Monica Lewis (2)

MONICA LEWIS - BUT BEAUTIFUL (1956)

1. But Beautiful
2. Isn't This a Lovely Day?
3. You Don't Know What Love Is
4. You Make Me Feel So Young
5. You'd Better Go Now
6. What'll I Do?
7. Do It Again
8. But Not for Me
9. Fools Rush In
10. Am I Blue
11. I'll Do Anything for You
12. People Will Say We're in Love

Review:
"As the voice of Chiquita Banana for more than 14 years, a guest on Ed Sullivan's first TV variety show, appearances in more than ten motion pictures, active in entertaining troops during the Korean War, Monica Lewis attained a degree of popularity in the late 40s and early 50s. Beginning her career as a vocalist and co-host on such shows as The Chesterfield Hour and Beat the Band she had an active career until her marriage in 1956. Her comeback in 1987 resulted in renewed interest in her earlier recordings and several of them have been reissued. On this Fresh Sound reissue of the Jubilee label's But Beautiful Lewis is backed by Jack Kelly's guitar and ensemble, the members of which remain a mystery. They do an admirable job in setting an attractive musical framework for Lewis' voice. Most of the tunes are romantic ballads with a mid-tempo piece now and then, like "Isn't This a Lovely Day." Sounding a lot like Dinah Shore with a dash of Julie London, Lewis shows a nice clear contralto with excellent diction and good phrasing. She can also be "girl next door" cute as on "Do It Again."
While she was no threat to supplant other top jazz/pop singers of the day, she was pleasant to listen to." — Dave Nathan (AMG)

MONICA LEWIS - SING IT TO THE MARINES (1957)

1 Blues in the Night
2 Miss You
3 I Get a Kick Out of You
4 I Cover the Waterfront
5 Undecided
6 Let's Face the Music and Dance
7 Rough Ridin'
8 Nice Work If You Can Get It
9 All Alone
10 The Song Is You
11 All or Nothing at All
12 I'll Be Seeing You

She started her career as a radio personality and vocalist in New York City and quickly signed to Decca and later Capitol Records, recording hit renditions of songs like "Autumn Leaves", "People Will Say We're in Love", and "A Tree in the Meadow".
Lewis also appeared in the very first episode of The Ed Sullivan Show, in its initial run as Toast of the Town and recorded the voice of Chiquita Brands International's Chiquita Banana between 1953 and 1967. Contracted to MGM, she had a brief film career in the 1950s, starring in a series of ill-received musicals. She had a supporting role in the 1957 Jack Webb movie, "The DI".
Lewis was married to film producer Jennings Lang from 1956 through his death in 1996, with whom she had three children. Her marriage to Lang afforded her a number of supporting roles and cameos in disaster films of the 1970s, including roles in the Lang-produced disaster films, Earthquake, Airport '77, Rollercoaster and The Concorde ... Airport '79.