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Known for his bisexual chic just before the AIDS pandemic broke up the party, cabaret singer and recording artist Peter Allen managed to record duets with some of the most popular lesbians of his time: Dusty Springfield backed him up on “Back Doors Crying”, Lesley Gore on “She Loves to Hear the Music”, and Frances Faye on “Just A Gigolo.” Though I was familiar with Dusty and Lesley, Frances Faye came as a revelation. Her sassy, upbeat, comic delivery scored this side of sophisticated. Recently, I was watching Bruce Weber’s Chop Suey (2001) and was pleased to see his tribute to Frances Faye, if not startled to discover she played the madam in Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby (1978).
As Bob Downe writes at YouTube: “Frances Faye (1912-1991) was one of the world's most loved and enduring nightclub entertainers, with a career spanning the late 1920s to 1980. She hit her stride on New York's 52nd Street in the '30s, becoming known as the ‘Zazou-zaz’ gal as she thumped the piano and belted out her funny, racy blues and jazz songs.”
Faye composed “Well All Right!”, which became a hit for the Andrew Sisters.
YouTube offers two early Frances Faye “soundies” from 1942, which were used in a Panoram coin-operated jukebox. “Soundies” were the historic precursors to the modern music video. The first is Faye’s cover of “I Ain’t Got No Body” and the second is “Shut Your Mouth For Uncle Sam.”
In this clip Frances Faye, Martha Raye, and Bing Crosby perform "After You," the scat-challenge number from the finale of the 1937 Paramount film Double or Nothing, with Harry Barris as the bandleader. The film also starred William Frawley and Andy Devine.
Television appearances were rare for Faye but she was billed twice on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, first on June 9, 1957 and then on May 22, 1960. Both times she belted out her signature song “Darktown Strutters Ball”, adding "Oif’n Pripotchik & Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" for her first appearance and “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” for her second. Faye was riding high in 1960. She had shattered Peggy Lee's record at New York's Basin Street East and had released perhaps the greatest Live album ever made: “Caught In the Act”, recorded at the Thunderbird in Las Vegas.
Also in 1960, she appeared on Hugh Hefner’s "Playboy’s Penthouse", singing "The Man I Love", "Just In Time", "Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." This performance is a perfect example of Faye's famous double entendres and references to homosexuality and lesbianism. An admitted bisexual herself, involved with lifelong partner Teri Shepherd, Faye frequently hinted at this frequently in her act. On national television, she would often playfully alter pronouns in love songs or weave her girlfriend's name into the lyrics of song. For instance, in this performance she's inserted "it's a Teri, Teri day" into "The Man I Love" and in her Ed Sullivan performance she sang "why do all the boys treat Teri so right" in "Shimmy Like My Sister Kate." Visual quality is poor on the Hefner clip but the sound is fine, featuring great percussion from Jack Costanza and truly funny adlibs from Faye, so it’s worth at least a listen if not a watch.
In 1977 she made a rare television appearance where she was interviewed by Hugh Downs and sang "A Taste of Honey" and the John Lennon-Paul McCartney hit "Yesterday".
Frances Faye adored Sydney, Australia and Sydney adored her. The legendary nightclub entertainer made around 14 visits Down Under between 1961 and 1979, packing out legendary clubs like Chequers and the Silver Spade. In 1979 she appeared on the Mike Walsh Show. This was her last Australian visit. She had suffered a heart attack in 1978 and was visibly ready for retirement, which came in 1980.
