Wish Upon a Star
by John BushRecorded just a few months after Peggy King's first concept album (Girl Meets Boy), 1956's Wish Upon a Star finds King on the long road to fame, encompassing dreamy versions of "When I Was Ten" and "When You Wish Upon a Star," a melancholy "Little Girl Blue," and a bright, jumpy "Hooray for Hollywood." Just before the title song is reprised at the end, King's character is discovered by an A&R executive while she sings a radio jingle for Hunt's Tomato Sauce, in the exact circumstances King is said to have been discovered by Mitch Miller. Between the theme of the LP and King's voice, listeners can barely stop thinking about Debbie Reynolds' role in the 1952 film smash Singin' in the Rain. Still, King was a delightful singer who brought across a range of emotions, and Percy Faith's orchestration summons all the appropriate moods.