Discography Updates as of March 22, 2023
Part 3 (1966-1980):
A rare LP (Helidon 08-002) recorded and issued in 1969, in what was then Yugoslavia, includes a track that is claimed to be a composition by Art Farmer and Oliver Nelson entitled “The Sweetest Song.” This has always appeared very suspicious to us in view of the fact that the 1963 Mercury album Listen to Art Farmer and the Orchestra (Mercury MG 20766/SR 60766) with arrangements by Nelson, contains a version of Richard Rodgers’ “The Sweetest Sounds” (from the Broadway show No Strings). It seemed very likely that “The Sweetest Song” on Helidon 08-002 was really “The Sweetest Sounds.” After finally obtaining a copy of the Helidon LP, we can report that this is, in fact, the case. Although the instrumentation is somewhat different and the tempo faster, the 1969 version of “The Sweetest Sounds” is very similar to that recorded on September 20, 1962 for Mercury. Part 3 of the Art Farmer discography has been updated to correct the misinformation found on the Helidon LP – see session of June 5-7, 1969).
You can listen to both versions below.
Listen to the 1962 version here.
Listen to the 1969 version: