Frances Faye (1912 - 1991)

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Caught In The Act, Vol. 1 Frances Faye

When I purchased these LPs back in the early seventies, I had no idea who Frances Faye was, or what she sounded like. The albums were filed in the jazz section, and I was so intrigued with the covers and liner notes that I took a chance and bought them.

Well, I'm so glad that I did.

She was as unique as one could expect. Not a great voice, I have to admit, and certainly not sweet and smoothe, but suitable for the Vegas club circuit of the late fifties/early sixties. She simply pours her "hipness" into the delivery of everything she sings. Furthermore, her patter between songs is, to borrow the parlance of the times, a "gas." It's easy to understand why show biz personalities would flock to her live shows. I've read too that she was favorite among jazz musicians.

If you looking for someone who isn't a standard pop/jazz singer, she's definitely the one. Even if she doesn't win you over right away, her eclectic style may grow on you eventually. For me, however, I was hooked right away.

Porgy And Bess (1956 Studio Cast) Mel Torme, Frances Faye, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Betty Roche, Patti Moran McCoy

Porgy and Bess is an all star spectacular, radically different in concept, yet intriguing. It shows what a great composer George Gershwin was, and this modernized version of the American Folk opera definately is a memorable jazz recording. Hats off to the guys at Bethlehem Archives/Avenue Jazz, Keep up the good work. -- Anonymous Review

"We (Pat Moran Quartet) were playing in Chicago at the time of this recording and were flown to LA to be on this album. I'd never been in California before, so the whole thing was a thrill. To be singing with Mel Torme was quite an honor and scary at the same time-he was such a perfect singer. We all played hearts in between each session. I'd never played before, and Betty Roche always gave me a hard time! The whole session was very relaxed and wonderful. I'm very happy it's being re-released. -- Patti Moran McCoy

Frances Faye

Excerpt:

Frances Faye was one of the most durable and beloved performers in the night clubs, particularly among lesbians and gay men - sometimes called "Faye-natices." These loyal listeners were particularly fond of songs like "Frances and Her Friends," and "Night and Day."

Not a glamour girl, "Fran," as most of her friends called her, was as much a comedienne as she was a singer. When Caught in the Act, an album capturing "au naturel" her night club performance at the Crescendo was released, she was living with her "secretary and four French poodles" in a hillside home on Sunset Strip in Hollywood.

Frances Faye

By Ray Hagen

Excerpt:

Frances Faye burst upon my teenaged consciousness in the pre-Elvis mid-fifties, a time when Patti Page and Doris Day were everyone's idea of what a "girl singer" (sorry folks, that's what they were called) ought to be - sweet, sunny, and relentlessly adorable.  But amidst these twinkies, I'd occasionally hear on the radio some records by a fortyish woman whose approach to a song seemed to be to whack the living daylights out of it.  Clearly not singing in high heels, she sounded like Ida Lupino on a jag, but she also had, as we didn't say back then, musical chops.  I was smote...

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