Boz Buys

There are plenty of CDs to get your Boz going with!

Basic Boz:

Nothing Was Sweeter Than

Audio CD: 2006
Label:El Records
This recent import features an interesting mix of the Bozzies most popular fare along with some of their older and rarer matetrial. Their very early style kicks off the CD with "Highway to Heaven" and "That's What I Like About You." Then we get a sampling of the Sisters through the years with emphasis placed on their Brunswick hits. A nice purchase for those who do not have the Nostalgia Arts series to round out your collection.

Shout, Sisters, Shout

Audio CD: 2004
Label:Jaz
Nicely remastered collection with excellent liner notes by Scott Yanow. A great first CD for folks who want to get to know the Boswell Sisters music. See bozzies.com review

Shout, Sister, Shout

Audio CD: 2003
Label:ASV Living Era
A bouncy compilation that include some of the Boswell’s hottest numbers. This CD features many of the top tunes the Sisters cut with the Dorsey Brothers including their breakout single "When I Take My Sugar to Tea," all the way through to their masterful arrangement of "Shuffle Off to Buffalo." Easy to find, worth the purchase!

That’s How Rhythm Was Born

Audio CD: August 15, 1995
Label: Sony
Whether it’s the Dietz and Schwartz’ Louisiana Hayride, the Koehler and Arlen’s Minnie the Moochers Wedding Day, or Hoagy Carmichael’s Charlie Two-Step, the joi du swing simply bursts from this CD. Benefiting from the Brunswick masters now owned by Sony and good liner notes from Roy Hemming and David Hajdu this is a Bozzie basic your collection must have.

Shine On Harvest Moon

Audio CD: September 22, 2005
Label: Pegasus
A German release with a selection of songs that is well tuned to the contemporary ear. Includes great numbers like Puttin’ It On, You Oughta Be in Pictures, The Music Goes Round and Round, and Goin’ Home, which makes it a nice piece despite a somewhat uneven remastering.

Brunswick Vol. 1 and 2

Audio CD: November 14, 2000
Label: Collectables
Many believe the Brunswick years were the Sisters best. These two CDs give you a full sampling of the 1931-1934 cuts.

These disks are readily available online in bookstores and auction houses.

Bozzola:

Storyville/Nostalgia Arts Vols. 1-5

Hard to find, especially Vols 1 and 5, and often expensive, this collection is a Must Have for the truly Bozzed. There are some weird things about this collection: several songs are repeated with no apparent difference in the tracks. But once you get beyond that wee problem you have got the nearly complete recordings of the Bozzies stretching from their Victor cuts from 1925 through 1936’s swan song I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket. The liner notes that begin in Vol. 2 and run through Vol. 5 are from the Wizard of Boz himself, David McCain. They alone are worth the investment to a true Bozophile. Find 'em, buy 'em, slip on those headphones and enter the nirvana of Boz.

Hardcore Boz:

Airshots and Rarities

Audio CD: June 24, 1997
Label: Challenge
This CD is coolness in a Boz suit. It contains a number of the Continental Broadcast transcriptions that the Sisters made for broadcast in Hawaii in 1930. The Boswell Sound is alive and kicking in these recordings, but you hear much more of Martha on solos and piano. The liner notes include fascinating comments by Vet Boswell Minnerly, daughter of Vet Boswell, and Richard Sudhalter.

Okay, America! Alternate Takes and Rarities

Audio CD: January 22, 1993
Label: Jass
So ya wanna hear it all? Then you need to find this great collection of alternate takes. Many of these songs were included in the Jass vinyl by the same name, but immaculate mastering make this a digital must have. It mixes Connie’s solos with the Sisters songs and features the unforgettable masterpiece Washboard Blues. The creativity of the Sisters is never more evident than when you compare takes of Was That the Human Thing to Do. Once you’ve reached this stage in your trip to Boz, you have what the Wizard calls, the gene!

A Connie is a Connee is a CBoz

CBoz was a prolific singer and recorder. Although you can find virtually everything the Sisters recorded in a digital format the same isn’t true for Connie. But there’s enough out there to get a good dose of the voice that changed American popular song.

Singing the Blues

Audio CD: 2006, from 1951 – 1955
Label: Sepia
A great collection of Connee Boswell's 1950s releases when she was still in full voice. Torch songs and weepies dominated her repertoire in this era and she sings them from the heart. Never a "canary" but always able to team with the very best musicians, her loving duets with Artie Shaw have a magic all their own. Cuts from the Decca "Singin' the Blues" 2-disk EP with the Lawson-Haggart band are phenomenal!

If you don't want to dance when she sings "Don't Believe Everyone's Your Friend" ask someone to bury you.

Buy this CD!

Heart and Soul

Audio CD: September 16, 1997
Label: Asv Living Era
This release from England focuses on some of the sweeter and more commercially successful numbers Connie recorded between 1932 and 1942. Liner notes have some errors but they can be forgiven. High points in this collection are the swinging Me Minus You, collaborations with der Bingle on Basin Street Blues and chart-topping Bob White, and movie hit Sand In My Shoes. The CD would be worth the cost just for Sunrise Serenade with lyrics specially written for Connie by Jack Lawrence.

Moonlight and Roses

Audio CD:January 30, 2001
Label: Flare UK
The jazz runs thick as gravy on Louisiana red beans in this Connie compilation. It opens with the wonderful Hummin’ to Myself and keeps up the good work throughout. Songs a Connie fan shouldn’t miss include Seein’ Is Believin’, Emperor Jones, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Blueberry Hill…just buy it!

They Can’t Take These Songs Away from Me

2 Disk Audio CD: September 3, 2002
Label: Jasmine Music
If you are ready to load up on CBoz, this is the CD for you. It runs the gamut from Connie’s early swing to the ballads that earned her Irving Berlin’s accolade as the best ballad singer in America. There are great duets with Bing, including the lovely Start the Day Right. But the song that anyone who wants to know anything about Connie Boswell must have is also o this set: Martha.

Connee Boswell and The Original Memphis Five in Hi Fi

Audio CD: 2004, vinyl from 1957
Label: RCA
The critics love this pure Dixieland collaboration between some of jazz’ earliest performers and the magical Connee Boswell. Miff Mole, Billy Butterfield and Frank Signorelli team with the Immortal CBoz and let 'er rip in Hi Fi. IF Say It Isn’t So doesn’t bring a shiver to you, get the Geritol! Hard to find and sometimes very expensive, it’s worth every cent.

Connee Boswell Sings the Irving Berlin

Audio CD: 1997, vinyl from 1957
Label: Simitar Entertainment, vinyl on Design
This folio was done as a tribute to the great songwriter on his Golden Anniversary. The production values are less than stellar and Connee’s voice has gained huskiness and vibrato. But it is still an CD worth adding to your Bozzie collection