Ann Blyth

Artist: Ann Blyth

LP: Hail Mary

Song: "The Lady of the Roses"

[ listen ]

I love the idea of owning a 1960 Virgin Mary-themed religious LP made by Veda Pirece, the spoiled, scheming, murderous bitch daughter of Mildred in the 1945 Crawford movie. I also like the fact that God himself evidently did Blyth's hair and makeup for the cover—it's a miracle of perfection! Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to let this one go to make room for records I might actually want to play while washing dishes or setting the mood for a romantic evening. You can read about Ann Blyth's life and career here, and go here to find a 2006 piece from the San Francisco Chronicle in which Ann talks about her Oscar-nominated performance in "Mildred Pierce" before making a rare public appearance at a tribute screening of the film, accompanied by a "Mildred Fierce Pie-Eating Contest." I would have killed to have been there!

Dorothy Donegan

Artist: Dorothy Donegan

LP: At the Embers

Song: "Sweet Georgia Brown"

[ listen ]

This terrific Dorothy Donegan record was another one of the things I'd planned to get rid of, mainly because instrumental piano jazz isn't really a genre I can commit to with my limited space. BUT after just watching her amazing 1945 piano duel (on a rotating grand piano!) where she plays with incredibly reckless perfection, I've decided to put this one back on my shelf, and I'll be keeping an eye out for more! You can read about Dorothy Donegan on Wikipedia here, and find the notes from the back of this amazing pianist's 1957 "Live at the Embers" LP below. I didn't know people were using the word "hipsters" back in 1957.

Dorothy Donegan on YouTube:

[ —dueling piano jazz, 1945!— ]

[ Dorothy Donegan: April 6, 1922 — May 19, 1998 ]

The Robert DeCormier Singers

Artist: The Robert DeCormier Singers

LP: Walking In the Sunshine

Song: "Dang Me"

[ listen ]

No, dang ME! This sunny 1967 LP is from one of those big groups of peppy vocalists who are probably wearing matching outfits (you know, like The Doodletown Pipers!) as they warble their way through a playlist of popular standards of the day. "Walking In the Sunshine" is mostly pretty typical of the genre, but "Dang Me" is a wildly wacky standout. You can read about Robert DeCormier on Juilliard's website here, and notes from the inside and back of the LP are included below.

[ Robert DeCormier ]

The Beechmonts

Artist: The Beechmonts

LP: In a Concert of Folk Songs

Song: "Blow the Man Down"

[ listen ]

This isn't going to be a very exciting week here at The Homoerratic Radio Show. I've been weeding stuff out of my record collection lately in order to make room for the LPs currently stored on my living room floor. Over the weekend I made my way through "Vocals—A to D" and found quite a few things I never should have picked up in the first place. The records I'm posting from this week aren't that bad though, they're ones I find interesting for one reason or another and would probably keep if only I had more space. But since I've decided to let them go, I figured I'd bid them a fond farewell here on the blog. The Beechmonts are comprised of husband and wife Bill Murphy and Marcy Bianco, plus Jim Kirby, who stored his guitar at Bill and Marcy's place while he was in the Army. (I didn't think folk singers believed in joining the Army.) Though The Beechmonts aren't really my cup of tea (not enough lemon), I'm sure there are many out there who appreciate the complexities of their "true, fluid, easy three-part harmonies" and who will find them "a delight to be heard."

Ricky Segall and The Segalls

Artist: Ricky Segall and The Segalls

LP: Ricky Segall and The Segalls

Song: "What Kind of Noise Do You Make"

[ listen ]

I had a Chipotle burrito with white rice and pinto beans for dinner last night, so you can probably guess what kind of noise I make. To be honest, my noises don't sound half bad compared to the ones Ricky Segall makes on this 1973 collection of songs that he performed as "Ricky the neighbor kid" on the fourth and final season of "The Partridge Family" TV show. Born on Long Island in 1969, Ricky is now married with three kids and, after working as a minister in Texas for a number of years, he returned to Los Angeles in 2006 to go back into show business. You can check out his IMDB biography page here.

Omer Livnjak

Artist: Omer Livnjak

LP: Leila

Song: "Leila"

[ listen ]

I can't tell you much about Omer Livnjak, except that his 1983 "Leila" LP somehow made it's way from Sarajevo, the capitol city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to my local record store in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. I've included a link below to a neat Omer Livnjak music video, where he kinda' looks like one of those local late-night cable TV car salesmen—only this one sells his wares with a song!

Omer Livnjak on YouTube:

[ "Oči su Moje Mutne Od Dima" ]

Paul Dennis

Artist: Paul Dennis

LP: Danspartaj

Song: "Vi Har Plasten Här i Solen (It's Never Rains In Southern California)"

[ listen ]

At first glance it might seem there's a men's bowling team from Bismarck, North Dakota on the front of this 1975 Paul Dennis record, but that's actually Swedish folk-rocker Paul Dennis himself (in red slacks) along with the five other guys in his band. (I bet they bowl together on weekends.) There's not much info about Dennis and his gang on the web, but you can listen to another one of their songs here. According to the Google translator, "Dance Party" is the English-language title of this LP.

Roberto Leal

Artist: Roberto Leal

LP: Roberto Leal

Song: "Viagem a Lisboa"

[ listen ]

I don't have time to say much about Roberto Leal except wow! (those jeans), holy cow! (that hair), and cool! (those glasses). And I really don't have time to mention that Roberto was named the most popular Portuguese person that people could think of in a recent Rio de Janeiro poll—he came in way ahead of Pedro Álvares Cabral and Luís de Camões—or to point out that Leal kinda' resembles what you'd end up with if you melted the entire cast of the "Land of the Lost" TV show into a single being. Photos from the back of Roberto Leal's 1976 self-titled LP are included below; you can read about him on Wikipedia here and go here to poke around his website.

 [ Roberto Leal, now-ish ]

High Voltage

Artist: High Voltage

LP: High Voltage

Song: "Limbo"

[ listen ]

Not to be confused with the New York-based AC/DC tribute band, or the '80s rock tribute group from New Orleans, or the heavy alternative rock band (featuring an electric combination of hard rock guitar riffs and solos, powerful drumming, grooving bass, spacey synthesizer, and various percussion topped off with rapped male vocals and sultry female vocals, with an occasional dose of saxophone, talkbox, acoustic guitar, and turntables) from Montana, this High Voltage from the early '70s...well, just don't confuse them with any of those others. Unfortunately, there's not much info about the group on the web, but what we DO know is that this particular High Voltage released a funky self-titled LP in 1972 (see review from Dave Thompson's "Funk" book below), and if they think I've got the time or inclination to do individual edits for all 45 photos they stuck on the back of their record, they're crazy.