Eileen Barton was a singer associated both with the early 1950s and with novelty pop songs of the era, the most famous being her No. 1 debut in 1950 with If I Knew You Were Comin’ (I’d’ve Baked A Cake).

Born to vaudeville performers in Brooklyn, New York, Barton performed for several years on Broadway and radio, while carving a career as a classy big band singer where she was very much associated with Frank Sinatra, appearing on radio with him in the mid-1940s. After recording briefly for Mercury in the ‘40s she recorded her landmark hit for the National label and carried on recording into the ‘60s by which time the changes in the pop landscape had overtaken her style. Written by Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill, and Clem Watts and published in 1950, If I Knew You Were Comin’…  reached the Billboard charts on 3 March 3 1950 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at No.1. In the UK, a version was recorded by Dame Gracie Fields the same year. The track has also been covered by Georgia Gibbs, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Betty Harris and The Fontane Sisters.

This great-value 55-track collection features selected A- and B-sides, including Top 30 hits Cry, Pretend, May I Take Two Giant Steps and Wishin’. It includes duets with Buddy Greco, Johnny Desmond and The McGuire Sisters, and Jimmy Wakely, as well as 1944 radio broadcasts with Sinatra. As well as her familiar novelty material, it includes performances in sophisticated pop style and on dramatic ballads, as well as rock ‘n’ roll era teen pop in her later years.

It’s an entertaining showcase for her remarkable versatility.

TRACKS