OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With Felicia Sanders!

Welcome, music sluts, to another swingin' edition of Music Manor Monday, where DJ Li'l Scratch is playin' and slayin' tonight at our exclusive "Boots Knocking" lounge with none other than Miss Felicia Sanders. "It's not the brains you reach for, it's the heart," she once said when asked to explain her singular singing style. She sang for years (and years) in small, sometimes ratty, nightclubs in Hollywood throughout the 1940s and early 50s, where she was considered an "underground success" and dubbed "America's Edith Piaf." But for some dumbfounding reason, no one wanted to record her.

Yet years later, at NYC's tiny, but influential Blue Angel Supper Club, she wowed everyone in town and could no longer be ignored. Record companies at last came calling. The result was her terrific first album, "At The Blue Angel," a generous mix of jazz standards which she wholly revitalizes with her unique, deeply felt vocals. As one reviewer noted, "She's a mature woman who sings adult songs with devastating poignancy." 

The album fueled newfound popularity. "She's a singing personality of such individuality and magnetism," noted The New York Times, "that she can spend almost half of every year at any New York club and attract enthusiastic audiences night after night.” She also attracted starry fans, including Paul Newman, who rightly noted that her performances of songs were equivalent to an actor performing a three-act play. "You're a Method singer," he enthused. Though she recorded more LPs, and was surely on her way to even greater fame, she tragically died at age 54 from cancer.

Equally tragic, most of her discography is nowhere to be found on Spotify and Apple Music - beyond a few dribs and drabs, of course - and let's face it, this is how most people find music these days. Luckily, there are a few songs of hers on YouTube, including her entire "At The Blue Angel" album. The quality is variable, and there's lots of LP scratches, but even in these conditions, she comes through. 

Want better quality? Sans scratches? I know you do. The album is long out of print, so I have absolutely no compunction about sharing it with you RIGHT HERE.

What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾

Photo Credits: Getty Images