Look! Singer Ilene Woods is so pretty, she just pops to life (in a lovely colorized photo by Carcoal). "Wait," you ask. "Ilene whoooooo?" Was she a club singer? A movie star? A bar chippy? All of the above?
I'll give you a hint. Here she is looking at storyboards of a character she'll portray in a movie:
And - voila! - here's her character:
Ilene, as she tells it, long dreamed of becoming a teacher throughout her childhood, but her mother, perhaps after scrutinizing her daughter's pretty-pretty face and seeing bank,
Whether that was enough for her hard-driving mother, who'd long toiled on the fringes of showbiz, we'll never know, but she had to have been pleased when Ilene was cast by none other than Walt Disney to voice and sing the leading lady role in 1950's animated hit "Cinderella." Ilene had just turned eighteen. And she nailed it.
Fun fact: the singing voice of Prince Charming was Mike Douglas. Another fun fact: after Peggy Lee won a lawsuit against the Disney Studios - given their refusal to pay out residuals due for "Lady and the Tramp" - Ilene filed her own "Cinderella" residuals lawsuit in 1990. And won. Though her acting career never quite took off, she was always a welcome singing guest on radio and TV variety shows and USO tours. She recorded one LP, 1957's "It's Late," a Sublime Ilene Cheerful Exclusive! Her voice is every bit as warm and beguiling as you'd expect. Just listen to her on "What a Difference a Day Makes." Her charm is effortless.
Who was Marlene Cord? And why did she record only one LP?
It's a question worth asking, because her 1957 album, "I Could Write A Book" - a Mystery Marlene Cheerful Exclusive! - reveals an unusually subtle vocalist who surely deserved more than one LP outing. But it was not to be. Can you guess why?
A native of Pennsylvania, her highly skilled, openhearted delivery belies the fact that she was merely nineteen when this was recorded. But, again, why did she vanish? According to Bill Reed's book "The Last Musical Hurrah," she was yet another victim of the rising onslaught of rock 'n' roll, which, as we know, pretty much destroyed the market for newer jazz songbirds. She ended up waitressing for eighteen years after this LP was recorded and never performed publicly again.
Speaking of questions which need to be answered, who was Rhonda Washington? And why isn't she more celebrated?
Hailing from St. Louis, Rhonda joined Hot Sauce, a short-lived, early-1970s, Southern Soul group which should have had a much longer run. But like Marlene, it was not to be. Can you guess why? Nope, it wasn't rock 'n' roll this time. It was disco, dammit, disco, its popularity causing Volt, the Hot Sauce's Detroit R&B label, to fold, taking down Hot Sauce and Rhonda with it. And this was after they recorded only 11 tunes.
Every single one of them is included in this collection, and I swear, there's not a dud in the bunch (for reals!), mostly due to Rhonda's richly expressive vocals, be they tender or fiery. Though if I were pushed, I'd say "Mama's Baby (Daddy's Maybe)" is my favorite, as it's a classic combo of soul music with country music storytelling - along with, of course, a killer vocal from Rhonda. Word has it that after the Vox debacle, she returned to her church and gospel singing. Lucky church!
The Secret Song File has just about had it with old rockers and pop tartlets making sloppy cash grabs with newly recorded jazz albums, most of them sooooo bland, or recorded by artists who sound like overeager high school chorus members. Just. Stop. It.
Yet once in a while, one comes along that sounds so fresh that you can't help but be swept up. Case in point, this spanking new release from a former Wham! back-up singer and her hubs, a former "ballet" (*cough*hint*) bassist. Why does it work? Stellar arrangements, for one. But it's also because these vocalists genuinely seem to find joy in the tunes they're performing. Imagine that!
Meanwhile, I'm finding joy in this. 'Cause I'm basic that way.
Spread your holiday giggles in the comments, if you like!
