This one is something of a ringer. Her name is Helene Dimone, professionally known as Helene Dixon. She was born in my neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and was my friend Madeleine's first cousin. Her family owned one of the most popular saloons in the neighborhood. She got her start performing in several NYC nightclubs (including Jimmy Dwyer's Sawdust Trail alongside Teresa Brewer) as a teenager. She was discovered by African-American jazz musician/arranger/songwriter Phil Moore & became his protege. He also acted as her manager. It was through him that she got her first recording contract with OKeh/Epic in 1953. The first single released was in fact 'The Breeze' bw 'Don't Call My Name' in May 1953. During this time Miss Dixon was also a regular at The Copacabana. Helene performed pop, jazz and rockabilly. As a matter of fact, she's considered one of the "Queens of Rockabilly". Not bad for a girl from Brooklyn.
In late July 1953, Helene became the first regular female vocalist on Steve Allen's original incarnation of "The Tonight Show", which aired locally in NYC on WNBT-TV (later WRCA-TV, then WNBC-TV in 1963). By September/October Helene was out & a young Eydie Gorme was in. Steve Allen wrote in his his autobiography that Helene was let go because "she only knew 2 songs" & was incapable of learning more quickly. I find this hard to believe since by 1953 she was a seasoned professional & a recording artist. Whatever the truth is, Helene's dismissal is unfortunate because The Steve Allen Show went national when it was picked up by NBC the following year, creating the Late Night Talk Show genre as we know it & making instant stars out of Steve Allen, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme. Helene went on recording for the Epic & Vik labels & was briefly signed to MGM (The film studio, not the label). Besides recording two numbers from the 1956 film 'The Opposite Sex" (the title song & 'Now Baby Now') nothing came of the MGM association. Helene recorded with the likes of the legendary Norman Leyden, Ray Conniff and Quincy Jones. She passed away in 1969 at age 36.