. A voice that discovers a song long
after it has been waylaid and sung to death by dozens of sort-of
singers in a million juke boxes. And, a voice to be discovered at
the threshhold of what keen ears in the rough-and-tumble of pop-
ular music predict will be a long career in the top rank—a voice
to be discovered on this premiere MGM LP.

What’s it like when a man of real heft (over six-feet-two), a
guy bursting with the power of song, walks into the spotlight?
What's it like to be there when a man with the big frame of great-
ness in his voice goes up to a microphone, backed by a famous
arranger and conductor, and says to the worid: “‘Listen. These
are my songs. This is what | feel about these melodies. All | want
you to do is listen...’’ What's it like? Only you can give the rea!
answer. Only you can say what happens inside you when the
throbbing warmth of Lovelace Watkins works its magic in your
inner ear and imbeds itself in your memory. Only you can move
with the pulse and drive of his voice as he searches old, familiar
songs for new meaning. You alone can sense the wild joy that
surges through the up-tempo songs and laughs lightly in the
curve of phrase in the ballads.

Ray Ellis gives Lovelace a stunning framework of arrange-
ments that never get in the way, that expose the range of the
singer’s technique and feelings, and that challenge the ‘‘new boy
in town’’ to turn on the best he has. And his best includes that
strange quality that is found in every great voice—a compelling
feeling of theatrical excitement. This first Watkins LP has a lot of
‘first night’ in it.

Like a hit musical that comes to Broadway with ‘“‘trade”’
notices that get calloused Broadwayites all steamed up, Lovelace
Watkins’ first “‘show’’ has been heralded by the trade publica-
tions of the music business. His take-off solo on the recent MGM
single (45 rpm) ‘‘Hello, Young Lovers’’ started the trade winds
blowing along that stretch of Broadway where musicians, arrang-
ers, publishers, and reporters schmooze in the sunshine and
build the little fires of rumor and speculation that get careers
on their way.

The handsome young MGM artist builds his songs on a sub-
stantial cornerstone of audience experience. His whole style —his
very personal rapport with the listener—has grown out of hun-
dreds of hours of working directly with audiences in small clubs
where people usually arrive with a show-me attitude. His ap-
pearance with jazz trumpeter Harry Edison’s group at Birdland
(‘The Jazz Corner Of The World’) gave Lovelace the chance
to show the hipsters his wares. They listened tentatively. Then,
they applauded.

The strong voice has a message that was first shaped in a
church choir. At ten, Lovelace sang a solo for a religious conven-
tion gathered at the huge Mosque in Newark, N. J. The boy was
marked for a life of song. First, he sampled higher education as
a microbiology major at Rutgers. However, it was impossible to
keep the young man away from singing. As this MGM showcase
for an exciting —and musically superb — new talent brilliantly
proves, you can’t keep a big voice down.

STEREO SE 3831 A HIGH-FIDELITY RECORDING

This MGM High-Fidelity recording has been produced with techniques which insure
the finest possible reproduction on high-fidelity reproducing equipment as well as
reproducing equipment of standard quality. At each step of processing from the
actual recording in the concert hall or studio on to the final pressing, every attempt
has been made to achieve and maintain proper balance and clarity throughout the
range of dynamics which can be captured through modern recording techniques.
This MGM Long-Playing Microgroove Record is designed for reproduction on turn-
tables revolving at 3314 revolutions per minute. The device of a lion’s head and the
letters MGM are registered in the United States Patent Office as a trade-mark of
Loew’s. Incorporated. Printed in U.S.A.

IMPORTANT! This MGM Steredphonic Record is to be played only on phonographs
equipped for stereophonic reproduction. This record can also give outstanding
monaural performance on many conventional high fidelity phonographs by replacing
the cartridge with a stereo pickup. See your phonograph serviceman.

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