OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With Ann Richards! Plus A Special Holiday!

Welcome, party hors, to another Manor Music Monday - plus a very special holiday surprise. But first, DJ Li'l Scratch has pawed his way into the Manor's Beeftube Lounge, ready to spin you some tunes. Today, he's all about the one and only Ann Richards.

Are you familiar with Ann? Back in the day, she gained fame for her jazz vocals and notoriety for her sizzling spread in "Playboy" magazine in 1961 (one of the more demure shots is above, sans staples). The "Playboy" spread tended to overshadow her accomplishments as a vocalist, yet ever since a salacious 2010 book about Stan Kenton, whom she was married to, was released, there's been renewed interest in her music and life. Amongst the book's many details: their son Lance was arrested in 1978 for attempted murder after putting a rattlesnake in his lawyer's mailbox (you can't make this stuff up).

But let's put all that messy violence aside (and agree that Stan was a horrible person who's hopefully burning in hell as we speak). Ann may not be the first vocalist people recall when they think of classic jazz singers, but she was up there with the best and is still criminally overlooked. Once you give a listen to her 1958 LP, "I'm Shooting High," you'll understand why all that tragedy and violence is easily forgotten. Smooth doesn't even begin to describe her technical prowess.

Deeply troubled throughout her life, Ann died in 1982 at age 46 from a self-inflicted gun shot. Or did she? Her children, Dana and Lance, claimed that she was murdered by her second husband for financial gain, and marijuana and cocaine found near her body was determined by police to have been planted. But they refused to investigate further.

Right, so that's no fun, but her singing remains absolutely captivating. "I'm Shooting High" is a sterling jazz set, and not only because of Ann's sharply phrased vocals, but her bright, witty personality, which still shines through. We won't see her kind ever again, I'm afraid. 

Are you excited about today? It's Martin Luther King Day, of course, so there's much to celebrate, but...

Theres something else going on. Can you guess what it might be? Are you ready for the answer? Do you think you can handle it? If so, keep scrolling...

Little bit more. OMG, the tension is building!

What do you think? Is it something you'll love or hate? 

Isn't the suspense just KILLING YOU?

Yes, it's true, in addition to MLK Day, today, Monday the 20th, is also...National Penguin Day! Wheeeeeeeee!

Isn't that delightful? Nothing else is happening today, and if anyone tells you it is, it's fake news. So celebrate MLK's dream and penguins both real and imagined. And don't forget, DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know what you've been listening to lately, so be sure to let him know. 🐾

Photo Credits: Playboy Enterprises/Getty Images

BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's RIGHT HERE.