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Julius La Rosa was a traditional pop singer typical of the style prevalent in the early 50s who came to fame on the all-powerful Arthur Godfreys radio and TV shows, on which he was a regular performer from 1951 to 53. Godfreys musical director launched the Cadence label in 1953, and La Rosa was the first artist signed to the label, making an immediate impact as two of his first three releases Anywhere I Wander and Eh Cumpari gave him Top 5 US pop hits. He was controversially fired from Godfreys shows in 1953, but continued as a popular and successful radio and TV performer through the 50s as the pop landscape changed dramatically, continuing to have chart entries up to 1958, including a Top 20 UK hit that year with Torero. This great-value 57-track collection comprises most of the A & B sides of his singles for Cadence and for RCA after he left Cadence in 1955, plus selected A & B sides for the Roulette and Kapp labels between 1958 and 1962, and naturally includes all his career hits in the pop charts, which in addition to those noted above, include the Top 20 entries "Domani", "Suddenly There's A Valley" and "Lipstick, Candy And Rubber-Soled shoes". It represents a substantial proportion of his chart-focused output during the core era of his career, and provides an admirable showcase for his smooth and sophisticated vocal style which made him such a popular media personality. REVIEWS "Once again one has to give credit to the Acrobat label for doing such valuable work in releasing collections like this one... LaRosa was a fine singer who thoroughly deserves to be the subject of a collection such as this. As is usual with Acrobat, Paul Watts' liner notes are spot on in contextualising the music and the times. A worthwhile reminder of his qualities" - Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 329) “Julius is best remembered in the UK for the hit Torero. In the States, he had consistent MoR hits with show tunes like Suddenly There's A Valley, and was a known for his smooth and sophisticated style, the Cat's Pajamas for the early 50s. A double CD with 56 tracks covering his time with Cadence and RCA, and a sleeve photo that shows the otherwise unseen Julius was a Leonardo DiCaprio lookalike... Who knew?” – John Howard (Vintage Rock Issue 43)
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