They Call Me MISS Toni Fisher

Artist: Miss Toni Fisher

Song: The Red Sea Of Mars (b-side) (a-side is Everlasting Love)

Label: Signet 3-279 (White/Red Label)

Number: E-5878

Songwriter: Wayne Shanklin

Time: 2:58

Released: 1960

She was always known as "Miss Toni Fisher" and her big hit was The Big Hurt, in 1959. What was most noteworthy about this first hit of hers was that it was the first record ever released which used a phasing effect. It was written by her husband, Wayne Shanklin, as was this record The Red Sea Of Mars. She had one other Top 40 hit in 1962, entitled West Of The Wall, about lovers caught on either side of the newly-erected Berlin Wall. But, today's post was released in between these two records, 1960, and was not a hit.

She was born in Los Angeles, California in 1931, and died of a heart attack on February 12th, 1999 in Hyrum, Utah. At the age of 18, she played a small, uncredited part in the musical Make Believe Ballroom, in 1949. In 1959, she signed a recording contract with a small independent company called Signet Records, located in Hollywood. On November 16th, her first record debuted on the charts entitled The Big Hurt. Because it went up to #3 on the pop charts, she had the opportunity to appear on the shows of Dick Clark and Ed Sullivan. In 1960, her second record How Deep Is The Ocean peaked at #93. Later that year, Signet released the single Everlasting Love b/w The Red Sea Of Mars, although it failed to chart. They also gathered her recordings together and released an album named after her big hit The Big Hurt. This, too failed to chart and she was dropped from her contract with Signet. Her one record deal with Columbia Records featuring If I Loved You b/w Love Bug also failed to chart and then she moved to Big Top Records in 1962. Her final hit, West Of The Wall, for that label, came on May 26th, 1962. She had several other singles released on the Smash label and then a short return to her original label, Signet, but had no further chart action.
This is a shame, really, as she had such a nice, strong voice and delivered her performances in a confident matter. Now, people always try to analyze why things happen, so permit me to do the same here. I think perhaps the reason she didn't have a bigger chart presence than she did was due to two primary factors. One, it seems like her husband wrote all of her material. Usually artists like her are given songs to choose from written by a wide variety of songwriters. The most strongest tracks are chosen to record and this may have been a factor in her case. However good of a songwriter her husband Wayne was, he was no Lerner and Lowe. The Red Sea Of Mars is a good song, but perhaps there could have been better ones found for her to record. Even though this track has grown on me, that's just my opinion. The second factor I find that may have inhibited her career is the fact that of the two pictures I could locate of her on the internet, one being below, Miss Fisher didn't come across as a particulary stunning-looking woman. In the music business, looks can sometimes make or break an artist.

But don't let any of that deter you from hearing her voice. It is quite pleasant to listen to. Here is Miss Toni Fisher singing The Red Sea Of Mars. Enjoy!

One other small item of interest. I find many times that the length of the song as reported on the record label does not match up with it's actual length when played. This record was a case in point. Listed at two seconds under 3 minutes long on the label, it actually only lasts for 2:44. And it's not because my turntable has a speed problem, either. I suppose sometimes that the music business is not a very precise science.

She's Available

Artist: Margie Rayburn
Song: And He Told Me A Lie (b-side) (a-side is To Each His Own)
Label: Liberty F-55159 (White Label Promotional Copy)
Number: 45-LB-888
Songwriter: R. Bagdasarian
Time: 2:35
Released: 1958

Despite the fact that Margie Rayburn had quite a varied career, there isn't that much to find out about her on the internet. Just a few tantalizing tidbits here and there. She was born Marjorie Helen Orwig in Madera, California on June 3rd, 1924 and sadly passed away from a heart attack on June 14th, 2000. In between those dates she was the singer with The Sunnysiders, whose hit was Hey Mr. Banjo; was a member of the Ray Anthony Orchestra; appeared on such television shows as The Spike Jones Show and American Bandstand; and even toured with Buddy Holly and The Crickets, in January of 1958!
Her career never really seemed to take off, even when she was signed to Liberty Records, because she wasn't selling sex like her labelmate Julie London was. It wasn't until her fifth single for Liberty that she had a hit, with her #7 in the charts recording of I'm Available. Six more singles and one album, Margie, for the label were unsuccessful. This song, And He Told Me A Lie, was one of the six singles released after her big hit, but one that did not chart. Interestingly enough, it was written by a man already familiar here on Music For Every Mood - Ross Bagdasarian. It is a wistful piece of betrayed love and even though I'm not familiar with much of the music of Margie Rayburn, this record is quite moving in it's own way.
Be sure to download this song and hear Margie Rayburn singing And He Told Me A Lie. They just don't make records like this anymore.

The Rat Pack, Part Two

Artist: Sammy Davis Jr.

Song: It's Bigger Than You And Me (b-side) (a-side is Back Track!)

Label: Decca 9-29649 (Pink Label Sample Copy - Not For Sale)

Number: 45-L 8562

Songwriter: Jule Styne - Leo Robin

Time: 2:21

Released: 1955

Here is part two of my special Rat Pack edition of posts. This one features Mr. Wonderful himself, Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr., who could have been called the hardest working man in show business, started appearing on stage when he was only 3 years old. Born on December 8th, 1925, his parents divorced when he was three. His father received custody of him and immediately took the boy with him on the vaudeville curcuit. Except for a stint in the Army during World War II, his career would last until he died in 1990. He lost an eye when he was involved in an automobile accident in 1954, which almost cost him his life.

This record dates from the following year, when he had regained control of his life and career. Columbia Pictures released the movie Here Comes Eileen, in 1955, and the song It's Bigger Than You And Me was featured in it. Although Sammy didn't appear in the movie or sing the version on the soundtrack, it was nevertheless included as the b-side of his latest single, Back Track! Featuring an orchestra led by Sy Oliver, Sammy sings it in his own inimitable way and ends up making the song his own. Here is that swinging cat Sammy Davis Jr. doing It's Bigger Than You And Me. You won't want to miss this other fine addition to the Rat Pack canon.

The Rat Pack, Part One

Artist: Dean Martin

Song: Promise Her Anything (a-side) (b-side is The Triche Trache)
Label: Capitol F3787 (White Label Promotional Record)
Number: 45-17074

Songwriter: Roy Alfred
Time: 2:54
Released: August 29th, 1957

I just received the belt I ordered through the mail, so in honor of getting my turntable back into operation, I have not one special Rat Pack-related post, but two! This is the first one and what needs to be said about the artist that most people don't already know? Of course I'm speaking about Dean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti on June 17th, 1917. Dean's career was so big that he was the only star to be a major hit in all four major areas of show business: concert stage, recordings, motion pictures, and television.
This particular song, Promise Her Anything, with the subtitle of (But Give Her Love), features an orchestra conducted by Gus Levene. The record itself is stamped August 29 1957, so I know that's when it was released. When it came out, it was at the period when his career was seeing a sudden resurgence. He had split with his longtime partner Jerry Lewis and started concentrating more on his recording and acting. What a powerful combination that came to be when he appeared in the series of movies based on the Matt Helm spy character. Those are some of my favorites of his. But enough of this preliminary stuff, let's get on to the actual record which features the oh-so-smooth crooning of Dean Martin as he sings Promise Her Anything. I'm sure you're going to enjoy this one and it's companion piece coming next from Sammy Davis Jr.

Now Appearing On The Gary Moore Show

Artist: Denise Lor

Song: Everything I Do (Concerto Of Love) (b-side) (a-side is You're Everywhere)
Label: 20th Fox 45-114 (MF-145) (Cloud Label, Promotion Copy - Not For Sale)
Number: JBOW-9969

Songwriter: Victor Young - Eddie Heyman
Time: 2:43
Released: ?

I can't find much information at all about Denise Lor. Other than the fact that she was on the Garry Moore show from 1950-64, had a #8 hit in 1954 called If I Give My Heart To You, and was one of the classiest girl singers of the fabulous fifties, there is next to nothing about her on the internet. I suspect this record is from a later period. On it she is backed by Hugo Montenegro and his orchestra. The flipside was probably the intended hit, but I can't seem to locate that it even made the charts, so that's no help. I think I'll just leave you with the impassioned singing of Denise Lor while she performs Everything I Do. Listen to it and that's probably all you need to see that she was a very good singer!

As always, if anybody can provide more information about any of these fine artists, please don't hesitate to comment and let me know.

August 17th, 2010 Update: Apparently since this post about Denise, she has come back into the public eye. There has been a little information posted about her on Wikipedia and I received an interesting little tidbit about her through some e-mail correspondence. Here are both bits of information:

Wikipedia: Denise Lor (born May 3, 1929) is an American popular singer and actress.
She was a featured artist on Garry Moore's television show. Ms. Lor was married to and subsequently divorced from TV director and singer Jay Martin, with whom she had sons, Ron and Dennis. They had met when she was singing on The Garry Moore Show at CBS, where he was an associate director. She subsequently married writer Charles Horine (Chuck Horner). Her main hit was "If I Give My Heart to You," which charted in 1954 at the same time as another recording of the same song by Doris Day. She has appeared in numerous musical comedies including Gypsy, Annie and Sweeney Todd.

Related to her appearances on the Garry Moore show: Ivan T. Sanderson, naturalist, author, World War II intelligence agent and media personality, used to appear every week on the Garry Moore daytime show in the 1950's, and he used to do things to Denise Lor like put bats in her hair and release bees while she was onstage singing.

Well, there you have just a little bit more information about Denise Lor. It looks like she's still alive, so if she is, please let her know that her fans remember her well and I wish she would contact me here at Music For Every Mood. I'm sure her fans would like to hear from her!

Teach Me Tiger

Artist: April Stevens

Song: Love Kitten (a-side) (b-side is You And Only You)

Label: Imperial 5761 (Black label silver printing)

Number: IM-2993
Songwriter: Nino Tempo

Time: 2:08

Released: 1961

Many people will recognize the name of April Stevens, especially if the name Nino Tempo is connected with it. Together, they had the smash 1963 hit Deep Purple. What many people don't realize is that this dynamic duo are brother and sister. They were born with the names of Nino and Carol Lo Tempio, and were from Niagara Falls, New York before they relocated to California. Their careers were seemingly always intertwined - working together, working apart, recording together, recording separately - and even though Nino wasn't on this track, he did write it, along with it's flipside You And Only You.

April's solo career goes back to 1951 when she was approached by the owner of Laurel Records, while still in school. Before long, she had changed her name to April Stevens and recorded a few songs for Tony Sepe's small independent label out of Hollywood, California. Early hits of hers from the 1950's included Don't Do It, Gimme A Little Kiss, Will Ya Huh? and Teach Me Tiger, all slightly suggestive sounding in nature, and a couple of them even being banned from the radio! Love Kitten is another song in the same vein. April's voice literally purrs in this song, with her sensuous, alluring vocals and singing in a throaty half-whisper. Who could doubt that she generated a lot of fan mail back in the day?

Both Love Kitten and it's b-side You And Only You have never been included on any of her albums and that is a mistake indeed. With her sexy, come-hither voice, one has only to wonder how much bigger of a star she could have been had her hair been blonde instead. Listen to April Stevens purring Love Kitten, and see if you don't agree!

Not The Robber Baron

Artist: Jaye P. Morgan

Song: Tell Me More (b-side) (a-side is My Blind Date)
Label: RCA Victor 47-7178 (Black label silver printing)
Number: J2PW-0958

Songwriter: Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller
Time: 2:02
Released: March, 1958

Jaye P. Morgan, whose real name was Mary Margaret Morgan, had a long and varied career, starting in the 1940's. Her nickname was acquired in high school, where she was elected the class treasurer and people compared her to banker J. P. Morgan because she was so tight with money. The reference stuck and she took the name "Jaye P." when she started performing professionally. In 1954, she signed with RCA Records and during this popular 4-year period, there were several singles released. In fact, during the year of 1955, she had five hit singles! This particular record came toward the end of her association with RCA and has Neal Hefti directing the orchestra. It features Jaye P. Morgan on vocals and a great uptempo arrangement. The flipside My Blind Date has been anthologized recently, as has a lot of her works, but this particular song has never appeared on any album.

After her recording career started winding down in the mid-1960's, she did little entertainment-wise except a few nightclub appearances and television talk shows, later moving into acting in the 1970's. But, she is probably most remembered for a 1980 appearance she made on The Gong Show, of which she was a regular panelist, where she did something that got her fired from the show. She supposedly bared her breasts during a performance by Gene-Gene, The Dancing Machine. This infamous incident is detailed further elsewhere, so I won't go into specifics here.

She is currently retired and her latest release is entitled Jaye P. Morgan Lately!, re-released in 2005. (Originally it came out on the Palace Records label in 1983.) But, this is Jaye P. Morgan in the height of her popularity singing Tell Me More.