Country Songs For City People - Roberta Sherwood

Blue Moon Of Kentucky

Country Songs For City People
Roberta Sherwood
With Jack Pleis and His Orchestra
Hi-Fi Decca Records DL 8739
1958

From the back cover: Roberta Sherwood, whose meteoric rise from the obscurity of small lounge bars in Miami led to unprecedented national acclaim almost overnight, is a singer with a style that is unmistakably her own. Her throaty voice and unbridled enthusiasm give exciting new meaning to any song... regardless of how often it has been heard before. When she sings a torch song... you cry, and when she gives out with a "knee-slapper"... you're going to slap you knees!

Her story – the subject of a full length feature in Life Magazine and recently the subject of TV's "This Is Your Life" show – couldn't be more exciting if it came from the pen of a fiction writer. Her appearance – every bit that of the devoted wife and mother that she is – stands in unique contrast to her pyrotechnic vocal delivery.

On stage, in a characteristically conservative gown, covered at the shoulders by a sweater, the audience is invariably caught unawares by the sudden rush of undiluted talent and dynamism emanating from this unpretentious looking "Mrs.-next-door-neighbor." The proud owner of a "Copa Bonnet" – New York's equivalent of Hollywood's "Oscar" – Roberta Sherwood also holds the honor of being one of the few entertainers to out-draw the roulette and dice tables of Las Vegas.

From Billboard - January 5, 1959: In an attempt to compete with Miami Beach's plush niters, the smart Flat Ocean Mile Hotel in nearby Fort Lauderdale has initiated a headline name policy this season, opening Friday (19) with thrush Roberta Sherwood, a Florida resident of long standing who as a large local following.

Vocally competent, but not outstanding, Miss Sherwood's greatest attribute is her more than 20 years in show business. From her usual opening, when she warbled "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing." sans mike and standing in the middle of the audience, thru "Bill Bailey," some 42 minutes later, Miss Sherwood controlled the situation with warmth, poise and dignity.

Show was well-paced and varied including ballads, such as Irving Berlin's "All Along" and "Always," upbeat number like "Look Down That Lonesome Road," and two tunes from her new Decca album "Country Songs For City People." Also spotlighted were previous clicks "Lost In His Arms" and "Lazy River."

Playing up her role as housewife and mother to the hilt, Miss Sherwood presented her son, Don Lanning, a Miami University student, singing a rock and roll version of "Girl Of My Dreams." This was a nice theatrical touch but added little of musical value to the otherwise satisfying program – Charles Roberts.

I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)

Half As Much
Cold, Cold Heart
When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
I Love You So Much It Hurts
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Your Cheatin' Heart
Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)
Jealous Heart
Tumbling Tumbleweeds
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
I'll Keep On Loving You