Dick Phipps, a tall, handsome, friendly man met us at the airport. As we drove back to his house, he told us we would record in his living room. Loonis would be driving down from Charlotte with Alec Wilder. Still no word of who was playing piano, bass or drums. I didn't want to interrupt Dick to ask as he was telling us quite excitedly about the project.

In a few minutes, we arrived at Dick's house, a lovely setting on Lake Murray, and inside, inside a record library to equal that of any major radio station in the country. Everything was filed and crossfiled. Ask Dick for any song, any artist, any record; he not only had it but could put it on the turntable before you could finish the request. As an extra touch, he had all the albums I had done right out in front, including my first Savoy album. I thought only I had a copy. What a man! As I said before, I admire people who love their work. Dick was obviously in the right business and had done all his homework.

Everyone arrived on schedule. We were introduced to Terry Lassiter who was behind his bass, Jim Lackey who was busy setting up his drums, and Bill Hay who was adjusting and testing his recording gear. "O.K., let's get going," Dick said, and Loon is sat at the piano. Loonis sat at the piano! I was so shocked I couldn't speak - or sing. Loonis played a few chords. My God, he really plays. With every song we recorded, and there were 24, he continued to surprise me: beautiful chords, beautiful technique, and lovely soulful playing. Just give a listen to his imaginative work as he changes "Gone With the Wind" into "Pavanne to the Wind." Needless to say, Loonis was not just a disc jockey; program and music director of WBT, yes, but not a disc jockey; and he absolutely loved to play piano. What a treat it was to sing with these men. I enjoyed every minute of it.

You will find that eight of these thirteen songs included in our album were written by Hugh Martin for either Broadway shows or films. The songs of Hugh Martin are much better known than the man himself, particularly those he wrote with collaborator Ralph Blane. Alec Wilder, in his book, "American Popular Song," reserves his highest praise for "You Are For Loving" which he ranks among the best theatre ballads ever written.

We finished the songs right on schedule and were so pleased with the results, decided to record a number of them for this record. Sunday afternoon we taped the talk portion for the two broadcasts. That's when we got to know Alec Wilder. He is an incredible man, a brilliant mind just bursting with facts and anecdotes, delightfully humorous and he just loves to be cantankerous. We walked away from him absolutely adoring him. In fact, we walked away from the entire "American Popular Song" project just thrilled that Loonis had kept in touch through the years and thought to call me for what I consider another plateau in music.

So thanks to all my new friends and especially Loon is McGlohon. -Marlene Ver Planck