LOLA "DEE" AMECHE - Pretty Eyed Baby / That's The One For Me (1951)

Description:
50s Jiver - Pop Rhythm and Blues A & B-Side 5609 Mercury Records (1951)
Al Trace and his orchestra vocal : Lola Ameche (Lola Dee) B-Side with Bobby Hart.
Lola Dee (born Lorraine DeAngelis in Chicago, Illinois, 1928 – December 7, 2023)
Lola Dee grew up in Chicago's West Side communities.
Her father Peter was a drummer, and she started singing before the age of 2, delighting her family. Her first public engagements were amateur shows, starting at the age of 9, with the support of her mother, Ida.
Lola had a brother, Carl, and a sister, Stella.
Aged 14, Lola was heard on an amateur programme, and was asked to audition for the American Broadcasting Company's Junior Junction, a national show for teenagers based in Chicago with Dick York as Master of Ceremonies.
Dee appeared on Chicago's WLS Barn Dance, and was referred to as "The Little Princess".
That appearance led to three years as staff singer for ABC; during this time, she signed to a recording contract with Mercury.

On signing with Mercury Records, Dee changed her stage name to Lola Ameche, after her mother's maiden name, then to Lola Dee on the same label.
She also worked under contract to Columbia Records and London Records as Lola Ameche, recording over 60 sides in total.
Her version of "Only You (And You Alone)" reportedly sold half a million copies, despite not charting.
Dee's Billboard hits were "Pretty Eyed Baby" (as vocalist with Al Trace's Orchestra, a No. 26 hit in 1951), "Hitsity Hotsity" (her highest-charting single, reaching No. 24 in 1951), "Padre" (reaching No. 25 in 1954) and "Paper Roses" (a No. 72 hit in 1955).

Dee also recorded the title song from the film Fire Down Below, and "Dahil Sa Iyo" with the Manila Symphony Orchestra.
During her career, Dee performed worldwide and became a member of several tours which included such stars as Bob Hope, Johnnie Ray and Jimmy Durante.
She toured clubs and theatres in Australia, the Far East, Mexico, the Philippines, the Caribbean, Japan, South America, Cuba and Canada.
Lola Dee died on December 7, 2023, at the age of 95.



#rhythmandblues #popvocal #50s