Lena Martell - That Wonderful Sound

Born Helen Thomson in May 1940 in Possilpark, Glasgow, Lena Martell has had a long music career on records, in theatre, television and stage musicals. Her recording career had begun as long ago as 1961 when she cut a few unsuccessful singles for His Master's Voice before switching to Decca in 1964 for whom she released a single and an album. From Decca she moved to Pye, cutting several singles in the mid to late Sixties; before going back to Pye, with whom she had her greatest successes. In 1977 she released her 9th album 'Hello Misty Morning'. Among its selections was Kris Kristofferson's "One Day At A Time" which, two years later, became an unexpected hit, securing Lena an appearance on BBC's 'Top of the Pops' that helped elevate it to the #1 spot in the charts and landing her own BBC TV Saturday Night TV shows. This was just reward for a Scottish girl who in the Sixties had gone to America, understudied for Barbra Streisand in 'Funny Girl' on Broadway, undertaken singing engagements with Sammy Davis Jr and Liza Minnelli, and taken part in two Frank Sinatra benefit concerts. Back in England her successes at the London Palladium equalled the box office receipts of Shirley MacLaine and Bette Midler. Among her 30 albums was 'That Wonderful Sound of Lena Martell', released in 1974 and which took its name from the Les Reed and Geoff Stephens opening track. Surprisingly, most of the artists to have recorded this outstanding song have been male, and Lena does a splendid job of flying the flag for the girls.