Born July 22,1924 in Detroit, Margaret Whiting began singing as a small child and, by the age of seven, signed with Johnny Mercer, the popular songwriter and founder of Capitol Records, for whom her father worked. She was a popular vocalist in the 1940s and 1950s, recording dozens of hits for Capitol Records, launched by her father and two partners. She was the first artist to be engaged by the label, where she began recording in 1942.
Every Sunday night for almost twenty-three years between 1948 and 1971, millions of Americans tuned in at 8 p.m. to watch a live variety show on CBS. The Ed Sullivan Show, with an assortment of acts ranging from stand-up comics to rock bands to bears riding on bicycles, was the most popular variety show of its time, despite being hosted by a man best known for his awkwardness in front of the camera. First called Toast of the Town, the show debuted on June 20, 1948, at 9 p.m. It later moved to its familiar, earlier time slot so that children could stay up to watch it. Its name was changed to The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. The show stayed on the air until May 30, 1971, and presented the best-known entertainers of its time.
Teal Joy was a nightclub singer born Elsie Itashiki in 1926. On her first record Ted Steele Presents Miss Teal Joy (1957) she sings in Japanese, Yiddish, Italian, French and Spanish as well as English, which she pulls off well. Three years later in 1960 she released Mood in Mink. She released no other record albums as Teal Joy. In 2017 Mood in Mink was re-released on cd. The cover described her as "The Oriental Billie Holiday.
Swell Dames at the Oscars
Swell Dames at the Oscars. "You win some, you lose some."
Diana Dors
Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; October 23, 1931 – May 4, 1984) was an English film actress, singer, and pin-up model. Best known for her figure and sex appeal, she was often compared to American blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe. She appeared in many British sex comedies and noirs of the 1950s and 1960s, some Hollywood films, and television later in life.
Leslie Uggams
Versatile singing star of television, stage, screen, and cabaret Leslie Uggams (b. New York City, May 25, 1943) is certainly best known across America for her role as Kizzy in the most-watched television series in history, Alex Haley’s Roots (1977). But more typical of her performance style was her work in Hallelujah, Baby! on Broadway, for which she won the 1968 Tony Award® for Best Actress in a Musical.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Teri Thornton began performing in local jazz clubs in the '50s. Moving to New York in '60s, she got into singing on national ad jingles and recorded for different record labels. To find more work, Thornton journeyed to Los Angeles. Returning to New York in 1983, the singer found steady work in jazz clubs.
Blue Moon, the movie, tells the story of Lorenz Hart's struggles with alcoholism and mental health as he tries to save face during the opening of "Oklahoma!".
Friday the 13th. Bad luck and trouble.
Rhythm & blues in the 1950s was mostly a male affair, but there were a few talented and determined women who made their marks as singers and musicians during this decade. One of the first to do so was Annisteen Allen, a jazz-tinged blues singer born in Illinois and raised in Toledo, Ohio. She was a big-band singer in the style of Ella Fitzgerald when she was hired in 1945 to work with the band of Lucky Millinder, upon the recommendation of Louis Jordan. Millinder was a native of Anniston, Alabama, and changed her name from Ernestine to Annisteen Allen. The moniker stuck, and it was not until Allen's final recording session in 1961 that she used her real name on a record.