Baby Can Rock

Dorothy Collins sang the top hits of the week on television's Your Hit Parade with co-hosts Gisele MacKenzie, Russell Arms, and Snooky Lanson, all of whom had hit records of their own during the run of the series. Collins' biggest hit was a pop makeover of Boyd Bennett's "My Boy -- Flat Top," which still managed to rock despite the introduction of a big-band arrangement and a cheerful vocal chorus. Her cover of Clyde McPhatter's R&B hit "Seven Days" was nearly as successful and competed on the pop charts against a similar pop version by the Crew-Cuts. "Baciare Baciare (Kissing Kissing)" and "Banjo Boy," minor hits on the Top Rank label in 1959-1960, were the last gasps of Collins' chart career. Baby Can Rock is a "gray market" anthology that compiles 31 recordings, mostly from 1954-1958 when Collins recorded for Coral Records. A handful of cuts are rock & roll or make overtures in that direction, including the title track, "Cool It Baby," "Rock Me My Baby," and "(I'm Gonna Live Some) Before I Die," but most of her singles contained pop vocal fare more in line with Patti Page or Perry Como. Collins recorded a lot of cover songs, many of which failed to make much of an impression with record buyers. These include another Clyde McPhatter song ("Treasure of Love"), "Mr. Wonderful," and the country-pop hit "Four Walls." "Mr. Santa" is a Christmas version of the Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman," and four recordings for the Audiovox label include a fluffy cover of LaVern Baker's "Tweedlee Dee." Baby Can Rock is mastered from vinyl with mixed results; some recordings, such as "Baciare Baciare (The Kissing Song)," suffer from intrusive sibilance or surface noise, and "Banjo Boy" is missing altogether. Still, in the absence of a legitimate Dorothy Collins' anthology, Baby Can Rock is an adequate alternative. ~ Greg Adams