Mambo with Prado and Monroe

This is a follow-up to the recent reup of Pérez Prado's first LP on my other blog. This 1954 single combines the "Marilyn Monroe Mambo" with the "Steam Heat Mambo."

Just to be clear, Monroe does not appear on the song named for her. The closest we get to her is hearing the band chant "Marilyn Mon-roe" in the toneless manner that was popular among the ensembles of the time.

I wonder how many Monroe tributes there were in popular music. I know Ray Anthony had a hit with "Marilyn."

Was she spinning "Marilyn" or the "Marilyn Monroe Mambo"?

(Brief digression - There are photos online of Marilyn taken at a photo-op at Ray Anthony's house in 1952 promoting the "Marilyn" record. Just to show you how far we are away from those times, the Daily Mail identifies Anthony as a "crooner," even though he is toting his trumpet, and offers another photo of the two watching Mickey Rooney play the drums - and identifies him only as "a drummer." I hope they know that Monroe was an actor.)

The "Marilyn Monroe Mambo" appears on one of Prado's LPs, but I think the flip side of this 45 may be a non-LP tune. It is a mambo version of "Steam Heat," one of the songs from the great Adler and Ross show The Pajama Game.  Here, predictably, you get to enjoy the band chant "Steam Heat". And of course, Prado yells "Ugh!" as he does on most of his records.

The sound is reasonably good.

More Singles from Jerri Adams

Those of you who enjoyed the Jerri Adams post of a few months back will want to have this one. It consists of the rest of Jerri Adams' Columbia singles-only recordings, along with her only release on the Fraternity label.

These are fine outings, showing her ability to be convincing at all tempos and in a variety of genres, along her beautiful voice and excellent intonation. The quality of the material is variable, as usual with singles of this vintage.

"Why Tell a Lie," from September 1953, is the flipside to the "Moonlight in Vermont" (which was in the earlier post).

"Two's a Crowd" and "Alone Together" come from May 1954. On the latter, Percy Faith cooks up an accompaniment that sounds like a rhumba band playing through a hurricane. Faith backs her on all the Columbia sides where a conductor is indicated, except for the late Ray Conniff date.

"Snow Dreams" and "Guess I Had Too Much to Dream" feature her former vocal group, the Tattle Tales."Take My Hand" is the flip of the 1955 release of "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe," which was in my earlier post. ("Happiness" was also released in 54.)

"Walk Fast" and "If I Forget You" (an excellent record) are from 1956.

"I'm All Right Now" and "Looking for Someone to Love" are with Ray Conniff, circa 1958.

Finally, her only release on Fraternity Records from her home town, Cincinnati, dating from 1961. "Ivory Tower" was an effective, if pointless remake of a 1957 hit. It is backed by "All Around This Heart," written by arranger Edward H. Labonski.

All of these are from unplayed promos or store stock, except for the Fraternity single. The sound is exceptionally good.