Obscure & Neglected Female Singers Of Jazz & Standards (1930s to 1960s)

I'm well on the way... I'm literate and knowledgable; to an extent; certainly familiar with the great majority of the singers on the thread and a few I strangely find that have been neglected a mention... the rare pearls are in the oysters I haven't yet shucked.

Who needs a stinking' car in Brooklyn anyway? I don't need no stinking' car; I got the 'F' train. At least as long as it's running... which is a solid 50% of the time these days. Hell; good music will take me a lot further then any car or train.

 

Forum is great, but there's no way to obtain it all, even a fraction of it. My own threads mostly about fancy audiophile formats and Japan Mini LP SHM-CDs. This thread started by Ridin'High.

 

Get yourself one of these to listen to your vinyl on the subway. Use headphones. Forget about listening to mp3 sound on a phone.

 

You Tribute are an artist... you've got your grandpa's genes. Bravo!

 

This is one of the great threads on this forum. Kudos

I picked up Anne Phillips’ Born to Be Blue because of it.

 

,..but what to get of Bailey, that is still accessible?

 

According to this:
Mildred Bailey Discography (Slipcue.Com E-Zine)

Mildred Bailey "The Incomparable Mildred Bailey" (Sony Legacy, 2003)
"A well-selected, generously programmed 18-track selection of some of Bailey's best recordings on Columbia, featuring her big hit, "Rocking Chair, " and other lively swing tunes. Sure, you could quibble about this song or that being left out, but for the casual record buyer, this is a great introduction to Bailey's work, and a nice glimpse of her belting 'em out during her prime. Highly recommended!"

How's about 7 bucks with free shipping for like new condition?
The Incomparable Mildred Bailey by Mildred Bailey (CD, Jun-2003, Columbia/Legacy | eBay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bailey-Mildred-Incomparable-Mildred-Bailey-Good-Original-recording-remastered-/232746743373?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10#viTabs_0

Then buy this one and she will bring you into the another world, the world free of everyday crap we are standing in:
Bailey, Mildred - Mildred Bailey 1945-1947: The Blu... - Bailey, Mildred CD UIVG | eBay

 

Thank you!!!

 

My missus brought this to my attention after hearing Jamie Cullum play 'Dr Feelgood' on his BBC 2 radio show last night. This led me to having a look online and finding the Cherry Red page detailing the release and I was about to bring it to your attention but saw someone had already beat me to it. I've just listened to the track and it sounds absolutley great so looks like I will be picking this one up.

I had no previous knowledge of Joy Marshall but looks like I could learn a lot from scanning through this thread and checking people out!

 

Has Honey Gordon been mentioned? She occasionally recorded with Mingus and was quite good, with a warm, smooth voice not unlike Sarah Vaughan’s.

 

She responded to the search in two posts, but under a different spelling a.k.a. Honi Gordon - she preferred this way.
The first post (posted about 2 years ago by rarabbits) provided us with a youtube sampler "Why Try to Change Me Now?" from her 1962 Prestige debut.
The second very interesting post was Ridin'High commentary about three singers:

I personally like one her song (great for a start):



But the point is something else:

I really miss Ridin'High commentaries and posts about our singers.
And not only me... please read next post.

 

A Ghost of a Chance


"It would be funny if it were not so sad."
(Griboedov play "Woe From Wit")




It's just shocking how high price they are willing to pay... what I mean:

Great singers of the past, living legends who read our thread (why not?) decided rather to die, but push Ridin'High back to his own thread. (I cannot blame them - it works!)
First he came back to write about Keely Smith, then about Marlene Verplanck, and recently about Audrey Morris.

This self-sacrificing behavior turned out to be very contagious, and male singers decided to get involved in order to push Ridin'High back to his threads (Dick Noel, Kevin Mahogany come to mind).

They all wanted one little thing that Ridin'High continues to run his very important for all Jazz Vocal lovers threads...
Threads that show how great these singers are and what new generations lose - the greatest American cultural heritage.
They hoped that Ridih'High beginnings would start a public interest in this issue, and maybe someday the government will allocate money for The Complete series: Jazz Library of America, using the latest High-Resolution (MQA) technology and the highest-quality materials (UHDCD) similar to what is a series of American writers - the Library of America.


There is a little hope, just "a ghost of a chance" that Ridin'High will return with his comments and new to the thread artists and stay for a while.

I want him back! Guys, support me here.

 

A
Bea Abbott, Lorez Alexandria, Ernestine Anderson, Claire Austin, Ethel Azama

B
Alice Babs, Mildred Bailey, Pearl Bailey, Eugene Baird, Susan Barrett, Vicki Benet, Betty Bennett, Linda Bennett, Polly Bergen, Sallie Blair, Betty Blake, Connee Boswell, Pat Bowie, Clea Bradford, Teresa Brewer, Georgia Brown, Joy Bryan

C
Jackie Cain (aka Jackie Kral, from Jackie & Roy), Dorothy Carless, Carole Carr, Cathy Carr, Georgia Carr, Helen Carr, Betty Carter, Paula Castle, Juliette Augustina Sysak Cavazzi (Juliette), June Christy, Rosemary Clooney, Chris Connor, Carole Creveling

D
Barbara Dane, Alice Darr, Doris Day, Blossom Dearie, Marge Dodson

E
Darlene Edwards (Jo Stafford), Ethel Ennis, Lenny Eversong

F
Alice Faye, Frances Faye, Jane Fielding, Toni Fisher, Ella Fitzgerald, Rhonda Fleming, Myrna Fox (aka Myrna March), Freddy (Fredesvinda García Valdés)

G
Fredesvinda García (Freddy), Judy Garland, Pam Garner, Mitzi Gaynor, Georgia Gibbs, Honi Gordon, Eydie Gormé, Rita Graham, Gogi Grant, Dolores Gray, Dodo Greene

H
Toni Harper, Cathy Hayes, Martha Hayes, Claire Hogan, Billie Holiday, Shirley Horn, Lena Horne, Alberta Hunter, Lurlean Hunter, Betty Hutton, Ina Ray Hutton, June Hutton, Marion Hutton, Helen Humes

I
Tiny Irvin

J
Joni James, Fran Jeffries, Etta Jones, Sheila Jordan, Teal Joy, Juliette

K
Lainie Kazan, Kathy Keegan, Bev Kelly, Beverly Kenney, Teddi King, Eartha Kitt, Irene Kral, Jackie Kral (aka Jackie Cain, from Jackie & Roy)

L
Peg LaCentra, Cleo Laine, Abbe Lane, Linda Lawson, Barbara Lea, Peggy Lee, Monica Lewis, Abby Lincoln, Julie London, Tina Louise, Marcy Lutes, Gloria Lynne

M
Gisèle MacKenzie, Nancie Malcomb, Myrna March (aka Myrna Fox), Susan Maughan, Marilyn Maye, Maysa, Mary AnnMcCall, Marie McDonald, Carmen McRae, Mabel Mercer, Ethel Merman, Helen Merrill, Marian Montgomery, Marilyn Moore, Shelley Moore, Helen Morgan, Jane Morgan, Jaye P. Morgan, Audrey Morris, Libby Morris

N
Bobbe Norris

O
Helen O'Connell, Anita O'Day, Ruth Olay

P
Genie Pace, Patti Page, Priscilla Paris, Freda Payne, Roberta Peck, Anne Phillips, Lucy Ann Polk, Jane Powell, Ruth Price

Q
Mae Questel

R
Ramona, Sue Raney, Bertice Reading, Lucy Reed, Della Reese, Rita Reys, Ann Richards, Trudy Richards, Mavis Rivers, Gale Robbins, Betty Roché, Annie Ross, Lita Roza, Connee Russell

S
Felicia Sanders, Patricia Scot, Lee Scott, Toni Lee Scott, Dinah Shore, Ginny Simms, Nina Simone, Carole Simpson, Keely Smith, Valaida Snow, Joanie Sommers, Jeri Southern*, Rosemary Squires, Jo Stafford, Mary Stallings, Kay Starr, Dakota Staton, Gale Storm, Barbra Streisand, Maxine Sullivan, Pat Suzuki, Sylvia Syms*

T
Pat Thomas, Claudia Thompson, Teri Thornton, Sophie Tucker, Jean Turner

U
Leslie Uggams

V
Fredesvinda García Valdés (Freddy), Caterina Valente, June Valli, Sarah Vaughan, Milli(e) Vernon

W
Bea Wain, Annette Warren (Smith), Dinah Washington, Ethel Waters, Frances Wayne, Kitty White, Margaret Whiting, Lee Wiley, Easy Williams, Midge Williams, Pinky Winters, Julie Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Jerri Winters, Gloria Wood, Edythe Wright

Y
Susannah Young

Z
Monica Zetterlund

Legend
This is my second time putting together a list of "Singers Covered So Far." The first version of the list is on page 22.
1. Blue Name = a singer discussed within the first 22 pages (before the first version of the list).
2. Bold Name = a singer discussed within the last eight pages (after the first version of the list).
3. Name in "regular" black font = a singer with her own separate thread in this music forum, and hence left out of the discussion here. An asterisk next to the given name means that an exception was made: the singer was thus discussed here, to a greater or lesser extent.

Exclusions
The following singers have been disqualified for discussion. In most cases, the reason for the exclusion has been that their work belongs to genres other than jazz and the Great American Songbook. In a few cases, they do belong to the genres under consideration; however, the bulk of their recorded work falls outside of the thread's established time period (1930s-1960s). Such special cases are being discussed in a companion thread ( Singers of Jazz & Standards (1970-2020) » ).

Marion Abernathy, Nancy Ames, Pier Angeli, Lil Armstrong, LaVern Baker, Patricia Barber, Jeanne Black, Hadda Brooks, Ruth Brown, Una Mae Carlisle, Meredith D'Ambrosio, Dolores Dinning (The Dinning Sisters), Deanna Durbin, Melody Gardot, Lil Green, Bonnie Guitar, Janice Harper, Jacintha, Etta James, Patricia Kaas, Karin Krog, Beverly Jensen Leys (from Ken & Beverly), Brenda Lee, Ketty Lester, Barbara Lewis, Claudine Longet, Nellie Lutcher, Susannah McCorkle, Jeanette McDonald, Ella Mae Morse, Maria Muldaur, Maureen O'Hara, Ottilie Patterson, Flora Purim, Debbie Reynolds, Bessie Smith, April Stevens, Jane Turzy, Mamie Van Doren, Rusty Warren, Joan Weber, Priscilla Wright, Timi Yuro.


Thank you Ridin'High for the list. You did excellent job here.

There are much more pages after this list than before. It's probably time to update this list... If so, I have some suggestions for you:
It seems to me while the thread is growing, the list becoming too difficult to update.
Maybe it makes sense to simplify the list strictly for Obscure and Neglected singers without any names of other singers mentioned in the thread on the way of discussion, whether they are ruled out or belong to our new corresponding thread:
From Anita & Ella To Nina & Sassy: Celebrated Songstresses Of Jazz & Standards
As we have this thread of 33 major singers (Thread 33), we shouldn't mention them here and in the list as well.
I want to remind these singers:

List of 33

Betty Carter
June Christy
Rosemary Clooney
Chris Connor
Doris Day
Blossom Dearie
Ella Fitzgerald
Judy Garland
Eydie Gorme
Billie Holiday
Shirley Horn
Lena Horne
Eartha Kitt
Peggy Lee
Abby Lincoln
Julie London
Carmen McRae
Ethel Merman
Helen Merrill
Anita O'Day
Patti Page
Dinah Shore
Nina Simone
Keely Smith
Jeri Southern
Jo Stafford
Kay Starr
Dakota Staton
Barbra Streisand
Sarah Vaughan
Dinah Washington
Margaret Whiting
Nancy Wilson

In addition, it would be easier to update the list without specifying who was covered before the old list (29 pages) and after (an additional 39 pages).
Only singers who started before 70's, but continued mainly after that should be marked as a singers for our third corresponding thread

What do you think about this, Ridin'High?

 

Maybe you can write to him through a private message.....

 

This box set on Fresh Sounds is now out of print. Those who wish to grab a copy should consider it soon

 

I don't have anything on this label but would like to get this. How's the sound? Regular CDs and not CD-Rs?

Thanks for any info and thanks for posting this.

 

Real CDs. The key part of this is the rare 45s, many of which are vinyl transfers. I have not compared the sound to such reissues as the Japanese CDs. But as Decca records themselves were never audiophile vinyl, I don't think you can go wrong with this. Jeri Southern on Decca was pure heaven.

 

Thanks for the information. Gonna get a copy as soon as possible. If you have it is the other set of her 57-59 Roulette and Capitol recordings on the Fresh Sounds label also worth getting? I'm not familiar with enough of her work, yet, to be able to pick what I want. I know I want the Decca material.

 

Wonder whether this album should be under consideration - Nana Mouskouri in New York.

Of course she is hardly unknown. I was just at a concert of hers, and was telling a used cd store owner what I hadn't liked, and he went over to a bin and said try this : I am actually rather impressed. (Not being a fan of Nana's usual styles.)

https://www.amazon.com/Nana-Mouskou...43&sr=1-1&keywords=nana+mouskouri+in+new+york

 

The Roulette / Capitol set is as good as The Decca. The Cole Porter album and 'Southern Breeze' are all time favourites of mine

 

With Jeri Southern, you should just get ALL of her material, and then you can pick your favorite tracks. The two boxes are very nice companions with excellent booklets. Even though the Fresh Sounds site lists the first box as "out of stock", maybe they will repress the OOP set (??)

 

Nana Mouskouri or "Girl from Greece Sings"

Thank you for pointing out, John B Good.
This is a typical case when young and talented singer loved and wanted to sing jazz. But time was not on her side, and she went pop and into other genres.

Nana has a beautiful voice.
I read some negative reviews, but I believe that people use to see and hear her like that:

With Demis Roussos (guy w/unique voice) Live 1974



With Julio Iglesias (Live)
Julio Iglesias & Nana Mouskouri - La Paloma

With Elvis Presley
"Elvis can sing this song by himself and it is done beautifully. Nana can do the same also. Together, they just make this song double beautiful. I've never heard A song that is sung with such heart. May Elvis be at peace (I believe he is) and may Nana be successful wherever she sings" (comment)
Nana Mouskouri & Elvis Presley - And I Love You So


Nevertheless, I believe she came up with a nice set of standards and succeeded in getting on our list:

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
Nana Mouskour: Hold me, kiss me, thrill me

That's My Desire
Nana Mouskouri: That's my desire

She has more standards:

Black Coffee (Live 1966)
Nana Mouskouri - Black Coffee 1966

Besame Mucho (my favorite version)
Nana Mouskouri: Bésame mucho

Everyone, who has doubts in Nana Mouskouri, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlwZG0vQ_tA


P.S.
Just ran to eBay and bought this album (d/p in very good condition) for 8 bucks with free shipping - sorry about that.

 

Thanks for pointing those out, particularly liked Black Coffee

 

I had a surprise today at a local thrift shop when I found this cassette tape titled The Presence of Marilyn Maye. It was produced by Soundtrek Studio in Kansas City, Missouri. The tape is undated, but I know she sang in an MDA Benefit with Landes and Razo in Houston in 1983. The song The Rose probably dates it as early 1980's as well.

The problem? I haven't been able to listen to it. First I have to find a cassette player. I know I have something put away in the basement, but it may take some time to find it again.

Anyone else ever seen or heard this?

 

Ha! ... You have uncovered my darkest secret: I spend my nights searching for famous old-time singers who are alive, and sweetly putting them to sleep ... forever!

I am already in the Most Wanted list at both the CIA and the FBI.

The Singers' Assassin, they call me.



Thank you, Toilet Doctor, for that tongue-in-cheek message, and for your generous words. I'm sorry that I had not read them before. In the last two or three weeks, I was not checking this site.

You were pointing out that it's been long since I (the OP) last posted in this thread. That's true. While I was still happily reading all the new messages being posted in this thread, I just didn't have much of a desire to contribute myself. Two reasons:

1) Your own contributions, Toilet Doctor, are so interesting that they keep the thread alive and active. Hence sometimes I do not feel that there is need for me to add anything. That's a good thing.

2) After the thread was opened up to the discussion of all types of singers (not just relatively obscure ones), I gradually lost interest and enthusiasm. To my mind, the discussion has become too open-wide, and a bit messy. For a while, I tried my best to contribute to it, but that still didn't help the way I felt.

Now, that's NOT anybody's fault. While it's true that the thread was opened up at the request of its two most frequent posters, it was I (the OP) who fully agreed to the request. It's just one of those things: I didn't anticipate that the change would ultimately cause me to lose interest.

All of that having been said, I am now returning to the thread with renewed interest, and will happily be contributing again.

Before I do that, let me give some answers to the other issues that you brought up:

Several months ago, I was actually waiting for the thread to reach about 60 pages, in order to update that list. Before we reached that 60-so number, however, we made the decision to open up the discussion to other types of singers. For that reason, I canceled my plan for an update.

Right now, I have no intention to make any updates or improvements. That list was just part of this thread's earlier stage, when its aim was a tidier and simpler structure.

Of course, I could always change my mind in the future (as far as updating the list goes).

What will definitely won't change is the thread's current status. The decision to open it up to many other singers (including the "blessed 33") has already been made, and I'm not going back and forth.

Conclusion: we shall welcome discussion of all singers who have recorded jazz and Great American Songbook standards, including those 33. I also want to remind everybody that, if you are searching for posts about any particular singer, finding them is very easy, thanks to this forum's search engine.

Well, just in case that you or anyone else wants to discuss Connie Francis' contributions to the Great American Songbook, let me reiterate that the thread is now open to all singers who have recorded such material.

You made the point that I forgot to include her. No, not really. In this thread's opening message, she was one of the tons of singers who I could have included on the third list (the one right above, which has singers such as Ruth Brown, Debbie Reynolds, Brenda Lee, and Timi Yuro). Since that list was meant to be a sampling, there was no reason to mention every qualifying body.

From my perspective, she is among those singers whose is not to be characterized as a singer of jazz and standards. Sure: portions of their discographies might consist of jazz or great American Songbook material, but that's not primarily what they sang. (And, when they did sing jazz and standards, they tended to force their own favored genres onto the standards, rather than adjusting themselves to jazz technique and such. In other words, they countrified the standards, or re-cast them as rhythm & blues music, or etc., etc. In Francis' case, she is primarily a singer of top 40 music and bubblegum music. Middle-of-the-road pop, overall. Amassing a vast discography, she did record songs from many different genres, including standards, which she and her arrangers often treated in superficial, derivative or nakedly commercial pop/rock/country/bubblegum styles. Nothing wrong with that, mind you. If it works for listeners, it works, period. All I'm pointing out is why I could not possibly include her on either of this thread's two main lists.)

Last comment: if any posters feel like responding to my points above, do feel free to do so. Disagreement is fine. I, however, do not have much interest in adding or keeping up with this line of discussion. Instead, I'll be gladly re-checking the last few pages, with a view towards adding to the points recently made by other posters.