Beautiful Love

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Beautiful Love (m. Victor Young, Egbert Van Alstyne, Wayne King, w. Haven Gillespie)

According to Wikipedia, the song was “introduced by the Wayne King Orchestra in 1931. The song has been called the “second favourite number” of King, after the Orchestra’s theme song The Waltz You Saved for Me.^[1]”

“Beautiful Love” was featured in the soundtrack of the 1932 horror film The Mummy, played (according to IMDb) “during the ball sequence where Helen is telepathically called to the museum.”

(above) Victor Young (l.), and Wayne King

Lewis James — recorded on 20 April 1931; issued on Victor 22686, as the B-side of “By the River Sainte Marie”

From the Arden-Ohman Orchestra biography by Eugene Chadbourne at All Music:

This orchestra came up with frequent hit recordings during the 30’s, including classics of Americana such as “I Love a Parade”. For a decade beginning in 1925, the Arden-Ohman orchestra held forth in the ‘pits’ of many long-running Broadway hits, and recorded a repertoire of mostly show tunes. The membership of the pit bands and the recording studio orchestras was sometimes quite different, the bandleaders allowing the evening show players to get some rest while tunes were being recorded during the day. The group was formed by a pair of pianist and songwriters. Victor Arden came to New York quite early in the 20th century in order to make piano rolls. This is where he met Phil Ohman, another hotshot keyboard dazzler. The two formed a piano duo based on their many mutual musical interests, gaining an impressive reputation in the many small clubs clustered around the area of 52nd Street. [read more]

Victor Arden-Phil Ohman and their Orchestra, vocal: Frank Luther — recorded on 24 April 1931; issued as the B-side of Victor 22690, “In a Cafe on the Road to Calais”

audio file, MP3 (2.9 MB), from the page Victor Arden & Phil Ohman Orchestra Collection 1925-1935 (COMPLETE) (file replaced, 3/6/2023) at archive.org:

Regent Club Orchestra, vocal: Smith Ballew — recorded on 29 April 1931; issued on the 78 rpm single Brunswick 6099, c/w “After the Dance”

audio file, MP3 (2.7 MB), from the page Smith Ballew Vocal Collection 1925-1935, at archive.org:

audio file, MP3 (2.6 MB), from the page Regent Club Orchestra Collection 1925-1931, at archive.org:

James Melton — recorded on 15 May 1931; issued as the Columbia label single 2465D, c/w “Now You’re In My Arms”

Adrian Schubert Salon Orchestra, vocal: Charles Lawman — recorded in July 1931; issued on Crown 3162, c/w “When the Moon Comes Over the Mountains”

Art Tatum — 1934

Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra — recorded on 13 August 1939; issued on the 78 rpm single Decca 2748, as the B-side of “Shadows”

audio file, VBR MP3 (4.7 MB), from a page at archive.org:

Bing Crosby with orchestra arranged and conducted by Victor Young, featuring a violin solo by Eudice Shapiro — recorded in Los Angeles on 24 July 1944; issued on the 78 rpm single Decca 18735, as the B-side of “Symphony”

Harmony Sisters — recorded in 1944; issued on Mirva (Finland) B 1005, b/w “All the Things You Are”

Harmony Sisters discography

Richard Tauber — recorded on 13 December 1944; issued in March 1945 on (UK) Parlophone Odeon RO 20537 (mx CE11322), c/w “A Kiss in the Night” (“Anoche te besé”)

discographical sources include:

45Worlds.com
Part 3 of the Richard Tauber Discography at Richard-Tauber.de
Parlophone R 20000 to R 20999 series at http://musiktiteldb.de (Henry König)
page 1454 of this discography with a long title
Richard Tauber [1891-1948]: A New Chronology (pdf) by Daniel O’Hara

Jay Wilbur Orchestra — early 1950s

Jay Wilbur biographies: memorylane.org.uk, solarvan.co.uk/arthurdulay, Wikipedia

The video provider says,

This music was recorded from a 10 inch LP, “Favorites for Listening,” issued sometime in the early 1950s on the TOPS label, serial number L 967. These LPs sold for 98 cents each. Tops discontinued this series around 1956.

Helen Merrill with orchestra arranged and conducted by Richard Hayman — from her second album, Helen Merrill With Strings, Emarcy ‎MG-36057, released in 1955

Edna Savage — arrangement and direction of orchestral accompaniment by Ron Goodwin; issued in September 1959 on the 45 rpm single Parlophone (UK) R 4572, as the B-side of “Maybe This Year”

Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra — from the 1960 album Solo Spotlight, Capitol Records ‎ST1234

Bill Evans Trio — take 2 from the 1961 LP Explorations, Riverside RLP 351 (mono), RLP 9351 (stereo); album recorded on 2 February 1961. Evans recorded the song several times: 1961 (2 takes), 1965, 1979 (Paris).

Bill Evans: piano
Scott LaFaro: bass
Paul Motian: drums

Regarding the selection of the second take for inclusion on the album, in the liner notes to the CD release, which includes two extra tracks, take 1 of “Beautiful Love” and “The Boy Next Door,” producer Orrin Keepsake says,

[It] is not the usual case of a second attempt that immediately followed the first. Early in this date, he played this number once; we both approved, and he moved on to something else. Much later, he decided to try a second “Beautiful Love”, which he later preferred.

Hank Jones Trio (Hank Jones, Dave Holland, Billy Higgins) — recorded in March-April 1989 and released on the 1989 album The Oracle, EmArcy 848 376-2

album reviews: