Peggy Lee:

Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee:(1961)

A delightful thrift store find that I picked up about fifteen years ago. Sure, Peggy Lee was middle of the road pop jazz/torch singing, but she did it well in an upper-middle class late 50's early 60's safe white way. 

Frankie Laine:

Command Performance:(1955)

I own this record for one reason only... Leonard Cohen sang, "Frankie Laine, he was singing Jezebel. I pinned an iron cross to my lapel. I walked up to the tallest, and the blondest girl, I said, 'Look you don't know me now, but very soon you will" on his 1977 album, Death Of A Ladies Man. That was it, I had to know what this Jezebel song sounded like, as it had come out way before my time. Fortunately, the local thrift store always had a decent selection of old vinyl for a quarter a piece.  

Bobby Darin:

That's All:(1959)

It's hard to not tap your foot to the arrangements on this album. It's also hard to not sing along with Mac The Knife, and Beyond The Sea. This is always a pleasant album to throw on on a slow sunny day. 

Bing Crosby:

Greatest Hits:(1977)

There's a lot of things that make Bing Crosby significant in the history of music. In addition to his being a pop sensation in the 1940s, his vocal style was pioneering, and only made possible by the coming of better microphones that allowed a singer to not have to project over the band. This relaxed style would be adopted by many crooners after Bing. His versions of Blue Skies, and Don't Fence Me In are some of my favorites. And who could imagine Christmas without White Christmas?

Seasons:(1977)

The final album Bing ever recorded before death claimed him. And yet, his voice is strong, considering he had been dealing with a fungal infection of a lung during this time. I find it interesting to hear artists perform songs in old age that they originally did when they were much younger, like April Showers on this album. In '77 Crosby performed his final concert on August 16th, the night Elvis died.