DOROTHY COLLINS - Unchained Melody - May 7, 1955

[UncleCharlieOakley]

Exquisite performance. She is so gifted.

[Rayarena]

Wow! I had no idea that this gorgeous song was so old! I thought that the Righteous Brothers were the first to sing it, but then I found out that the Platters sang it before them and before them this singer! What an amazing song! 

[jbrumbeloe]

I used to love Hit Parade as a child, and especially loved Dorothy Collins. Mother took me to see her in a musical in Atlanta and I went backstage to meet her.

[rockgor]

I used to watch Your Hit Parade all during my teen years. In the 60s I

saw Gisele MacKenzie who was touring in "The King and I". She did

a great job as Anna.

In those days singers had voices.

Thanks for the melodious post.

[metalman45ret]

I WATCHED THE HIT PARADE WHEN I WAS A YOUNGSTER. BOY THAT WAS THE GOOD TIMES. JHD

[jcrobso]

We watched this shoe every week when I was a kid!

[Goomgam]

A vastly underrated singer. Such a pure voice -- huge range, and the top notes and bottom notes are all so clear, strong and effortless.

[affabledj]

I feel this is the way this beautiful song was meant to be heard, without being seductive, but in pure romantic tones.

[WiltatKansas]

This is what music actually is

[JubalCalif]

I've always loved this classic tune. And I think the lovely and talented Ms Collins has given us a beautiful version here. THANKS for posting it!!! :)

[DiogoSalvino]

This music was ans will be the best!!!

[ihalloway]

wow, so this is original song :D

[gfks11]

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!

[mioballo]

That beautiful

[wgspalding]

wonderful song, wonderful era in America...I wish my children and grandchildren could have experienced it.

[buddyboy80]

where's the bridge?

[VideosTimes2]

@buddyboy80 ON the River Kawi.

[annkus3]

The old music is better than what crap they have today....

[loveopera2]

Oh how I loved that show! Dorothy was so beautiful. I wanted to look just like her. I copied her hairdo, as did a lot of young women at that time.

[loveopera2]

Oh my! I love the way Dorothy sings this. I never missed Hit Parade on Sat. nights when I was a teenager. Wonderful that we have this preserved on video. How I miss that beautiful music!

[pinzeduma]

I was very impressed with this clip and didn't realize what a talented and expressive singer Dorthy Collins was.

[monre1949]

Wonderful song.

From Spain,thanks. 5*****

[juliesfar]

I'm just comparing this " Hitparade" with modern shows like the ones on MTV.

[VideosTimes2]

Hit Parade was the inspiration for things like MTV. Eddie Murphy pointed that out in later years when he introduced Gisele MacKenzie, Russell Arms & Snooky Lanson as presenters on an Emmy show.

[gwardell2]

> Hit Parade was the inspiration for things like MTV.

I much prefer the older music, like pre '70s, to the more modern stuff. But then I was growing up back then. Basically I like music where they aren't shouting at you and talking about dying. And music that's pleasing to the ears.

[juliesfar]

Great to see a hitparade without playback!!

[VideosTimes2]

What does this mean?

[crooner62]

A "lovely ballad" it truly is & so many artists have made beautiful recordings. Dorothy is just wonderful in her interpretation: personal, with real feeling & yet so understated. Thanks for posting... (does a version exist with the "lonely river" bridge included?)

[IDLERACER]

There's something really odd about the rear projection in the background. Either there are trees growing out of the sand where the ocean meets the shore, or that's a pier, and the waves are moving sideways. I'm also not sure of what that thing she starts to lean against at 1:28 is.

[VideosTimes2]

Hmmm, it's obvious to me that those are pier posts NOT trees! Dorothy is also leaning against a shorter pier post.

[erlico]

WoW!!

I thought this one was an original righteous brothers song ... nice surprise

[Juliaflo]

The song originated in the 1950's in a film called 'Unchained'.

The recording by the Righteous Brothers is just the most well-known.

You dig?

[Akira625]

Now can this lady sing, or what? :)

I first heard learned of her a few months ago while listening to a CD collection some old radio jingles she worked on with her husband, electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott. But now I'm finally hearing her sing something that really made full use of *her* talents, not his.

[jmnefan]

Many many years ago I saw Dorothy Collins play the lead in "The Sound of Music" in Portland, Oregon. She was pregnant at the time, and it was so odd seeing a pregnant "Maria" climb every mountain! She was great, though. Wayne

[VideosTimes2]

Dorothy was actually pregrant on stage as Maria...and it showed? Interesting. I remember Dorothy's Hit Parade pal, Gisele MacKenzie, was playing the same show in a theater in the 'round. The show started, and the director, Neil Thorpe, saw a group of nuns at the backof a theater aisle, and thought they were cast members running late...he patted them on the butts and told them to 'get your asses in gear'...it turned out they were REAL nuns arriving late for the show!

[lenircarper]

preciosa melodia

[maliwyoming]

"Winstons taste better!"

[VideosTimes2]

...but they still cause cancer! Some years after Hit Parade went off the air, Gisele MacKenzie commented that she was ashamed that she helped sell cancer. Little did any of us know at the time that we were being dooped by this over marketed, deceiving industry.

[maliwyoming]

Oh yea, "Luckies taste better."

[Juliaflo]

"Cleaner, fresher, smoother".

[maliwyoming]

I remember her better singing cigarette ads on the Jack Benny Program.

[VideosTimes2]

As a jingle singer for Lucky Strike, Dorothy could be seen on many of their sponsored shows at that time. Her co-starring role on Hit Parade was her big claim to fame and made her a star!

[Beejjjjjj]

I love this! She has an extraordinary, silky-smooth voice. I'm surprised I've never heard of her.

[maliwyoming]

Such is pop fame. Fifty years from now people like Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus will be all but forgotten, too. Very few pop stars are able to maintain a presence one way or the other as the years pass, Elvis, for instance, or the Beatles.

[VideosTimes2]

Also nearly all of Dorothy Collins' work was done LIVE on TV and the stage. It wasn't captured for reruns on a mass scale, which is sad. She didn't make a lot of recordings (only a few LPs and maybe 20 singles).

[maliwyoming]

Plus , she wasn't really that big of a star. None of the Hit Parage people were, the most prominent was probably Giselle MacKenzie. Snooky Lansen was not thought of very highl, and in fact was the butt of many jokes.

[wholesomesweetness86]

I disagree with you about her not being a big star. She most certainly was at the time! She managed to make the pop charts, sustain work on TV and in most people's opinion sang the definitive version of "Losing My Mind" from Stephen Sondheim's "Follies". As for pop stars fading, the truly mediocre ones do but Dorothy proved otherwise and here we're discussing her some 50 years later.Thankfully we have youtube and the internet to become reacquainted with Dorothy and introduce her to others!

[wholesomesweetness86]

Snooky Lanson probably was the brunt of many jokes towards the end of "Your Hit Parade" but that was because Rock N Roll took over. Snooky along with the other cast members were traditional vocalists reminiscent of the 40's and early 50's popular music.. Rock N Roll took over and everything changed. As for Snooky not being thought of very highly.. I'm sure he was with his colleagues and with the people who enjoyed his singing & performances.

[irismcooper]

I was ten years old when she sang this song. Dorothy Collins was my favorite on the "Hit Parade."

VideosTimes2, is she still alive and where does she reside if hopefully she is still with us. Thank you for sharing this great clip with all of u.

Always,

Iris of Manassas, VA

[iotbs7]

Dorothy Collins (November 18, 1926 July 21, 1994) was a popular U.S. singer, actress, and recording artist. She was born Marjorie Chandler in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and adopted her stage name in her mid-teens.

She died from respiratory distress as a result of a long-standing pulmonary disease (asthma) at her home in upstate Watervliet, New York (it was erroneously reported in IMDb that she died in New York City), survived by her three daughters.

I was 13, in 1955. Was a big Hit Parade fan.

[renofirvine]

here's a bit of trivia-the song is from the 1955  movie'unchained' about the men's prison in Chino here in so cal--it starred elroy'crazylegs'hirsch and a pre-dick van dyke show-jerry paris

[victotronics]

Wow. Never heard of her, but this is wonderful.

[horndiapason]

A beautiful lady with a rich, velvety voice...her performance in the original Follies (Sondheim) is equally breathtaking, some twenty years later...

[lyblah]

love this old vids, her voice is fantastic

[massimopedrali]

eterna nonostante le 500 versioni registrate nel XX secolo.... grande capolavoro!

[Logan0047]

Love this clip. I watch it frequently, almost daily.

[scudder99]

How great to discover this clip. Thanks for posting. You might want to reload, as there is a glitch at 1:30 .... would love to see it without the "skip"....THanks Again !

[VideosTimes2]

The glitch is in my original source! What a bummer...it's such a nice clip.

[UncleCharlieOakley]

What a VOICE! She's just so wonderful. I was lucky enough to see her in tryouts and on Broadway in FOLLIES. No one has ever sung "Losing My Mind" with such heartbreak and emotion. She nailed it.

[funnyboy642]

Complete similarities.

I was born in 1992 and I guess you can say i am addicting to the '50's. The clothing,cars, and the whole lifestyle was astonishing.

[dbrzdejmasakr]

I feel really nostalgic and I often cry when I listen to old music from the 50's and watch old movies from the 50's. And that's weird cause I was born in 1990. lol

[VideosTimes2]

O...and you HAVE to have the best of tastes! Good for you.

[dbrzdejmasakr]

^^ Thank you.

[GodsFavoriteBassPlyr]

Kind of neat to remember a time when stars were STARS...and you didn't read about them falling down drunk in front of night clubs, and exposing their uncovered crotches to the paparrazi.....

Just plain and simple talent - and they'd actually stop to think for a bit about how their public behavior might influence impressionable young minds ....those were the days, eh?

[whispperson]

This is such a Great Version of this classic.

[VideosTimes2]

I met Dorothy Collins a few times and knew Gisele MacKenzie very well! Both were grand ladies in the REAL sense of the word!

[rhpositive2002]

I remember watching this show when it was first aired. Black and white TV with rabbit ears antenna!

[RetroSaiyan]

Awesome! I love Dorothy Collins, She had such a great voice!

[hotandlovinit]

hotandlovinit---beautiful.i bet i saw this-on your hit parade-release more of these hit parade shows.-dorothy collins could sing,wow.we saw her in summer stock in south pacific.boy,what a performance,and follies--wow,what a voice.we miss her.a great lady..

[VideosTimes2]

I saw Dorothy Collins in "South Pacific" too...and a couple other shows.  Got to meet her, and she was an absolute doll!

[philiperic66]

what a beautiful voice - I wish there were more clips of her from YHP on You Tube - - a great one that was here - Wrap your troubles in dreams - disappeared. These performances need to be put on dvd for posterity. Dorothy was always a favorite of mine when I was growing up in the 50s.

[slobone]

Chances are pretty good I saw this broadcast at the time. They had a problem on this show -- if a song stayed on the charts a long time they had to keep coming up with new presentations (although some weeks they would just skip over it.) I can't even guess how many times I saw Hey There...

[seneca91]

I wonder how they sneaked this one past the censors. I'll never again regard the '50s as bland. Too bad there's a jump in the tape 90 seconds into the song.

[VideosTimes2]

Why would any part of this be considered fro censorship?

The skip in the recording was there when I got it.

Thanks, jim

[seneca91]

Why a candidate for censorship? Because the erotic component in Dorothy Collins' presentation is so palpable. After all, the most characteristic song of the '50s was "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" The sexual repression of the '50s supposedly wasn't "unchained" until the late '60s. This song (as Collins presented it) was far ahead of its time.

[bucksfan13bond]

Beautiful

[wholesomesweetness86]

Dorothy Collins is the quintessential fifties vocalist.. why don't more people know about her? She seems terribly underrated.. she could sing anything! Beautiful song!

[unclealand]

You should have seen her in "Follies."

[snowballie]

hello.she was fantastic,great,i saw it -Follies--3 times,she was robbed of the tony.very sad,she died so young. i saw her in Ballroom,great again. her renedition of LOosing My Mind in Follies has never been surpassed.geat singer. -in follies-wow-what a performance.also-she was good at singing jazz-excellent. great singer.toyland93.

[timmytickles]

i *WISH* we could see her in FOLLIES!!!!

[snowballie]

Dorothy Collins, i agree.She could sing anything. i followed her career.she was very good .toyland93.