And why you should care?
In 1958, she had a Canadian hit record single and LP called, "Hard To Get." On the album was her version of "Unchained Melody" (originally written by Alex North as incidental music for the film, "Unchained" in 1951). The style of the piece was lush and orchestral, not unlike BSN/Travelogue in the romantic tradition beloved by Joni. Given MacKenzie's popularity in Canada, and not knowing how easily American records made it to jukeboxes in Canadian prairie cities in the 1950s, I think it's entirely possible that Gisele MacKenzie was the singer on the version Joni, Gail and Louise (maybe there was a happy ending) were dropping dimes to hear "one more time."
This is pure speculation of course, as I can't prove that MacKenzie's version made it to a format (even a B-side) that was playable on jukeboxes of the era, or that any of the other versions of the song available by period artists: Les Baxter, Perry Como, Al Hibbler, Ricky Nelson (the more likely -- July 1958), Gene Vincent, The Platters, Andy Williams ('59), or The Lettermen were the chosen one. Given Joni's affinity for the classic/romantic forms, it wouldn't surprise me if she broke the mold from time to time to break away from the rock n' roll hysteria to spin something like Gisele's version. So, in the absence of a detailed autobiography, my reconstruction of the events sounds like that.
Oh, for a muse of fire... Oh, for a time machine...
CC
"Back in 1957 we had to dance a foot apart." -- JM
_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
