I'm Just a Vagabond Lover
Words and Music by Rudy Vallee and Leon Zimmerman
Al Goodman and His Orchestra
Vocal refrain by Frank Luther
Recorded September 25, 1929
Brunswick 4362
Al Goodman (1890 - 1972) was a conductor, songwriter, stage composer, musical director, arranger, and pianist. Graduate of the Baltimore City College and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, musician in a nickelodeon, and chorus boy in one of the Milton Aborn's operettas, Russian-born Al Goodman was first introduced to musical comedy by the late Earl Carroll who persuaded him to collaborate in producing his musical, So Long Letty. This success, followed by the hit, \"Sinbad\", which he produced with Al Jolson, led to positions as orchestra conductor for many Broadway productions including the highly successful Flyin' High, The Student Prince, and Blossom Time. In all, during this period of his career, Goodman directed over 150 first-night performances and became one of the Great White Way's most popular conductors. He was in such demand that it was not uncommon for him to conduct the orchestra of a show for the first few performances, and then hand the baton over to another while he prepared for a new production. In addition to his assignments as one of RCA Victor's most talented conductors, Goodman was kept busy directing the music for various radio network shows including Palmolive Beauty Box Theater (1935-1937), Your Hit Parade (1935-1938) and the Fred Allen Show (1945-1949)and his pet program, The Prudential Family. During television's early years, Al Goodman was tapped to supervise and conduct the music for NBC's variety showcase Colgate Comedy Hour programs done from New York City. Goodman wrote some memorable songs such as \"When Hearts Are Young\", \"Call of Love\" and \"Twilight\". He also worked on several musicals such as The Band Wagon, Good News and Ziegfeld Follies.
Frank Luther (1899 - 1980) was an American country music singer, dance band vocalist, playwright, songwriter and pianist and ordained minister. He joined the De Reszke Singers as a tenor/accompanist and in 1927 sang with the Revelers, a popular quartet. In 1928 he began a long partnership with Carson Robison and played a role in the early development of country and western music. For many years he recorded vocal refrains with popular dance bands of the day and in 1936 starred in his only full-length Hollywood feature, a story about radio entertainers called High Hat. In the 1940s, Luther - by now a Decca Records executive, in charge of children's, educational, and religious recordings - returned to the studios to re-record many of his pre-war albums for children and to make many others, including \"The Birthday Party Record\" released on Decca in the fall of 1950. Luther continued to record, forming his own label and then working for a variety of educational record companies. He did a series for United Artists Records, some albums of songs adapted from the writings of various children's authors, and some narrations of children's books. These included Babar Songs and Stories, an LP of retellings of Jean de Brunhoff's Babar the Elephant series he recorded for Vocalion Records in the early 1960s.
