The Word: There are women singers from the jazz age, from classic pop, and rock. The most "out there" may be beyond words, literally, whether it's "vocalese," scat, growls, or impressive "abstract ethereal vocalization from outer space."
There isn't everyone listed below, just some of the best, plus a few that are just plain fun.
Further below: 45s
Links: are to subpages or artists bio/discog pages in the Hyp Records guide:
Images: accurately represent items but are not always the exact copy listed/purchased
Discount: ALWAYS try to buy more than one item at a time
Ann-Margret: Songs from "The Swinger" and Other Swingin' Songs; RCA Victor LSP-3710; 1966; first press N/N shrink (partial) S $40 -- mod/torch/film; Marty Paich conducts in what is easily her hippest ST if not LP generally, and it's traditionally quite hard to find; the movie itself is a bit of a disappointment story-wise, but the wild high-60s scenes, clothes, 'tudes, etc. and this ST do make it worth a look; btw, the title track stands as the ONLY homemade ringtone we've ever made and deployed, which is saying something (how can you top a loop of A-M cooing, "hey, swinger" after a short bass intro?) The Swinger (From "The Swinger"), By Myself, I Just Want To Make Love to You, Swinger's Holiday (From "The Swinger"), More, Cute, You Came a Long Way From St. Louis, The Good Life, After the Lights Go Down Low, I Wanna Be Loved (Sung in "The Swinger"), Kelly's Dance (From "The Swinger"), That Old Black Magic (Sung in "The Swinger")
Yvonne de Carlo Sings; Masterseal (no #); 1957; deep groove E+/E+ $30 -- celebrity/golden throat/female vocal/torch singer; with John Towner; long before the late actress became Lily Munster and Bat Girl, just before even her role in the classic Ten Commandments epic, she made this minor collectors item; beautiful jacket, romantic singing, essential in any collection of female vocalists or celebrity records
Wanda Jackson (rockabilly queen) -- Rock
Eartha Kitt: Down to Eartha; RCA Victor LPM-1109; 1955; 1st press/deep groove E+/E $20 -- torch; collectors item!; marvelous early classic that blends cocktail culture and first-rate female vocal pop-jazz (well, you know, EARTHA KITT!!!); I Wantcha Around, Do You Remember, Looking for A Boy, I've Got that Lovin' Bug Itch, Oh John!, Strangers in the Starlight, The Day that the Circus Left Town, Apres Moi, The Heel, Mambo de Paree, My Heart's Delight, Hey Jacques
Abbe Lane: The Lady in Red; RCA Victor LPM-1688; 1958; deep groove E/E- $30 (or E-/V+ $25, specify) -- female vocal/torch; very rare (stereo is super impossibly rare); w/Sid Ramin orchestra; Cugat wife without him here (her Victor LPs are great, his are not!); In a Little Spanish Town, Do it Again, No Good to Me, The Lady in Red, Ain't Misbehavin', Breezin' Along with the Breeze, You're Driving Me Crazy, Femininity, All of Me, I Get a Kick Out of You, It's Been a Long Long Time, We're Not Children
Abbe Lane: Where There's a Man; RCA Victor LPM-1899; 1st press E-/N- $35 (specify) -- female vocal/torch; "Sultry and Sassy"; with Sid Ramin orchestra and even hubbie Cugat himself on the novel last song (titled "Oh, Cugie.." on the mono, "Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep" on the stereo)--worth it just for that, if not the soft-focus, scrumptious cheesecake jacket that many have paid a lot more for!; A Little Girl from Little Rock, No Man Gets Me Right Away, The Man I Love, Any Man Can Be Had, I'm in Love with the Honorable Mr. So and So, A Good Man is Hard to Find, What is a Man, Where There's a Man, The Gentleman is a Dope, A Man and His Dream, I Must Have That Man, Go to Sleep-Go to Sleep-Go to Sleep (a.k.a. "Oh Cugie")
Abbe Lane: Where There's a Man; RCA Victor LSP-1899; 1959/1958; deep groove E/E S $50 -- female vocal/torch; "Sultry and Sassy"; with Sid Ramin orchestra and even hubbie Cugat himself on the novel last song (titled "Oh, Cugie.." on the mono, "Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep" on the stereo)--worth it just for that, if not the soft-focus, scrumptious cheesecake jacket that many have paid a lot more for!; A Little Girl from Little Rock, No Man Gets Me Right Away, The Man I Love, Any Man Can Be Had, I'm in Love with the Honorable Mr. So and So, A Good Man is Hard to Find, What is a Man, Where There's a Man, The Gentleman is a Dope, A Man and His Dream, I Must Have That Man, Go to Sleep-Go to Sleep-Go to Sleep (a.k.a. "Oh Cugie")
Abbe Lane w/Xavier Cugat: Abbe Lane; Mercury SR-60643; 1st, deep groove N/N- shrink S $40 -- female vocal/torch; Volare, Adios Pampa Mia, Mustapha, Mon Menage a Moi, La Violetera, Hava Nagila, Never on Sunday, Historia de un Amor, Uno Piccolissama Serenata, Quando Vien La Sera, Malaguena Salerosa
Abbe Lane: The Many Sides of; Mercury MG-20930; deep groove E-/V+ $20 -- female vocal/torch; her last LP, very swingin' and not any easier to find than the earlier ones, perhaps harder; Some of these Days, The Facts of Life, More, I Love Paris, Call Me Irresponsible, Milord, I Believe in You, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Do Me Good Baby, As Long as He Needs Me, If You Love Me Really Love Me, Thank Heaven for Little Boys
Katie Lee -- Beat/Beatnik
Julie London: Yummy, Yummy, Yummy; Liberty LST-7609; 1969; V/E S $25 -- torch; one of her rarest, always in high demand not only for the famously obscene title cut (the way she sings it, it is) but also Light My Fire, Louie Louie, Stoned Soul Picnic, Mighty Quinn, And I Love Him..
Myrna March: Explosive Vocal Percussion; Strand SLS-1033; deep groove V+/E- S $15 -- female vocal/bongos; "the beauteous Myrna March, five foot two, beautifully framed titian topped terror of the Sunset Strip"; one of our favorite obscurities languishing on a budget label (and it's rare), it's probably the only recording of a red-headed wildcat you'd swear was Ann-Margret in "Kitten with a Whip" mode PLUS the added sensations of Command-level stereo separation and orchestral effects (such as bongos); imagine Ann-Margret with Russ Garcia backing and you have it; best of all, the 12 cuts are unusual too: Love is Coming My Way, Mademoiselle de Paree, Fandango, It Was Written in the Stars, You Can't Have Love, Don't Introduce Me, I Leande on a Man, It Used to Be, Majorca, You Don't Know What Love Is, It's Love, Go If You're Going
Mrs. Elva Miller: Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?!; Capitol ST-2579; 1st press N-/N shrink S $20 -- golden throat/put-on; ok, so it's not quite the pot-brownie one that everyone wants, but it's better/scarcer than "Greatest Hits" and not mono, cutout, worn, or reissue!; Strangers in the Night, Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home?, Somewhere My Love, A Groovy Kind of Love, Melody, The Girl from Ipanema, Yellow Submarine, Every Little Movement, Moon River, Second Hand Rose, Sweet Pea, Monday Monday
Ruth Wallis: Wallis on the Party Line; Wallis Original LPW-10; deep groove N-/N $30 -- vocal/torch/risque; A Man a Mink & a Million, Pink & Purple Pills, Letter from Bermuda, Vulture for Culture, The American Plan, Red Lights & Bells..
Ruth Wallis: Saucy Hit Parade; Wallis Original WLP-11; deep groove E-/E- $20 -- vocal/torch/risque; Men in My Life, The Dinghy Song, Senorita What's Her Name, Down in the Indies (an early calypso), Pull Down the Shade Marie, It's a Scream how Leveene Does the Rhumba, Life of Reilly, Oilman from Texas, Johnny Had a Yo Yo..
Ruth Wallis: Saucy Hit Parade (Live & Kickin'); King 904; N/E+ shrink $35 -- vocal/torch/risque; recorded live on stage in Australia!; unlike her other King LPs, which make a mess of reissuing her Wallis Original material, this one's a complete, unique LP basically unaltered from its rare WO version (except the jacket); 10 classic Wallis hits all given a lift thanks to a lively audience; one of the rarest & most exciting/unusual Wallis LPs, all the more so in such top shape
Ruth Wallis: How to Stay Sexy Tho' Married; Mercury SR-61210; 1968; 1st press (1 only!) cutout N/E- shrink S $20 -- vocal/torch/risque; scarce final LP from a year when people had a lot on their minds and, in the record shops, many other top choices to pick from, so it's little wonder this nifty gem got overlooked; besides being more modern than her earlier work in a few ways (stereo, jacket art, Mercury production), it's the only one she did for the label and the only way to get these [should-be] classics: You've Got to Have Boobs, The Sexiest Girl in Town, How to Stay Sexy Tho' Married, C'est la Vie, Don't Bite Off More than You Can Chew, Through With Marriage, My First Englishman, Marriage Jewish Style, It's Great to Be a Broad, I Was in Love for Two Days
Sandy Duncan with Hope of the Future: I Am a Woman/Liberation Now; Decca 32728; 1970; yellow-label promo E S $15 -- feminist rock/vocal; prod. & arr. by Joe Rene for "Discobook"; impossibly rare footnote in the history of feminism (& Sandy Duncan's career); B-side credited to Hope of the Future only
Joni James: Every Time You Tell Me You Love Me/When We Come of Age; MGM K11865; N- $10
Joni James: How Important Can it Be?/This is My Confession; MGM K11919; N- $10
Eartha Kitt: RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt; RCA Victor LPM-3062; 1954; 2-disc gatefold EP; 1953; E/N- $25 -- torch; w/Henri René; her classic first LP (identical to the 10" release) but in higher fidelity, higher gain (which is why EPs are so wonderful!); as portable as a CD but with maximum integrity and sound, better even than the 10" LP if you have it clean; I Wanna Be Evil, C'est Si Bon, Angelitos Negros, Avril Au Portugale, Uska Dara, African Lullaby, Mountain High-Valley Low, Lilac Wine
Eartha Kitt: Mrs. Patterson ST; RCA Victor 45EP-EOC1017; 1954; 3-disc EP V+/V+ $15 -- torch/musical; you'll pay a lot more for the rare LP version; get it all here inexpensively and complete your Eartha collection; true collectors item!; Overture, Mrs. Patterson, Devil Scene, If I Was a Boy, The Fantasy, The Fantasy (continued), I Wish I Was a Bumble Bee, Card Game Scene, Be Good-Be Good-Be Good, Tea Party Scene, Tea in Chicago, Tea Party Scene (continued), My Daddy is a Dandy, Finale
Rosie & the Originals: Give Me Love/Angel Baby; Highland 1011; E+ $15 -- supposedly "Angel Baby" was one of two pop hits that broke the length barrier, meaning a little longer than 3 minutes
Joanie Sommers: Johnny Get Angry/A Summer Place; Warner Bros. 5275; E $10
Gale Storm: Never Leave Me/I Hear You Knocking; Dot 15412; N $20
Kathy Young: Eddie My Darling/A Thousand Stars; Indigo 108; N- $20
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