Marilyn's Big F.U., Lori's First, Plus Brass-Goes-Jazz And A Ziggy Secret Song!

Everyone knows and loves Marilyn - she's smiling above just for you - but not many are familiar with Adolph Deutsch, a London-born, Hollywood-era composer who wrote the score for "Some Like It Hot," the bawdy classic which features Marilyn at her creamy-dreamiest. I'm just glad I wasn't on-set when it was being made. She was way too much to handle during this period, so much so that director Billy Wilder vowed never to work with her again and publicly railed against her (here they are looking all happy-like during the shoot, but don't you believe it).

Tallulah Raves, Night Music Twinkles, Plus Ella Mae Boogies And A Pale Red Secret Song!

"Codeine...bourbon." Those were Tallulah Bankhead's last, whispered words before she died. Isn't that delightful to know? During her life, Tallulah was a beautiful, witty, wonderfully stylish train wreck - in a time when stars really knew how to do it right (not like sloppy Brit-Brit or Amanda-whoever-she-is).

It's why Noel Coward, amongst many others, wanted only her to play their parts or sing their songs. And she was very quotable. "My heart is as pure as driven slush, darling," she once said, and "Only good girls keep diaries. Bad girls don't have time," and to one of her (several) paramours, she was overheard to say, "I'll come and make love to you at five o'clock, darling. If I'm late, start without me."

"Tallulah, Volume One: Singing, Acting, Ranting, Raving" - there is no Volume Two (of course), and yes, this is a Cheerful Exclusive! - is a delightful bootleg LP that brings together a wide variety of tracks in which Tallulah sings and chats and carries on as only she can, so it's a must. My favorite track? "You Go To My Head." Why? Because it's obvious that whatever Tallulah's just popped, snorted or smoked, it's already gone to her head. Deliciously.

Let's move on now to less soused territory. Below is the original, 1973 Broadway cast of "A Little Night Music." So klassy, so refyned. Yet so itching...

...for jazz! And who better to reinterpret this wonderful show for jazz than the irrepressible Terry Trotter Trio. Sondheim purists may well be aghast, but not after the first few tracks. Somehow, the Trio has always been able to find the essential funk, if you will (and you should) in Sondheim, and their turn on "A Little Night Music" is no different. Trust me, you'll love this.

You can trust me about Ella Mae Morse, too, a fabulous 1940's-era singer who excelled not just in jazz, but blues, pop, country, rock 'n' roll and just about any other musical genre she tried. A lot has been written about how this musical wanderlust, if you will (and you must) (I insist) prevented her from becoming as popular as she might have been - and surely would have been today - since no one could peg her down.

Was she a jazz singer? A country singer? A pop singer? Ella Mae was that and more. It's a shame she wasn't appreciated in her time. She's definitely one of the more seriously overlooked "great singers."

But then, we still have her, don't we? Hooray! Her "Barrel, Boogie And The Blues" is a rousing, low-down LP that shows off practically everything she was capable of in only eight tracks. "Love me, daddy, for a long, lo-o-ong time," she sings in the blues classic "Daddy, Daddy," and very few artists give it quite the oomph that Ella Mae does. Legends like Louis Armstrong just adored her. Yes, she really is that good.

Some gals are not what they seem to be, like the Secret Song File's best gal pal below (look at that mug; how can you not love her, too?). However, some are exactly what they appear to be, like a certain seldom-fully-clothed rock singer who has a spanking new CD. It's a "newborn" CD - all bright and pretty and ever-so pink (*cough*) (and I won't even say, 'if you will,' because, sheesh, with a hint like that, you already have).

So go on, delight in her new tunes (I know I am), and take some advice from the Secret Song File's best gal pal above: don't be afraid if you're misunderstood (*cough*cough*). And, by all means, go on, get that damn party started, already (*cough*burp*). Tallulah insists. And so do I.

I just adore parties with open bars, don't you?

Raise a toast in the comments, if you like!

Temptingly Tawdry Tunes, Plus A Little Jazzy Passion And A Zig-Zaggy Secret Song!

Hotcha! No one needs to tell Ann Sothern how to "strike a pose." Oh, no, ma'am. This bold-as-brass comic actress' career spanned six decades - count 'em, six! She played tough gun molls, seductive burlesque queens (of course), and in her latter years, she was the voice of Gladys Crabtree, the car in "My Mother The Car" (why not?), and nearly stole the show right out from under Bette Davis and Lillian Gish in "The Whales Of August" at age 78.

She also cut a few records, like this Cheerful Exclusive "It's Ann Sothern Time" from 1958, a saucy little LP where she brings tunes like "Everybody's Doin' It" and "Ballin' The Jack" to slinky, impudent life ("That's right, man, you're beginning to catch on..." she purrs). As a side note, the second track on this LP has a brief hissing sound, but don't worry, it's brief. Which means there's virtually nothing standing in the way of you and Ann, which is just the way she likes it, I'm sure. Yeeeow!

Speaking of saucy little numbers, behold Miss April Stevens: 

No matter what mood I'm in, few things make me shiver with joy as much as April Stevens' 1959 LP "Teach Me Tiger" (here in lossless) (at last!). It's so breathy and suggestive and overly-the-top-coquettish that it was actually banned outright from most U.S. radio stations and a lot of record stores, too, which only adds to its allure. If you don't have it in your collection, trust me on this, you want it. You want it now.

As some of you may know, April wasn't exactly a solo act, even on her solo LP's, but instead worked alongside her singer-producer-arranger brother Nino Tempo. Their career peaked just as The Beatles exploded into the mainstream, which meant their heyday was brief.

Known for re-inventing standards like "Deep Purple" with a twang of early rockabilly, their duo tracks have a playful innocence (at least now). Better yet, some of them, like "Whispering" and "Stardust," have flirty spoken interludes from April that are beyond compare (and I mean that as praise). You'll see.

There's a bit of an overlap between this compilation - and yes, it's a Cheerful Exclusive! - and April's solo LP, but not much, so I know you'll want them both. Besides, where else can you hear "Tea For Two" this finger-snappin' and hip-swingin' except from April and Nino? Be forewarned, this collection's a whopping 30 tracks, so do something else while you're downloading 'cause it'll take a while (call a friend, do the dishes, go out for a kawfee), but it's worth the wait.

If you saw "Passion" years ago on Broadway, or the PBS broadcast of the show, then it may be impossible for you to think of the music as anything less than "dark" or "brooding." But think again. 

In yet another improbable effort, The Trotter Trio have reinterpreted "Passion's" music from a jazz angle. And I swear, as silly and awful and WTF? as that may sound, it works. No, really. I have no idea what prompted Trotter and his friends to raid the Sondheim library (alcohol? ganja?), but few jazz musicians out there have even attempted something so freakishly right. 

Speaking of freakish, sometimes The Secret Song File feels dark and vengeful, which is enough to make anyone want to swallow a jagged pill or two (cough), while other times, the mood is more playful and vaguely hopeful, which is, like, so ironic (cough-cough), because, honestly, you ought to know (cough-cough-cough) (Geez, I'm hacking up furballs, already!), the good times won't last long.

That's was one hint too many. If you can't figure out who this is by now, than I'm totally uninviting you to so many things. So there. At any rate, I'm actually not kidding when I say that this is a certain Canuck's best CD in years. I've already listened to it twice, and I actually want to hear it again. What are the chances of that these days?

I think her version of "My Humps" is the best. And I'm not afraid to admit it. 

Tell us all something giggly in the comments!