Firstly, Donna Douglas the singer is NOT Donna Douglas the actress, who starred as Elly Mae Clampett in 'The Beverley Hillbillies' TV show in the 1960's. Our Donna Douglas was born in Bangor, Northern Ireland, and started her recording career in the late 1950's. Her first single was 'The Shepherd', released in November 1958, and although it didn't chart, her record company Fontana saw enough potential in her to keep trying, and so she recorded a further three singles for them in 1959 and 1960. When she left Fontana, Piccadilly felt she had the right look and chirpy voice for the times and debuted her with 'Tammy, Tell Me True' in 1961, but the following year they gave her a big push, as her 1962 single 'The Message In A Bottle' was nominated as the UK entry for the "Song For Europe" contest (before it became The Eurovision Song Contest). It lost to Ronnie Carroll's 'Ring-a-Ding Girl' which, obviously, did not bring a winner home to Great Britain, and so we'll never know if 'The Message In A Bottle' might have had more success. Three more singles followed for Piccadilly, with 'Matelot' appearing in 1962, and both 'It's A Pity To Say Goodnight' and 'He's So Near' being released in 1963. A final single, 'Java Jones' turned up on Pye in 1964, and then that was the end of her singing career. Although her biggest claim to fame appears to be being mistaken for someone else, she did leave behind some fine recordings, particularly those from the early sixties, and so here is a nice selection of them, which should help to emphasise the difference between the singer and the actress.
Track listing
01 The Shepherd (single 1958)
02 I'm Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (b-side of 'The Shepherd')
03 Come Back To Loch Lomond (single 1959)
04 First Anniversary (b-side of 'Come Back To Loch Lomond')
05 Six Boys And Seven Girls (single 1959)
06 Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall (b-side of 'Six Boys And Seven Girls')
07 Teddy (single 1960)
08 Call Me Darling (b-side of 'Teddy')
09 Tammy, Tell Me True (single 1961)
10 Memory Lane (b-side of 'Tammy, Tell Me True')
11 The Message In A Bottle (single 1962)
12 If This Is Love (b-side of 'The Message In A Bottle')
13 Matelot (single 1962)
14 All The Other Girls (b-side of 'Matelot')
15 It's A Pity To Say Goodnight (single 1963)
16 Do I Know? (b-side of 'It's A Pity To Say Goodnight')
17 He's So Near (single 1963)
18 Blue Star (b-side of 'Java Jones' 1964)
