Did you know Cincinnati had its own popular Cotton Club nightspot? Wait - what? For reals, it did, and get this: that's where the incomparable Helen Humes kicked off her career (big-time) in the late 1930s.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Helen was approached after one of her performances by none other than Count Basie, who asked her to replace Billie Holiday in next his touring show - and she turned him down. Scandal! It was all about the greenbacks, or rather, the yawning canyon what between Helen felt she deserved and what the Count's band was willing to pay.
Just a few short years later, after she'd moved to New York City and cut several hit LPs, she finally joined his band, touring with them for four years - and for a whole lot more than what she was originally offered. Let this be a lesson, kiddies. Know your worth. Get when the getting is good.
Two of her best LPs - the 1988 remaster of "Songs I Like To Sing" from 1960; and 1987's "New Million Dollar Secret," a compilation with tracks from 1927 to the early 1950s - highlight her gorgeous, buttery-smooth vocals. For Helen stans, both are a must.
Just as buttery, and purty as a picture in her younger days, the inimitable Dinah Shores.
I sometimes have to remind myself that Dinah was a superb singer back in the day, because as a wee little one, I'd routinely fall asleep while watching her warble on her talk show "Dinah & Friends" (let's just say that she wasn't sounding her best in the late 70s/early 80s).
But her voice is positively divine in 1960's "Dinah, Sings, Previn Plays," a sublime collection of "songs in a midnight mood," as the back album sleeve notes. Not many people know of this LP - it's seldom mentioned in round-ups of her best - but trust me on this one, you'll swoon.
If your taste for Dinah runs toward the more peppy and upbeat, "The Dinah Shore Collection" presents a giggly overview of her 1940s work - her most popular years as a recording star - with certifiably Cheerful™tunes, like the opener, "On A Bicycle Built For Two," "Come Rain Or Come Shine," and more. If you know someone whose in a bit of a funk, say nothing and discreetly begin playing this collection. Resistance is futile.
Meanwhile, rejoice Broadway babies, 'cause Miss Chita is here to show a bitch how it's done.
And it goes something like this:
Her "Legends Of Broadway" CD is catnip. Why? Because it's Broadway at it's hot-cha! golden-age best, with Chita performing indelible ditties - all of which she originated, thankyouverymuch - like "All That Jazz" from "Chicago" and "America" from "West Side Story." Put it on, and I swear, you'll be doing your best Fosse in no time.
There's a certain song in which a certain American songstress celebrates her "bass," which The Secret Sing File very much enjoys, since she celebrates her bass every chance she gets. Lucky us!
If you don't know who this singer is now, then it looks like I'm gonna lose you (*cough*). But guess what? She has a spanking new EP out, because EPs are the release format du jour in an age when singles, and not fully thought-out LPs, are de rigueur. A symptom of our age? Perhaps. Confused? Don't be. The EP is a delight.
It's no more confusing than this.
Share your delight in the comments, if you like!
