Alma Cogan

From Freepedia

Alma Cogan (May 16, 1932-October 26, 1966) was a United Kingdom singer of traditional pop music.

She was born Alma Angela Cohen of East European Jewish parentage, in Stepney, in the East End of London, England, getting her first name because her mother liked the motion picture actress Alma Taylor. While she was still a young child, her family moved to Worthing, Sussex. She later went to school in Reading, Berkshire. Her mother encouraged her to enter show business, and she auditioned for Ted Heath as a child. But her real patron was an executive of HMV Records, Walter Ridley, who saw her potential as a teenage art school student.

As a teenager, she had a professional debut singing at the Cumberland Hotel, in their dining room. Her first record was a 78rpm record of "To Be Worthy Of You" /"Would You" on the British HMV label. When Joy Nichols left the BBC programme "Take It from Here," Alma was tapped to replace her as the resident singer, singing many types of songs, but most successfully at up-beat ballads and novelty songs. In 1953 she was working on the song "If I Had A Golden Umbrella" and broke into a giggle while she recorded the song. The people decided that they liked the sound, and that sound became her trademark style. In 1954 she had her first chart hit, a cover of Teresa Brewer's "Bell Bottom Blues."

She had many UK chart hits, some of which were covers of US hits, including some Rock and Roll flavoured ones as the 50s progressed. However, she died relatively young, at only 34, of cancer.

Contents

Recordings

Albums

  • 1958 - I Love To Sing
  • 1961 - With You In Mind
  • 1962 - How About Love?
  • 1967 - Alma

External references

Biography

  • Alma Cogan: A Memoir by Her Sister Sandra Caron, Bloomsbury Publishing, Ltd, 1991 [London]
  • "Alma Cogan: The Girl With The Laugh In Her Voice" by Sandra Caron (Alma's sister) [ISBN 0-7475-0984-0]
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