By Georgia Winters
RIGHT:
Shelley in the recording studio with Paul Petersen and James
Darren.
When she was asked to cut a record,
Shelley was sure she would be a crashing flop—but look what
happened!
When Tony Owen, the producer of The
Donna Reed Show, approached Shelley Fabares and told her he had
arranged for her to audition for Colpix Records, Shell almost flipped
out.
“But, Mr Owen,” Shelley
pleaded. “I’m not a singer. This is just going to be awful.”
“Shelley,” Tony assured
her, “all we want you to do is try. It seems I recall that you
and your sister, Smokey, used to do a little singing for the fellows
at USO.”
Little it was to the bashful
Shelley, but there was no way out of her present dilemma. So the next
day found Shelley and her TV brother, Paul Petersen, working on demonstration
records for Colpix.
“I was so glad when it turned
out that I didn’t have to cut a real, honest-to-goodness record,”
Shelley says. “At least, this way Stu Phillips, the A and R
man in New York, could find out that I really couldn’t sing
and he would just drop the whole thing.”
But when Stu Phillips heard Shelley
and Paul’s “demos,” he immediately called the West
Coast and told Tony Owen he was flying out. It was on this trip that
Stu met Shelley and told her of his plans.
“She was stunned,” Stu
recalls. “I could tell she didn’t like the idea at all,
but she was such a little lady about it. After getting to know her
better, I realized why you could call Shell ‘Hollywood’s
mystery girl.’ She is always soft-spoken and dignified, and
could never be one of those kind of girls who seeks publicity or tries
to bask in the limelight.”
Back in New York, Stu Phillips spent
days searching for exactly the right song for Shelley to cut. Suddenly,
he remembered a tune he had long liked and had been hoping to cut
one day. It was called Johnny Angel.
“When I got ready to return to
Hollywood for the actual recording date, I took Johnny Angel
and several other tunes along, but one playing of Johnny Angel
for Shelley convinced us both that this was the song for her,”
Stu continues his story.
“During this session, Shelley
was obviously nervous. She would look from the music to me to the
control booth, and then back around again. The girls who were singing
the background on the session dug Shelley right away, and they were
a great help in assuring her that everything would be all right.”
“It’s funny,” Shelley
herself recalls. “I stood there thinking, What am I doing
here? It was just like a kid off the stree had been called in
to cut a record for a big label—for that is how I felt. I wondered
how many other average teenage girls would have felt. The same way,
I’ll bet.
“But there was something about
Mr. Phillips and the way he reassured me that made it seem easier
and easier. Then, all at once, it seemed that we were going along
just great. I got over my anxiety and fears and began to actually
enjoy what I was doing!”
After the first session, the other
have been easier for Shell. She had a ball doing Johnny Loves
Me, the Nevins-Kirschner follow-up tune for her first hit, and
then she thoroughly enjoyed cutting her lovely LP which is entitled
simply—Shelley. It is true that signing has opened
new doors for Shelley in both her professional and personal life,
but she is still (and always will be) the same basic and sweet girl
she was when she started The Donna Reed Show six years ago.
In her private life, Shelley’s
best girl friend is Annette Funicello, and they spend many hours shopping,
partying and gossiping together. Shelley loves to go to the movies
and calls that her “hobby.” Her favorite actors are Cary
Grant, Lee J. Cobb and Maximilian Schell; and her favorite actresses
are Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn. Her favorite singers are Johnny
Mathis, Bobby Vee, Ray Charles and Connie Stevens.
For relaxation at home, Shelley loves
to watch American Bandstand and The Defenders on
television. Here are a few of Shelley’s ideas in her own words:
“I love to wear casual clothes.
I used to like Capri slacks only, but now I am getting to like casual
daytime dresses, too. My favorite sport is swimming, and I love to
watch baseball games—especially big-league games.
“As for going steady, I do not
think girls between the ages of 13 and 16 should. So many very young
girls go steady now and I think they miss a lot because of it. On
dates, I prefer going to a movie or to a small party with a group
of friends. Once in a while it’s fun to get all dressed up and
go to a fancy party or premiere.
“As for my personal plans for
the future: I hope to get married some day and raise a big family.
I dream of making a good home for my husband and children. My plans
for my career are indefinite. I will be doing The Donna Reed Show
for one more year at least, and hope to continue to record and eventually
make movies.”
