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LILLIAN BRIGGS

“I WANT YOU TO BE MY BABY”

 (Jon Hendricks)

Epic 9115

No. 18    October 1, 1955

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From the age of 12 on, Philly Lillie spent all her spare time messin’with the instruments: the

 accordion, piano, violin, and, in high school, the trombone.  Lill became so good on the trombone

that she represented her school at a district festival.  In her senior year, she joined the Swingettes,

an all-girl boogie-woogie band.   After gradu­ation, she worked the window at a movie theater and

continued making rounds with the Swingettes.   When the group broke up, Lill formed her own

orchestra, play­ing the Philadelphia night spots and appearing weekly on radio WAEB.  By day,

she drove a truck.

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In April of 1954, Briggs, joining Joy Cayler and her All-Girl Orchestra, started singing. Alan Freed

discovered her during her New York City singing debut at the Arcadia, “The Million Dollar Ballroom.”

Legend has it that Freed–attracted to Lill’s vocal talents as well as her skin-tight silver- and gold

lame dresses–helped Briggs get an audition with the folks at Epic Records.  The boys there looked’n liked her,

too, and waxed her in also­lutely no time flat.

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“I Want You to Be My Baby” was Lillian’s first offer­ing, and, unfortunately, her only hit recording.

If not for Georgia Gibbs’s competing rendition, “IWant You” might have wriggled its way into the Top

10.  The sea­sonal “Rock ‘n’ Rol-y Poly Santa Claus” failed to break any chart ground.  Next up and quickly

down was Lil­lian’s cover of “Eddie My Love.”   Competing with the original version by THE TEEN QUEENS

and covers by the Chordettes and the Fontane Sisters, Briggs’ tasty take flopped.   ABC-Paramount, Coral,

and Sunbeam all tried their best to mold her into a choice chart item, but nothing worked.

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For some years thereafter, Lillian Briggs continued working Alan Freed’s many New York rock’n’roll

shows.  Perhaps, determined as she was, she is still out there somewhere, rockin’ her stuff in an all-girl

boogie­ woogie bar band.