Big band vocalist Helen O'Connell (1920-1993) achieved her greatest fame with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra in the early 1940s. Partnered with vocalist Bob Eberly, she had a series of Latin influenced hits, including Brazil, Green Eyes, Tangerine, Yours and Amapola.
In the late 1960s, O'Connell made two recordings for Reader's Digest, reprises of her Dorsey Band hits, Amapola and Green Eyes. These sides were included in a number of various artist compilations that stretched into the digital era.
O'Connell's re-recording of Amapola, accompanied by Joe Reisman and his orchestra, turned up in a 1970 vinyl box set called Let's Take a Sentimental Journey. The link to the track is below.
Amapola
Helen O'Connell's Reader's Digest recordings of Amapola and Green Eyes are available on a 17-track album called The Reader's Digest "Songbird" Sessions, which also includes selections by Margaret Whiting and Helen Forrest. The album is available only as a download from all the major sources (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc.).
Here's the original recording O'Connell and Bob Eberly made with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra in 1941.
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