Cathy Carr (singer)

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Cathy Carr
Promotional photograph of Cathy Carr, 1956
Promotional photograph of Cathy Carr, 1956
Background information
Birth nameAngelina Helen Catherine Cordovano
Born(1936-06-28)June 28, 1936
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 22, 1988(1988-11-22) (aged 52)
Fayetteville, New York, U.S.[1]
GenresTraditional pop
Years active1953–1966
LabelsCoral, Fraternity, Roulette, London, Smash, Laurie, RCA, Dot
WebsiteBiography

Angelina Helen Catherine Cordovano (June 28, 1936 – November 22, 1988),[1][2] known professionally as Cathy Carr, was an American pop singer.

Career[edit]

She was born in The Bronx. As a child, she appeared on The Children's Hour, a television show locally aired in New York; sponsored by Horn & Hardart, a cafeteria chain which had locations in New York and Philadelphia. She later became a singer and dancer with the USO and joined big band orchestras such as those of Sammy Kaye[3] and Johnny Dee.

In 1953 she signed with Coral Records,[4] but had no hits for them, later switching to Fraternity Records, a small company based in Cincinnati, Ohio,[5] in early 1955. It was for Fraternity that she had her only major hit, "Ivory Tower", which was her third record for Fraternity.

She never had another big hit, though in 1959 she had two small successes for Roulette Records. She recorded one single for Smash Records in 1961, which was a more mature song, but went back to recording teenage pop on Laurie Records in 1962. She moved to RCA to record a number of albums of standards, before Laurie released her final single in 1967. Her first LP was reissued on Dot Records in 1966.

At the time of her 1956 hit, she recorded a lot of high school pop, not moving on to more mature songs and standards until her pop career was all but over. The CD age saw an unofficial release of selected singles, which showed her preference to seem younger than she was and did not include her attempts at more mature songs.

Death[edit]

Carr died from ovarian cancer on November 22, 1988, in Fayetteville, New York.

Albums[edit]

Date of Release Title Label Cat. No Notes
February 1957 Ivory Tower Fraternity F-1005
1959 Shy Roulette SR-25077
1964 Songs for Sentimentalists RCA Canada LPM-2913 (mono)
LSP-2913(Stereo)
1966 Travel by Carr RCA Canada PC-1050 (mono)
PCS-1050 (Stereo)
1966 Ivory Tower Dot DLP-3674 (mono)
DLP-25674 (Stereo)
Reissue of LP on Fraternity
Stereo Version is Rechanelled

Singles[edit]

Date of Release Title Label Cat. No Notes
1953 Half Pint Boogie c/w Heartbroken Coral 60907
1953 Somebody Told You A Lie c/w
I Just Can't Get That Melody Out Of My Mind
Coral 60988
1953 I'll Cry At Your Wedding c/w Cryin' for the Carolines Coral 61092
1955 I Never Really Stopped Loving You c/w Warm Your Heart Fraternity F-712
1955 Morning, Noon and Night c/w Towards Evenin' Fraternity F-718
1956 Ivory Tower c/w Please, Please Believe Me Fraternity F-734
1956 I'll Cry At Your Wedding c/w Heartbroken Coral 9-61646 Presumably released by Coral to capitalise on the popularity of Ivory Tower
1956 Heart Hideaway c/w The Boy On Page 35 Fraternity F-743
1956 Oh Baby c/w Waltzing To The Blues Fraternity F-750
1957 Una Momento c/w It Looks Like Love Fraternity F-757
1957 Wild Honey c/w Speak For Yourself, John Fraternity F-765
1957 House of Heartaches c/w Presents From The Past Fraternity F-782
1958 Doll Baby c/w Don't Come To My Party Fraternity F-793
1958 To Know Him Is To Love Him c/w Put Away The Invitation Roulette R-4107
1959 First Anniversary c/w With Love Roulette R-4125
1959 I'm Gonna Change Him c/w The Little Things You Do Roulette R-4152
1959 Shy c/w Personal Secret Roulette R-4187
1960 Little Sister c/w Dark River Roulette R-4219
1960 A Little Time c/w What Do I Do Now Roulette R-4248
1960 I Want To Be Your Pet c/w Golden Locket Roulette R-4296
1961 Johnny's Song c/w Someone Told You A Lie Roulette R-4323
1961 Yearning c/w Baseball He Loves Roulette R-4367
1961 I Can't Begin To Tell You c/w You're Breaking My Heart Roulette R-4383
1961 Footprints In The Snow c/w Nein Nein Fraulein Smash S-1726
1962 Ivory Tower c/w Should I Believe Him Laurie LR-3133 Ivory Tower is a new recording
1962 Sailor Boy c/w Next Time The Band Plays A Waltz Laurie LR-3147
1963 I Waded In The Water c/w In Place Of You Laurie LR-3161
1963 My Favourite Song c/w The Ghost Of A Broken Heart Laurie LR-3206
1967 When You Come Home Again c/w The Ghost Of A Broken Heart Laurie LR-3378

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Syracuse Post-Standard, November 24, 1988, p. B2, Metro Edition
  2. ^ Syracuse Herald-Journal, November 23, 1988, pg. B4, Suburban Edition
  3. ^ "Former Bowery Boys On Stage At Seville". The Gazette. Canada, Montreal. March 6, 1954. p. 23. Retrieved August 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Cathy Carr Launches New Carnival Policy". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. May 4, 1954. p. 8. Retrieved August 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Schottelkotte, Al (March 21, 1956). "Talk of the Town". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. p. 21. Retrieved August 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

Sources[edit]