Big Ben Sings

It's somewhat ironic that the late Scatman Crothers is primarily remembered as a character actor given that he spent the majority of his career as a musical performer, even earning his stage name for his skills as a scat singer. To its credit, his lone Motown LP, Big Ben Sings, avoids the pop covers and contemporary hits common among comeback efforts of its kind, instead resurrecting the postwar jazz and R&B approaches on which Crothers' reputation rests. A charming, lighthearted record split between golden oldies like "God Bless the Child" and original compositions including "Waiting for My Baby" and "Wondering," it's a lively evocation of an era long gone by, most notable for Crothers' inimitably wily and wizened vocals.