(Above 1950 with Ralph Flanagan’s Band)

PATTI PAGE

b. Clara Ann Fowler, 8 November 1927, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. A popular singer who is said to have sold more records during the 50s than any other female artist, Page's total sales (singles and albums) are claimed to be in excess of 60 million. One of eight girls in a family of 11, Clara Fowler started her career singing country songs on radio station KTUL in Tulsa, and played weekend gigs with Art Klauser And His Oklahomans. She successfully auditioned for KTUL's Meet Patti Page show, sponsored by the Page Milk Company, and took the name with her when she left. Jack Rael, who was road manager and played baritone saxophone for the Jimmy Joy band, heard her on the radio and engaged her to sing with them; he later became her manager for over 40 years. In 1948 Page appeared on the top-rated Breakfast Club on Chicago radio, and sang with the Benny Goodman Septet. In the same year she had her first hit record, “Confess”, on which, in the cause of economy, she overdubbed her own voice to create the effect of a vocal group. In 1949, she used that revolutionary technique again on her first million-seller, “With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming”. The song was re-released 10 years later with a more modern orchestral backing.

Throughout the 50s, the hits continued to flow: “I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine”, “All My Love” (US number 1), “Tennessee Waltz” (said to be the first real ‘crossover’ hit from country music to pop, and one of the biggest record hits of all time), “Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)”. “Mockin' Bird Hill” (a cover version of the record made by Les Paul And Mary Ford, who took multi-tracking to the extreme in the 50s), “Mister And Mississippi”. “Detour” (recorded for her first country music album), “I Went To Your Wedding”, “Once In A While”, “You Belong To Me”, “Why Don't You Believe Me”, “(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window”, written by novelty song specialist Bob Merrill, and recorded by Page for a children's album, “Changing Partners”, “Cross Over The Bridge”, “Steam Heat”, “Let Me Go, Lover”, “Go On With The Wedding”, “Allegheny Moon”, “Old Cape Cod”, “Mama From The Train” (sung in a Pennsylvanian Dutch dialect), “Left Right Out Of Your Heart”, and many more. Her records continued to sell well into the 60s, and she had her last US Top 10 entry in 1965 with the title song from the Bette Davis-Olivia De Havilland movie Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Page also appeared extensively on US television during the 50s, on shows such as the Scott Music Hall, the Big Record variety show, and her own shows for NBC and CBS. She also made several films, including Elmer Gantry (1960), Dondi (1961, a comedy-drama, in which she co-starred with David Janssen) and Boys Night Out (1962). In the 70s, she recorded mainly country material, and in the 80s, after many successful years with Mercury Records and Columbia Records, signed for the Nashville-based company Plantation Records, a move that reunited her with top record producer Shelby Singleton. In 1988, Page gained excellent reviews when she played the Ballroom in New York, her first appearance in that city for nearly 20 years. More than 10 years later she won a Grammy Award in the Traditional Pop Vocal Performance category for her album Live At Carnegie Hall - The 50th Anniversary Concert.

Discography: Songs (Mercury 1950)***, Folksong Favorites 10-inch album (Mercury 1951)***, Christmas (Mercury 1951)***, Tennessee Waltz 10-inch album (Mercury 1952)***, Patti Sings For Romance (Mercury 1954)***, Song Souvenirs (Mercury 1954)***, Just Patti (Mercury 1954)***, Patti's Songs (Mercury 1954)***, And I Thought About You (Mercury 1954)***, So Many Memories (Mercury 1954)***, Romance On The Range (Mercury 1955)***, Page I (Mercury 1956)***, Page II (Mercury 1956)***, Page III (Mercury 1956)***, You Go To My Head (Mercury 1956)***, In The Land Of Hi-Fi (EmArcy 1956)****, Music For Two In Love (Mercury 1956)***, The Voices Of Patti Page (Mercury 1956)***, Page IV (Mercury 1956)***, Let's Get Away From It All (Mercury 1956)***, I've Heard That Song Before (Mercury 1956)***, The East Side (EmArcy 1956)***, Manhattan Tower (Mercury 1956)****, The Waltz Queen (Mercury 1957)***, The West Side (EmArcy 1958)***, Patti Page On Camera (Mercury 1959)***, I'll Remember April (Mercury 1959)***, Indiscretion (Mercury 1959)***, Sings And Stars In “Elmer Gantry” (Mercury 1960)***, Three Little Words (Mercury 1960)***, Just A Closer Walk With Thee (Mercury 1960)**, Country And Western Golden Hits (Mercury 1961)**, Go On Home (Mercury 1962)***, Golden Hit Of The Boys (Mercury 1962)***, Patti Page On Stage (Mercury 1963)***, Say Wonderful Things (Columbia 1963)**, Blue Dream Street (Mercury 1964)**, The Nearness Of You (Mercury 1964)***, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Columbia 1965)***, Gentle On My Mind (Columbia 1968)**, Patti Page With Lou Stein's Music, 1949 (Hindsight 1988)****, Live At Carnegie Hall - The 50th Anniversary Concert (DRG 1998)****, Brand New Tennessee Waltz (C.A.F./Gold 2000)***.

Compilations: Patti Page's Golden Hits (Mercury 1960)***, Patti Page's Golden Hits, Volume 2 (Mercury 1963)***, The Best Of Patti Page (Creole 1984)***, The Mercury Years, Vol. 1 (Mercury 1991)****, The Mercury Years, Vol. 2 (Mercury 1991)****, Golden Celebration 4-CD boxed set (PolyGram 1997)***.

Videography: The Patti Page Video Songbook (View 1994), The Singing Rage (PBS 2000).

Filmography: Stazione Termini aka Indiscretion (1953), Elmer Gantry (1960), Dondi (1961), Boys' Night Out (1962).