Hollywood on record: The film stars' discography

by Michael R. Pitts

411 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 1978

About the author

MICHAEL R. PITTS has written or co-authored numerous books on entertainment, including Kate Smith: A Bio-Bibliography; Western Movies; Hollywood and American History; Famous Movie Detectives; Famous Movie Detectives II; Famous Movie Detectives III; Hollywood on Record; The Bible on Film; Charles Bronson; Poverty Row Studios 1929-1940; The Rise of the Crooners; Radio Soundtracks; Horror Film Stars ; the CD-ROM Television and Film: An Annotated Bibliography of Research Materials; Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films; Allied Artists Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, and RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films.
With Mr. Parish he has written several entries in The Great . . . Pictures series. In addition he has contributed to many other published books and his magazine articles have been published in the U.S. and abroad. He wrote columns on record collecting for Classic Images and The Big Reel. With degrees in history and journalism he also has a certificate in American Genealogy and has compiled more than thirty volumes of local history and genealogy.

Reviews

[Carlos West · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important yet overlooked books in the entertainment field! If one appears in a movie, we say they are immortalized, the same with writing a book. But what about making a professional recording? That should require an equal footing with the the big two! How lucky we are that there is an audio recording of Rudolph Valentino. Looking through this book you find that is so with all the pertinent info. Was the voice of silent film star Mary Pickford ever on a record album? Yes! Is your favorite artist Boris Karloff? In this book you'll find every spoken word, radio drama, soundtrack and original cast recording he ever made. Plus 45 rpm's as well. He was as prolific making albums as he was with movies. Did you know he did a reading of The Jungle Book? Have the authors missed any recordings by the artists? Very few. Tony Curtis has only one audio work here, but he did a few others that weren't available at the time of publication. The trivia alone is worth the price of the book. TV Western favorite Chuck Connors put out a 45rpm gospel recording. Wow! Lon Chaney Jr. has one audio listing, but there was another. Ray "the scarecrow" Bolger recorded 3 L. Frank Baum Oz stories. Gene Kelly lent his voice to a Peter Rabbit album! Mia Farrow only has 2 albums listed, one of them is Peter and the Wolf. Track down every album put out by your favorite actor, singer or personality! It's fun to add to the book as well.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This listing of recordings made by motion picture performers primarily focuses on album recordings. These include long-playing [LP] records, original cast albums, soundtrack albums, compilation LPs, and spoken word recordings. In some listings, selected 45 rpm recordings are included, but they do not purport to be a complete listing of the performer’s 45 rpm recordings. The discography listings are alphabetical according to the performer’s last name. Sprinkled throughout the listings are photographs of some of the performers.

In some cases [think Judy Garland or Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra], readers will recognize the many recordings listed, but others [think Steve McQueen or Jay Silverheels or Lana Turner] may surprise them. No matter how well-acquainted readers believe themselves to be with a particular performer, there are sure to be a few surprises waiting to be discovered within the pages of this book.

Highly recommended.