Kathy Linden

Last updated

Kathy Linden (born 1938) is an American pop singer from Moorestown Township, New Jersey. She grew up in Burlington, New Jersey.

Contents

Linden scored two big hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 late in the 1950s. The first was "Billy", a song originally written in 1911; it hit number seven in 1958. [1] The second was "Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye", a song written by a radio program director named Jack Vaughn; it rose to number eleven in 1959. [1] Both singles were released on Felsted Records and featured Joe Leahy's backing orchestra. Linden was known for having a breathy, childlike voice, even as a married woman in her 20s.

Linden's talents appeared early. Her first public appearance was as a tap and ballet dancer when she was five years old. Since then, she acted in school plays and musicals, appeared in public pageants, played piano and violin in several local symphony orchestras, and with an all-girl string quintet called the Singing Strings.

She attended the University of New Hampshire Summer Youth Music School in 1954, was a soprano soloist with the All State Chorus in 1955, and studied at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music.

As featured vocal soloist with the Singing Strings, she appeared in many well-known spots in Philadelphia and New Jersey. She also sang with several local bands.

At 19, she was discovered by record producer and trumpeter Joe Leahy when she auditioned for him. He was so intrigued with her sound that he recorded her and her first release was "It's Just My Luck to Be Fifteen." He transferred her recording contract to Felsted Records, a subsidiary of London Records which had just set up shop that year. She debuted on Felsted with "Billy".

"Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye" became an international hit, especially in Sweden, where Linden's version peaked at no 3, where it stayed for many weeks in September and October 1959.

After more recordings for Felsted and subsequently Monument and Capitol, some of which became regional hits, Linden retired from show business in 1963 to devote more time to her family and other personal interests.

In 2015, Linden gave her first and only radio interview since her retirement. She told former Casey Kasem interviewer Ronnie Allen that her life had changed enormously around 1980 when she became a Christian and started writing inspirational songs and singing and leading worship at many churches. In 1985, she was interviewed and sang on the Joy Program on TV. In 1992, she made a pilgrimage to Israel and led worship on the boat on the Sea of Galilee. She also led worship in both maximum and minimum security prisons of Southern California for three years.

In 2019, Linden recorded a new album of original inspirational, country and instrumental songs called The Love That's In My Heart, her first release in more than 55 years.

Discography

Albums

YearAlbum Record label
1958That Certain Boy Felsted Records FL 7501 US
1958Kathy in Love Volume 1 Felsted Records GEP 1002 UK
2019The Love That's in My HeartKathy Linden Records

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart
positions
Record Label B-side Album
US
1957"It's Just My Luck to Be Fifteen"National Records"The Touch of Love"
1958"Billy"7 Felsted Records "If I Could Hold You in My Arms"That Certain Boy
"You'd Be Surprised"50"Why Oh Why"
"Oh Johnny, Oh!""Georgie"
1959"Kissin' Conversation""Just a Sandy Haired Boy Called Sandy"
"Somebody Loves You""You Walked Into My Life"
"Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye"11"Heartaches at Sweet Sixteen"
"You Don't Know Girls"92"So Close to My Heart"
"Mary Lou Wilson and Johnny Brown""Think Love"
1960"Allentown Jail" Monument Records "That's What Love Is"
"Midnight""The Willow Weeps"
"Take Me Home (To My Lover)""We Had Words"
1961"Take Me Home, Jimmy""So in Love (With You)"
"Put This Ring on My Finger"RPC Records"Billy Is My Boyfriend"
1962"Remember Me (To Jimmy)" Capitol Records "Beautiful Brown Eyes"
"There'll Always Be Sadness""Words"
"If You Really Love Me (Take Me Home)""Jimmy"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Gaynor</span> American singer

Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "Let Me Know " (1979), "I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" (1974).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ronettes</span> American singing group

The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett, her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They had sung together since they were teenagers, then known as "The Darling Sisters". Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records in March 1963 and changed their name to "The Ronettes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Kasem</span> American disc jockey and actor (1932–2014)

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40. He was the first actor to voice Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise and as Dick Grayson/Robin in Super Friends (1973–1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Whiting</span> American singer

Margaret Eleanor Whiting was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eileen Farrell</span> American soprano

Eileen Farrell was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed one of the largest and most radiant operatic voices of the 20th century." While she was active as an opera singer, her concert engagements far outnumbered her theatrical appearances. Her career was mainly based in the United States, although she did perform internationally. The Daily Telegraph stated that she "was one of the finest American sopranos of the 20th century; she had a voice of magnificent proportions which she used with both acumen and artistry in a wide variety of roles." And described as having a voice "like some unparalleled phenomenon of nature. She is to singers what Niagara is to waterfalls."

<i>American Top 40</i> Radio countdown series

American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacrest and presented as an adjunct to his weekday radio program, On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Spector</span> American singer (1943–2022)

Veronica Yvette Greenfield was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Tin Soldier</span> 1969 song performed by The Original Caste

"One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste first recorded it in 1969 for both the TA label and its parent Bell label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Beverly Shea</span> American gospel singer and hymn composer born in Canada

George Beverly Shea was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea was often described as "America's beloved gospel singer" and was considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records and television. Because of the large attendance at Graham's Crusades, it is estimated that Shea sang live before more people than anyone else in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Kirby</span> Musical artist

Kathy Kirby was an English singer, reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's "Secret Love" and for representing the United Kingdom in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest where she finished in second place. Her popularity peaked in the 1960s, when she was one of the best-known and most-recognised personalities in British show business.

Kathleen Troccoli is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, author, and speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Lewis</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1943)

Barbara Ann Lewis is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felsted Records</span> British record label

Felsted Records was the name of two record labels. The UK version began as a subsidiary of Decca Records in July 1954 with music mainly in the jazz and dance band genres and recordings leased from the French Blue Star, Riviera, and Classique labels. The label took its name from the village where Sir Edward Lewis, the head of UK Decca, lived. The British label's only release of note was "Smokie", the first single by Bill Black's Combo, Black having been Elvis Presley's bassist, licensed from Hi Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Martin (singer)</span> English jazz singer

Claire Martin, OBE is an English jazz singer.

<i>The Happiness Boys</i>

The Happiness Boys was a popular radio program of the early 1920s. It featured the vocal duo of tenor Billy Jones (1889-1940) and bass/baritone Ernie Hare (1883-1939), who sang novelty songs.

Nollaig Casey is an Irish fiddle player, and has an international reputation as one of Ireland's finest fiddle players. By the time she was eleven years old she could play violin, piano, tin whistle and uilleann pipes. During her teenage years she learned to play in both the classical and traditional musical traditions. She won several All-Ireland titles for fiddle and traditional singing culminating in the award to her in 1972 for the best all-round performer.

Kathleen "Kathy" McCord was an American singer and musician.

"Billy", also known as "Billy " is a song with words by Joe Goodwin and music by James Kendis and Herman Paley, written in 1911.

"Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye" is a song written by Jack Vaughn and performed by Kathy Linden. It reached #11 on the Billboard pop chart in April 1959.

Theresa "Terry" Devon was a British jazz singer. She worked as a hairdresser in her father's business but switched to singing after winning a crooning competition on Radio Luxembourg. She joined the Billy Thorburn orchestra and her first record was released in 1938. She was heard weekly on the BBC radio comedy programme Take It From Here. Devon later became a vocalist for the Tito Burns jazz Septet, developing the skill of scat singing. Burns and Devon married in November 1948. She stopped singing professionally and helped her husband to manage notable singers.

References

  1. 1 2 Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000