Index

Miss Patti Page, "The Singing Rage" was born Clara Ann Fowler in 1927 in Oklahoma. In her career that spans six decades, Ms Page has sold over 100 Albums, 160 Singles with

84 Top 40 Hits.

Grammy Award Winner, Patti Page, at 81, is one of America’s true living legends, selling more than 100 million records, making her one of the biggest selling female recording artists in history.

Patti’s silky-smooth voice during the ‘50s and ‘60s provided her with a staggering 111 hits, 15 gold records and four gold albums. Patti became the first crossover artist to take country music out of the country and onto the pop charts with such million record sellers as “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “I Went To Your Wedding,” “Mister & Mississippi,” and, of course, the legendary “Tennessee Waltz,” which was # 1 on all the charts and sold more than 20 million.

She was also the first artist to use multiple voice techniques on records and the only singer —male or female—to have had shows bearing her name on all three major TV networks.

Patti’s accomplishments remain unparalleled. In 1998 she won a Grammy as "Best Traditional Pop Singer" for her "Live at Carnegie Hall" album, from her 50th-anniversary concert.

Today, she continues to record, four new albums in the past six years. Patti still performs about 50 concerts each year, sharing her list of chart-topping classics with her fans.

This is the photo bouncing around the Internet labeled Linda Laurie.

“Not me,” Linda insisted by telephone from California. "That girl sitting on the piano is not me; that’s some other Linda Laurie.”

I’m not convinced;

her response may be metaphysical, existential, or the truth.

I was searching for the Linda Laurie who in 1958 croaked "Just keep walkin" line from her hit novelty record, Ambrose Part 5.

There is no Ambrose Part 1-4; it was a gimmick.

"Linda Laurie is alive and well and living in Santa Barbara, " she emailed; "call me." Linda has had a pretty varied career. She did girl group tunes, Stay-At-Home-Sue (Answer to Dion's Runaround Sue) with the Del Satins, sung the theme to Land of the Lost, and knocked off a few novelty records (one of the oddest being Jose' He Say). Because she was already doing novelty songs (and doing all the voices) it isn't a surprise that she wound up with another hit. Linda Laurie died November 19, 2009 in Santa Barbara, CA.

Over the years, Linda Laurie had enjoyed a successful career as a song-writer on far-reaching tunes by Sean Combs, Mariah Carey and Shyne to Weird Al Yankovick and the recent rapper film Step Up 2 The Streets. You can hear her answer recording

to Dion's "Runaround Sue," with the

Del Satins.

Fifty years ago, the heartthrob for most teenage boys was Annette Funicello, the No. 1 Mouseketeer on Walt Disney's ABC-TV series, “The Mickey Mouse Club” ('55-'59). With her dancing, singing and a downright nice personality, she stole the show. By the end of the first season, she was receiving 6,000 fan letters a month.

Walt Disney himself chose Funicello to join the Mouseketeers, shepherding her career for the next several years. He even advised her to wear a one-piece, not a bikini, in her first “Beach Party” movie with

Frankie Avalon. ('61) There followed a singing contract that included several top 10 hits, including "Tall Paul" and "Pineapple Princess." Her voice was so soft that, according to composer Richard Sherman, she doubled her vocals by singing over herself in the

recording studio, creating the "Annette-sound". Funicello went on to star in episodes of Disney's “Zorro” TV series and several Disney movies, including “The Shaggy Dog” and “Babes in Toyland.” She left the entertainment business after the “Beach Party” movies to raise a family.

Born in Utica, NY, she took dancing and music lessons as a child to try to overcome her shyness. Her family moved to California when she was four years old. In 1955, the 12-year-old was discovered by Walt Disney as she performed at a dance recital. On the basis of this appearance, Disney cast her as one of the original "Mouseketeers".

In recent years, Annette, 66, has become an outspoken advocate of research for multiple sclerosis, a disease she was diagnosed with in 1987 and which she revealed to the public five years later. She released her memoirs, “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: My Story” in '94.