I wrote most of the arrangements on this CD and I was anxious to hear the parts but I was having difficulties finding vocalists who could read music. I had two cassette recorders and I would record the first part and then play it back while recording on the second machine and singing another part. The first one that I ever recorded this way was on “Wichita Lineman” when Irene and I were living in a flat in Ealing, London. Somehow over the years I have lost that recording but it moved me to purchase a reel to reel, sound on sound tape recorder and to write and record more. The first “vocal solo” that I recorded was, “Softly As I Leave You” which can be heard on another CD on this web site. “The Years Of My Youth.” I somehow felt that I had crossed a boundary by singing, since Irene and I had an agreement that she wouldn’t play the trumpet and I wouldn’t sing. But, I rationalized it by also recording a trumpet solo along with my own vocal. It did, however, open another avenue of income for me in London, as I was getting called for vocal jingles as well as for my trumpet playing.

How I have lamented what I might have accomplished if I had access back then to the equipment that we have today. Some of my favorite vocal groups are: Voctave; Singers Unlimited; Groove For Thought and Eclipse.