Patti Page: Difference between revisions

In 1946, Page toured the U.S. with the Jimmy Joy Band in 1946. InThe 1947,following year the band traveled to [[Chicago, Illinois]], where Pageshe sang with a small group led by popular orchestra leader [[Benny Goodman]]. This led to Page signinggetting herpicked firstup recording contract, withby [[Mercury Records]].<ref name=allmusic/> She became Mercury's "girl singer".<ref name=corporate>{{cite web |url=http://www.corporateartists.com/patti_page.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030629110942/http://www.corporateartists.com/patti_page.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 29, 2003 |title=Patti Page biography |publisher=Corporate Artists.com |access-date=July 23, 2008}}</ref>

Patti Page recordedcut severalher songsfirst withtwo discs ("Every So Often/What Every AlWoman ClauserKnows" and His"There's OklahomaA OutlawsMan (1946In My Life/The First Time I Kissed You"), with the Eddie Getz Orchestra, and the [[George Barnes (musician)|GeorgeOrchestras Barnes]]but Triothey (1947)failed to chart.<ref>Patti Page, The Singles 1946-1952, CD A: 1946-1948, JSP Records, JSP2301(A), 2009.</ref>

PageShe recordedfound hersuccess firstwith hither third single, ("Confess" inb/w 1947"Twelve O'Clock Fright"). Because of a strike, background singers were not available to provide harmony vocals for the song, so Page and the label decided to overdub the harmony parts.<ref name=USA>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2008-01-01-page-white_N.htm |title=Jack White, Patti Page share a 'Conquest' and a vision |work=USA Today |date=January 1, 2008 |access-date=July 23, 2008}}</ref> [[Bill Putnam]], an engineer for Mercury Records, was able to overdub Page's voice, usingby syncing the latesttwo master discs together--tape recording technologywas not in use yet and this technique was difficult to pull off.<ref name=contemporary>{{cite web |url=http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/page-patti-biography |title=Contemporary musicians – Patti Page biography| work=Contemporary Musicians |publisher=End Notes.com |access-date=July 23, 2008}}</ref> Thus, Page became the first pop artist to harmonize her own vocals on a recording. This gimmick got
"Confess" to #12 on the Billbord.<ref name=allmusic/> This technique later was used on Page's biggest hit singles in the 1950s. InPage 1948,had "Confess"four becamemore asingles top-15chart hitin on [[Billboard magazine|''Billboard'']]1948-49, peakingwith attwo number("So 12In onLove" theand "Best-Sellers"With chart,My becomingEyes herWide firstOpen, hit.I'm PageDreaming" followedreaching the single with four more in 1948–1949, only one of which was a top-20 hit, "[[So in Love]]" (1949)15. Page also had a top-15 hit on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1949 with "[[Money, Marbles, and Chalk]]", and then recorded "[[Boogie Woogie Santa Claus]]", which later became a hit in 1950.

In 1950, Page had her first million-selling single "[[With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming]]", another song where she harmonized her vocals. Because she was overdubbing her vocals, Page's name had to be listed on the recording credits as a group. According to one early-1950s chart, Page was credited as the Patti Page Quartet. In mid-1950, Page's single "[[All My Love (Bolero)]]" peaked at number onee on ''Billboard'' magazine, becomingbecame her first number-one#1 hiton andthe Billboard<ref name=allmusic/> spending five weeks there. That same year, she also had her first top-10 hit with "[[I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine]]", as well as the top-25 single "[[Back in Your Own Backyard]]". With this success, Page earned the privilege of releasing her first LP, the self-titled "Patti Page" which opened with "Confess" and included other of her singles from this period. She also released a Christmas album in 1951; this was reissued five years later with updated cover art on a 12" LP with a few new tracks to fill the run time out.

TowardThe the endsuccess of 1950,"Bolero" Pattihowever Page'swas versionquickly ofeclipsed "Tennesseeby Waltz"what soon became herPage's secondsignature number-one hit and her biggest-selling singlesong. "The Tennessee Waltz" was written in 1946 by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart, and was recorded in 1947 by [[Pee Wee King]] and His Golden West Cowboys. Their original version made the country charts in 1948. The song was also a hit for [[Cowboy Copas]] around the same time. Page was introduced to the song by record producer [[Jerry Wexler]], who suggested that she cover a recent R&B version by the [[Erskine Hawkins]] Orchestra. Page liked the song, and she recorded and released it as a single. The song spent 13 weeks at number one in 1950December and1950-January 1951. "Tennessee Waltz" also became Page's second single to appear on the country charts, becoming her biggest hit there, reaching number two. The song later became one of the best-selling records of its era, selling 7 million copies in the early 1950s. "Tennessee Waltz" remains the biggest commercial success for the overdubbing technique, pioneered by producer [[Mitch Miller]], which enabled Page to harmonize with herself.<ref name=contemporary/> "Tennessee Waltz" was the last song to sell one million copies of sheet music. The song was covered by several other singers during the next few months.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

In 1951, Page released the follow-up single to "Tennessee Waltz" titledcovered "[[Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)]]", which had been a hit for [[Doris Day]]. Page's version was a top-five hit that sold 1 million copies. The next single, "[[Mockin' Bird Hill]]", (a cover of the original by [[Les Paul]] and [[Mary Ford]]) was her fourth million seller. Page had three more top- 10 hits on ''Billboard'' in 1951, starting with "[[Mister and Mississippi]]", which peaked at number eight; "[[And So to Sleep Again]]"; and "[[Detour (song)|Detour]]", which had been recorded and made famous by [[Spade Cooley]], [[Foy Willing]], and [[Elton Britt]]. Page's version was the most popular and became her seventh million-selling single.<ref name=Patti/> She also released her first studio album in 1951 titled ''[[Folk Song Favorites]]''.

In 1953, the novelty tune "(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window?" became Page's fourth number-one hit, selling over 1 million copies and staying on the chart for five months. The song included the sound of a dog barking, which made it popular with a younger audience. It became one of her best-loved songs, but in later years would often be lampooned by rock critics and used to ridicule the state of popular music in the 1950s just prior to rock-and-roll.<ref name=Patti/> The song was written by novelty-tune specialist [[Bob Merrill]]. It was recorded by Page for the children's album ''Arfie Goes to School''. It was also a UK hit and British singer [[Lita Roza]] performed a cover version that made the top 10 there.<ref name=oldies>[http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Patti-Page.html Biography – Patti Page] ''oldies.com;'' retrieved 7-23-08.</ref> She had a series of top-20 hits that year. "[[Changing Partners]]", a final single, reached the top five, peaking at number three, and staying on the charts for five months. The song was also a country melody, like many of Page's hits at the time.<ref name=Patti/>

Unlike most other pop singers of her time, Page was able to maintain success into the rock-and-roll era. She had three hits in 1956, including thenumberthe number-two "[[Allegheny Moon]]". In 1957, she had major hits with "[[A Poor Man's Roses (or a Rich Man's Gold)]]" (recorded the same year by [[Patsy Cline]]) and the top-five hit "[[Old Cape Cod]]".