OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With The Winning Easy Williams!

Greetings, bed-hoppers, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday - today in a laidback, after-bang mode, if'n you know what I mean. And I know you do. For such times, when blasting 80s hair metal just won't do, you need the stylings of a lass whose singing is both skilled and chill like a lotus. Intrigued? Be sure to come to the Manor's "Crossing Swords" lounge at around 4am (or before closing at sunrise). 

That 's when DJ Li'l Scratch will be playing tunes performed by a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a sphinx. Yes, it's another Mystery Lady™. Or yet another jazz songbird who recorded only one LP, then - poof! - vanished into oblivion. Unsurprising, since her LP dropped in the late-1950s during the inexorable rise of rock 'n' roll, which decimated the jazz songbird market.

In the case of Easy Williams - what a name! - it's a shame, because her slinky-gal vocals are smooth, intimate and a lot of fun - and well suited to the small jazz ensemble gathered here rather than the big-band approach common earlier in the decade. In her delightful 1957 LP, "Easy Does It," her catlike coos wring every last bit of innuendo from "I Wanna Be Loved" and many more, her set reflecting the mid-century nightclub and lounge repertoire popular at the time.

She often sings in a near-whisper, as though she's performing for only a handful of people in a late-night cocktail lounge rather than a large audience, seldom pushing a note or attacking a phrase aggressively. Everything feels conversational, as if she's leaning in to tell you a secret rather than performing for applause. Her appeal is restraint. 

She's what I imagine was spinning on record players when people were relaxing with a loved one or trick du jour after a hard night of partying and shagging. 

When her album went out of print soon after its release, it became a hot collector's item as the years wore on. Original vinyl pressings still command a hefty price tag. Frustratingly, I found precious little about Easy's life and career during my research - not even any pictures beyond what's here - but I dearly hope she's winking and hip-swinging somewhere as we speak.

Ready to 'lax? I know you are: 

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

Photo Credits: Geffen Records, UMG Recordings, DOT Ultra High Fidelity