Jonathan and Darlene Edwards
"Sing-Along with Jonathan & Darlene Edwards" (Vinyl)

Let me just start by saying that I'm really happy to find out this is a parody record.

When the needle dropped on this record I was in shock. Perhaps Darlene Edwards was the daughter of a label owner, so convinced of his daughter's talent that he shamelessly promoted this record...?

Thankfully, this record is a tongue-in-cheek response to the popular Mitch Miller records that were making their way onto many hi-fi's in the 1960's.

This album should more accurately be considered "the art of the screw-up." Both Darlene and Jonathan Edwards (the tin-eared alter-egos of Jo Stafford and Paul Weston) are fumbling through this record, Jonathan letting his hands consistently stray from their targets on the keyboard and Darlene has a remarkably consistent half-tone flat sense of intonation.

Stafford and Weston won a grammy in 1961 for their "Jon and Darlene in Paris" album. This follow-up features album artwork by Jack Davis (of MAD Magazine fame) that has perhaps made this album more famous than the music on it.