Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Diane Ray wanted the lifeguard; Diane Renay wanted the sailor.

(updated November 29, 2014)

"Please Don't Talk To the Lifeguard" was a #31 hit in 1963 for Diane Ray of North Carolina. It was one of the staples of 1960s oldies but is not common now. A great catchy tune. Diane followed it up with more singles, which were not hits. The album "The Exciting Years" collects some of these, but is very rare.


Diane Ray samples:
Please Don't Talk To the Lifeguard
Just So Bobby Can See
Tied Up With Mary

Diane Renay wanted the sailor. Born Renee Diane Kushner and working out of Philadelphia and produced by Bob Crewe, she hit big in 1964 with "Navy Blue", reaching #6. The followup was "Kiss Me Sailor", #29 nationally. Diane had a strong zesty voice
and the songs were energetic.
An album titled Navy Blue was
a success. It contained the song
Bell Bottom Trousers, which
was not released as a single, but
which I think could have made
a successful trio of hits. As it
was, this was the extent of her fame.
By the way, Bell-Bottom Trousers was a pop hit in 1945, and is based on an old sea shanty.

These two Dianes with the confusing names are good examples of the early 60s solo girl sound, along with Joanie Sommers, Leslie Gore and others. Then there were the "girl groups" like The Ronettes in addition. Those are other stories.
Speaking of Joanie Sommers, you've got to hear her 1960 nonhit Ruby Duby Du (press).

Song samples for Diane Renay:
Navy Blue and Kiss Me Sailor parts
Bell-Bottom Trousers

Bell-Bottom Trousers by Connie Boswell 1945 (edited)
Bell-Bottom Trousers - part of the bawdy sea shanty, sung by Oscar Brand


Diane Renay has her own website at: http://www.dianerenay.com

Anyone is welcome to leave comments - press comments below.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

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Unknown said...
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GeorgeS said...

There was a copyright problem with Diane Ray. There was a CD at Amazon. Try YouTube.

GeorgeS said...

More song samples added for Diane Ray. That Japanese CD was a bust, useless quality, now withdrawn.

Anonymous said...

I found a 45 of lifeguard in a batch of records I just picked up. Thanks for the info.

Dan A said...

I recently found a fun tune by Diane Ray called "Snow Man" on iTunes. Great lyrics about a teenaged girl who has built a snowman to take the place of her boyfriend who has been untrue.

Unknown said...

As a little boy probably around one or two my parents had a copy of Diane Rays Pkease Dont Talj to the Lifegaurd and woukd leave me with the record player where i woukd play tge song nonstop with my head booping up and down. Found it in itunes. Now at 58 and With Daddy and mommy gone now i find the tune makes me happy. Enjoyed the article.

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