There's not much more I can say about Cara Stewart records. I love them. She has only a few templates, but as with Fats Domino, who also worked with a fairly specific and small palette, they're pretty much all wonderful templates, capable of resulting in some really nice records. Such is the case with "Signal Lights", a nice, mid-tempo shuffle, with male back-up singers, a bouncy band and a unimpeachable vocal.
The Top Rock label may have been the vanity project, via Lee Hudson's song-poem factory, of someone named Les Hilton. It's hard to say, because this is the only record on the label where the AS/PMA website lists the songwriter (interestingly, that page shows a co-writer for the flip side, a name which does not appear on my copy).But my guess is, Les Hilton was the song-writer, or co-writer, on all "Top Rock" releases.
Also, if you do a search for either of today's records and for Cara Stewart's name, you'll find google books results for both an ad in Billboard for this record, and a listing in a different issue of Billboard where they indicate it has "limited potential".
Download: Cara Stewart, Lee Hudson Orch. - Signal Lights
Play:
The flip side, "Don't Break My Dream of Love", has Lee and Cara in dreamy, romantic mode. This side of my copy of the record is beat to hell, so please forgive the sound quality. Back when the AS/PMA website was still an active entity, someone submitted a great, ridiculous line from this song to the "Song-Poem Non Sequitur" page, specifically:
"Please take my lips, abuse them, to your desire."
I wonder if he took her up on that offer....
Download: Cara Stewart, Lee Hudson Orch. - Don't Break My Dream of Love
Play:
2 comments:
I really think "Signals" is the better of this duo. Thanx........................!
I prefer "Signal Lights" too. Fun record. But in its mix of hepcat lyrics, 40s backing vocals, and sultry lead vocalist intoning slightly racy words, it clearly did have "limited potential."
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