Music in the Morgan Manner: the Hits Collection 1935-56 by Russ Morgan (CD, ...

Pianist, trombonist, composer and arranger Russ Morgan was one of the most successful bandleaders of the 1930s and 40s, enjoying a string of big hits with his smooth, accessible easy-listening style which focused on the broad middle ground of popular music during an era when swing and other big band leaders were enjoying chart success with their more jazz-influenced styles. Growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he played in a band called the Scranton Sirens with local contemporaries Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, before becoming an arranger in New York and working with Jean Goldkette and Fletcher Henderson's orchestras during the 1920s and early 30s. As musical director of a Detroit radio station he developed his trademark style of Music In The Morgan Manner, a phrase he used to introduce his orchestra on radio and at concerts, and on publicity and all his record labels. Encouraged by singer Rudy Vallee, he formed his own orchestra, and over the next two decades consistently had big-sellinga