Pam Garner born circa 1937

Pam Garner was one of the many jazz singers who had a brief moment of fame in the 1950s and early sixties then faded, not because they ceased to be good but because popular music changed so radically.

According to liner notes Pam Garner was Born in Big Spring, Texas circa 1937, but Hollywood was her home since 1943 when she was 8 years old. After studying voice under Marie Rubens and Dr. Lillian Goodman in Los Angeles, she began her Californian career working in a mortgage company during the day and making her first professional appearance singing country and western songs on the local Radio Station KFWB with Stuart Hamblen. 

There is not much information regarding her early years, even if Pam Garner was her actual name or a stage name,  but she is mentioned many times in Billboard magazine. In June 1953 she is appearing in the chorus line at the Sands and by November that year she is mentioned as a budding young “thrush” who has been playing a series of dates at Victorille. 1956 finds her recording “Bell Bottom Blues” for the budget record label Tops. Yet her next recording is an album during 1958 for Coral Records titled “Pam Garner Sings Quietly” with an orchestra conducted by Charles Dant. 

                                                                

The liner notes state that Pam, a new engaging singer was all the more refreshing to hear and contemplate in the light of the current plethora of electronically created stars. Though a good portion of any contemporary listening audience takes to gimmicks to clam an insatiable appetite for the new and different, there are those who cast their votes for the artist who gives herself and communicates on the strength of sensitivity and talent alone. It is to this stable that Pam Garner appeals. 

She sings honestly and well, using her vocal and emotional equipment with a maturity and polish befitting an artist older and more experienced. And much to the listener’s satisfaction, Miss Garner sings in tune, something of a rarity for girl singers these days. A single was also released from the album followed by a 1959 pairing with Les Brown & His Band of Renown. During that year she had a guest spot on the Steve Allen show. With the exception of a country-wide tour with the Chuck Cabot band, she has worked excusively as a “single”, concentrating her activities in California, appearing on the Earl Grant Show, Stars of Jazz, The Lawrence Welk Show, and others.  

During January 1960 Pam spent a two week engagement at Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills. An A&R executive signs her for Columbia records and during February she records her second album “Pam Sings Ballads For Broken Hearts” with an orchestra directed by a young John Williams. After this a long lost Italian Cinebox/ Scpotone film from 1962 appears on DVD. But then her internet trail comes to a grinding halt. Little is known about Pam Garner after the early 1960s. The limited public information about her post-singing career has led to questions and speculation among some fans. Yet although her career was quite short and did not achieve great commercial success, she is still remembered for her warm voice and graceful performing style. 

(Edited from Billboard magazine, Album liner notes  and Discogs)

 Now usually I only post one video, but in this case I have opted for two. In 1959, Pam Garner appeared on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show and performed "The Girl With The Long Black Hair," the vocal version of the theme from the TV series Richard Diamond, Private Detective. 

My second video is Pam Garner - Take Me to Disneyland. Now, first off, nothing is known about this curiosity. It is assumed that may be Pam Garner riding the rails as it certainly looks like her, but this cannot be guaranteed. One would suppose that anything Disney would be clearly documented so everyone would know about every little detail. Not so. The title card for this Scopitone video credits the song to "Sherman-Ellis". In fact the tune was copyrighted in '62. by Sherman K. Ellis, a retired ad exec who got into the music biz in the mid fifties and helmed the Sherm Ellis Orchestra until he passed in 1964.