Cleo Laine

Here's a great L/P from one of my favourite singers from 1968 !

Dame Cleo Laine DBE (born 28 October 1927) is an English jazz and pop singer and an actress, known for her scat singing and for her vocal range. Though her natural range is that of a contralto, she is able to produce a G above high C, giving her an overall compass of well over three octaves. Laine is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, popular and classical music categories. She is the widow of jazz composer Sir John Dankworth.
Laine did not take up singing professionally until her mid-twenties. Her early influences as a singer were Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Judy Garland and Lena Horne. She auditioned successfully, at the age of 24, for John Dankworth's small group, the Dankworth Seven, and later his orchestra, with which she performed until 1958. Dankworth and Laine married that year....She had two major recording successes. "You'll Answer to Me" reached the British Top 10 while Laine was "prima donna" in the 1961 Edinburgh Festival production of Kurt Weill's opera/ballet The Seven Deadly Sins, directed and choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan. In 1964 her Shakespeare and All that Jazz album with Dankworth was well received. 
She played Julie La Verne in Wendy Toye's production of Show Boat at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1971. Show Boat had its longest run to date in that London season with 910 performances staged. 
Laine's international activities began in 1972, with a successful first tour of Australia. Shortly afterwards, her career in the United States was launched with a concert at New York's Lincoln Center, followed in 1973 by the first of many Carnegie Hall appearances.

In May 1992, Laine appeared with Frank Sinatra for a week of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In the 1997 New Year's Honours list, Laine became a Dame Commander, and she was appointed Dame Cleo Laine DBE. In the 2006 New Year's Honours list, her husband was made a knight bachelor, becoming Sir John Dankworth. They were one of the few couples where both partners held their titles in their own right and the only couple in jazz to be thus recognised.

( Info Edited From Wikipedia )

And I believe that she is still with us at the great cool age of 92 years young !!!

1. Chattanooga Choo Choo

2. Oh lady be Good

3. Perdido

4. Come Rain Or Come Shine

5. Tea For Two

6. On a Slow Boat To China

7. If We Lived On Top Of A Mountain

1. Remind Me

2. Song Without Words

3. They Say Its Wonderful

4. Easy Street

5. Who Walks In When I Walk Out 

6. Sure As You Were Born

   6. On A Slow Boat To China

Merry Xmas Everybody

I hope everybody has a great Xmas !! and a very Good New Decade to come 2020 !!

The 5 Royales

The "5" Royales was an American rhythm and blues (R&B) vocal group from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, that combined gospel, jump blues and doo-wop, marking an early and influential step in the evolution of rock and roll. Most of their big R&B hits were recorded in 1952 and 1953 and written by the guitarist Lowman "Pete" Pauling. Cover versions of the band's songs hit the Top 40, including "Dedicated to the One I Love" (the Shirelles and the Mamas & the Papas), "Tell the Truth" (Ray Charles and Ike & Tina Turner), and "Think" (James Brown & The Famous Flames). Brown modeled his first vocal group after the "5" Royales, and both Eric Clapton and the legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper cited Pauling as a key influence. The Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger covered "Think" on his 1993 solo album Wandering Spirit. The "5" Royales were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
Originally the Royal Sons Quintet, the group began recording for Apollo Records in the early 1950s, changing its name to the Royals after abandoning gospel for secular music. The group initially included Lowman Pauling and his brother Clarence, as founding members. Clarence Pauling later shortened his name to "Clarence Paul". He left the group to become involved with Motown as a producer. Other members included the vocalists Jimmy Moore, Obadiah Carter, and Otto Jeffries, with Johnny Tanner singing lead. Tanner's younger brother, Eugene, later replaced Jeffries. The robust Johnny Tanner sang lead on most of the group's hits, including "Think," but the sweeter-voiced Eugene Tanner stepped to the microphone for the group's best-known song, "Dedicated to the One I Love." "Baby Don't Do It" and "Help Me Somebody" became hits in 1953, and the group soon signed with King Records. ( Info Edited From Wikipedia )

1. Baby Don't Do It
2. Too Much Lovin'
3. Baby Take All Of Me
4. Courage To Love
5. You Know I Know
6. Help Me Somebody

1. Whats That
2. Laundromat Blues
3. All Righty
4. I Wanna Thank You
5. Put Something In It
6. I Like It Like That

   2. Too Much Lovin'

Annette Funicello

Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She rose to prominence as one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original Mickey Mouse Club. As a teenager, she transitioned to a successful career as a singer with the pop singles "O Dio Mio", "Tall Paul" and "Pineapple Princess", as well as establishing herself as a film actress, popularizing the successful "Beach Party" genre alongside co-star Frankie Avalon during the mid-1960s.

Funicello moved on from Disney to become a teen idol, starring in a series of "Beach Party" movies with Frankie Avalon for American International Pictures. These started with Beach Party (1963), which was so successful American International Pictures signed Funicello to a seven-year contract and starred her in a series of beach party movies. (Info Edited From Wikipedia)

1. Dance Annette

2. Rock - A - Charleston

3. The Rock And Roll Waltz

4. The Rock  - A - Cha 

5. The Hokey Pokey

6. The Glide

1. The Hucklebuck

2. It Takes Two To Tango

3. Como Esta Usred ( Rock La Raspa)

4. Ballin The jack

5. Rock - A - Polka

6. I Could have Danced All Night

   5. The Hokey Pokey

Barbara Lewis

Barbara Ann Lewis (born February 9, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues....Lewis was born in Salem, Michigan, United States. She was writing and recording by her teens with record producer Ollie McLaughlin, a black DJ at Ann Arbor radio station WHRV, now WAAM.
Lewis' first single release in 1962, the uptempo "My Heart Went Do Dat Da," did not chart nationally, but was a local hit in the Detroit, Michigan area. She wrote all of the songs on her debut LP, including the hit "Hello Stranger" which reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and featured extensive use of the Hammond organ. Lewis had moderate follow-up hits with "Straighten Up Your Heart" (#43) and her original "Puppy Love" (#38) before Bert Berns produced her million-seller "Baby I'm Yours" (U.S. #11), written by Van McCoy. Berns also produced the followup "Make Me Your Baby" (U.S. #11) which had originally been recorded by the Pixies Three, and Lewis' final Top 40 hit "Make Me Belong to You" (#28 in 1966), written by Chip Taylor and Billy Vera.

In 1995, Lewis' "Baby I'm Yours" was featured on the soundtrack for the film The Bridges of Madison County, and in 2016 "Hello Stranger" was featured on the soundtrack for the film Moonlight. In 2019, "Hello Stranger" featured towards the end of the final episode of Giri/Haji.

(Info Edited From Wikipedia)

   3. He's So Bad

Ethel Ennis

Another set of classy songs from one of my favourite classy  songbirds !!

Ethel Llewellyn Ennis (November 28, 1932 – February 17, 2019) was an American jazz musician whose career spanned seven decades. Ennis spent the majority of her life in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, where she was affectionately known as the "First Lady of Jazz".

Baltimore jazz institution Ethel Ennis was born November 28, 1932. Beginning her vocal career while a pianist in a high school jazz group, she quickly went on to sing with everyone from Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington to Count Basie. Ennis' debut LP, Lullabies for Losers, appeared on Jubilee in 1955, with the follow-up, Change of Scenery, issued two years later on Capitol. Around the same time, she toured Europe with Benny Goodman, but finding the grind of the road too intense, she returned home to Baltimore, and -- much to the detriment of her rising fame -- rarely played outside of the Charm City area in the decades to come. After 1958's Have You Forgotten?, Ennis did not resurface until six years later, landing at RCA for This Is Ethel Ennis; three more LPs -- Once Again, Eyes for You, and My Kind of Waltztime.

Ennis died following a stroke on February 17, 2019; she was 86 years old.

    1. How About Me

Berry Lipman & His Orchestra

Berry Lipman is a German bandleader, composer, arranger and music producer. His real career started in 1955 when he signed a contract with EMI as arranger, composer and bandleader. In that function he worked together with famous vocalists such as Charles Aznavour, Cliff Richard and Dalida.
Berry Lipman – one of Germany’s most successful heroes of groovy lounge-pop.

 Mixing a touch of Herb Alpert and Burt Bacharach with a lot of jazz feeling and a knack for catchy compositions.

   6. Strutting With Maria

Cornelia

What a cool clear voice this songbird has  !!...another singer that should be heard more !!

Cornelia Möller was born in Hamburg, Germany and came to South Africa with her family at the age of three. 
Cornelia was for many years the leading female vocalist in South Africa. She had a string of chart topping hit records and won many awards including SARIE (the South African equivalent of Grammy Awards) and gold discs. She rapidly became a popular performer in South Africa, South West Africa (Namibia) and Mozambique. She toured Europe, particularly Germany and Switzerland, gaining a considerable following there, too. She has also appeared on numerous radio and television programmes. 
For her third album in 1969 "If You love Her", Cornelia chose more commercial material to record. The decision paid off - critics praised the album as her best effort yet. The songs If You Love Her, Gentle On My Mind, Then you can tell me Goodbye and You’re  Up To Your Same Old Tricks.
South Africa has (arguably) produced few female vocalists of world-class stature. Cornelia is undoubtedly one of a select few which can truly be classed as, and favourably compared to, any of the world’s top female vocalists. In her voice you hear everything from a trumpet down to a rich cello – and everything else in between. That is more than just a remarkable range – it is a fabulous breadth of resonant richness.

1. If You love Her
2. Little Green Apples
3. It's My Time
4. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
5. Gentle On My Mind
6. I Shall be Released

1. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
2. Lonesome
3. Lingering On
4. You're Up To The Same Old Tricks
5. Seeman
6. The Wind Knows The Truth

   1. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye

Elke Sommer

Elke Sommer (born 5 November 1940), born Elke Baronesse von Schletz, is a German actress, entertainer and artist who starred in many Hollywood films.
She moved to the UK to work as an au pair, in order to earn a living and to perfect her English. There, she also received some training as an interpreter.
A frequent guest on television, Sommer sang and participated in comedy sketches on episodes of The Dean Martin Show and on Bob Hope specials, made 10 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. ( Info Edited From Wikipedia )

  5. Solomente Una Vez ( You Belong To My Heart )

Libby Morris

Libby Morris (born 1930) is a Canadian comic actress. She appeared in several BBC radio shows of the 1950s and moved into TV and film from the 1960s onwards. She then moved on to London, England, where she starred in her own show doing impersonations.

1. One Of Those Songs
2. Sand In My Shoes
3. I Could fall In Love
4. My Own Personal Bird
5. Alice Blue Gown
6. Tea For Two

1. What Are you trying To Say
2. The Phoenix Love Song
3. It That
4. One Of Those Songs
5. Tess's Torch Song

6. On The Other Side Of The Tracks

Juanita Hall

Juanita Hall (née Long, November 6, 1901 – February 29, 1968) was an American musical theatre and film actress. She is remembered for her roles in the original stage and screen versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals South Pacific as Bloody Mary – a role that garnered her the Tony Award – and Flower Drum Song as Madame Liang.
In 1950, she became the first African American to win a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Bloody Mary in South Pacific starring Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin. She also won a Donaldson Award for playing that role. She played the role for 1,925 performances on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre beginning on April 7, 1949. She also starred in the 1954 Broadway musical House of Flowers in which she sang and danced Harold Arlen's Slide Boy Slide. In addition to her role in South Pacific, she was a regular performer in clubs in Greenwich Village, where she captivated audiences with her renditions of "Am I Blue?", "Lament Over Love", and Langston Hughes' "Cool Saturday Night".
In 1958, she recorded Juanita Hall Sings the Blues (at Beltone Studios in New York City), backed by a group of jazz musicians that included Claude Hopkins, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Doc Cheatham, and George Duvivier. In 1958, she reprised Bloody Mary in the film version of South Pacific, for which her singing part was dubbed (because of legal matters involving copyright), at Richard Rodgers's request, by Muriel Smith, who had played the role in the London production. The same year, Hall starred in Flower Drum Song, another Broadway show by Rodgers and Hammerstein.She also toured in the road show version of Flower Drum Song, but she had to leave it in early 1962 because of illness.
 ( Info Edited From Wikipedia )

1. Hold That Train
2. You've Been A Good Old Wagon
3. After You've Gone
4. Nobody Wants You When Your Down And Out
5. I Don't Want it Second Hand
6. A Good Man is Hard To Find

1. Baby Wont You Please Come Home
2. Gulf Coast Blues
3. Second Fiddle
4. Downhearted Blues
5. Gimme A Pigfoot
6. Lovin' Sam from Alabam

  4. Downhearted Blues

Middle Of The Road

Middle of the Road is a Scottish pop group who have enjoyed success across Europe and Latin America since the 1970s. Before ABBA established themselves in the mid 70s, Middle of the Road were the sound of early europop with their distinctive harmonies and lead vocals from Sally Carr. Four of their singles sold over one million copies each, and received a gold disc: "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep". "Sacramento", "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" and "Soley Soley". By early 1972 the group had sold over five million records.
Original lead singer Sally Carr, drummer Ken Andrew, guitarist Ian McCredie and his bassist brother Eric McCredie, founded the band on 1 April 1970 in Glasgow, Scotland. They had already played together under the name Part Four since 1967 and later in Latin American style under the name Los Caracas. Under the name Los Caracas they won the UK TV talent show Opportunity Knocks. They moved to Italy in 1970 because they had not found success in the United Kingdom. There they met the Italian music producer Giacomo Tosti, who gave the band their distinctive sound and gave them their international break.
The band had their first and biggest hit record in the United Kingdom with debut UK single, "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" to reach #1 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1971 and keep it for four more weeks. In all, Middle of the Road had five hit singles in the UK during 1971-1972.
( Info Edited From Wikipedia )

1. Sacramento
2. Queen Bee
3. The Talk Of All USA
4. On This Land
5. Louise ( My Little Ship )

1. Soley Soley
2. Samson And Delilah
3. Medicine Woman
4. Try A Little Understanding
5. Then You'll Know What Love Is

  2. Samson And Delilah