Sunny Gale (born Selma Segal, February 20, 1927 – 2022) was an American pop singer who was popular in the 1950s. Gale reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 several times throughout the earlier half of the decade, scoring her biggest hit with " Wheel of Fortune" with the Ed Wilcox Orchestra in 1952.

Biography

Gale was born as Selma Segal in

Clayton, New Jersey Clayton is a borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,807, an increase of 628 (+7.7%) from the 2010 census count of 8,179, which in turn reflected an increase ...

, where she competed in singing contests at an early age, sometimes against future musicians

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, '' The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress E ...

and

Al Martino Jasper Cini (October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009), known professionally as Al Martino, was an American traditional pop and standards singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one o ...

. After participating in the Miss Philadelphia beauty contest at 16 years old, and reaching the finals with her vocal prowess, Segal began receiving contracts to establish herself on the city's nightclub circuit. Segal performed in Philadelphia for five years, and was going by the stage name Sunny Gale since at least August 1948, which is evident by her early photoshoots. The following year, Gale joined bandleader

Hal McIntyre Hal McIntyre (born Harold William McIntyre; November 29, 1914, Cromwell, Connecticut – May 5, 1959, Los Angeles, California) was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. McIntyre played extensively as a teenager and led his ...

's orchestra on a series of successful concerts across the United States and Canada. Gale's manager Gary Romero secured a recording contract with Derby Records in 1951. In accordance with Romero's suggestion, Gale recorded " Wheel of Fortune", a song written by

Bennie Benjamin Claude August "Bennie" Benjamin (November 4, 1907 – May 2, 1989) was a Virgin Islands-born American songwriter. He had particularly successful songwriting partnerships with Sol Marcus, with whom he wrote " I Don't Want To Set The World On ...

and

George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish f ...

. However, as soon as other rival record companies saw the potential of a hit, several artists recorded the composition in rapid succession, including

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

the Bell Sisters The Bell Sisters were an American singing duo, popular in the 1950s, consisting of the sisters Cynthia and Kay Strother, who adopted their mother's maiden name of Bell. History Cynthia Sue Strother was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, on October ...

, and

the Cardinals The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore. Origins The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year befor ...

. Gale's rendition, nonetheless, managed to chart at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but was soon overtaken by

Kay Starr Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as p ...

's novelty take on "Wheel of Fortune", which became a number one hit. Gale's chart battle with Starr resulted in bookings across the East Coast, including a stint at the Paramount Theater in New York City. Gale recorded two additional singles for Derby, "A Lasting Thing" and "My Last Affair", but the small label could not effectively promote the releases as well as "Wheel of Fortune". Despite the commercial successes of Gale and label-mates Trudy Richards and

Bette McLaurin Bette McLaurin (born December 6, 1929) is an American singer best known for her jazz-influenced ballad and R&B performances in the 1950s. Two of her recordings, "I May Hate Myself In The Morning" (1952) and "Only A Rose" (1953) reached the ''B ...

, Derby filed for bankruptcy in October 1954, although by then Gale had already signed with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

two years prior. With RCA's backing, Gale recorded a string of national charting hits between 1952 and 1956, including "I Laughed at Love", "Teardrops on My Pillow", "Love Me Again", " Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight". During this time, Gale appeared in clubs operated by business owner Frank Palumbo, including his entertainment complex Palumbo's, and at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

in an all-star benefit show which also featured

the Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American vocal pop group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style predated the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ...

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and Golden Globe for '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his work such as ''Harlow'' (1965), '' They Shoot Ho ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

, and several others. By mid-1956, Gale had signed with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, debuting with a rendition of

Otis Williams and the Charms Otis Williams and the Charms were an American doo-wop vocal group in the 1950s, who were originally billed as The Charms. Williams is not related to Otis Williams of The Temptations. Career Otis Williams (born June 2, 1936, in Cincinnati, Ohio ...

' "Two Hearts". But for Gale, subsequent releases on Decca, Warwick Records, and Blaine Records could not propel her back into the national charts as she suffered the fate of most pre-rock pop singers. Also in 1956, she appeared on the Dorsey Brothers’ stage TV show. As of 2015, Gale was resided in a retirement home in Florida. Despite her string of pop hits, she was not as well remembered as contemporaries like

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

and

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

, and it was not until the late 1990s that

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s, such as ''The Story of Sunny Gale'' and ''Sunny Gale Sings'', began to document Gale's recording career. In January 2023, theatrical producer and press agent Alan Eichler revealed that Gale died in Florida in 2022.

Discography

Charting singles

*Feb. 1952: " Wheel of Fortune" (with

Eddie Wilcox Eddie Wilcox (December 27, 1907 – September 29, 1968) was an American jazz pianist and arranger. Biography Born in Method, North Carolina, Wilcox studied at Fisk University, where he met Jimmie Lunceford. He played with Lunceford in college ...

Orchestra) – Derby 787 – ''Billboard'' No. 13 *Sept. 1952: "I Laughed at Love" (with

Ralph Burns Ralph Joseph P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he attend ...

Orchestra) –

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

4789 – No. 14 *Jan. 1953: "Teardrops on My Pillow" / "A Stolen Waltz" (with Ralph Burns Orchestra) – RCA Victor 5103 – No. 12 / No. 15 *Sept. 1953: "Love Me Again" / "Before It's Too Late" (with Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra) – RCA Victor 5424 – No. 22 / No. 27 *July 1954: " Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" (with

Joe Reisman Joseph Reisman (September 16, 1924 – September 15, 1987) was an American musician (tenor and baritone saxophone, clarinet), bandleader, arranger, and record producer in the swing era. Reisman was born in Dallas in 1924 and studied at Baylor U ...

Orchestra) – RCA Victor 5746 – No. 27 *Sept. 1954: " Smile (Theme from ''Modern Times'')" (with Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra) – RCA Victor 5836 – No. 19 *Jan. 1955: "

Let Me Go, Lover! "Let Me Go, Lover!", a popular song, was written by Jenny Lou Carson and Al Hill, a pen name used by Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman. It is based on an earlier song called " Let Me Go, Devil", about alcoholism. Background "Let ...

" / "Unsuspecting Heart" (with Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra) – RCA Victor 5952 – No. 17 / No. 14 *Nov. 1955: "C'est La Vie" (with Joe Reisman Orchestra) – RCA Victor 6286 – No. 85 *Apr. 1956: "Rock and Roll Wedding" (with Joe Reisman Orchestra) – RCA Victor 6479 – No. 66

Albums

*''Sunny And Blue'' With

And His Orchestra (RCA Victor, 1956) *''Sunny'' (

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, 1961) *''Goldies by the Girls'' ( Canadian American, 1964) *''Sunny Sings Dixieland Blues'' (Thimble Records, 1974)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, Sunny 1927 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American women American women pop singers People from Clayton, New Jersey Singers from New Jersey