The Songbirds Archives

The Recordings of Frances Faye
Compiled by Ivan Santiago (New York City)

Born Frances Cohen in Brooklyn, New York on November 2, 1912, Frances Faye’s professional career began at the age of sixteen, on a local amateur show where she filled in for an absent pianist. Faye then spent a few years in the vaudeville and nightclub circuit, as an accompanist for singers. She took upon singing when a nightclub owner fired the singer in Faye’s act.

An extensive career as a nightclub performer followed. By 1934, Faye had already begun a demanding schedule that would keep her working usually 11 months a year, often on the road. Well into the 1970s, she was still headlining in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Miami, as well as England and Australia.

She appeared in at least two movies, 40 years apart. In 1977, Faye would play a wise-cracking madam on Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby, a picture that – according to Faye herself – "opens with me in bed smoking an opium pipe with a wig half off my head." Her screen debut took place back in 1937, in the Bing Crosby-Martha Raye vehicle Double or Nothing. Playing a sister act in a nightclub owned by the Crosby character, Faye and Raye can be seen performing After You with Crosby.

Around the time of her screen debut, Faye became a recording artist and songwriter. Co-star Crosby had taken Faye to Decca Records, where she made her debut recordings in 1936. In 1939, with Don Raye, Faye composed Well All Right, which became a big hit that year for the Andrews Sisters. She would perform the song on screen a few years later, in a 1942 "soundie" – the equivalent to the modern "music video." Another 1942 soundie features her singing I Ain’t Got Nobody. Faye continued to compose throughout her career, and recorded a number of her own songs, including Purple Wine, You’re Heavenly, Well All Right, Frances and Her Friends, and A Good Idea.

Her recordings, songs and movies notwithstanding, Faye made her greatest impact in live performance. With an act peppered with double entendre and saucy modification of lyrics (often cut short at will), Faye can be deemed a precursor of artists such as Bette Midler, Phyllis Diller and Eartha Kitt. Much of the patter and jokes pertained to her looks – unattractive, by standards of the day – and her sexuality, which was shrouded in playfully ambiguous comments. A favorite among gay audiences, Faye was also adept at switching gender pronouns on the songs she performed, and at uttering manifestos such as "Gay, gay, gay, Frances Faye, is there another way?" Her two live albums on GNP offer a good representation of her unique onstage persona.

Health problems forced Faye to limit her number of appearances as the 1950s came to a close. For most of the 1960s, she was carried onto the stage, unable to walk after a broken hip (1957) and three ensuing operations. She was walking again and traveling the club circuit during the 1970s, even within a few months after a heart attack and the installation of a pacemaker (1978). "I’m glad when I get up every day," she told New York Times critic John S. Wilson at the time. "I’m glad I didn’t die during the night. I get up swinging." Despite a series of strokes that followed, she continued to swing at clubs until 1981, and lived another full decade (d. November 8, 1991). She was survived by Teri Shepherd, her longtime companion.

On record, Frances Faye covered a wide and audacious musical territory that included hard swingers, mellow ballads, novelties, rock and roll, and folk songs. Despite her brash manner and her rough voice, Faye’s ballad work is surprisingly dexterous. She remains in need of rediscovery as both an expert lounge performer and a one-of-a-kind interpreter of classic pop.

LONG-PLAYING ALBUMS

No Reservations
Conducted by Dave Cavanaugh; recorded in New York, 1953
10" LP: Capitol H 512, 1954
12" LP: Capitol T 512, 1955

1. Drunk with Love (Fletcher)
2. Summertime (Gershwin, Heyward)
3. Mad About the Boy (Coward)
4. Miss Otis Regrets (Porter)
5. Sometimes I’m Happy (Youmans, Caesar)
6. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate (Piron)
7. The Man I Love (Gershwin, Gershwin)
8. You’re Heavenly (Faye)
9. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (Fields, McHugh)
10. A Hundred Years from Today (Young, Young, Washington)
11. Night and Day (Porter)
12. Tweet, Tweet, Tweetheart (Gilbert)

I’m Wild Again
Conducted by Russell Garcia; recorded in New York, 1956, with Maynard Ferguson (trumpet); Tommy Pederson, Jay Jay Johnson, Kai Winding, Frank Rosolino (trombone); Gerald Wiggins (piano); Al Hendrickson (guitar); Red Mitchell (bass); Chico Hamilton (drums)
LP: Bethlehem BCP 23, 1956
LP Reissue: Bethlehem BCP, 6006, 1976 (title: Bad, Bad Frances Faye)

1. Toreador (Kaye, Kaye)
2. They Can’t Take That Away from Me (Gershwin, Gershwin)
3. He’s Funny That Way (Whiting, Moret)
4. I’ve Got You under My Skin (Porter)
5. My Heart Sings (Rome, Jamblin, Herpin)
6. Somebody Loves Me (DeSylva, Gershwin)
7. September in the Rain (Warren, Dubin)
8. These Foolish Things (Marvell, Strachey, Link)
9. Love for Sale (Porter)
10. Medley: Little Girl Blue (Rodgers, Hart), Where or When (Rodgers, Hart), Embraceable You (Gershwin, Gershwin), Exactly Like You (McHugh, Fields), I Don’t Know Why (Turk, Ahlert), My Funny Valentine (Rodgers, Hart), Bewitched (Rodgers, Hart)
11. Out of This World (Mercer, Arlen)

Relaxin’ with Frances Faye
Conducted by Frank Hunter; recorded in New York, March, 1956; with Don Leigh, Nick Travis, Al DeRisi, Bernie Glow (trumpet); Harry DiVito, Phil Giacobbe (trombone); Leon Cohen (alto sax); Herbie Mann (tenor sax, flute); Allen Eager (tenor sax); Hy Mandell (baritone sax); Don Trenner (piano); Sal Salvador (guitar); Oscar Pettiford (bass); Shadow Wilson (drums)
LP: Bethlehem BCP-62, 1956

1. Love Is Just Around the Corner (Robin, Gensler)
2. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (Young, Ahlert)
3. Don’t Blame Me (Fields, McHugh)
4. Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Waller, Razaf, Brooks)
5. All the Things You Are (Kern, Hammerstein)
6. Darktown Strutters’ Ball (Brooks)
7. Just You, Just Me (Greer, Klages)
8. You’re My Thrill (Gorney, Clare)
9. My Baby Just Cares for Me (Kahn, Donaldson)
10. Well All Right (Faye, Raye)
11. The Thrill Is Gone (Brown, Henderson)
12. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (Huff)

The Complete George Gershwin Porgy and Bess
Conducted and arranged by Russell Garcia; also featuring Mel Torme, Betty Roche, Johnny Hartman, Sallie Blair, Joe Derise, Bob Dorough, Bev Kelly, George Kirby and Loulie Jean Norman
3-LP set: Bethlehem 3BP-1, 1956
Reissued in various abridged versions: Bethlehem CP 6040 (title: Porgy and Bess Jazz Highlights), EXLP-1 (title: George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess)

Scheduled for CD release by Rhino/Avenue in September, 1999

Faye’s vocals, all written by George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward:

1. Bess, You Is My Woman Now (with Mel Torme)
2. Why Do You Want Bess? (with Johnny Hartman)
3. I Want to Stay Here (with Mel Torme)
4. Lawd, Lawd (with Mel Torme)

Frances Faye Sings Folk Songs
Conducted and arranged by Russell Garcia; recorded in Hollywood, February and March, 1957; with Maynard Ferguson, Don Fagerquist (trumpet); Herbie Harper, Frank Rosolino, Milt Bernhart (trombone); Howard Roberts (guitar); Max Bennett (bass); Mel Lewis (drums). Asterisk indicates alternate takes, available only on CD version.

LP: Bethlehem, BCP 6017, 1958
CD: Rhino/Avenue, R2 75807, 1999

1. Frankie and Johnny (traditional)
2. Greensleeves (traditional)
3. Skip to My Lou (traditional)
4. Lonesome Road (Shilkret, Austin)
5. Medley: Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen (traditional), Deep River (traditional), Goin’ Home (Fisher)
6. Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier (traditional)
7. St. James Infirmary (traditional)
8. Go ‘Way from My Window (Niles)
9. The Three Ravens (traditional)
10. Clementine (traditional)
11. Medley: Oif’n Pripitchick (traditional), Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, That’s An Irish Lullaby (Shannon), Come Back to Sorrento (traditional)
12. John Henry (traditional)
13. Frankie and Johnny (traditional)*
14. Lonesome Road (Shilkret, Austin)*
15. Go ‘way from My Window (Niles)*
16. Clementine (traditional)*
17. John Henry (traditional)*

Frances Faye Swings Fats Domino
LP: Imperial 9059, 1958

1. My Blue Heaven (Whiting, Donaldson)
2. Blueberry Hill (Lewis, Stock, Rose)
3. I’m in Love Again (Domino, Bartholomew)
4. I’m Walkin’ (Domino, Bartholomew)
5. It’s You I Love (Domino, Bartholomew)
6. Goin’ Home (Domino, Young)
7. Bo Weevil (Domino, Bartholomew)
8. When My Dreamboat Come Home (Friend, Franklin)
9. Blue Monday (Domino, Bartholomew)
10. Wait and See (Domino, Bartholomew)
11. Ain’t That a Shame (Domino, Bartholomew)
12. Poor Me (Domino, Bartholomew)

Caught in the Act, Volume 1
Taped live at the Crescendo, Hollywood, circa 1958. With Eddie Gray and His Orchestra, featuring Jack Costanzo, bongos.

LP: GNP Crescendo 41, 1978
CD: GNP Crescendo, GNPD 41, 1992

1. The Man I Love (Gershwin, Gershwin)
2. Just in Time (Styne, Comden, Green)
3. Fever (Davenport, Cooley)
4. Barney Google (Rose, Conrad)
5. Frances and Her Friends (Faye)
6. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate (Piron)
7. It’s a Long Way to the Tipperary (Williams, Judge)
8. Night and Day (Porter)
9. Drunk with Love (Fletcher)

Caught in the Act, Volume 2
Taped live at the Thunderbird, Las Vegas, circa 1959. With Irv Gordon and His Orchestra, featuring George Acevedo, bongos.

LP: GNP Crescendo 92, 1978

CD: GNP Crescendo, GNPD 41, 1992

1. Lonesome Road (Austin, Shilkret)
2. My Babe (Dixon)
3. Porgy (I Loves You) (Gershwin, Heyward)
4. A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Green)
5. Do Nothing till You Hear from Me (Ellington, Russell)
6. You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You (Morgan, Stock, Cavanaugh)
7. Unchain My Heart (Jones, James)
8. Blueberry Hill (Lewis, Stock, Rose)
9. Tonight You Belong to Me (Rose, David)
10. Kansas City (Stoller, Lieber)

Frances Faye Sings the Blues
LP: Imperial 9158, 1961

1. Am I Blue? (Clarke, Akst)
2. Why Don’t You Do Right? (McCoy)
3. Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool (Hampton, Adams, Adams)
4. My Babe (Dixon)
5. Blue Prelude (Jenkins, Bishop)
6. I Gotta Right Sing the Blues (Koehler, Arlen)
7. Driftin’ Blues (Brown, Moore, Williams)
8. Since I Fell for You (Johnson)
9. Fever (Cooley, Davenport)
10. Basin Street Blues (Williams)
11. Blues in the Night (Mercer, Arlen)
12. My Blue Heaven (Whiting, Donaldson)

Frances Faye in Frenzy
Arranged and conducted by Russell Garcia; recorded in Los Angeles, December 12-16, 1960
LP: Verve MGV-2147, 1961

1. I Cried for You (Arnheim, Lyman, Freed)
2. Perfidia (Dominguez, Leeds)
3. Miserlou (Roubanis, Wise, Leeds, Russell)
4. Temptation (Freed, Brown)
5. Besame Mucho (Velazquez, Skylar)
6. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Farres, Davis)
7. Toreador (Kaye, Kaye)
8. Heat Wave (Berlin)
9. Shortnin’ Bread (Garcia)
10. Frenesi (Dominguez, Charles, Russell)
11. Out of this World (Arlen, Mercer)

Swinging All the Way with Frances Faye
Arranged and conducted by Marty Paich; recorded in Los Angeles, November 20-24, 1961; with Stu Williamson (trumpet); Bud Shank (alto sax); Al Hendrickson (guitar)
LP: Verve V-8434, 1962

1. Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me (Ellington, Russell)
2. I’ts All Right with Me (Porter)
3. Love for Sale (Porter)
4. So in Love (Porter)
5. Should I (Porter)
6. Them Who Has Gets (Brown, Freed)
7. There Will Never Be Another You (DePaul, Raye)
8. Miss Otis Regrets (Porter)
9. Everything Happens to Me (Adair, Dennis)
10. More Than You Know (Youmans, Eliscu, Rose)
11. That’s All (Haymes)
12. Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me (Bloom, Koehler)

You Gotta Go! Go! Go!
LP: Regina 315, 1964

1. Just a Gigolo (Cassucci, Brammer)
2. Glory Glory Hallelujah (Howe )
3. You’re Heavenly (Faye)
4. A Hard Day’s Night (Lennon, McCartney)
5. Comin’ Home Baby (Tucker, Dorough)
6. Willow Weep for Me (Ronell)
7. Sweet Georgia Brown (Bernie, Pickard, Casey)
8. Careless (Qualding, Howard, Jurgens)
9. Body and Soul (Greene, Heyman, Sour)
10. A Good Idea (Faye)
11. Indian Love Call (Friml)
12. My Melancholy Baby (Norton, Bernett)

78 AND 45 R.P.M. RELEASES

No Regrets (Tobias, Ingraham) / You’re Not the Kind (Hudson, Mills)
Decca 916, 1936

Boogie Woogie Washer Woman (Anonymous) / Return to Sorrento (DeCurtis)
International F501/F502, 1946

Personality (Burke, Van Heusen) / Drunk with Love (Fletcher)
International F503/F504, 1946

Purple Wine (Faye, Greene) / Well All Right (Faye)
International F505/F506, 1946

All That Glitters Is Not Gold (Asherman, Cornell, Kuhn) / I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me (Gaskill, McHugh)
International F507/F508, 1946

[Note: These four International 78 r.p.m. discs were released together on the "album" Frances Faye (International, Album #12) in 1946.]

Night and Day (Porter) / Tweet Tweet Tweetheart (Gilbert)
Capitol 2224, 1952

I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate (Piron) / She Looks (unknown)
Capitol 2278, 1952

On a Raft (In the Middle of the Ocean) (Weidler Brothers) / My Last Affair (Johnson)
Capitol 2347, 1952

There’s a Bell That Rings in My Heart (Adams, Strouse) / A Fool in Love (Lippman, McQueen)
Capitol 2390, 1952

I Was Wrong About You (Thompson) / Sometimes I’m Happy (Youmans, Caesar)
Capitol 2472, 1953

Uh-Huh (Baker, Meyer, Gooden) / Dummy Song (Brown, Rose, Henderson)
Capitol 2542, 1953

Hey, Mister (Leiber, Stoller) / Sorry, Baby (Lentz, Burns)
Capitol 2604, 1953

Summertime (Gershwin, Heyward) / Mad About the Boy (Coward)
Capitol 2842, 1954

John Henry (traditional) / St. James Infirmary (traditional)
Bethlehem 3013, 1958

Lonesome Road (Shilkret, Austin) / Somebody Loves Me (DeSylva, Gershwin)
Bethlehem 11002, 1958

My Blue Heaven (Whiting, Donaldson) / It’s You I Love (Domino, Bartholomew)
Imperial 5526, 1959

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Farres, Davis) / Frenesi (Dominguez, Charles, Russell)
Verve 10235, 1959

Sweet Georgia Brown (Bernie, Pickard, Casey) / You’re Heavenly (Faye)
Regina 1322, 1964

Comin’ Home, Baby (Tucker, Dorough) / Willow Weep for Me (Ronell)
Audio Fidelity 45-125, 1964

MISCELLANEOUS

Bunny Berrigan and His Orchestra / Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra

LP: Shoestring (103)

Radio broadcasts for Norge Refrigerators, recorded "probably early months of 1937." Faye sings: Mr. Paganini (Coslow) / Sing Me a Swing Song (Carmichael, Adams) / Copper-Colored Gal (Coots, Davis)

Peter Allen: Continental American
LP: A&M Records (3183), 1974

Faye plays piano and sings with Peter Allen on the second version of Just a Gigolo (Caesar, Casucci). She is also heard in the background of the title song, Continental American (Allen, Sager).

Many thanks to the following individuals for research assistance: Steve Albin, Jeff Austin, Robin Lenhart, Michael Mascioli, David McCain, Audrey Morris, Max Preeo, Joel E. Siegel, Roger Sturtevant, Keizo Takada, David Torresen, David J. Weiner, and Bob Willits.