Rosemary Clooney - Singing at Her Best
She's probably best known these days as actor George Clooney's aunt, but way back in the day, Rosemary Clooney (who died in 2002) was hot stuff, a pop singer with mild jazz leanings and more than a few hits.Rosemary Clooney: Singing at Her Bestshowcases her rich, lovely voice, and with some 17 songs (including one medley) crammed into just 40 minutes, there's plenty to choose from here, even if it's almost totally bereft of those hits. What we get in these various vintage clips (all in black & white, many apparently from Clooney's own '50s TV show) is a singer who was very much of her time: smiling, perky, perfectly coiffed, wearing an array of bows, lacy collars, and chaste gowns--i.e., appealing, wholesome as all get out, and strictly squaresville. Song-wise, there are some great writers represented here--like Duke Ellington (whose "I'm Checking Out," written with Billy Strayhorn and probably the most swinging tune of the bunch, lasts all of one minute!), Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, and Rodgers and Hammerstein--but for the most part these are not their best works. And while a Western-themed medley ("Don't Fence Me In," "San Antonio Rose," and such) with Bing Crosby is corny but cute, Clooney's partnerships with the likes of Boris Karloff and Tab Hunter are not the stuff of which dreams are made. Rosie, as she was known, was a fine artist, but calling this collection "at her best" is a stretch.--Sam Graham