A Bevy Of Late-Summer Treats! Plus A Good Chums Secret Song!

Summer is almost over. Balls, I say, balls! Fall arrives, back to school, back to work, the holidays, the traffic. Pretty soon, we'll all be very busy. But, hey, maybe by Christmas, Tom Cruise will have a new girlfriend. The new TV season will be starting, too. Which reminds me, when I was just a wee thing, I only knew Nancy Walker as "that lady in the paper towel commercials," and later, as Rhoda's mother, having no idea that she was a major force on Broadway (towards the end of her career, she also directed the movie "Can't Stop The Music") (but let's not go there).

In 1959, she starred in "My Square Laddie," a giggly send-up of "My Fair Lady" in which she played a tough, gum-smacking Brooklyn broad (what else?) who makes a bet with her girlfriend Zasu Pitts that she can turn a stuffy Englishman into a Brooklyn roughneck. "What makes a limey such a priss?" she asks Zasu. And yes, this is a Cheerful Exclusive! Yippee!

The LP unfolds like an old-fashioned radio play, with lots of snappy dialogue and bubbly underscore between the songs - this is a good thing in this case - and the songs? How can you go wrong with "My Fair Lady" send-ups like "I'm Kinda Partial To His Puss" and "I Could Have Boozed All Night?"

I swear I've become obsessed with Martha Raye in the past year or so. She's pictured below entertaining the troops in Vietnam, something she also did in WWII and the Korean War (she's the only civilian woman to earn the rank of Colonel, plus an honorary membership with the Green Berets, and the only woman to be buried with full military honors at Fort Bragg). I thought I had most of her releases, but lo-and-behold, I didn't.

For those who still remain unconvinced of how terrific she was as a singer - or can't get past the poor quality of some of her old scritchy-scratchy releases (and I understand that) - then you're in for a wonderful Cheerful Exclusive treat. Hooray! Here's a spanking-new release with gorgeously remastered tracks. I swear, she's never sounded better.

Speaking of never better and always fabulous, behold Miss Billie Holiday (in a rare color photo):

"I hate straight singing," she once said. "I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That's all I know." And that was enough. More than enough. Especially with "Lady Sings The Blues," reputedly her favorite LP, and it's not hard imagine why.

From the first title song - which will practically blast out of your speakers (in a good way) - this is jazz singing at its best and most soulful. Did she have the best voice? No. Could she interpret her songs better than practically any other jazz singer before or since? Oh my God, yes. And don't worry, "Strange Fruit" is here. I don't think this song will ever age or lose its heartbreaking power.

Tony Curtis. What a likable jackass. God only knows knows what he's doing in "Taras Bulba," an awful 1962 movie which is so dull it unfolds like molasses. It also stars Yul Brynner doing his usual, late-career, macho-gasbag thing that people somehow found virile. But whatever.

So why are we talking about this movie with an awful title based on a great book? Because, soundtrack-heads, it has a fantastic, unsung, super-rare score by Franz Waxman, one that Bernard Herrmann, a cranky sort who wasn't given to undeserved praise, called "the score of a lifetime."

This version includes the entire score in a new recording and it's almost impossibly grand and sweeping and romantic. If you've enjoyed Waxman's "Sunset Boulevard" or "Bride of Frankenstein," then trust me, this is so up your alley (and be patient, it's a 2-CD download) (fold some laundry or something while it's doing its thing and it'll be ready in no time).

The Secret Song File is feeling artistic-ish today, but don't worry, there ain't nothing Hipster going on here, m'k? Dreaded Hipsters, as you know, come from Brooklyn, but so do a lot of good things, like this Brooklyn-based group whose music has alternately been labeled Nu Disco, Dance Pop, Indie Electro and Chic Pop Lite (honestly, they must tie up some queen in a back room till he comes up with new genre labels these days) (all of which tell you nothing) (but I digress).

Labels aside, this supernew CD is just larkish fun - and a nice way to ride out the summer. Who are they? I can only give you one hint, and I swear it's all you'll need. Jennifer Aniston earned lasting fame by appearing on the sitcom (fill-in-the-blank). Okay? It's that easy. That's their name. For reals. I'm totally telling the truth.

Would I lie to you, honey? Oh, no, no, no!

And, hey, confabulate in the comments if the mood strikes. 

All About Martha, Plus Fred Beats One Out, Julie's Feelings And A Gory Secret Song!

In 1970, an astonishing, bootleg, 2-LP set entitled "Legends: Martha Raye" was released - then promptly went out of print. Arrrrgh! Yet a few weeks ago, my Cuban Luvuh was strolling amiably through the used LP section at our local Amoeba - and he found it. Oh, happy day! I was shocked. I still am. If you're a Martha Raye fan (like I am), this is the Holy Grail.

What makes this Cheerful Exclusive LP so satisfying is how wide-ranging it is. You get Martha's jazz vocal efforts in movies from the 1930's through the 40's, her later vocal performances from a wide range of TV variety programs - they're amongst the best here; her rendition of "Is That All There Is?" rivals Peggy Lee's - and even a few cuts from her Broadway turn in the title role of "Hello, Dolly." In other words, it runs the gamut.

When you listen to her perform "Sing For Your Supper" or "Truckin'," for instance, you'll realize why Anita O'Day credits her as being the primary influence on her style - more than any other singer. "It was Martha Ray who showed me what I wanted to do with my life," O'Day said. "I saw her in an early movie singing 'Mr. Pagianini' - doing ad-libs of 'dah-dah-dah.' She was what they call a natural. And she gave me the idea that I could sing jazz and still perform." Mel Torme also cited Raye as a major influence, Kaye Ballard claims she learned everything about both singing and comedy from Raye, and Ruth Etting said that no one ever sung a ballad like Raye.

Just be aware that the quality of the recordings on the LPs are variable. The TV performances sound terrific, the movie songs are likely pulled from the original film tracks and the Broadway stage numbers are probably from a sound board. But they're all wonderful.

And on we go. This comely lass is a noted UK singer. Know who it is? (I didn't).

It's Julie Rogers, who had a big worldwide hit with "The Wedding" in the early 1960's and went on to continued success in the UK - and just missed out when producers chose Nancy Sinatra's version of "You Only Live Twice" for the 1960's James Bond movie over hers (dammit).

And yet she's kept at it - wonderfully, as I've learned, and in her 1972 LP "With Feeling," a Cheerful Exclusive, she trills, she belts, and in the final cut on the LP entitled "Now," she truly cuts loose in a number that's both wonderfully bonkers and even a little trippy. You'll love it.

When I think of terrific jazz and standards performers, I don't often think of Fred Astaire, who I always thought sounded a bit drone-ish in his films (which I excused because of his dancing) (of course), so I was wary when I picked up a compilation of his songs.

But guess what? After the first song or so, I did a sort of Scooby-Doo "Re-Re?" head-turn. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he has a fantastic sense of rhythm as a singer - and because of it, even with his limited vocal range, he knows exactly where to hit hard, then soft, and how long to hold a note before springing onto the next. It also helps that these songs, including all the classics, like "Steppin' Out With My Baby" and "Night And Day," have been gorgeously remastered. This CD was a real surprise for me. And I love surprises!

By the way, as a reminder, most files here require a password to open - it's a super-simple password, thecheerful - and some LPs, which are in two or three folders, require you to download all the folders in order for you to open everything. Why? Because I'm doing mostly lossless these days, so the music files are bigger. Confused? Don't be. It's all intuitive. Blah-blah-blah. Technical stuff. Zzzzz.

Meanwhile, the Secret Song File would like to remind you that the world can be a violent place, and even the most beautiful amongst us might find themselves having to scrub some of life's detritus from their bodies (in the Secret Song's case, while wearing a lacy La Perla bra) (obviously).

Has the world caused you to, um, bleed (bleed) (bleed) (cough, cough, cough)? It probably has if you're a certain glam-pop group who likes to have lots of drugs in their bodies (ah-choo!). And while their bouncy new CD, which I know you're going to listen to...again and again (gazuntight-I'm-being-so-obvious-with-my-clues), may not make you bleed (bleed) (bleed), at least your heart will feel something. Right? Right? Hey, where's the rave? Anybody got a lolli? Good gawd, I'm thirsty!

Or as Ryan Lochte would say, "Jeah!" (or is it, "Durp"). 

Divulge whatever you like in the comments! I won't judge!