Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
In January 1963, Go Away Little Girl by Steve Lawrence was the No. 1 song on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The mid-tempo single, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, featured Lawrence backed by a lonesome-cowboy beat and an orchestra arranged by Marion Evans. Go Away Little Girl was produced by Al Kasha, a songwriter who worked at New York's Brill Building and was pals with Goffin and King. Kasha's next project for Lawrence at Columbia—Swinging West—would leverage his earlier concept: an entire album of cowboy songs accompanied by a stampeding big band arranged by Marion.
The session began on April 16 and, according to AllMusic.com, the musicians included John Frosk, Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal and Doc Severinsen (tp); Urbie Green, Dick Hixson, Billy Byers, Sy Berger (tb); Sam Marowitz, Phil Woods (as), Al Cohn, Zoot Sims (ts); Sol Schlinger (bs); Nat Pierce, (p), Barry Galbraith, Mundell Lowe (g), George Duvivier (b) and Sol Gubin (d).
Unfortunately, this heated swinger has been all but overlooked by Sony and jazz discographies, since it remains woefully out of print. Marion's arrangements are all first-rate hard-chargers, with Lawrence as relaxed and as smooth as can be. And while the Western theme might seem silly at first glance, the concept works neatly given the strength of Marion's charts. [Photo above of Marion Evans]
I'm happy to report that Steve Lawrence, Marion Evans and Al Kasha are all still with us. Marion, of course, just conducted several of his arrangements for Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's album, Cheek to Cheek. A special thanks to reader Peter Sokolowski.
JazzWax tracks: To listen to samples of Steve 
Lawerence's Swinging West, go here. To buy it, visit Lawrence's website. It looks like someone on his team is selling it for $20 and free shipping in the U.S.—go here.
Lawerence's Swinging West, go here. To buy it, visit Lawrence's website. It looks like someone on his team is selling it for $20 and free shipping in the U.S.—go here.
JazzWax clips: To give you a taste of the magic created when Marion and Lawrence collaborated, dig A Gal in Calico and Home on the Range...
Used with permission by Marc Myers
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