Cathi Hayes & Lu Ann Simms - It's All Right with Me / At Separate Tables (2020)

It's All Right with Me:
Cathi Hayes (Milwaukee, 1935) began singing in Seattle, Washington, in 1953, along with her brother Jerry, in a five-vocal group called The Signatures. They soon became instrumentally proficient with Cathi on vibes. Then in 1958 she left to join a versatile and exciting group called Gus n Us, directed by Gus Mancuso. In October that same year, Cathi began her career as a single at the Facks club in San Francisco. After eight months working the club circuit, she headed to Hollywood, where she became a prominent attraction at Dean Martin s restaurant Dino s. It was then while still swinging at the bistro that she recorded her only album "It's All Right with Me" emerging as a new, individual artist of quality. Guitarist Barney Kessel, who took care of the superlative arrangements, described her as a very adventurous singer who, I m convinced, sings for the sheer love of it. As to her style, she s in a cool groove, all right, but she s not derivative in any way.

At Separate Tables:
Lu Ann Simms (1932-2003) was born in Rochester, New York, and first bowed to an audience at the age of three, while singing for a local radio station. She got her singing break after auditioning on Arthur Godfrey s Talent Scouts, which she won in 1952. From then on, she performed regularly on the Godfrey television show for three years, and became so popular that she even inspired the best-selling Lu Ann Simms doll. Then in 1957 she signed with Jubilee, recording her only LP for this label in the fall of 1958: "At Separate Tables." On this album we find Lu Ann at her best, singing with feeling and warmth a dozen Harry Warren songs, all from pictures. The arranger-conductor behind the singer was Dave Terry. Unfortunately, her career was shaken in 1959 by the death of her first husband and manager Loring Buzzell, and despite attempts to return to the stage, little by little her star faded.