Rosalee Baker's Greatest Hit

 Happy Almost New Year, everyone!!

Time is quite short round about our house during the last few weeks of the year, but I really wanted to actually get in one post for every week of the month at least ONCE this year, so here it is. As such, I have not had time to correct any old posts, but will get back to work on those next time. 

And today we have something possibly unique. This Tin Pan Alley release is the only documented appearance, on TPA or any other song-poem label, of a singer identified as Rosalee Baker. And I must say that her absence on other releases (unless that's a pseudonym for another TPA songstress) is our loss, as her deep, throaty style is quite appealing to me. 

This record appears to be from 1959 - or at least that's when one of the songs was copyrighted - and it fits right in, stylistically, with plenty of the records of that era: what Billboard Magazine of the day would have called "Rock-a-Ballads". 

The songs are almost interchangeable in sound, but I think I slightly prefer the side titled "I Want You, I Need You" (apparently she doesn't love him). It reminds me more than a bit of the few Connie Francis records that I really love - the section from 0:19 to 0:25 seems almost lifted out of "You Were Only Fooling", which is among my choices for the best records ever made. 

Admittedly, there is a considerably lower quality in the performers backing up the singer, and a much deeper voiced singer than Connie Francis. I really enjoy Ms. Baker's performance, and suspect that I'd have enjoyed her on records made by legit, big name labels, if that could have happened. 

Download: Rosalee Baker - I Want You, I Need You

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The flip side, "Under the Red Powder Puff Tree", is no slouch, either, but then, I'm a fool for this sound. In fact, I heard this one first, and thought it unlikely that the flip would be better. But that was mainly based on the sound of the thing - upon further listening, I find that the title and lyrics for this one are quite clunky, and would be unlikely to convince anyone that it was a legit attempt at a hit (which I think might be true for "I Want You"). Plus, Ms. Baker misses the mark in a couple of places, too, in particular right near the end, at 2:23. 

That said, most of the vocal is assured, and to these ears, anyway, quite sexy, if not as much as the flip, and the band does what the style requires. I dig it. 

Download: Rosalee Baker - Under the Red Powder Puff Tree

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