Older baby boomers, no doubt especially the guys, will surely remember Joey Heatherton. Kind of a cross between Bardot and Ann-Margaret, her pouty babydoll face and to-die-for legs made her made her natural grist for the entertainment mill. As a dancer/singer, movie starlet, and frequent variety show guest, Joey was pretty much a house hold name from the late 50s through the 60s and 70s. Then, true to the industry's pattern of burn 'em and turn 'em - plus, I suppose, the rise of feminism and a shifting definition of female celebrity - she began to lose favor, and work, on the coast (but she still performed in Vegas and sporadically on the small screen). By the late 70s to early 80s she was already being parodied, on SCTV. Honestly, I'd forgotten all about her long before then.
"Gone" is one of those songs. Every once in a while I'd catch a bit of it on the airwaves, but somehow always managed to miss hearing who the artist was. Maybe I didn't recognize the voice, but I know a powerhouse performance when I hear one. Imagine my surprise when I finally heard it, start to finish, including the DJ's introduction. Joey Heatherton! Hey I remember her! I kind of felt the same was as I did when Meryl Streep knocked it out of the park at the end of "Postcards From the Edge." Who knew! (obviously not me). I checked with YouTube, and no one yet has posted a music vid of "Gone." There's a couple others of Joey singing and dancing, plus her Serta mattress commercials, but in my opinion in those she's "singing down," beneath her talent. And just for the record, I'd take "Gone" over "My Heart Will Go On" any day of the week.
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