Jaye P. Morgan

Jaye P. Morgan (born Mary Margaret Morgan; December 3, 1931) is a retired American popular music singer, actress, and game show panelist.

For the financier, see J. P. Morgan. For other people named Mary Morgan, see Mary Morgan (disambiguation).

Jaye P. Morgan
Morgan in 1968
Born
Mary Margaret Morgan

(1931-12-03) December 3, 1931
Mancos, Colorado, U.S.
OccupationSinger, actress

Early life

Morgan was born in Mancos[1][2] in Montezuma County in far southwestern Colorado. Her family moved to California by the time she was in high school. Morgan had six siblings; five brothers and one sister.[1] In the late 1940s, at Verdugo Hills High School in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles, she served as class treasurer (and got the nickname "Jaye P." after the banker J. P. Morgan) and sang at school assemblies, accompanied by her brother on guitar.[1]

1950s
Morgan was not the only vocalist in her family. Three of her brothers were also singers. From top: Dick, Duke and Charlie with Jaye P., for a 1959 appearance on The Jimmy Dean Show.

In 1950, a year after her graduation from high school, Morgan made a recording of "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" issued by Derby Records, which made it to #26 on the U.S. Billboard record chart. Soon after, she received an RCA Victor recording contract,[3] and she had five hits in one year, including her biggest hit "That's All I Want from You", which reached #3 on the chart.[4] Other notable hits included "There's a Dream in My Heart" by Rolande Maxwell Young, "The Longest Walk" and "Pepper Hot Baby". In 1954, she married Michael Baiano. She joined MGM Records in 1959 after spending the previous six years with RCA Victor.[1]

From 1954 to 1955, Morgan was a vocalist on the ABC television series show Stop the Music. In November 1955, the British music magazine, NME, reported that Morgan was the top female vocalist in the U.S. Cash Box poll.[5] Beginning January 11, 1954, she was a featured singer on the Robert Q. Lewis Show on CBS-TV.[6]

In 1956, she had her own show, The Jaye P. Morgan Show, and made guest appearances on a number of other variety shows.[7] She was a charter member of the Robert Q. Lewis "gang" on Lewis's weekday program on CBS,[1] and was featured on a special episode of The Jackie Gleason Show in which Lewis's entire company substituted for the vacationing Gleason. In 1958, Morgan appeared on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. On October 6, 1960, she guest starred on NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

1960s and 1970s

In 1961, Morgan was cast as Sally Dwight in the episode "Money and the Minister" of the CBS anthology series, General Electric Theater, hosted by Ronald Reagan. In 1962, she played Patty Maxwell in "Patti's Tune" of the CBS military sitcom/drama Hennesey, starring Jackie Cooper. That same year, she was cast as Kitty Flanders in "That's Showbiz" on NBC's The Joey Bishop Show. In 1964, Morgan was cast as Ruth Evans in the episode "Sunday Father" of the NBC medical drama, The Eleventh Hour.

She spent considerable time in the 1960s making nightclub appearances. In 1966, she guest starred on CBS's My Three Sons as fading singer Claudia Farrell in the episode entitled "A Falling Star".[8]

In 1973, Morgan played herself in the episode "The Songwriter" of the sitcom, The Odd Couple.[8] She appeared as Magda Valentine in the film The All-American Boy, and continued to play small roles in films such as Loose Shoes (1980), Night Patrol (1984) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).[8]

Morgan guest starred on The Muppet Show (episode 2.18)[9] in which she and Dr. Teeth sang "That Old Black Magic."[8]

Game show panelist

From 1976 to 1978, Morgan was a regular panelist on the popular game/variety show The Gong Show, from which she was ultimately fired for flashing her breasts.[8][10][11] She also appeared on Rhyme and Reason and Match Game and in the 1980 "behind-the-scenes" movie version of The Gong Show. She also appeared on the Playboy Channel game show Everything Goes, and with her former Gong partner Jamie Farr on Hollywood Squares Game Show Week II in 2004.

Morgan appeared as herself in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,[12] a 2003 semi-biographical film about the life of Chuck Barris, creator of The Gong Show as well as television game shows The Dating Game, and The Newlywed Game.[8][13]

Singles
Year Single (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated		 Chart positions Album
U.S. US
Cashbox		 U.S.
AC
1953 "Just A Gigolo"
b/w "Wasted Tears"		 22 Jaye P. Morgan (Rondo-Lette label)
1954 "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries"
b/w "Operator 299"		 26 45
"Ring Telephone Ring"
b/w "Don't Tell Him"
"Nobody Met The Train"
b/w "Life Was Made For Living"
"I Ain't Got The Man"
b/w "Baby Don't Do It"
"That's All I Want from You"
b/w "Dawn"		 3 6 Non-album tracks
1955 "Danger! Heartbreak Ahead" / 12 14
"Softly Softly" flip 42
"Have You Ever Been Lonely"
b/w "Life Was Made For Living"		 The House Of Jaye P. Morgan
"Chee Chee-oo Chee" (with Perry Como) / 12 17 Non-album tracks
"Two Lost Souls" (with Perry Como) 18 26
"The Longest Walk" / 6 12
"Swanee" flip 48
"Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries"
b/w "Just A Gigolo"		 The House Of Jaye P. Morgan
"Baby Don't Do It"
b/w "Nobody Met The Train"
"If You Don't Want My Love" / 12 33 Non-album tracks
"Pepper Hot Baby" 14 19
"Not One Goodbye" / 48
"My Bewildered Heart" 47
1956 "Get Up! Get Up!" / 83
"Sweet Lips" 85
"Lost In The Shuffle" / 69
"Play For Keeps" 79
"Johnny Casanova"
b/w "The West Point Dress Parade"		 81
"Just Love Me"
b/w "The Call Of The Wild"		 97
"Mutual Admiration Society"
b/w "If'n"
Both sides with Eddy Arnold		 47 24
1957 "I Thought It Was Over"
b/w "Pledge Allegiance To Your Heart"
"Graduation Ring"
b/w "You, You Romeo"
"There's A Dream In My Heart"
b/w "Take A Chance"
1958 "Tell Me More"
b/w "My Blind Date"
"I Know, I Know, I Know"
b/w "I Love You So Much It Hurts"
Both sides with The Morgan Brothers
"Star Dust" (with The Morgan Brothers)
b/w "Easy Does It"
1959 "Are You Lonesome Tonight" / 65 67
"Miss You" 78 63
"(It Took) One Kiss"
b/w "My Reputation"		 70
"Somebody Else Is Taking My Place"
b/w "Somebody Loses, Somebody Wins"
"That Funny Feeling"
b/w "Left My Gal In The Mountains"		 112
"My Darling, My Darling"
b/w "Thoughts Of Love"
1960 "Half As Much"
b/w "I Don't Want To Walk Without You"		 That Country Sound
"I Wish I Didn't Love You So"
b/w "I Understand"		 Non-album tracks
"I Walk The Line"
b/w "Wondering Where You Are" (Non-album track)		 66 55 That Country Sound
"When You Get What You Want"
b/w "A World I Can't Live In"
1961 "Catch Me A Kiss"
b/w "Close Your Eyes"		 Non-album tracks
1962 "A Heartache Named Johnny"
b/w "He Thinks I Still Care"		 119
1965 "Put A Ring On My Finger"
b/w "Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries"
1970 "Love Of A Gentle Man"
b/w "Billy Sunshine"		 37 What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
"What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life"
b/w "Applause"		 40
"I've Got An Awful Lot Of Losing You To Do"
b/w "He's Too Good For Me"
1971 "A Song For You"
b/w "Do You Really Have A Heart" (from What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life)		 105 108 Non-album track

Albums
Year Title Label and Number
1953 Jaye P. Morgan and Orchestra (10") Royale 18122
1954 Jaye P. Morgan and Orchestra (10") Royale 18147
1954 Jaye P. Morgan and Orchestra (10") Royale 18162
1955 Jaye P. Morgan sings with Frank DeVol’s Orchestra Allegro Royale 1604
1956 Jaye P. Morgan RCA Victor LPM-1155
1958 Just You, Just Me RCA Victor LPM-1682
1959 Slow & Easy MGM E3774
1960 Up North MGM E383
1960 Down South MGM E3867
1961 That Country Sound MGM E3940
1962 Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries Tops Mayfair 9739
1970 What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life Beverly Hills BHS-24
1976 Jaye P. Morgan Candor C-1001
1983 Lately! Palace PLP-S6540
1995 Jaye P. Morgan & Kaye Ballard – Long Time Friends AVL95320

References
  1. Ovington, Reg (August 22, 1954). "TV is Banking on Jaye P. Morgan". Reading Eagle. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  2. Feather, Leonard (December 20, 1992). "Next Role For Jaye P. Morgan: A Jazz Singer". Los Angeles Times.
  3. Guinan Family (2009). Lakewood Park. Arcadia Publishing. p. 83. ISBN 978-0738565781.
  4. Cusack, Bob (2005). Nostalgia Is What It Was. iUniverse. p. 155. ISBN 978-0595361793.
  5. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Hamlyn. p. 20. ISBN 978-0600576020.
  6. "Monday (11)" (PDF). Ross Reports on Television. January 11, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  7. Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786486410.
  8. "Jaye P. Morgan". TV Guide. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  9. Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (January 10, 2014). Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets. McFarland & Company. p. 218. ISBN 978-0786453757.
  10. Feather, Leonard (December 12, 1983). "Jaye P. Morgan sings her stuff". Los Angeles Times.
  11. Eakin, Marah; Teti, John; Adams, Erik (June 16, 2014). "Bonus round stars: 9 celebrities who found their greatest fame on game shows". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  12. "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind". movies.com. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  13. Phillips, Jevon (March 22, 2017). "Chuck Barris, creator of 'The Gong Show' and 'The Dating Game,' dies at 87". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
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