Mindy Carson

Mindy Carson (born July 16, 1927) is an American former traditional pop vocalist. She was heard often on radio during the 1940s and 1950s.

Carson was born in New York City and grew up in the Bronx, graduating from James Monroe High School. After graduation, she took a position as typist and stenographer, and she worked at a candy company.

In 1946, while still in her teens, Carson won an audition to the radio program Stairway to the Stars. This gave her a chance to perform for eight months in 1947 with Paul Whiteman's band and singer Martha Tilton, stars of the program. She joined the singing bandleader Harry Cool that year and made a number of recordings with him, one of which, "Rumors Are Flying", made the charts.

Although she failed to score a chart hit recording during the next four years, she did receive much radio exposure. She was heard on Guy Lombardo's syndicated program in the late 1940s and her own variety program which began on the CBS Network in 1949. She also had her own thrice-weekly program, sponsored by the U.S. Army, in 1950. She was widely promoted as one of the guests on the November 5, 1950 premiere of NBC's The Big Show, hosted by Tallulah Bankhead.

Beginning in 1949, Carson was a regular for two years on Florian Zabach's NBC television variety program. On December 30, 1952 she began the Mindy Carson Show, sponsored by Embassy cigarettes, on NBC.

By 1949 she had signed with RCA's record label, RCA Victor Records. Although her initial recordings for RCA failed to excite record-buyers, the success of Eileen Barton's novelty hit "If I Knew You Were Coming I'd've Baked a Cake" prompted the company to try a similar recording for Mindy Carson. Her recording of "Candy and Cake" was backed with "My Foolish Heart" as RCA catalog number 20-3681, and both sides became a two-sided hit. However, after a number of unsuccessful follow-up recordings, RCA dropped her in 1952.

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