Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2010 August 11 • Wednesday

Here's Robert Mitchum on the cover of Screen Songs magazine.

But why? He isn't mentioned anywhere inside and none of these songs is from any of his movies.

Probably the reason is because this is from 1948, the year that Rachel and the Stranger came out. Mitchum sings several songs in that movie and RKO thought they might get some action going with Mitchum the singer.

The studio must have been pleased by his singing since Mitchum re-recorded the Rachel and the Stranger songs for a release on 78.

You can hear those six songs on Bear Family's Tall Dark Stranger CD. ("Tall Dark Stranger" was the original title for Rachel and the Stranger, as well as the name of one of the songs.)

I get the chorus from "O He, O Hi, O Ho" stuck in my head. "Tall Dark Stranger" has a good chorus too.

Also on the CD are seven demos of Mitchum singing mostly standards with a jazz piano trio. They do "I'm Confessin'", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "What Is This Thing Called Love", "Dream a Little Dream With Me", "Roving Gambler" and "Blue Skies".

The last two songs on the CD are the theme from Young Billy Young, opening and closing credits versions.

Mitchum sang "Little Ole Wine Drinker Me" on Michael Parkinson's show in 1972.