Singin' With Peggy And Friends, Jazzy Tunes And Big Band Sounds From Krzysztof, Les and Ambrose, Plus An Oklahoma Flamer Secret Song!

Ain't Miss Peggy lookin' fresh?

Carrie's Down And Out, Classic Vegas (Baby!), Teri's So Easy, Plus An Unknown Carole, Diahann Live And An 'Oh Yeah' Secret Song!

Hold tight, kiddies. There's so much fantastic music to share today that I'm barely able to contain myself - and I just might explode! For reals! Ready? Okay, let's go.

Doris Times Two, Plus A Gaggle Of 50s Gals, Gloria's Exclusive Wood, Julie's Flame And An X-Girl Secret Song!

Doris! Singer, actress, activist and all-round beam of sunshine.

Lola's Delicious Dream, Maisel's Merry Melodies, Plus Max Goes Dark, A Bucket For Legrand And A Street Boys Secret Song!

Some people are just too pretty for words. Such is the case with Lola Albright, who earned lasting fame by playing the hot-cha! nightclub singer on TV'S "Peter Gunn" in the early 1960s.

Peggy Hits London, Alma Giggles, Jaye P's First Time, Plus The Saint's Party And An Original Stupid Girl Secret Song!

Peggy got to me young, as I suspect she did with a lot of people. Hearing her sing "He's A Tramp" in "Lady & The Tramp" made me sit up from the couch when I was just a wee thing, along with the irresistible "We Are Siamese," which she co-wrote and performed (playing both Siamese cats!). And so any "newly discovered" Peggy is reason to celebrate, dont'cha think?

January Blahs Be-Gone With a Gaggle Of Gals, Plus A Ruskie-Sounding Secret Song!

January is such a slog, isn't? All those consecutive holidays - then it's back to work. Now more than ever, I need jazz, baby, jazz. It's crucial to keeping my sanity, but only if it's performed by artists who know how to do it.

Three From Sophia, Peggy Holds Arlen, Plus Lee Goes Live And A Fun-With-Twinsies Secret Song!

Great beauties - they're just like us! Why, none other than Sophia Loren enjoys rubbing her feet over a wooden rolling pin while watching TV. Oh, and she always does her own nails and hair. What? You don't care? Because you were gaping at the wowza picture of her above? Yes, my little bambino, perfection will do that. Today, however, Il Sophia is not here to give you her body, but her voice.

It's Time For Sunny, Plus Peggy & George, Cocktails With Connie, Kai's Bunnies And A Controlled Secret Song!

It's spring! Hooray! Time for happy, sun-shiny things, like Miss Sunny Gale, the long-forgotten, pint-sized singer (she stood only 5'1") who, for a brief period, had a shot at the brass ring - and almost grabbed hold of it. Born in the early 1920s, she was already thrilling crowds as a fourteen year-old belter in her native New Jersey. By the 1950s, after extensive touring with numerous swing and rockabilly bands, she released an LP on a small indie label.

Linda's Easy, Margie's By Herself, Plus Mucho Cha-Cha, Two Colours And A Secret Song!

I promised you more exclusives in 2015 - and here are three! Let's start with Linda Lawson, someone you probably know if you've watched TV shows like "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" or "Bonanza." She guest-starred on everything. Or maybe you know her from the fabulously weird, carnival freak-show movie "Night Tide" (with a very young Dennis Hopper). She was the original "long cool woman." And, yes, she was a singer, too.

Premium Porter, Lenny's Dirty Mouth, Vince At The Beach, Plus A Divine Secret Song!

Can you guess who's pictured above? If you guessed Peggy Lee, then you're quicker than me. It's a very young Peggy, of course; the picture was likely taken in the mid-1930s when she was singing at The Buttery Room in Chicago (still a decade away from releasing her first record). What I don't know is when she sang her first Cole Porter song, but I'm glad she's included on "The Very Best Of Cole Porter" - a De-Lovely Cheerful Exclusive! - a compilation where she performs "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" like a perfect (semi) virgin.

A Deluge Of Divas, Hess' Devil, Dreamy Music And - Hot-cha! - Here Comes Liza, Plus A Jinx-You're-It Secret Song!

Sometimes too much is just too delicious, like the name Anna Maria Alberghetti. Ahhhhh. Doesn't it just slip off your tongue? An actress and an operatic singer, Anna, pictured above, is one of many divas crowding this delightful collection, a Cheerfully Delectable Exclusive! just for you.

Bev's Coffee Jazz, A Fantastic Plastic Party With A Panther, Three Terrif Sisters, Plus a Big Ol' Yellow Brick Of A Secret Song!

Earthquake, earthquake! We had another shake-shake-shake here, but it was fairly mild compared to the last one (since we weren't near the epicenter), which means there was no need to clean up, no need to vacuum. But it did make me think of Jeanette MacDonald - and gosh, how brave she was in "San Francisco" - and the Golden Gate Bridge and beatnik coffee shops and the always delightful 1960s and 70s-era jazz chanteuse Bev Kelly, who recorded several LPs in good ol' Fog City (see how neatly that all fits together?). 

Dietrich's Live, Ernestine's Most, Plus Burt's Bare Sharky And A Douche-Hat Secret Song!

Dietrich. No one delivers the look of I-have-absolutely-no-fucks-not-a-damn-to-give better than her. Behold: the eyebrows arched in permanent whatever; the half-lidded eyes that look you up and down and say, "Meh;" the cigarette barely balanced in her gloved hands - because she just doesn't care if it drops and burns you. She. Just. Doesn't. Care. And yet we still love her, don't we? I know I do. 

Ladies We Love! Blondes, Brunettes, Plus Gisele, Betty And A Terrifying Secret Song!

Certain kind gals do certain kinds of things. No, not things like that (get your mind out of the gutter). It's obvious from the picture above, for example, that Diana Dors is displaying her scintillating gams talent for singing. That's all. Nothing else!

A few years back, DDC Classic released a compilation CD set with "Sex Kitten" songs from the likes of Diana, Peggy Lee, June Hutton, Eartha Kitt, and many more, divided equally between Blondes and Brunettes. Even if you have some of these tracks, you probably don't have them all, and this compilation is unusually well curated. And really, I don't care how many times I hear Jayne Mansfield sing "That Makes It" - which starts with the breathiest porny-phone intro ever - it always seems like the very first time.

Whom do I blame for the decade-long trend of screaming, screeching Broadway vocalists? Maybe her:

Or maybe "American Idol." Or maybe the techies who split your eardrums open by making the screeching even louder (whoever's responsible, please knock it off). I bring this up because in this current environment, there's no way a vocalist like Gisele MacKenzie would be welcome. Anywhere.

A popular light singer in her time, Gisele could certainly deliver a showstopper with the best of them, but she wasn't out to mow you down. She was "light" and "pleasant," and if we've lost the ability to appreciate these small charms, then we're in a world with no variety or varying color. In Gisele's era, there was room for both ends of the spectrum (and everything in-between), from Ethel Merman (who didn't need mics to be heard in the back balcony, thankyouverymuch), to Gisele herself.

In 1959's "Gisele MacKenzie In Person At The Empire Room" - a Cheerful Exclusive! just for you - Gisele displays her sharp, gimcrack personality and sings a wide variety of songs, including a few Merman standards, and brings her own charming elegance to each of them. "This old piano bench is full of happy memories," she says. She has plenty to share. Broadway and standards, of course, but also French standards and an Irish tune,  "The Piper O'Dundee," in which she adopts a delightful hammy brogue.

Lucky for Gisele, she was able to cut several LPs. That wasn't the case for WWII's favorite pinup (note how she displays her singing talent similarly to Diana Dors above) (good singing involves lots of lounging on plush surfaces):

While under studio contract, or during her most active years, Betty Grable was forbidden from cutting an LP (Judy Garland was, too, and many more). That's a shame, because "Sweetheart Of The Silver Screen" - yet another Cheerful Exclusive! - which brings together songs culled from her movies and several radio shows - shows that she was more than able to capture an audience with only her voice. I love her festive, jazzy version of "It's Only A Paper Moon," and in "Embraceable You," she strikes just the right balance between sexy and vulnerable. 

"Dude, what-choo lookin' at?" That's what the Secret Song File is thinking. And yet, guys always stare, their eyes bugging out, their lips hanging down - even the flaming ones. It's enough to give any gal the terrors! Sheesh, that's a whole bucket-load full of hints. You may have caught on by now - unless, of course, you're embryonic.

I've always liked this psychedelic band (even though they want to collaborate with THIS train wreck) (why, why, why?), and their latest trippy CD does not disappoint. Will it win you" fwends?" I suspect it will, though you may need a bit of telepathic surgery afterwards. Goodness, that's too many hints. It's not even sporting. But then the Secret Song File is feeling generous today. Stare all you like.

Just don't expect her to stare back. 

Have something to say? Let 'er rip in the comments!

Start the New Year With Peggy, Sophie, D'Angelo, Plus More Herrmann And A Sparky Secret Song!

Oh, snap! Is it really 2013? Yes, it is. Now before you go on thinking how super-modern you are, just imagine 1913 - and how super-modern they thought they were in comparison to the fuddy-duddys of 1813.

A hundred years from now in 2113, will we finally be living on Mars? Will Beiber-Fever be lost to time? And will we still be listening to Miss Peggy Lee? We might be, especially if her 1963 LP "In Love Again" - a Cheerful Exclusive! just for you - is still around to play...on what? An MP3 player? Naw. That'll be so-o-o-o dunzo by 2113, I'm sure.

There's a lot of fine tunes in this Peggy LP. She even dares to take on "Unforgettable," Nat King Cole's signature tune (and does quite well by it, thankyouverymuch). By the way, do you think Peggy's fashions worn in the photo above will still be around in another hundred years? Hmmm. The hat, maybe. The gloves, a provisional yes, but only if truly hotcha! drag queens still exist (as we know they will). But really, I just hope and pray that room divider beads, like the ones Peggy's peeping out from below, are still in vogue. They set such a mood, don't you think?

Speaking of turn-of-the-century, the one and only Sophie Tucker bridged the eras from the 1800's to the 1900's, so there's no reason she can't continue streaking toward infinity and beyond, right?

In Sophie Tucker's "The Last Of The Red Hot Mamas Greatest Hits" - a bawdy Cheerful Exclusive! for you and yours - the Mama in question takes you back to vaudeville's and burlesque's earliest days, a time when the girls knew how to shake it for their supper while remaining (almost) entirely clothed.

Innuendo is the name of the game in songs like "You've Gotta See Mama Ev'ry Night" and "Fifty Million Frenchman Can't Be Wrong," and no one delivers them with as much sass as Sophie. Plus, she does what I think is a definitive version of "After You've Gone," wringing all the emotion from the lyric, but with a bracing frankness and lack of sentiment.

In the future, will people still want to bompity-bomp while listening to fuck sex music from a certain hot piece below?

They might, because even though D'Angelo has stumbled a few times over the course of his career - drugs, money woes, etc. - he's still enormously popular in an age when Teddy Pendergrass-like bompity-bomp music is in short supply. Now that he's "back," so to speak, and in fighting trim, he's only gaining new followers.

His live concert recording in Stockholm is mesmerizing. And with song titles like "Gettin' Ready," "Left & Right," and "Brown Sugar," he's just as playfully innuendo-laden as Sophie Tucker. No, really. Listen to "Left & Right." Sophie would have been proud (and then she'd have stolen it for her own act).

Will movies like "Blue Jeans" (aka "Blue Denim") make it into the next millennium? That's a tough one.

To be honest, it's a big, flabby pile of cornball - an allegedly "daring" movie about abortion, though the word is never said out loud - so it's hard to make a case for why anyone would bother watching it, save for fans of Brandon de Wilde, the noted child actor ("Shane" got him an Oscar nomination) who made a surprisingly successful transition to adult roles (in "Hud" opposite Paul Newman), only to die in a tragic car accident in 1972 at the age of 30.

Still, there's another reason the movie might be remembered, and that's for Bernard Herrmann's genuinely moving score, the highlight of this next installment in Herrmann's 14 CD Fox series.

The Secret Song File is timeless, and so isn't much worried about this or that millennium. Guys will always be looking, leering, hoping. It's just the way things are. Oh, and people are certain to still be listening to music and partaking of ganja, both of which figure prominently in our discussion today.

Why, you ask? Because the best little alterna-electro group you probably haven't heard of yet encourages its listeners to indulge in a bong hit or two before playing their tunes, and even named one of their songs after said plant. Not only that, they really (heart) you.  But I can say no more. I could, but I mustn't.

It's the Year of the Snake! Do with that what you will. 

Have a totally awesome 2013, m'k?

Shirley's Best, Hattie Gets Ticklish, Plus Peggy Experiments And An After 'W' Secret Song!

Can you believe Shirley Bassey is 75? Yeah, I can't, either. She certainly doesn't sound her age; that clarion-call voice is as powerful as ever. She's one of the world's most beloved singers - yet incredibly, she's largely ignored in the U.S. What the hell is wrong with us? How can you not love a singer who was born above a brothel in a Wales slum, then went on to achieve international fame by singing (and loudly), "Go-o-o-old....finger!" When I first heard her trumpet that refrain, I thought my head would burst open. And she only got better from there.

Shirley's had many compilation CDs before, but this 2-CD set is especially yummy, running the gamut from her earliest hits to "History Repeating" and much more (including some of my favorites, like "Moonraker" and "The Liquidator"). Subtlety be damned! Shirley likes it big and loud and full of brass. Can you blame her?

For all you comedy lovers out there, do I have a treat for you today. Hattie Noel, as you might know, was a Hollywood actress in the 1930's and 40's - she almost nabbed Hattie McDaniel's role in "Gone With The Wind" - but she was also a singer who performed with the likes of Count Basie and Louis Armstrong.

If that weren't enough, she was also a stand-up comedian. Can you believe? Yes, there really were female comics before Phyllis Diller. It was Eddie Cantor who saw this special side of her. She was a regular on his radio show, and luckily, he brought her to Hollywood where she knocked 'em dead in stage musicals and comedy nights.

Given her gift for comedy, and particularly physical comedy, it's not surprising that she also worked as a movement model for animators; after filming her, the animators would trace, or rotoscope, her frame-by-frame movements so that the cartoon character's movements would appear more "realistic."

Along with many similar gigs, Hattie was the movement model for "Hyacinth Hippo" in Disney's "Fantasia" - a fact which Disney kept hidden for decades. And not, presumably, since it might appear racist, but because animators are loath to admit that a cartoon character's physical schtick came from someone else, especially in a sequence as famous as this one (but then they've also scrubbed the picaninny centaurs out of "Fantasia," too, so who knows what their mind-set is). At any rate, if you haven't seen "Fantasia," Hattie's sequence is a masterpiece of physical comedy, and now we know who to thank.

Her LP "The Tickled Soul Of Hattie Noel" is fascinating historically, but more important, it's just plain funny. And for those who think they didn't talk "that way" back then, you might want to scoot the crumbcatchers out of the room before you play this. Hattie is blissfully obscene in routines like "Licking Dicks," "The Frantic Hole," "Beauty Vs. Bootie" and "A Chinese Disease," to name just a few.

When my Cuban Luvuh was strutting (he does that naturally) (he is Cuban, after all) through our local record store, he found Peggy Lee's "Mirrors" and asked me if we had it. I had to think for a moment, because it seems like we have every single Peggy Lee ever released. But not this one.

Released in 1975, and a Cheerful Exclusive, "Mirrors" is Lee's experimental collection of non-narrative, "neo-cabaret art songs," written by "Jailhouse Rock" songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It's trippy, it's beautiful, even haunting at times, and unlike many concept albums of the period, each song builds on all the preceding songs - in terms of the music and the mood, not in a narrative sense (which is much easier).

As you might have guessed, this was all way ahead of its time (it was later re-packaged to include her hit "Is That All There Is?", but the LP still didn't sell). Is this Peggy Lee's masterpiece? I won't go out on that limb (yet), but it's certainly an unheralded "great LP."

The Secret Song File is all business today. Miss Bossy Pants. Miss Sassy Stilettos. Miss Galaxy Girl Guide. All it takes is a pose, as you can see below. What does that have to do with today's offering? Nothing.

Or maybe it does. Because today's young turks (*wink*) and captains of industry might cotton to this delightful, upcoming Brit-pop CD inspired, says the group, by a party scene which they were just too young to enjoy (I so-o-o-o have that problem. All. The. Time.). So now they're kind of, um, co-mingling with it (*wink*wink*). Anyway, "xoxo," as they say, only leave the "o's" out.

Always kiss both cheeks. It's klassier that way.

And, hey, the comment section is just itching for your gossip, hearsay and lingua franca!