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Famous Like Me > Actress > C > Alma Cogan

Profile of Alma Cogan on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Alma Cogan  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 19th May 1932
   
Place of Birth: London, England, UK
   
Profession: Actress
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia

Alma Cogan (May 16, 1932-October 26, 1966) was a United Kingdom singer of traditional pop music.

She was born Alma Angela Cohen of East European Jewish parentage, in Stepney, in the East End of London, England, getting her first name because her mother liked the motion picture actress Alma Taylor. While she was still a young child, her family moved to Worthing, Sussex. She later went to school in Reading, Berkshire. Her mother encouraged her to enter show business, and she auditioned for Ted Heath as a child. But her real patron was an executive of HMV Records, Walter Ridley, who saw her potential as a teenage art school student.

As a teenager, she had a professional debut singing at the Cumberland Hotel, in their dining room. Her first record was a 78rpm record of "To Be Worthy Of You" /"Would You" on the British HMV label. When Joy Nichols left the BBC programme "Take It from Here," Alma was tapped to replace her as the resident singer, singing many types of songs, but most successfully at up-beat ballads and novelty songs. In 1953 she was working on the song "If I Had A Golden Umbrella" and broke into a giggle while she recorded the song. The people decided that they liked the sound, and that sound became her trademark style. In 1954 she had her first chart hit, a cover of Teresa Brewer's "Bell Bottom Blues."

She had many UK chart hits, some of which were covers of US hits, including some Rock and Roll flavoured ones as the 50s progressed. However, she died relatively young, at only 34, of cancer.

Recordings

  • 1952 - "To Be Worthy Of You" /"Would You"
  • 1952 - "To Be Loved By You" / "The Homing Waltz" Duet with Les Howard
  • 1952 - "Meet Me On The Corner"
  • 1952 - "Waltz of Paree" / "Pretty Bride"
  • 1952 - "Half As Much" (cover of Rosemary Clooney)/ "Blue Tango"
  • 1952 - "I Went To Your Wedding" (cover of Patti Page)/ "You Belong To Me"(cover of Jo Stafford)
  • 1952 - "IF'N" Duet with Denny Dennis
  • 1952 - "Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me" / "Wyoming Lullaby"
  • 1953 - "Till I Waltz Again With You" (cover of Teresa Brewer)/ "Happy Valley Sweetheart"
  • 1953 - "If I Had A Penny" / "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" (cover of Karen Chandler)
  • 1953 - "On The First Warm Day" / Les Howard solo
  • 1953 - "Till They've All Gone Home" / "Hug Me A Hug"
  • 1953 - "If I Had A Golden Umbrella" / "Mystery Street"
  • 1953 - "My Love, My Love" (cover of Joni James)/ "Wasted Tears"
  • 1953 - "Over And Over Again" / "Isn't Life Wonderful" Duets with Les Howard
  • 1954 - "Ricochet (Rick-O-Shay)" (cover of Teresa Brewer)/ "The Moon Is Blue"
  • 1954 - "Bell Bottom Blues" (cover of Teresa Brewer)/ "Love Me Again"
  • 1954 - "Make Love To Me" (cover of Jo Stafford)/ "Said The Little Moment"
  • 1954 - "Little Shoemaker" (cover of The Gaylords)/ "Chiqui-Chaqui (Chick-ee Chock-ee)"
  • 1954 - "Jilted" (cover of Teresa Brewer)/ "Do, Do, Do, Do, Do, Do It Again" Duets with Frankie Vaughan
  • 1954 - "Little Things Mean A Lot" (cover of Kitty Kallen)/ "Canoodlin' Rag"
  • 1954 - "Skinnie Minnie" (cover of Teresa Brewer)/ "What Am I Going To Do, Ma"
  • 1954 - "This Ole House" (cover of Rosemary Clooney)/ "Skokiaan" (one of many versions of the song)
  • 1954 - "I Can't Tell A Waltz From A Tango" (cover of Patti Page)/ "Christmas Cards"
  • 1954 - "(Don't Let The) Kiddygeddin'" / "Mrs Santa Claus"
  • 1955 - "Paper Kisses"/ "Softly Softly"
  • 1955 - "Mambo Italiano" / "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane"
  • 1955 - "Tweedle-Dee" (cover of Laverne Baker)/ "More Than Ever Now"
  • 1955 - "Tika Tika Tok" / "Chee Chee Oo Chee"
  • 1955 - "Dreamboat" / "Irish Mambo"
  • 1955 - "Where Will The Dimple Be?" / "Keep Me In Mind"
  • 1955 - "Got'n Idea" / "Give A Fool A Chance"
  • 1955 - "The Banjo's Back In Town" / "Go On By"
  • 1955 - "Hernando's Hideaway" / "Blue Again"
  • 1955 - "Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo" / "Twenty Tiny Fingers"
  • 1956 - "Love and Marriage" (cover of Frank Sinatra)/ "Sycamore Tree"
  • 1956 - "Willie Can" / "Lizzie Borden"
  • 1956 - "Don't Ring-A Da Bell" / "Bluebell"
  • 1956 - "It's All Been Done Before" Duet with Ronnie Hilton / "No Other Love" Ronnie Hilton solo
  • 1956 - "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" (cover of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers)/ "The Birds And The Bees"
  • 1956 - "Mama Teach Me To Dance" / "I'm In Love Again"
  • 1956 - "In The Middle Of The House" (cover of Rusty Draper)/ "Two Innocent Hearts"
  • 1957 - "You, Me And Us" / "Three Brothers"
  • 1957 - "Whatever Lola Wants" / "Lucky Lips"
  • 1957 - "Chantez Chantez" (cover of Dinah Shore)/ "Funny Funny Funny"
  • 1957 - "Fabulous" / "Summer Love"
  • 1957 - "That's Happiness" / "What You've Done To Me"
  • 1957 - "Party Time" / "Please Mister Brown"
  • 1958 - "The Story Of My Life" / "Love Is"
  • 1958 - "Sugartime" (cover of The McGuire Sisters)/ "Gettin' Ready For Freddy"
  • 1958 - "Stairway Of Love" / "Comes Love"
  • 1958 - "Sorry Sorry Sorry" / "Fly Away Lovers"
  • 1958 - "There's Never Been A Night" / "If This Isn't Love"
  • 1959 - "Last Night On The Back Porch" / "Mama Says"
  • 1959 - "Pink Shoelaces" / "The Universe"
  • 1959 - "We Got Love" / "I Don't Mind Being All Alone"
  • 1960 - "Dream Talk" / "O Dio Mio"
  • 1960 - "The Train of Love" / "The 'I Love You' Bit" Duet with Oscar Nebish, aka Lionel Bart
  • 1960 - "Just Couldn't Resist Her With Her Pocket Transistor" / "Must Be Santa"
  • 1961 - "Cowboy Jimmy Joe" / "Don't Read The Letter"
  • 1961 - "With You In Mind" / "Ja-Da"
  • 1961 - "All Alone" / "Keep Me In Your Heart"
  • 1961 - "She's Got You" / "In The Shade of The Old Apple Tree"
  • 1962 - "Goodbye Joe"/ "I Can't Give You Anything But Love"
  • 1963 - "Tell Him" / "Fly Me To The Moon"
  • 1963 - "Hold Out Your Hand You Naughty Boy" / "Just Once More"
  • 1964 - "The Tennessee Waltz" / "I Love You Too Much"
  • 1964 - "It's You" / "I Knew Right Away"
  • 1964 - "Snakes And Snails" / "How Many Nights, How Many Days"
  • 1965 - "Eight Days A Week" / "Help"
  • 1965 - "Love Is A Word" / "Now That I've Found You"
  • 1966 - "Now That I've Found You" / "More"
  • 1966 - "Love Ya I'll Ya" / "I Know You"

Albums

  • 1958 - I Love To Sing
  • 1961 - With You In Mind
  • 1962 - How About Love?
  • 1967 - Alma

External references

  • UK Artists Biography page on Alma Cogan
  • Alma Cogan page
  • Bio of Alma Cogan with reference to her contacts with the Beatles

Biography

  • Alma Cogan: A Memoir by Her Sister Sandra Caron, Bloomsbury Publishing, Ltd, 1991 [London]
  • "Alma Cogan: The Girl With The Laugh In Her Voice" by Sandra Caron (Alma's sister) [ISBN 0-7475-0984-0]

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Alma Cogan