Had a successful record show dig recently. Not only did I manage to round up some elusive Toiling Midgets , but I also came across this gem:

Introducing Linda Lawson, Chancellor Records, 1959. A Twin Peaks vibe here, I think.

Linda Lawson might look familiar. She was busy as a TV actress between the mid-fifties and late-sixties, appearing on a wide variety of popular shows including Peter Gunn, 77 Sunset Strip, Mike Hammer, Adventures in Paradise, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, etc., etc. She also starred opposite an “intact” Dennis Hopper in the 1961 thriller, Night Tide .

It was as a Copa Girl for the Sands in Las Vegas, however, that Lawson got her start in show business:

The mushroom cloud headdress nobody needs. From the Las Vegas Sun: “Sands Copa Girl, Linda Lawson, is crowned ‘Miss-Cue’ by military personnel participating Operation Cue at the Nevada Test Site, May 1, 1955. High winds caused Operation Cue to suffer from numerous delays, causing personnel to name it ‘Operation Miscue’.”

She sang at the Sands for two years before choosing a career as an actress. Consequently, there are only two albums out there. The first, entitled Songs for Your Boyfriend and arranged by Henry Mancini, came out on Verve in 1957. Introducing Linda Lawson is her second and last, arranged by Marty Paich. According to JazzWax’s wonderfully informative post (that I’m reluctant to link to because it’ll throw an error if you’re using Explorer. No problems in Chrome.), Bud Shank wasn’t the only saxophonist featured on the album. Apparently, Art Pepper (Paich’s pet alto sax player) plays on a number of songs and is inexplicably uncredited. Here’s a solo from him on my favorite track, Where Flamingos Fly (by J. Kennedy and M. Spoliansky):

Linda Lawson - Where Flamingos Fly

A fine saloon voice, as JazzWax says.