Apologies this is only just appearing--the newsgroup has been
inaccessible
all day over here
TODAY : 20 FAVORITE FEMME RECORDS OF....1956
1. JIM DANDY – LAVERN BAKER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwhoCb6VkYg
The famous Lincoln Chase song was recorded at a NYC session for Atlantic December 21 1955 featuring LaVern (vocal) with backing including Sam
“The
Man” Taylor (ten Sax) Panama Francis (dms) The Cues (backing vocals
billed
as “The Gliders”). Charted #17 BBpop and #1 BBr&b. Released in UK on Columbia did not chart
2. TOUGH LOVER – ETTA JAMES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMiKRsWPlC4
Great female Little Richard takeoff as a really raucous Etta rocks and
shouts her way thru a total classic recorded for Modern.Coupled with
“Fools We Mortals Be” it was her third single release of 1956 in August that year. No chart action.Not released UK
3. LOVE YOU BABY ALL THE TIME – THE CO-EDS ft. GWEN EDWARDS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OOwBtzYctw
Long time doowop favorite of mine on the good old Old Town label
featuring
the dulcet tones of Ms Gwen Edwards backed by Co-Eds (who also contained another female in their otherwise all male ranks) Did not chart. No UK
release
4. DRUGSTORE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL – JANIS MARTIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfRkm3B4-1E
My favorite of her records--Janis was a young gal from Virginia who
caught the
attention of Steve Sholes at RCA who signed her to the label where she
had nine
45rpm releases of which “Drugstore….” was the first in April 1956, She became
very popular for a while doing shows and TV often billed as “The Female Elvis”
Sadly NONE of her singles charted and NONE appeared here in UK. And
which leads us neatly on to…..
5. MY BOY ELVIS – JANIS MARTIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls_dn2anjjs
This “Janis/Elvis” connection ultimately led to RCA in South Africa in
1958 putting out a 10” LP where she shares the album with Elvis each alternating tracks with one of their own songs.Needless to say said LP
is super-rare today (I’ve only ever seen one copy years ago in a
collection). Here Janis sings an ode to “her boy” and a decent
performance it is too
6. BRING IT HOME TO ME – BUDDY JOHNSON (ELLA JOHNSON)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI9jBEBK_RE
“BRING IT HOME TO ME” (2 :40) (Mercury 70912) [Sophisticate BMI— [Sophisticate BMI— Buddy Johnson] Buddy Johnson has a two sider here
that is chartbound. The flip, “Bring It Home To Me”, offers the, sock treatment by Ella Johnson of a quick beat rhythm romancer. Deck jumps
with a driv- ing ork backing and Ella’s plea to bring the lovin’ and huggin’ home to her is tops. Two really good sides that tear it up
7. I NEED A MAN - BARBARA PITTMAN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLQdS4iwP-k
Barbara’s first record (and the only one on Sun---others were on the
Phillips
International subsidiary label). Recorded April 15 1956 at 706 Union Av
Memphis
musicians backing her included Buddy Holobaugh (gtr) Marcus Van Story
(bs)
Johnny Bernero (dms) Smokey Joe Baugh (pno). Did not chart. No UK
release
8. JAMBALAYA (ON THE BAYOU) – LITTLE BRENDA LEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XREYW5GZqTQ
This Hank Williams classic song was literally the first thing Brenda
ever recorded---on 30 July 1956 at her debut session in Nashville with
Grady Martin (gtr) Bob Moore (bs) Farris Coursey (dms) & others Brenda
cut “Jambalaya (On The Bayou),"Bigelow 6-200”,”Some People” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart”.Backed with the “Bigelow” song “Jambalaya” became her
very first single issued by Decca. Sadly no chart action and no UK
release
9. EV’RY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE – ELLA FITZGERALD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGNLLJz4Ajw
Take one of the best songstress’s of all time + one of Cole Porter’s
best ever numbers and you have the record in the spotlight here---the
marvelous ballad “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” from the LP “The Cole Porter Songbook” on Verve in 1956. The whole thing here can be summed up
in one word---“IMMACULATE” Released on same LP in UK on HMV label plus
as a single flipped with “Manhattan”
(I should mention at this point a MOST SERIOUS fuck up in the 1957 Fave
Femmes post---the total omission of Ella’s GREAT “Manhattan” (from her “Rodgers & Hart Songbook” LP that was the other side of the above “Ev’ry
Time We Say Goodbye” on UK HMV single. An exquisite number I think I’ve mentioned before that is my favorite “New York” song (i.e song ABOUT
NYC).I was thinking that BOTH Ella tracks were 1956 in USA
Apologies to Ella sorry babe!
10. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME – THE PLATTERS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf1YUkUEeB8
Staying with great old standard songs here’s another of my
favorites---and in my
favorite version too (just ahead of Ray Charles)---courtesy of Ms Zola
Taylor who is fronting the Platters on this great revival of Gershwin’s
1926 classic song included on The Platters’ first LP in 1956 on Mercury simply titled “The Platters” released in both US and UK
11. ‘TAIN’T WHAT YOU SAY IT’S WHAT YOU DO – LITTLE ESTHER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O0T8_DJ-qk
From a session in NYC for Savoy Records Little Esther here is backed by
Money
Johnson (tpt) Warren Luckey (sax) Hal Singer (ten) Kelly Owens (pno)
Mickey
Baker (gtr) Leonard Gaskin (bass) Sol Hall (dms).Also recorded at this
session
Is “Longing In My Heart”,”You Can Bet Your Life” and “If Its New To You”.Did
not chart. No UK release
12. EDDIE MY LOVE – THE TEEN QUEENS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ih0bhN8Yc
The Teen Queens twosome (who appeared in the 1956 Duets post) hailed
from Los
Angeles and recorded for RPM.saw their debut single “Eddie My Love” soar
to #14
BBpop and #2 BBr&b. Unfortunately they had to contend with not just one
but TWO
hit cover versions that siphoned off sales---The Fontane Sisters did
better still on the pop chart reaching #11 and The Chordettes matched
the Queens at #14. There was also a Lillian Briggs cover that didn’t
chart. The Queens’ original wasn’t released in UK (well not till 1965)---but both The Fontanes and Chordettes saw UK release (both on
London) but no chart action
13. BAREFOOT B|ABY – JANIS MARTIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYYGshuWGt4
The last of her 1956 singles released in November that year. It was
actually the B”side to “Let’s Elope Baby” . Recorded at her second session for RCA at their NYC studio on East 24th St. Featuring George
Barnes (gtr) Shorty Long (pno) among others “Little Bit”,”My Boy Elvis” and “Ooby Dooby” all came from this session. Sadly no chart and no UK release
14. SENTIMENTAL FOOL – BARBARA PITTMAN (UNRELEASED)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYINAWkxfZs
Decent (if derivative) number cut by Barbara at her first session for
Sun on April 15th 1956 at 706 Union that also produced “I Need A Man”
(see #7 above). Same backing crew but there’s a decent sax in play here---thanks to Mister Ace Cannon I do believe. Sadly consigned to the
Sun vaults never to be seen (or rather “heard”) until 1986 when it was rescued courtesy of Charly Records in London on the 6-record box set
“Sun Records-The Rocking Years”
15. BIGELOW 6-200 – LITTLE BRENDA LEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9_9XGZnp0U
The flipside of #8 above and cut at Brenda’s first ever recording
session for Decca. Most of the details about the topside listed above
also apply here. One important detail on the Decca record label that is
wrong is her age. The label lists her as “9" years old” when in reality
she was 11 when the record came out
16. HOT DOG! THAT MADE HIM MAD – WANDA JACKSON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNjI1HwiXiE
Updating the famous number popular by Betty Hutton a few years earlier
but
originally recorded way back in 1938 by “Blu Lu Barker” (as “That Made Him
Mad”). Wanda’s version was recorded for Capitol 20 September 1956 at a session at the Capitol Tower that also produced “Baby Loves Him” and “Honey Bop” amongst others. No chart action. Not released UK
17. I AIN’T GONNA GIVE NOBODY NONE OF MY LOVE _ BRENDA LEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTqWsW7XZnE
For those scratching and shaking their head---no,this is NOT Brenda Mae
Tarpley
as already appeared here---this is a DIFFERENT---and MUCH darker
complexioned Brenda Lee---here recording on the Apollo label. This is
also the femme that later in the 1960’s teamed with one Welton Young to record as “Dean & Jean” on “Tra La La La Suzy” and other hits on Rust label
18. DARLING COME BACK – PAT CORDEL & THE CRESCENTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOFt3IlwzwI
Consisting of three guys and a female lead (one Pat Crocitto Cordel) all hailing from Staten Island here on an uptempo number I find
irresistible.It appeared on several labels but I think Club is the
original one (certainly it is the “big four figure value” one). No chart action no UK release
19. MR WONDERFUL – PEGGY LEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p5jJIUs22g
A pop song I always liked a lot – La Peg singing the title song from the Sammy
Davis Jr show “Mr Wonderful” that was a smash on Broadway (a rare
Broadway
stage hit that never played a London theatre). Recorded for Decca but it
was among Peggy’s last recordings for them as she would return to
Capitol the following year.Charted #14 BBpop and at last we have a UK
hit!! On Brunswick in UK Peggy charted #5 with this one
20. THE WAYWARD WIND – GOGI GRANT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW52i3iHQzg
OK folks it’s the Grandma Fuck Show with another pop smash—and one I
fell in
love with at first hearing (and still occasionally find myself humming today).In the USA it was a monster hit for the Era label - topping the
BBpop chart for many weeks.On London in UK it reached #9 in the UK chart
but had to contend against an even bigger version by Tex Ritter that
scored a #8 hit here.
BUBBLING UNDER
21. TRA LA LA – LaVERN BAKER
22. DOODLEBUG RAG – BRENDA LEE
23. I GOTTA KNOW – WANDA JACKSON
24 DARLING LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF THIS SONG – VARETTA DILLARD & THE FOUR
STUDENTS
25. CHAMPAGNE MIND WITH A SODA WATER INCOME – EFFIE SMITH
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)