Singin' In the Rain - the Best Of

According to researcher Joel Whitburn's book of chart reconstructions Pop Memories (rankings from which are listed without credit in the annotations to this British compilation), Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards scored 30 chart entries between 1924 and 1940, enough to place him at #95 in the book's listing of the top 100 artists of the period 1890-1954. Singin' in the Rain contains 17 of those songs in their original recordings, transcribed from 78s, including Edwards' four biggest hits, the title song (which he introduced in the film Hollywood Revue of 1929), "I Can't Give You Anything but Love," "Sunday," and "Mary Ann." Also among the hits featured are George Gershwin's "Somebody Loves Me," "Fascinatin' Rhythm," and "Oh Lady Be Good" (the last two from the musical Lady, Be Good!, in which Edwards starred); "It's Only a Paper Moon" (which he sang in the film Take a Chance); "When You Wish Upon a Star," and "Give a Little Whistle" (which he sang in the film Pinocchio). Among the 13 chart records not included, several are missed, among them "All Alone," and "If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie)." Despite this, the compilation gives a good representation of Edwards' engaging, vaudeville-derived style in the several performances of his band Hot Combination, which featured people like Red Nichols and Joe Venuti, of early jazz.