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George Olsen was a drummer and bandleader from Portland, Oregon, who made his name playing in hotels and then in Broadway shows, and despite latterly not being one of the best known names of the era had a string of 49 hits between 1925 and 1945. He played the characteristic mix of styles of dance bands in the 1920s, featuring a blend of hot dance music alongside his more familiar style of middle-of-the-road orchestral music, gradually introducing featured singers after his initial hits, and becoming typical of the “sweet” orchestras of the 1930s who were popular on radio. This 49-track 2-CD collection solely comprises all his career hits, which came out on the Victor, Columbia and Majestic labels. It includes the No. 1 hits “Who”, “Always”, “A Precious Little Thing Called Love”, “Lullaby Of The Leaves” and “The Last Round-Up”, plus the Top 3 hits, “Sunny”, “Drifting And Dreaming”, “Horses”, “Someone To Watch Over Me”, “Blue Skies and “The Best Things In Life Are Free”. There were no notable stars among his featured vocalists, but they include Fran Frey, Bob Borger, Bob Rice, Jack Gifford, his wife Ethel Shutta, Paul Small, Dave Marshall, Joe Morrison, Judith Blair and Ray Adams. Featuring only his hits, this is a thorough look at one of the consistently popular and successful bandleaders of the ‘20s and ‘30s.
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