Penthouse Serenade Explained

Penthouse Serenade
Type:	studio
Artist:	Nat King Cole
Cover:	PenthouseSerenade_NatKingCole.jpg
Released:	September 1952
Recorded:	1951–1952
Genre:	Jazz
Length:	23:05 (10" LP Release - 1952)33:38 (12" LP Release - 1955)50:13 (CD Release - 1998)
Label:	Capitol
Producer:	Lee Gillette
Prev Title:	King Cole for Kids
Prev Year:	1951
Next Title:	Top Pops
Next Year:	1952

Penthouse Serenade is an instrumental jazz quartet album by Nat King Cole. It was released initially as a 10-inch LP in September, 1952, on Capitol Records. An expanded (12 track) version was reissued in 1955 and a 19 track version (13-19 being vocal tracks) was reissued in 1998.

Track listing

original 1952 10 inch LP album release:

1. "Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)" (Val Burton, Will Jason) – 3:06
2. "Somebody Loves Me" (Buddy DeSylva, George Gershwin, Ballard MacDonald) – 3:03
3. "Laura" (Johnny Mercer, David Raksin) – 2:43
4. "Once in a Blue Moon" (Anne Caldwell, Jerome Kern based on Rubenstein's Melody In F) – 2:55
5. "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:03
6. "Down by the Old Mill Stream" (Tell Taylor) – 2:18
7. "If I Should Lose You" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin) – 3:11
8. "Rose Room" (Art Hickman, Harry Williams) – 2:46

4 tracks added for the 1955 12 inch LP re-issue:

9. "I Surrender Dear" (Harry Barris, Gordon Clifford) – 2:57
10. "It Could Happen to You" (Burke, Van Heusen) – 2:46
11. "Don't Blame Me" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) – 3:02
12. "Little Girl" (Francis Henry, Harry Hyde) – 1:48

additional bonus tracks added to later 1998 CD release:

13. "I Surrender Dear" (Barris, Clifford) (alt. take) – 3:00
14. "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" (Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk) – 2:11
15. "Too Marvelous for Words" (Johnny Mercer, Richard Whiting) – 1:53
16. "Too Young" (Sylvia Dee, Sidney Lippman) – 2:32
17. "That's My Girl" (Duke Ellington, Barbara Tobias) – 1:45
18. "It's Only a Paper Moon" (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Billy Rose) – 2:09
19. "Unforgettable" (Irving Gordon) – 3:05

Personnel

• Nat King Cole - piano, vocals
• John Collins - guitar
• Jack Costanzo - bongos, congas
• Charlie Harris - bass
• Norris "Bunny" Shawker - drums
• Lee Young - drums^[1]

Production

• Lee Gillette - producer
• Michael Cuscuna - reissue producer
• Will Friedwald - liner notes

References

• Allmusic [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r136776|pure_url=yes}} album review link]
• Capitol 94504

Notes and References

1. Web site: Penthouse Serenade. 14 July 2013.