Jim Bailey as Phyllis, Peggy, Barbra & Judy

In many ways, I am totally surprised there is essentially one drag queen star at the moment, the lovely RuPaul. I remember back to my youth, not only were there several drag queens, although they were often billed as 'illusionists' at the time, all performing on stage and on television. There was the amazing Charles Pierce, and the fantastic Craig Russell, and both could be seen on variety shows, and touring all the time. And then there was Jim Bailey, the boy from Philadelphia who was truly remarkable on many levels. Not only could he use makeup well enough to look like several stars, he also had the ability to sound like them as well. For Bailey, there was not going to be any "lip-sync for your life' moments, as he just belted the songs out on his own. One of Jim's earliest successes was his impersonation of comedian Phyllis Diller, which caught the eye of many. That would include Diller herself, who befriended the young performer, and gave him tips. Here is Jim Bailey as Phyllis Diller doing some comedy as part of the show 'Here's Lucy'.

That episode aired in November of 1972. It is said Lucy had seen Bailey performing in Los Angeles, and decided she had to have him on her shows. The two continued to be friends until her death in 1989. Phyllis Diller was not the only star Bailey had in his repertoire. It seems he was particularly fond of the vocal stylings of Miss Peggy Lee. I must admit, few could sing like Miss Lee did, for she had such a distinct and stunning flair. This is Jim Bailey as Peggy Lee with "Fever".

Of course, I don't know if there were any drag queens performing in the 1970s who didn't do Barbra Streisand. With her dressing style and her quirky mannerisms, it was like she was asking to have the queens do her. And for as long as I sent to drag shows, it is tough to remember when I didn't see a queen with long nails and crossed eyes lip syncing to a song. Of course, Bailey took it a step further, when he not only looked like her, but sounded like her as well. In February of 1971, Bailey appeared on the 'Carol Burnett Show', where he performed as Streisand. This is Jim Bailey as Barbra Streisand singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" with Carol Burnett.

But Bailey was perhaps best known for his impression of the iconic performer, Judy Garland. It was said that when Bailey was performing in Los Angeles, the list of luminaries in the audience was impressive. One night in the mid-1960s, while performing his Judy impersonation, Judy herself got out of her seat to join him on stage, and they sang "Bye Bye Blackbird", and the crowd loved it. I can't say for sure that is true, but it should be. It was also said that Judy had a great time, and the two became friends up until Garland's passing in 1969. This is Jim Bailey as Judy Garland with "The Man That Got Away".

It should come as no surprise Judy befriended a drag queen, for the diva loved her gays. She even married Liza off to one, Peter Allen! And, lest we forget, Judy's passing is one of the contributing factors to the Stonewall Riots, when the drag queens fought back against the Police in Greenwich Village less than a week later. And speaking of Judy and Liza, in 1973, she teamed up with Bailey to reproduce the show she and her mother did at the London Palladium. They performed it at The Flamingo in Las Vegas, and it was a tremendous success. To learn more about Jim Bailey, visit his official website.

Silver Screen Torches

Clockwise: Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Doris Day.

Judy, Barbra, Liza and Doris, all names that top the lists of the lovers of the movie musicals. From the 'A Star Is Born' to 'Love Me Or Leave Me' to 'Funny Girl' to 'Cabaret', these ladies had the big musicals covered. While their styles might have differed, the results seldom did. And they could all sing the blues, and earn a standing ovation doing it. They not only sing, but they smoulder while they do, so much you can smell the smoke, and hear the tinkling of the glasses in the club... In the 1955 movie 'Love Me Or Leave Me', Doris Day played jazz singer Ruth Etting, who was married to mobster Mo Snyder, played by James Cagney. Long story short - girl marries mobster to get ahead in her career. She does movies and records, and leaves mobster for piano player. Mobster tries to kill piano man, and the scandal costs the woman her career. A true Hollywood story, and the girl sings "Ten Cents A Dance", with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The soundtrack album topped the Billboard Pop chart for an astounding 17 weeks, a true testament good music and a great performance by the illustrious Miss Day.



In 1954, Judy Garland landed a role that put her back on the map as a Hollywood actress to watch. It had been a couple of years since she and MGM came to an understanding for her release, but that would soon change. She lit up the screen as Esther Blodgett, a small-time singer who gets noticed by the big-time star with a tendency to self-destruct. Played by James Mason, Norman Maine first comes across Esther as she sings "The Man That Got Away", the amazing song by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. This could be the ultimate Torch song ever.



Liza Minnelli had a major role in the 1980 television special 'Baryshnikov On Broadway', starring Mikhail Baryshnikov. On it, she takes a moment to sing "The Music That Makes Me Dance" from the Broadway musical 'Funny Girl'. Liza's mother, Judy Garland, had sung the song as part of her legendary 1964 show at the London Palladium, after the show had opened earlier that year. As a tribute to "Mama", Liza performed the song on her TV Special. I don't blame her. If I could, I would sing that song to Mikhail...



But that does lead me to the original Fanny Brice in the Broadway show, Barbra Streisand. She was just 25 when they shot the movie, her first film. She originated the role on Broadway. For the show, Jules Styne and Bob Merrill wrote "The Music That Makes Me Dance" for the final scene, as the show couldn't get the rights to one of Fanny's biggest songs, "My Man". When making the movie, Streisand wanted to sing the Fanny Brice hit, but writers and producers feared it too old fashioned. Streisand recorded the song for her 1965 album "My Name Is Barbra", and the music from her Emmy-winning television special. Soon, the producers got the clearance for the movie, where it was used in a remarkably memorable scene. Some attribute Streisand's win of the Academy Award to her moving performance of the song.



Those torch singers, they just burn so bright, don't they? No matter the decade, they amazing women burned brighter than the sun.

Torch, Arlen Style

Clockwise: Helen O'Connell; Eva Cassidy; Aretha Franklin; and Dinah Washington.

Tonight I am inspired by the music of the great Harold Arlen. Truthfully, it started this morning when a song come to mind, and I just kept humming it. But first, more about the man. In 1905, Arlen was born Hyman Arluck, in Buffalo, New York, United States, the child of a Jewish cantor. He took piano lessons as a child, became a popular act in the Buffalo area. In his twenties, he made his way to New York City, and soon changed his name to Harold Arlen. In the 1930s, he and lyricist Ted Koehler worked together often, and had a regular gig writing songs to be performed at the popular Harlem nightclub, The Cotton Club. Arlen also began writing music for both Broadway and Hollywood musicals, as well as for popular singers of the day. This brings me back to my inspiration for this post, that song that kept playing in my head. While I will admit it was the Barbra Streisand version, it was "When The Sun Comes Out" that was playing loud and clear. The song was written by Arlen in 1941 with Ted Koehler, and originally sung by Helen O'Connell with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. And so I picked that version to play here, for it is really wonderful.

Arlen also worked with other lyricists, some of the best around. In 1941, he was writing with Johnny Mercer on a film with the working title 'Hot Nocturne'. They wrote a great song, introduced in the movie by William Gillespie. That song was "Blues In The Night", and soon the movie title was changed to match the song. And the song quickly became a standard, a part of the Great American Songbook, and recorded by some of the biggest names in the music business. I picked a version that was recorded in 1997, by the late Eva Cassidy. Cassidy, who passed away the year before, was working on the album at the time of her death. Eva had a magical way to blend her acoustic Pop and Blues roots to make amazing music, and loved taking on some of the iconic music. Here is her recording of "Blues In The Night".

In 1954, Arlen released another project written for the great Judy Garland. He had, of course, worked with her earlier, when he worked on a little film named 'The Wizard of Oz'. So when he began working on the film 'A Star Is Born' with lyricist Ira Gershwin, everyone had to know magic was bound to happen. And it most certainly did. I still remember quite vividly the scene in 'A Star Is Born' when Esther Blodgett, played by Judy, is jamming with some studio musicians and she sings "The Man That Got Away". It was magnificent. But I've had Judy singing the song on the blog before, and decided to try something a little different, so here is a lovely version by Dinah Washington, recorded for her 1962 album 'Drinking Again'.

And, if I was covering the music of Harold Arlen, I couldn't ignore the great song written, according to lore, in front of a drug store in Hollywood in 1938, could I? Legend has it while driving up Sunset Boulevard after a rain, Arlen noticed a rainbow over the iconic Schwab's Drug Store, and it inspired a song for the project he was working on. He was writing the music for the musical 'The Wizard of Oz' with E. Y. Harburg, which became a huge hit in 1939. That would include the song sung by Judy Garland, "Over The Rainbow". And once again, I have posted Judy singing it before, so I tried to find something new, and was thrilled when I found this version by Aretha Franklin, which is truly wonderful. Enjoy.

Have a great weekend!