Betty Hutton - The Best of the RCA Years

The Best of the RCA Years

By Betty Hutton

Very Good Condition

A Review

An underrated actress and comedienne from the 1940s wartime era, Huttom was actually the younger sibling of Marion Hutton, longtime "girl" singer with the Glenn Miller orchestra. Her vocal work is sometimes hampered by its comedic aspects -- although she was capable of singing ballads and love songs every bit as sweetly as her big sister, Hutton yonked and squawked her way through most songs. Still, she's a dynamo and tunes like "I'm Just A Square (In A Social Circle)" and "Can't Stop Talkin' About Him" are pretty impressive in their swinging, toungue-twisty dynamics alone. Better yet, try and check her out in her film appearances, to get the full picture of what a great performer she was. 1945's "The Stork Club" is one of her best vehicles. Capitol's "Spotlight On Betty Hutton" collection concentrates on her more serious straight "pop" stuff (though with a few great goofy tunes), while this BMG set is more deliberately kooky. They're both great, and both worth tracking down, although the RCA disc has the liability of offering zilcho in the way of liner notes... A shame, really, although the music itself is a lot of fun. Highly recommended.