Now Hear This

It’s Robert Mitchum’s birthday today, a perfect excuse to indulge my predilection for cheese both edible and audible. While this collection of rum soaked self deprecation is more goofy fun than a stab at commercial success or artistic integrity Mitchum’s no slouch in the vocal department. His own voice was used whenever a roll called for him to sing, including Rachel and the Stranger, River of No Return and The Night of the Hunter. He discovered the sultry tones of calypso while filming Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison on location in the Caribbean on the island of Tobago, meeting local legends like the Mighty Sparrow and Lord Invader . Mitchum recorded Calypso – Is Like So… in March of 1957.

Check out a couple of tracks:

I Learn A Merengue, Mama

They Dance All Night

Here’s the whole record in a zip file Calypso Is Like So zipped (w/ the killer raised eyebrow cover art). This UK reissue includes his country flavored tune from his film Thunder Road called “Ballad of Thunder Road” (which actually cracked the Billboard Top 100, peaking at #69) and its b-side “My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms.”