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Born James Montgomery Fyfe on October 5th 1900, Monte Rey as he later became known did not truly begin his singing career until he was
26 years old, relatively late in showbiz!
Having been sponsored by the Duchess Of Montrose and the film star Jack Buchanan amongst others he decided to take classical singing
seriously and left for Milan,Italy to study under singing teacher Briano Onielo (who comically turned out to be an Irishman named Brian
O’Neil)!!!
As Montgomery Fyffe he appeared in many prestigious London venues such as the Albert Hall and the Wigmore Hall. CD2 includes all the
songs Monte recorded under the Fyffe name but finally by 1934 he had become the Monte Rey that we all remember so well!
Joining Geraldo after a series of successful radio shows he stayed with him until 1939 alongside working with Joe Loss until 1941. During
this period Monte also undertook a series of recordings for transmission by Radio Luxembourg which comprise arguably his finest body of
work. We present 27 examples of this fine work on CD1. Our final selections for this wonderful Avid Easy release feature five Scottish songs
including a glorious live version of Annie Laurie…….there was not a dry eye in the house when he closed with this number!
A superb collection full of both popular and rare unreleased material that show Monte Rey deserves his place among the great tenors of the
day such as John McCormack and Richard Tauber.
CD1
1. Donkey Serenade
2. One Day When We Were Young*
3. Cosi, Cosa* (with The Ovaltineys)
4. Alone* (with Geraldo & His Gaucho Tango Orchestra)
5. Russian Rose
6. Beyond the Blue Horizon** (with The Ovaltineys)
7. Can I Forget You?**
8. Vieni, Vieni* (with Phil Green - accordion)
9. Jerome Kern selection* (a) Lovely to Look At (b) Look for the
Silver Lining (c) Dancing Time (d) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
(Vocalist: Monte Rey) (e) I Won’t Dance
10. Te Quiero Dijiste* (with Geraldo & His Gaucho Tango
Orchestra)
11. Green Eyes
12. Grinzing*
13. Balloons (Who’ll Buy My Nice Balloons?) (with The
Ovaltineys)
14. One Song* (with Geraldo & His Orchestra & Chorus)
15. The Veteran’s Song* (with The Ovaltineys
16. Come Back My Love
17. Lamento Borincano (Cuban Moonlight)*
18. You Belong To My Heart (Solamente Una Vez)
19. Sweetheart, We’ll Never Grow Old
20. ‘Music for Madame’ film selection* (a) I Want the World to
Know (b) My Sweet Bambina (Vocalist: Monte Rey) (c) Music for
Madame
21. Hasta Mañana (Come Around Some Other Day)
22. The Stars Will Remember (So Will I)
23. El Sombrero De Gaspar* (with The Ovaltineys and Phil Green -
accordion)
24. Come to the Fair* (with The Ovaltineys)
25. Only A Rose* (with Geraldo & His Orchestra)
26. Love Walked In* (with Geraldo & His Orchestra)
27. Mia Canzon’ D’Amore (My Song Of Love)
28. Lady Of Spain
CD2
1-8: Private recordings by ‘Montgomery Fyfe’
1. L’Ultima Canzone*
2. Io Non Ho Che Una Povera Stanzetta* (‘La Bohème’)
(Leoncavallo)
3. You Are My Heart’s Delight*
4. Viens, Mina, Viens! (Lied Des Venezianischen Gondoliers)*
(Acoustic recording)
5. Zueignung* (Acoustic recording)
6. Passing By*
7. Ae Fond Kiss*
8. The March Of The Cameron Men*
9. Vida Mia** (with Geraldo & His Gaucho Tango Orchestra)
10. Shine Through My Dreams**
11. O Maiden, My Maiden*
12. Cara Mia*
13. Funiculì, Funiculà* (with chorus)
14. Torna A Surriento*
15. Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms*
16. The Rose Of Tralee**
17. Santa Lucia
18. Come To The Ball* (with chorus)
19. Where’Er You Walk* (‘Semele’)
20. Miserere* (‘Il Trovatore’) with soprano (Sung in English)
21. Ay, Ay, Ay*
22. Wien, Du Stadt Meiner Träume (Vienna, City Of My Dreams)*
(with Geraldo & His Gaucho Tango Orchestra)
23. The World Is Mine Tonight**
24. My Heart Will Never Sing Again**
25. Granada
26. O Sole Mio* (with Bert Waller - piano)
27. Scots Wha Hae* (with chorus)
28. Herding Song (with Albert Gordon - piano)
29. Annie Laurie* ‘live’ (with Joe Loss & His Orchestra)
*Previously unissued **Previously unissued on CD |
