Customer Reviews

Fabulous Fifties Divas Sing Their Hard-To-Find Hits

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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.

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.

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.

There is no denying that the female vocalists represented in this volume are, indeed, among what you could call the fabulous Fifties divas although, without something from the likes of Peggy Lee, Kay Starr, Jo Stafford, Kitty Kallen, Ella Mae Morse, Dinah Washington, Doris Day, and Eydie Gorme (to name just some of the more prominent not represented here) it is by no means definitive.

Also, more than half the contents hardly fall within the "hard-to-find" category, as tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22, and 23 are readily available on any number of multi-srtist or single-artist compilations.

But where it really earns 5 stars from this collector is in the inclusion of some of the very HARDEST to find. Such as Seven Days by Dorothy Collins with the Dick Jacobs orchestra, a # 17 in early 1956 on the Coral label, and Sweet Violets by Jane Turzy, whose version hit # 11 in the summer of 1951 with the backing of the Remo Biondi orchestra for Decca.

Others in that category would include: Joey by Betty Madigan (# 12 in June 1954 with the Joe Lipman orchestra on MGM); Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me by Karen Chandler (# 5 in late 1952/early 1953 with the Jack Pleiss orchestra on Coral); If I Give My Heart To You by Denise Lor (# 8 in the fall of 1954 with Joe Candullo & His Orchestra on the small Majar label); and Blue Star (The "Medic" Theme) by Felicia Sanders (# 29 in June 1955 with the Norman Leyden orchestra on Columbia).

The sound quality is excellent and in the insert are five pages of detailed background notes written by Greg Adams.

If you purchased the "Hard to Find Crooners Collection" and missed this one - oops! In terms of filling the true collector's needs, this is at least the equal of the "Crooners" CD, in that some really classic songs and artists have been resurrected for your listening pleasure.

Seriously, "Hard To Find" barely penetrates the first link in the classic nature of this collection. Here we have recordings that have unfortunately faded into obscurity, not because of their lack of quality or popularity during the Fifties and subsequent eras, but because of the neglect of larger recordimg companies. Once again, we owe a collective expression of thanks to the producers of these collections, which represents the essence of "Customer Service."

As is the case with the Crooners collection, several of the songs in the album have been previously available in other CD collections, but comparitively few. You will see the names of outstanding artists here that perhaps you had forgotten, but after having listened to their songs, they will all be rendered "unforgettable!" For example, just picture yourself on the couch with your love, the lights turned down low, and Sarah Vaughn's "Make Yourself Comfortable" setting the mood in the background. A "Musical Miller Time" for sure!

There are other names and songs here that will rekindle your love for the "Fifties Ladies," such as Karen Chandler's rendition of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," "That's All I Want From You" and "The Longest Walk" from Jaye P. Morgan, and April Stevens' breathy "I'm in Love Again." And how about June Valli and Gogi Grant, two of the more underappreciated songstresses from the Fifties era? And when was the last time you were able to listen to Mindy Carson?

Ah, this collection speaks for itself, by virtue of its very thorough inclusions from the absolute best of the musical eras! Enjoy!!