Carole Simpson / Connie Haines - Singin' and Swingin' / A Tribute to Helen Morgan (2020)

Singin' and Swingin'
Carole Simpson (1928-2013) born in Anna, Illinois, began piano lessons at five, voice lessons at twelve. She started as a piano cocktail single at Hotel Wisconsin in Milwaukee, until she joined Billy May’s band as a featured vocalist in 1952-1954. Then came several long and sometimes weary years of clubbing it around the country, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, never truly deciding whether she preferred singing or playing piano. Eventually, Tutti Camarata heard Carole sing and brought her to the attention of Dave Cavanaugh at Capitol Records, who recorded her first album in the summer of 1957—“All About Carol.” After listening to the album, Steve Allen booked her for his TV show, and in 1960, as soon as he knew Carol’s contract with Capitol was over, invited her to record her second LP, “Singin' and Swingin'” issued on the Tops label. Carole’s feeling for jazz and knowledge of music is obvious here. Her projection of the lyrics is excellent, her sound is most pleasant, and her sense of rhythm sure.

A Tribute to Helen Morgan
Connie Haines (1920-2008) was initiated into show business at the age of four when she made her debut on radio. At ten she had her own popular commercial radio show in Jacksonville, Florida. By the time she turned fourteen, Connie became the youngest headliner ever to play the Roxy Theater in New York. Her late teens included stints with Harry James’ orchestra, and later the renowned Tommy Dorsey aggregation of the early Forties. When this young, dynamic singer finally decided to venture alone, she got her own coast-to-coast radio program, appeared in some of the best shows, and sang in the most glamorous of the nation’s supper spots, theaters and hotels. Still, and despite numerous record hits, “A Tribute to Helen Morgan” was her first LP. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more cheerful, sunnier personality than hers, or a better candidate to render this tribute, though, and with the melodies that Helen made famous, the voice of Connie Haines.