Stefan Witas & Ork. pod dyr. Henryka Warsa (Henryk Wars’ Orchestra) Piosnkę mam tylko jedną [One Song / I Have But One Song] Slowfox z fmu „Królewna Śnieżka” (from the “Snow White”) (Churchill – Hemar) SyrenaElectro, 03/04 1939 (Polish)

NOTE: This side belongs to one of the last recording sessions, Stefan Witas (one of the most popular Polish crooners in the 1930s) had at Syrena Records. The record appeared in the music stores in April 1939 when no more than 5 months was left until outbreak on the 2nd WW (1st September 1939). The song is a Polish version of one of great American film hits of the late 1930s: One Song / I Have But One Song from Walt Disney’s cartoon movie The Snow White (1937). A celebrated Polish poet Marian Hemar – who enjoyed very much writing Polish lyrics to many international hits of a day (his was the Polish version of “Happy Days Are Here Again”, “Cocktails For Two”, “The Man I Love” or “Mein Jidishe Mame”) wrote a nice Polish text to it.
This recording also shows the evolution that the orchestra of the eminent Polish bandleader and jazz pioneer Henryk Wars underwent. In this recording you can see how he wanted to make the sound of his band similar to the “sweet” dance orchestras of the big band era, like Leo Reisman, Eddy Duchin in the USA or Mantovani in the UK.

Appropriate to the date of the recording, the slideshow shows scenes from the last holiday in free Poland, in the summer of 1939.