The Four Aces Featuring Al Alberts “Tell Me Why” / “A Garden in the Rain”

Evocative band name, seeing how being dealt four aces in a hand of five-card poker is virtually a mathematical impossibility—without cheating, that is. Why do I say stuff like that? Just because, I guess, the thought of someone reading it and blowing their top amuses me. No, the internet says the odds are 1 in 54,145—not bad odds, actually—the lottery is much worse—infinitely worse! And people play the lottery every day. Still, it’s an excellent—though somewhat obvious—band name. At one point, in the early days of rock’n’roll, before there was the internet, there were 54,145 bands with that name—before this Four Aces sold millions of records, to become the “ace” Four Aces. This 45 looks like it rode into my collection stuck on the bottom of someone’s shoe, but it still plays great (if scratchy) and it sounds exactly like you might think 1951 would sound (say, imagined in a movie). “Tell Me Why” is catchy and romantic, vocals in the forefront, of course. I particularly like the organ, way in the back, sounding like it’s floating in randomly from the place next door. Same goes for the standard, “A Garden in the Rain”—it’s a catchy one. A lot of people recorded that song—it’s a great song. Sinatra’s version comes to mind, plus, who else? Diana Krall’s is my favorite. Nothing against the Aces—it’s just that I was there with her. Not literally, of course—but that’s how she makes you feel. I have no Diana Krall vinyl, so I mention her any chance I get.

2.22.25