Looking for information on singer, songs
You have questions. I have some answers, with much music in mind. Q: What happened to K. T. Oslin? She was a beautiful singer. A: Oslin died in December 2020 at the age of 78, reportedly following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and a COVID-19 diagnosis. She was indeed a fine singer, songwriter and conveyor of humor, pathos and wisdom. (I am listening to my copy of her greatest hits collection “Songs from an Aging Sex Bomb” as I write this.) The winner of Grammys and other awards was born Kay Toinette Oslin in Crossett, Ark., in 1942, according to Billboard, and she “had an unusual path to country stardom. Performing in folk acts in the ’60s and starring in theatrical productions in the ’70s, it wasn’t until she was well into her 40s that she found major success as a country singer, following her discovery in Nashville by producer Harold Shedd during the mid-’80s.” Hits followed, including “Hold Me,” “Hey Bobby,” “Come Next Monday” and her signature song, “’80s Ladies,” which made her the first woman songwriter to win the CMA Award for Song of the Year. She also acted, including in the country-themed movie “The Thing Called Love.”
Q: I’m writing about the song “Saint Therese of the Roses” from around 1956. I don’t know the lady singer’s name, the writer’s name or if the song made the top 10 list. (I have a friend named Therese.)
A: The song was written by Arthur Strauss and Remus Harris. The first and best-known recording is a 1956 one credited to Billy Ward & The Dominoes, with the legendary (and male) Jackie Wilson as the lead singer at the time. It was a hit, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard sales charts and even higher in the ranking of radio plays. You may be remembering a 1957 cover version by Eve Lombard with Johnny Gregory and His Orchestra. But Jackie Wilson’s rendition is better.
Q: There is a terrific song at the end of the movie “Human Capital.” Would you happen to know its name and artist?
A: The song is called “Heartbeating” by the band Bodies of Water. “Human Capital,” for those of you tuning in late, is a 2019 movie starring Liev Schreiber and Marisa Tomei; it’s a reworking of “Il capitale umano,” a 2013 Italian film. And speaking of remakes …
Q: I have been watching a show on PBS called “Professor T.” It takes place in England, the professor helps the police solve crimes and his first name is Jasper. There is a show that comes on right after it also called “Professor T,” but that show takes place in Belgium, I think. It has English subtitles. The main character is in jail, his first name is Jasper, and he also helps the police solve crimes. Are these shows related somehow?
A: Yes. The Belgian series “Professor T” came first, originally airing from 2015-18. The British series, which began showing this year, is an adaptation of the earlier show. There have also been French and German remakes.
Q: I am a longtime fan of Raymond Burr’s “Perry Mason” (1958-66). Was the executive producer, Gail Patrick Jackson, the same as the actress, Gail Patrick, who appeared in such movies as “My Man Godfrey” with William Powell and Carole Lombard?
A: Yes. Ephraim Katz’s “The Film Encyclopedia” notes that Patrick was “particularly effective in cold, often nasty ‘other woman’ roles.” She quit acting in the late 1940s following her (third) marriage to Thomas Cornwall Jackson, who was also the literary agent of Erle Stanley Gardner, the novelist who had created the Perry Mason character. The Jacksons made a deal with Gardner for a “Perry Mason” TV series, where Gail Jackson was executive producer — the rare woman in that role in those days. The Jacksons divorced in 1969, according to the encyclopedia. Gail Patrick Jackson died of leukemia in 1980.