Jackie Gleason: Master of Romantic Mood Music 
Updated August 14, 2004

In 1952, Jackie Gleason recorded his first instrumental album for Capitol Records that established a new musical genre. That album was Music for Lovers Only and the genre became known as Mood Music. It launched Gleason on a recording career that lasted two decades. In his liner notes for the 1996 CD release of Velvet Brass, Will Friedwald wrote, "Gleason was largely responsible for the crucial reformation of Eisenhower-era instrumental music, launching the trend that transformed it from a dance-orientation to an easy-listening orientation."

Gleason’s musical impact on American culture during the 1950s and 1960s has been long-overlooked. His success as a comedic actor helped him to bankroll his foray into recorded instrumental music, but it also overshadowed his equally successful efforts in the recording studio. Even today, Jackie Gleason is almost exclusive remembered for his role as Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners and his variety show, The Jackie Gleason Show. He was underrated as a dramatic actor, and perhaps not taken seriously enough in his contributions to easy listening music.  What perhaps is most curious is the fact that Gleason has been the subject of three biographies but little space was devoted in any of the books to his musical contributions which spanned almost 20 years. Thus, details of production notes, meetings to discuss arrangements and the popularity of his music is almost nonexistent.

In the early 1950s, Gleason worked with arranger Pete King on several instrumental tunes. Gleason couldn’t read sheet music and certainly couldn’t write it, so he simply worked the piano keys to convey to King the melody he wanted. Eventually King produced two tunes with Gleason, Melancholy Serenade, which became the theme music to the Honeymooners, and other was called Lover’s Rhapsody.

This fired Gleason’s imagination to produce an entire album of beautiful instrumental music, but his proposal fell on deaf ears at the record companies. Gleason was a comedian; how would anyone take an album with his name on it seriously? It truly was an oxymoron, but Gleason saw no inconsistency. Not many realized Gleason had a serious side—indeed, a romantic side, and he intended to express it.

When he got no interest from any of the big record companies to do the album, he rented a studio from DECCA, hired the musicians, selected the tunes and paid for the recording sessions himself. He then had his manager Bullets Durgom take the tape back to the still skeptical record executives, who still shook their heads. Finally, Capitol Records agreed to market the album if Gleason would plug the LP on "The Jackie Gleason Show," since Capital had no intention of spending money to advertise it. It was Capitol’s hope enough albums would be sold to cover the cost of the pressings and related expenses.

Gleason happily agreed. The album was titled, Music for Lovers Only. The art department at Capitol did a tasteful and atmospheric layout for the album cover. Gleason shamelessly plugged the album on his show, and Capitol shipped a modest number of albums through it distribution chain. Capitol had no idea what was about to happen. A few 45 rpm record selections (the preferred format of radio stations in the 1950s) from the album started to get air play and soon thousands of listeners were clamoring for the album. Sales of the long-playing album took off and eventually sold over half a million copies.

No one was more surprised than Capitol Records, and Gleason relished the moment. Capital had new-found respect for Gleason, and follow-on albums were planned. Gleason had many musically innovative ideas in mind he intended to pursue.

Gleason’s first eleven albums were monophonic High Fidelity recordings. The major record companies began experiments in stereophonic recording in the mid-1950s. RCA began its multi-track recording tests in February 1954 and eventually launched its Living Stereo line of recordings. Mercury also did pioneering word in stereophonic sound recording and launched its Living Presence line, which remains highly coveted even today. Capitol’s first stereo recording was Stand Kenton in Hi-Fi. Gleason’s first album recorded in stereo was Velvet Brass; it was recorded in two, four-hour session at Capitol’s New York City recording studio on April 9, 1957.  The photo shown here was taken by studio musician Al Stewart during a recording break of Jackie Gleason Plays the Most Beautiful Girl in the World in 1959. 

Because stereo was essentially new audio technology in the late 1950s, Capitol continued to release Gleason’s recordings in both mono and stereo for a number of years. Gleason’s recordings were also available on 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes. Some of Gleason’s early albums were re-released on tape and LP in "Full Dimension Stereo." How was this accomplished? Either the recordings were electronically remastered to simulate stereo, or the sessions were later re-recorded in stereo, which is unlikely.

I grew up during the 1950s and used to listen to my father play Gleason’s albums on the Hi-Fi console in the living room of our home in Wilmington, Delaware. My dad did not collect all the albums; in fact, he probably only had six to seven of them, most from the Fifties. But I remember that beautiful, soothing music to this day.

Some of Gleason's albums have been released on CD. The 74-minute play time of the CD permits two Gleason albums to fit on one CD, but it is certain not all of Gleason’s albums will make it to the digital domain. That makes collecting the albums and tapes all the more important to the devotees of the finest contemporary romantic music ever recorded.

No website exists that illustrates each album cover and lists the tracks, with relevant album info. This website will attempt to do that. Incredibly, Gleason's name appeared on over 30 albums. All of Gleason’s albums were recorded during the 1950s and 1960s, with the first one released in 1952 (Music for Lovers Only) and the last released in 1969. The albums are grouped here according to decade, and the decades divided to permit good page loading times.

This page was last updated on 08/28/04.

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