Send "Connie Stevens " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Connie Stevens was always more of a cypher than a star in the early ‘60s. She played the smart-dumb blonde in a series of television appearances (most notably as photographer/singer Cricket Blake in the hit show Hawaiian Eye, 1959-1963), Hollywood movies, and Broadway productions. Sure, she was eye candy, but there was always something more than just that to her performances. This was especially true on her records. Stevens’ complete Warner Brothers singles from 1959 to 1966 have just been compiled and released, mostly in their original glorious mono. The three dozen sides include everything, even the ridiculous—such as top ten hit “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me your Comb)”, in which she and Hawaiian Eye co-star Edd Byrnes make hipster talk over a campy cool instrumental accompaniment. But the collection also contains the more sublime, such as the four Gerry Goffin / Carole King compositions “Why’d You Wanna Make Me Cry”, “I Couldn’t Say No”, “They’re Jealous of Me”, and “Don’t You Want to Love Me”. Evoking distaff romantic angst with an edge is Petula Clark’s dramatic “Now That You’ve Gone” and the dreamy Tim Hardin composition “It Will Never Happen Again.” And then there’s everything in between, such as two German releases (sung in Deutsch), “La Le Lu” and “Man Soll Sich So Schnell Nicht Verlieben”, some Hank Williams’ covers (“Hey, Good Lookin’” and “Nobody’s Lonesome For Me”), and other odds and ends. However evocative or strange or goofy or even transcendent the aforementioned titles may be, this anthology seems much more interesting as an artifact than as art. The songs provide a glimpse into that transitional era between the conservative ‘50s and the turbulent ‘60s—when everything was changing. Although Stevens was in her 20s, she had a fresh and innocent look and pandered to the teen audience on songs like “Sixteen Reasons” (which was her biggest hit, peaking at number three on the charts), “A Little Kiss is A Kiss is a Kiss”, “Why Do I Cry for Joey”, “Make Believe Lover”, and other fluff from the era. She sang about desire in nonphysical terms, as if love began and ended with just a kiss. Some of this is code. As Peter, Paul, and Mary once noted, “If you really say it / the radio won’t play it”, and the implications of a song like “I Couldn’t Say No” are clear, even if Stevens just mentions giving away her kiss to someone she just met....full text |
| Hyperbolium |
| There have been many actors whose musical aspirations out-distance their vocal abilities. Not so for Connie Stevens, whose singles and albums for Warner Brothers were sung with both charm and talent. Though best remembered for co-starring roles in 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eye, Stevens sang these early-to-mid ‘60s sides in a voice that conveyed both sweet innocence and Hollywood sophistication. Better yet, Warner Brothers often supplied her with very good material, top-notch arrangements by Don Ralke, Perry Botkin Jr., and Neal Hefti and the production talents of David Gates, Lou Adler, Jimmy Bowen and others. She only cracked the Billboard Top 40 twice, first with the novelty “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb),” and later with “Sixteen Reasons,” but landed several more in the Top 100. Real Gone’s two-disc set collects seventeen complete mono singles (A’s and B’s), the stereo single version of “Kookie, Kookie” (the B-side of which was an Edd Byrnes solo), and the superb radio promo “Why Can’t He Care for Me.” The latter was featured in the Jerry Lewis film Rock-A-Bye Baby, but never released commercially. Stevens’ early singles were similar to those of her early ‘60s peers Connie Francis, Annette Funicello and Shelley Fabares. She sang lyrics of love, longing and broken hearts, often in tunes that have novelty arrangements; but as early as 1960’s “Little Sister” you can hear a growing sophistication in the arrangements and vocals, if not yet the lyrics. Though Stevens was never a belter, she does add a bit of sass to her delivery of Goffin & King’s “Why’d You Wanna Make Me Cry.”...full text |
| Blogcritics |
| Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia, professional name Connie Stevens, was born in 1938 into a musical family in Brooklyn, New York. In her early teens she moved to Missouri where she joined a vocal group called The Foremost, which included the future members of The Lettermen. At 16 she found herself in Los Angeles, marking her professional start in the entertainment industry. Her big acting break came playing the role of Cricket Blake on the television series Hawaiian Eye for four seasons, 1959-1963. After a couple of guest appearances on the TV series 77 Sunset Strip, she recorded a duet with one of the show’s stars, Ed Byrnes. The novelty song, “Kookie Kookie Lend Me Your Comb," was a big hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Magazine Pop Singles Charts. During the '60s she balanced her acting and singing careers. She released 16 singles for the Warner Brothers label, six of which made the charts. Her biggest hit was “Sixteen Reasons,” which reached number three. Real Gone Music has now gathered her singles for Warner Brothers, plus a few extra songs including “Kookie Kookie Lend Me Your Comb” for a two-disc, 36-track set, The Complete Warner Bros. Singles. Remastered from the original tapes, the result is a crystal clear listening experience from these mostly half-century-old songs. Be aware, however, that except for the Byrnes duet, all the songs are presented in mono. Stereo recordings for some of the material does indeed exist but the decision was made to go with the recordings of the original singles rather than album tracks, which included more of a stereo sound. Much of the material has been unavailable for years and, in some cases, decades. Well known songs like “Too Young To Go Steady,” “Why’d You Wanna Make Me Cry,” “Mr. Songwriter,” and “Now That You’ve Gone” combine with such lesser known tunes as “Why Do I Cry For Joey,” “There Goes Your Guy,” “A Girl Never Knows, “If You Don’t Somebody Else Will,” and “And This Is Mine” to form the definitive Connie Stevens release....full text |
Connie Stevens lyrics
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