ALMA COGAN HAND SIGNED RPPC PHOTOGRAPH AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURE

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POSTCARD SIZED PHOTOGRAPH HAND SIGNED TO JEAN genuine item Alma Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966)[1] was an English singer of traditional pop music in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed "The Girl With the Laugh/Giggle/Chuckle in Her Voice",[2] she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. Throughout the mid-1950s, she was the most consistently successful female singer in the UK.[3]Contents [hide] 1 Childhood and early musical career2 'Girl with the giggle' 3 Too square for the '60s 4 Illness and early death 5 Personal life 6 Legacy 7 Recordings 7.1 Singles (UK releases) 7.2 Albums 8 Biography 9 References Childhood and early musical career[edit] She was born Alma Angela Cohen in Whitechapel, London, of Russian-Romanian Jewish descent.[4] Her father's family, the Kogins, arrived in Britain from Russia, while her mother's family were refugees from Romania.[5]Cogan's parents, Mark and Fay Cohen, had another daughter, the actress Sandra Caron[6] and one son. Mark's work as a haberdasher entailed frequent moves. One of Cogan's early homes was over his shop in Worthing, Sussex. Although Jewish, she attended St Joseph's Convent School in Reading.[7] Her father was a singer, but it was Cogan's mother who had show business aspirations for both her daughters (she had named Cogan after silent screen star Alma Taylor). Cogan first performed in public at a charity show at the Palace Theatre in Reading, and at eleven, competed in the "Sussex Queen of Song" contest held at a Brighton hotel, winning a prize of £5. At fourteen, she was recommended by Vera Lynn for a variety show at the Grand Theatre in Brighton. At sixteen, she was told by bandleader Ted Heath "You've got a good voice, but you're far too young for this business. Come back in five years time"; Heath would later say: "'Letting her go was one of the biggest mistakes of my life."[8] But Cogan found work singing at tea dances, while also studying dress design at Worthing Art College, and was soon appearing in the musical High Button Shoes and a revue Sauce Tartare.[9] In 1949, she became resident singer at the Cumberland Hotel, where she was spotted by Walter Ridley of HMV, who became her coach. 'Girl with the giggle'[edit] Cogan's first release was "To Be Worthy of You"/"Would You" recorded on her twentieth birthday.[citation needed]This led to her appearing regularly on the BBC's radio show Gently Bentley, and then becoming the vocalist forTake It From Here. In 1953, while recording "If I Had A Golden Umbrella", she broke into a giggle, and then played up the effect on later recordings. Soon she was dubbed "The girl with the giggle in her voice". Many of Cogan's recordings would be covers of US hits, notably by Rosemary Clooney, Teresa Brewer, Georgia Gibbs, Joni James and Dinah Shore. One of these covers, Bell Bottom Blues became her first hit, reaching No. 4 on 3 April 1954.[10] Cogan would appear in the UK Singles Chart eighteen times in the 1950s, with "Dreamboat" reaching No. 1. Other hits from this period include I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango, Why Do Fools Fall in Love,Sugartime and The Story of My Life. Cogan's first album I Love to Sing was released in 1958. Cogan was one of the first UK record artists to appear frequently on television, where her powerful voice could be showcased along with her bubbly personality and dramatic costumes. These hooped skirts with sequins and figure-hugging tops were reputedly designed by herself and never worn twice. Cliff Richard recalls: "My first impression of her was definitely frocks – I kept thinking, how many can this woman have? Almost every song had a different costume. The skirts seemed to be so wide – I don't know where they hung them up!"[11][12] Cogan topped the annual NME reader's poll as "Outstanding British Female Singer" four times between 1956 and 1960. Too square for the '60s[edit] The UK musical revolution of the 1960s, symbolised by the rise of the Beatles, suddenly made Cogan unfashionable. John Lennon's wife Cynthia recalled "John and I had thought of Alma [as] out of date a... read more

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