Patti Page, The Singing Rage

Page rhymes with rage and that was the reason why girl singer Patti Page was dubbed The Singing Rage. She was indeed the rage back in the old days. And I really mean old days. It was in the late ’40s and early ’50s when she made her mark. I would say she came in in-between Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. It was in this pre-rock ’n roll era when a string of hit songs made her a huge singing star. In fact, her success was so phenomenal, she remains one of the biggest selling artists in the history of popular music.

Patti Page is in town. And history indeed, is what those who will watch her show will be meeting. She will be at the Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City on Friday, Sept. 4 and at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Sept. 6. The lady will of course be expected to sing her hits. There are many. I can already imagine the roar from fans when she sings her most popular song, Tennessee Waltz, also the state song of Tennessee. For some unknown reason, because I have never been there and have no association with the place, the one I will wait for is Cape Cod. Maybe it is because she does it beautifully or maybe I am channeling a previous life when I listen to the song.

But anyway, I mention the word history here in every sense of the word because although probably unknown to her at the time, Patti while recording her hits, was making inroads that would later serve other stars and even contribute to the progress of recording technology. She was at first considered a girl singer. They never referred to the guys like Sinatra or Bing Crosby as boy singers. Talk about discrimination. I guess it was because bands then were made up entirely of males. Then once during a set, a pretty girl comes out to sing and that was what Patti, Rosemary Clooney, Jo Stafford and others did early in their careers.

Confess was Patti’s first hit as a solo artist in 1947. It was done during a strike when there were no available background singers. Her producer was Mitch Miller, another icon of the time. You must have come across his name in many old recordings with his group, Mitch Miller and his Gang. It turned out that he was also a wiz at the studio. There were no background singers to be had so he made Patti sing harmony to her own vocals. Thus, overdubbing was born.

That was the forerunner of a recording technique that is now used all over the world. A lot or maybe I can say, millions of songs would never have been hits without vocal, instrumental or any sort of overdubs. The practice also saves a lot on costs. You do not need the complete orchestra or that many singers in the studio anymore. Thanks to Patti and Mitch, you can now just record the instruments required by your song or simply pile up the voices of background singers one track over another to create even a complete choir.

Confess was the beginning of Patti’s many hits in the years that followed, some of them million sellers. Aside from Tennessee Waltz and Cape Cod, you might want to check with your parents or grandparents about Patti’s other hits or better yet watch the lady sing them live: So In Love; Money Marbles and Chalk; With My Eyes Wide Open I’m Dreaming; All My Love; I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine, which Elvis himself would later cover; Back In Your Own Backyard; Would I Love You (Love You, Love You); Mockin’ Bird Hill, also a hit in the ’70s for Donny and Marie Osmond; Mister And Mississippi; And So To Sleep Again; Detour.

I Went To Your Wedding, a big hit later for local singer Victor Wood; You Belong To Me, there is a great instrumental version of this one by RJ and The Riots from the ’60s; Come What May; Once In A While; Why Don’t You Believe Me; breathes there a kid around who never grew up without chanting “aw aw” to How Much Is That Doggie In The Window, also the first time a real dog was used in the recording; Changing Partners, Cross Over The Bridge; Steam Heat; Let Me Go Lover; Croce di Oro; Allegheny Moon and A Poor Man’s Roses (Or A Rich Man’s Gold), also recorded by the late Patsy Cline.