Lola Dee, whose 1951 hit “Pretty Eyed Baby” under the name Lola Ameche rose to No. 21 on the Billboard singles chart, has died at 95. She died of natural causes in a Hinsdale, IL, nursing facility, her publicist said.
The singer had her name changed in the 1960s to better appeal to the burgeoning youth market.
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Dee toured with Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Johnnie Ray, and was signed to the Columbia and Mercury labels in the ’50s. In her heyday, she recorded more than 20 songs, including “Hitsity Hotsity,” “Dance Me Loose,” “Old Man Mose,” “Down Yonder,” “Take Two to Tango” and “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes.”
In the 1960s, the now blonde singer recorded the songs “Padre” and “Dig That Crazy Santa Claus.” Under Mercury’s subsidiary label, Wing Records, her cover of the Platters’ “Only You (And You Alone)” sold close to one million copies.
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Dee stepped back from her musical career to take care of her mother when she developed Alzheimer’s.
Dee is survived by her sonm Barry, whom she had with husband Ralph Valentino.