Jim!

Jim! is the first studio album by the English actor, singer and songwriter Jim Dale, credited to Dale with Ken Jones and his Orchestra and the Michael Sammes Singers. Released as a 10-inch LP on EMI's Parlophone label in March 1958, Jim! was produced by the label's head George Martin and has been cited as "the first British rock and roll LP". It was Dale's only album released during his initial fame as a teen idol; he quit recording to pursue comedy soon after its release.

Jim!
Studio album by Jim Dale
Released	April 1958
Recorded	1958
Studio	EMI, London
Genre	Pop rock and roll
Length	23:22
Label	Parlophone
Producer	George Martin
Jim Dale chronology
Jim! (1958) Meet Jim Dale (1969)
Singles from Jim!
"Tread Softly Stranger" Released: April 1957[1]

Background

Jim Dale began his professional career in entertainment aged seventeen, performing as a comedian in variety theatres across the UK and Ireland.^[2][3] His comedy career led him to work as a warm-up act for the BBC rock and roll television programme Six-Five Special. After singing and accompanying himself on guitar during his set, Dale was asked to return the following week to perform in the programme as a singer.^[3] Several subsequent appearances brought Dale to the attention of George Martin, who signed him to Parlophone, then "the poor relation of the EMI combine, with HMV and Columbia being the big boys" according to Hi-Fi News & Record Review.^[4] Martin believed Dale to be the label's answer to Tommy Steele.^{[5][nb 1]} Dale became Britain's first major rock and roll star since Steele when his Martin-produced recording of "Be My Girl" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in December 1957.^[7][8] Martin would later reflect "there was no real rock and roll in Britain... "Be My Girl" was as near as we'd get".^[5]

As a teen idol, Dale found himself returning to the theatres he'd performed as a comedian, with "hysterical, screaming teenage girls" replacing the family audiences.^[3][9] Dale later recalled "I just didn't like it. I had girls sleeping on my doorstep outside my house, and my wife just hated the idea of that".^[3] Despite his musical success, he was vocal about still yearning to be a star comedian, something that frustrated Martin.^{[10][7][nb 2]} Interviewed by Evening Sentinel in April 1958, Dale commented "A singer's life is short. But look at the comedians who have lasted. I want to be an all-round entertainer. Max Bygraves is the ideal examples - a comedian who sings."^[9] Though Dale continued to appear frequently on Six-Five Special whilst recording for Parlophone,^[11] concert appearances as a singer were limited; over 1957 and 1958, he was engaged as compère for Stanley Dale's National Skiffle Contest, a lengthy UK tour headlined by the Vipers Skiffle Group and supported by battles between local groups.^[12][13] The format of the tour allowed Dale to "go on in a lounge suit, crack a few gags and introduce another act", something he accepted may "shock" his teenage fans but "to the mums and dads it shows I'm no sequined rock and roll monster".^[9]

Contents

Jim! features a variety of musical styles, reflecting Dale's desire to become an all-round entertainer.^[2][14][15] According to Jackie Moore of Disc, "Crazy For You" and "I Sit in My Window" most resemble the style of Dale's hit singles, whilst the "oldie" "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" "is more the kind of song that Jim sang for pleasure, in the days before he became a top selling disc star".^[15] Among the album's remaining tracks are versions of the jazz standards "Undecided" and "'Tain't What You Do", both with big band backing.^[14][1] "Tread Softly Stranger", the theme for the 1958 crime film of the same name, was described by the New Musical Express as "quiet and melodious... ...reminiscent of a cowboy idling along on his horse, singing dreamily to the strains of his own guitar".^[16] Dale wrote the album's only self-penned track, the upbeat "Jane Belinda", in tribute to his daughter, Belinda Jane, who was born in January 1958.^[17][16][18] According to Manchester Evening News, the song incorporates both rock and roll and Latin rhythms.^[19]

Jim! was produced by George Martin and recorded at EMI Studios in under a day in 1958.^[7] It has been cited by Mark Lewisohn as "the first British rock and roll LP",^[7] though it is predated by Tommy Steele's Tommy Steele Stage Show and the soundtrack for The Tommy Steele Story (both 1957).^[6]

Release and reception

Jim! was issued as a 10-inch LP on Parlophone in April 1958.^[1][17][20] The album failed to chart upon release.^[8] A single, "Tread Softly Stranger" backed with "Jane Belinda", was released in April 1957.^[1] Despite publicity generated by the subject matter of "Jane Belinda", the single failed to chart.^[8][19] The album's ten tracks were released on CD in 2009 on Pink 'N' Black Records' compilation "The Early Years", and in 2021 as part of Jasmine's "Be My Girl, the Rockin' Years".^[21][22]

Among contemporary reviews, Benny Lee of Nottingham Evening News deemed Jim! "a 'first' in every sense - ten tracks with an exciting beat on every one". He praised the album's variety and described "Tread Softly Stranger" and "Jane Belinda" as "both first rate".^[1] Writing for Melody Maker, Laurie Henshaw commented that the album "should find a ready response" and singled out "Jane Belinda" as a highspot.^[23] Jackie Moore of Disc cited "I'm in the Market for You", "Undecided" and "'Tain't What You Do" as highlights of the "versatile" album, but noted "I think he still has a lot to learn when it comes straight ballads like "Tread Softly Stranger" - the lyrics don't seem to mean very much yet".^[15]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Story of My Life"	Burt Bacharach, Hal David	2:19
2.	"I'm in the Market for You"	Joseph McCarthy, James F. Hanley	1:47
3.	"Tread Softly Stranger"	Richard Dix, Jack Fishman	2:06
4.	"Crazy For You"	Robertson, Paul	2:02
5.	"Undecided"	Charlie Shavers, Sid Robin	1:58

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Sit in My Window"	Otis Blackwell	2:16
2.	"Song of the Pine Trees"	Robertson, Paul	3:08
3.	"Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"	Campbell, Newman	3:04
4.	"Jane Belinda"	Jim Dale	2:19
5.	"'Tain't What You Do"	Sy Oliver, Trummy Young	2:23

Notes

1. Martin had missed out on signing Steele in 1956, dismissing the performer as "nothing more than a coffee bar yodeller" after hearing him. Martin instead opted to sign Steele's backing band the Vipers Skiffle Group.^[6]
2. When asked who he'd most like to record a duet with in a New Musical Express feature, Dale chose "either Peter Sellers or Spike Milligan, because that would lead to a lot of fun and I could break away from the normal run of things for a while".^[2]

References

1. Lee, Benny (25 April 1958). "Rock Around on Records". Nottingham Evening News: 6. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
2. "It's question time for Jim Dale" (PDF). New Musical Express. 13 December 1957. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
3. P., Ken (16 June 2003). "An Interview with Jim Dale". IGN. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
4. "Parlophone". Hi-Fi News & Record Review. 35. 1990. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
5. Womack, Kenneth (2017). Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, The Early Years, 1926–1966. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781613731925. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
6. Lassandro, Sebastian (2021). Tommy Steele: A Life in the Spotlight. Fonthill Media. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
7. Lewisohn, Mark (2013). The Beatles – All These Years, Volume One: Tune In. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-1-4000-8305-3. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
8. "Jim Dale". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
9. "Lucky show for Jim". Evening Sentinel: 4. 5 April 1958. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
10. Clayton, David (31 May 1958). "The rule-breaker". Evening Standard: 11. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
11. ""Don't Let Go" sings Jim Dale" (PDF). Record Mail: 4. March 1958. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
12. Frith, Simon; Brennan, Matt; Cloonan, Martin; Webster, Emma (2013). The History of Live Music in Britain, Volume I: 1950-1967. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317028871. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
13. Frame, Pete (2007). The Restless Generation: How Rock Music Changed the Face of 1950s Britain. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857127136. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
14. Jim! (liner). Jim Dale. Parlophone. 1958.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. Moore, Jackie (26 April 1958). "Putting on the stylus" (PDF). Disc: 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
16. "Jim Dale takes it quietly" (PDF). New Musical Express: 4. 18 April 1958. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
17. "Tail-pieces by the Alley Cat" (PDF). New Musical Express: 12. 14 March 1958. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
18. "The Dale family" (PDF). Melody Maker: 5. 1 February 1958. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
19. Random, Roderick (25 April 1958). "Poppa Jim Dale writes hit for baby Jane". Manchester Evening News. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
20. Douglas, Mervyn (April 1958). "In the finer groove" (PDF). Record Mail: 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
21. "The Early Years". Bear Family. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
22. "Jim Dale - Be My Girl, The Rockin' Years". Jasmine. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
23. Henshaw, Laurie (26 April 1958). "Johnny Mathis at his best on his new LP" (PDF). Melody Maker: 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.