OPEN POST: Music Manor Monday With Helen Grayco!

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Do you sizzle when you burn? Does your bomba go boomba? Of course it does. DJ Li'l Scratch knows this, and he's only too happy to provide you and yours with tunes to keep the fires burning at "The Smokin' Pole," the Manor's exclusive after-hours lounge. Speaking of all things sizzling and going boomba in the night, is your figure is svelte as Helen Grayco's?

Probably not, but then Helen had lots of competition growing up - being the tenth of eleven children born to her Italian Catholic parents - plus, she got her very first singing gig when she was just eight-years-old. "She sings like Hollywood!" exclaimed her earliest fan, Bing Crosby, and from there, she was on her way. 

She dabbled in movies for a bit, but really hit her stride with singing, collaborating with the starry likes of Stan Kenton, Chuck Cabot, and fellow singer and comic, Spike Jones, whom she'd later marry. And let's be blunt, Helen was a dish. Which meant that every magazine was more than happy to boost sales by putting her on the cover. 

Despite the fact that she was a mainstay on radio and TV variety shows, Helen only cut two LPs, including this 1957 album, "After Midnight," which features her posing oh-so-coyly on her bed for a night of low down dirty shame singing (yes, that must be it). 

The saxophone gets a full work-out on several tunes (of course), like the steamy opener "Take Me In Your Arms," as well as "Black Coffee," and "Mood Indigo" below, all of which prove her ability to not only sing, but wring naughty-kitty innuendo from practically any word of her choosing. Quite a gift! Even her vibrato sounds racy.


You can download Helen's complete "After Midnight" LP here, which has fallen out of copyright and is well worth holding on to since it's nowhere to be found in its complete form on Spotify or various other tune and tube sites. But just for you, DJ Li'l Scratch provides. 

What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾
Photo Credits: Vik Records/Getty Images
Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post is RIGHT HERE.

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