Allan Jones: Twilight Of The Tenor Crooner

I remember a long time ago, it must be around 63 years ago, being in a movie theater and hearing Allan Jones (1907-1992) for the first time. The song was silly—probably the Donkey Serenade—but even as a child, I was stuck by the beautiful tenor sound that had already become a rarity. Bing Crosby had pretty much wiped out the older tenor crooners of the 20' and 30's: Gene Austin, Dennis Morgan, the early James Melton, and others. I had the same feeling later when I head Jones again in the Marx Brothers' "Night at the Opera." It is sad that these beautiful high voices were doomed to extinction in popular music. They lent it a different quality, an echo of another time. Perhaps that's why they disappeared. I doubt if that kind of pop tenor ever comes back, except maybe in Latin music. The division is pretty sharp now. It's either Rock or its Opera. Precious little in between.