Fabulous Fifties Divas Sing Their Hard-To-Find Hits

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hit Parade
• ASIN: B000ERU6HG
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,253 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Seven Days - Dorothy Collins (CD Debut)

2. Cross Over The Bridge - Patti Page

3. Mambo Italiano - Rosemary Clooney

4. Tra La La - Georgia Gibbs (CD Debut)

5. Wake The Town And Tell The People - Mindy Carson

6. Love And Marriage - Dinah Shore

7. Mr. Wonderful - Sarah Vaughan (Rare on CD)

8. Make Yourself Comfortable - Sarah Vaughan

9. I'm In Love Again - April Stevens

10. Sweet Violets - Jane Turzy (CD Debut)

11. Mockin' Bird Hill - Les Paul & Mary Ford

12. Joey - Betty Madigan (CD Debut)

13. That's All I Want From You - Jaye P. Morgan

14. The Longest Walk - Jaye P. Morgan

15. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - Karen Chandler (Rare on CD)

16. Let Me Go, Lover! - Teresa Brewer

17. A Tear Fell - Teresa Brewer

18. If I Give My Heart To You - Denise Lor (CD Debut)

19. How Important Can It Be? - Joni James

20. I Understand - June Valli (CD Debut)

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars and the nostalgia continues..., June 19, 2008

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fabulous Fifties Divas Sing Their Hard-To-Find Hits (Audio CD)

Fabulous Fifties Divas Sing Their Hard-To-Find Hits really does have wonderful hits that made the airwaves sizzle back in the day! Unfortunately, most of the singers and crooners of the 1950s have been largely forgotten; and that's a crying shame. Hopefully with sales of CDs like this one that will change. The sound quality is really excellent and the artwork is very nicely done as well.

Dorothy Collins starts the CD with her hit "Seven Days;" this torch song features Dorothy Collins front and center--right where she belongs! Dorothy's voice is as clear as a bell and there's no stopping her as she does this with all her heart. Patti Page also makes good with her song "Cross Over The Bridge;" "Cross Over The Bridge" is a sharp number that impresses me with its arrangement; the melody is very good and Patti never sounded better! This is one song Patti Page fans will have to have in their collections sooner or later. In addition, Rosemary Clooney does her very famous hit entitled "Mambo Italiano;" Rosie loved to sing this song and she delves into it and sings this with lots of positive energy and enthusiasm--terrific!

Mindy Carson sings "Wake The Town And Tell The People;" I am familiar with this song but Mindy Carson is new to me--and this wont' be the only CD with Mindy Carson in my collection--I'll fix that soon. Mindy's voice is very good and she handles this song seemingly effortlessly. Sarah Vaughan also checks in with "Make Yourself Comfortable;" Sarah never faltered anytime she sang a song and this number proves just how great she really was. The fabulous Jaye P. Morgan weighs in with her song; she sings "That's All I Want From You" with panache and Jay P. Morgan's voice is also quite clear--and very pretty. Karen Chandler also does a great job on "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me;" this is one classic love song that I'll never forget now matter how long it is between the times I hear it. Teresa Brewer also practically outdoes even herself on "Let Me Go, Lover!;" "Let Me Go, Lover!" features Teresa Brewer squarely in the spotlight and that's quite all right by me.

Denise Lor does a great job on "If I Give My Heart To You;" the strings enhance the natural beauty of this ballad. I have never heard of Denise Lor until now but this won't be the last song I ever have of hers in my collection--it's such a shame that great divas like Denise have been cast aside almost completely. Felicia Sanders also sings "Blue Star (The Medic Theme)" with lots of feeling and that is great. Felicia's voice is like a finely tuned instrument and she makes this number shine!

"Suddenly There's A Valley" gets a fine treatment from the great Gogi Grant; and the CD ends nicely with Vera Lynn performing "We'll Meet Again." This sentimental number is the perfect ending for this album and you're bound to enjoy it if this music is your cup of tea.

Fabulous Fifties Divas Sing Their Hard-To-Find Hits is sure to please people who love their classic pop vocals. These divas really WERE divas; and you'll cherish this album for years to come.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of lost 45's (and maybe even 78's) in this terrific new collection from Canada's Hit Parade records, January 26, 2007

By 

Paul Tognetti "The real world is so much more... (Cranston, RI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fabulous Fifties Divas Sing Their Hard-To-Find Hits (Audio CD)

If you are over the age of 60 I am sure you would remember most of them. As far as I know the vast majority of these tunes have been out of print for decades. In 2006, Hit Parade records based in Ontario, Canada released this marvelous collection entitled "Fabulous 50's Divas Sing Their Hard To Find Hits". For collectors this is a virtual treasure trove of classic 1950's pop tunes. And even though I have been collecting for more than 40 years now there were around ten songs I had never even heard before. I had an awful lot of fun just sampling many of these tunes for the very first time.

Now there certainly are some mighty big hits among the nearly two dozen tunes that appear on this disc. Perhaps my favorite is Patti Page's 1954 #2 smash "Cross Over The Bridge". I doubt that Sarah Vaughn was capable of making a bad record. You will find two of her memorable hits on this disc including her rendition of "Mr. Wonderful" as well as the flirtatious "Make Yourself Comfortable" that also made the Top Ten in 1954. And of course the great Teresa Brewer had any number of big hits in those days. You will find both "Let Me Go, Lover" and "A Tear Fell" included as well. As I mentioned earlier, "Fabulous 50's Divas Sing Their Hard To Find Hits" also includes about a dozen songs that had virtually disappeared years ago and were impossible to find anywhere at any price. Among these is the original version of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" which was a #5 hit for one Karen Chandler on the old Coral label back in 1952. And then there is Jaye P. Morgan's "The Longest Walk" from 1955. Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I remember hearing that one when I was a kid but I had not heard this song for over 40 years! You will also find hits by great female vocalists like June Valli, Rosemary Clooney and Gogi Grant and many others. And in the category of "hidden gems" I would recommend to you track 21 "Blue Star(The "Medic" Theme)" by Felicia Sanders, a cabaret singer I had never even heard of. That one just might be the best song in the entire collection. "Fabulous 50's Divas Sing Their Hard To Find Hits" concludes with the legendary British songstress Vera Lynn belting out her 1953 hit version of the great World War II classic "We'll Meet Again". It doesn't get much better than that!

For those who might be concerned that these might be cheap re-recordings let me assure you that these are all the original hit versions you would remember from the radio. Also included is a neat 8 page booklet with information on all of these fine ladies as well as the Billboard chart information on each and every one of these tunes. "Fabulous 50's Divas Sing Their Hard To Find Hits' was a great addition to my collection. I eagerly look forward to more releases from this label. If you love this music, it would be a great addition to your library as well. Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give this one a try also, July 2, 2006

By 

Gordon Walter (Markham, On, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fabulous Fifties Divas Sing Their Hard-To-Find Hits (Audio CD)

Another gem from the people at Eric Records, home of the Hard to Find series. As with the Crooners CD this one has excellent sound quality; better than the compliation and individual artist CD's that I already own.
A great selection of arists and songs with mostly big hits from the 50-55 era including two songs that I have never before found on any CD - "If I Give My Heart to You" by Denise Lor and "I Understand" by June Valli.
Being a child of the 50's and 60's and being around to witness the birth of Rock 'n' Roll, I have always been a collector of the Rock music of the era. However, I have now found a new appreciation for the early 50's music of my parents and it's great to have series such as these to help me relive the old songs.
There are still lots of songs out there that are not available on CD so I hope that this series will continue.