The other day I found an image of a Liberace matchbook from
the 1950's, and got off on a tangent (easy for me), as it reminded me that a
while back a friend (thank you, Diane) had sent me an mp3 for a song called
"Dear Liberace," by Ruth Wallis. Now we both adore the music of Ruth
Wallis, and I've played several risqué songs by her on my show over the years
(like "Queer Things Are Happening"). So that gave me the idea to do a
blog and share the song, which prompted what turned into several hours of
internet research (see, a tangent).
Now, I don't think I need to give much introduction to
Liberace (1919 - 1987). For decades he was a hugely successful entertainer,
with recordings, television and performances. And he was hugely flamboyant and
that he could joke about his outfits during his act made him all the more beloved
with his mostly female audiences. His showmanship was as much of his act as his
actual playing. I definitely recall that when growing up in the late 1950's
even deep in my closet I recognized him as gay, and the kind of gay I wanted no
part of. But at that time there was almost no other celebrity perceived to be
homosexual, no role models whatsoever.
But this blog's main focus is on songs about Liberace, and my
research found many more than expected. It seems the ball got rolling in 1953,
with three recordings. Probably attracting the most attention was the one on
Columbia Records by Charlie Adams & the Lone Star Playboys. If you think
that name sounds like a sort of hillbilly act, you would be correct, as you can hear in the YouTube clip below of the song "Hey, Liberace."
Another act recorded the same song that year, Jody Levins
& His Boys. Looking at the labels (and this is likely much more detail than
you care about) I notice the writing credits on Levins' recording is F. Adams,
and on the Adams disc, on a much larger label, the name Matassa is added. That
is very likely Cosimo Matassa, a well-known New Orleans recording engineer and studio owner
with ties to many labels, including the Fats Domino sessions on Imperial
Records. So my theory is that when the Jody Levins recording started to get
attention, it was "covered" by Charlie Adams, and part of the
licensing deal at Columbia was to add Matassa's name for a cut of the writing
royalties. And my point is, I think the Levins disc was first.
Now, Liberace (when you weren't saying in print that he was
homosexual) was certainly a good sport, and even performed the song himself on
television in 1955.
Back to the Ruth Wallis record I mentioned at the start. Wallis
died in 2007 and I'm so impressed with her that she is likely the only straight
artist to have a tribute page on my website. A number of years ago record
collecting magazine Goldmine ran an interview with her, and it covered
her song, "Dear Liberace." She indicated she had an earlier song,
"Dear Arthur Godrey," and she decided to update it. She said, "I
started to write a song for Liberace, he was a wonderful person. He was going
to get married at the time, and I couldn't fathom it. So I started
writing what was going to be a takeoff on 'Dear Mr. Godfrey,' it was going to
go something like, 'Dear Liberace, don't marry that darn girl. I could
understand that now - Lee couldn't have married that girl anyway. But Lee was a
lovely person."
The last song I want to share from the 1950's is by Canadian
comic singer Libby Morris. In 1956 she recorded "When Liberace Winked at
Me."
And, Peggy King also performed the song, and a clip was used in the HBO movie.
Also done, in 2009, by concert pianist/drag diva Jacqueline Jonée
Above, probably a quick read.
Below, "Why Liberace's Theme Song Should Be
"Mad About the Boy!"
Below, "Why Liberace's Theme Song Should Be
"Mad About the Boy!"
I am kind of surprised (disappointed) that no one seems
to have recorded a song about the palimony lawsuit taken against Liberace in
1982 by his then 22-year old live-in chauffer Scott Thorson. That was settled
out of court a few years later for a mere $95,000. Maybe folks feared the litigious
Liberace would not hesitate sue them as well, as he did many others over the
decades.
Below,
in 1988 the UK band Twelve Just Men gave us
"I Don't Want to Die Like Liberace"
"I Don't Want to Die Like Liberace"
While my research found at least two dozen songs referencing Liberace, many are fleeting or just plain awful, including two or three that are hardcore punk...not sure what those lyrics were. So, I'm jumping to 1995 and the Sparks, who included "The Ghost of Liberace" on their 1995 album, "Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins."
I've got just three more song for you. In 2005 Paul Thorn
included the curious song "Fabio & Liberace" on his CD
"Ain't Love Strange." And 2008 brought an act going by Kitten on the
Keys (real name: Suzanne Ramsey) . On her "Salty Meat Girl" CD she
sang "I Want To Be Like Liberace." That song, interestingly, takes a
biographic angle. It's perhaps the most true song of them all.
Finally, the Bad Detectives decided last year to sing
about "The Curse of Liberace's Tomb," ironically on a CD called
"Look at Life."
Great stuff! Enjoyed it so much!
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