Lola Sugia’s 1959 Golden Crest recording of “Blue Tears” was reissued for the first time on the “Best of Golden Crest” double CD (Ace CDCH2 1254) in 2010. Thanks to this exposure, an excerpt from this song was included in the “Riverdale” TV series in 2022.
This is Lola’s story as a standup singer in the vibrant Northwest dance-band scene of the 1940s and ’50s, written by daughter Maia Santell, an artist herself.
Northwest vocalist Lola Sugia started singing professionally in 1940, when she was 15 years old. At a young age she was influenced by jazz giants Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Encouraged by her brother Frank Sugia, prominent Northwest jazz accordionist and bandleader, and her uncle, Angelo Recchia, a member of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, she fronted several of Seattle’s highest profile bands during her 35-year career.
My uncle Frank Sugia was a great friend of Joe Venuti, the famous jazz violinist, who recorded two albums for Golden Crest in 1960. Joe was a character! He stayed with my family each time he came to Seattle, and as a child I recall many spaghetti dinners with him, my family and my uncle at the dinner table ... and many "off color" jokes (aka "Venuti-isms!").
Joe adored my grandmother's Italian cooking. He and my uncle Frank were very close, and they composed and arranged classical and jazz music together. (Uncle was also an amazing pianist, vocalist and arranger).
Lola was a childhood friend of Bonnie Guitar (Buckingham), who co-founded Dolphin/Dolton Records and launched the careers of the Fleetwoods and the Ventures. Bonnie was initially a session guitarist for Fabor Robison’s labels in the mid-1950s and was a country artist in her own right, scoring notably with “Dark Moon” (No. 6 Billboard pop, Fabor/Dot, 1957).
After graduating high school, Lola traveled with the Curt Sykes Band, then she gained popularity with Seattle audiences as feature vocalist with dance bands, orchestras and jazz combos led by Jackie Souders, Don Anderson, Ken Cloud, Pep Perry, Curt Sykes, Gordon Greene, Bob Harvey, Max Pillar, Norm Hoagy and Wyatt Howard. Some of the popular Northwest venues she performed at include The Olympic Hotel, The Spanish Castle, The Magic Inn, The Paramount Theatre, Parker’s Ballroom, The Trianon, The Town and Country Club and the Washington Athletic Club.
With Curt Sykes Orchestra, 1943
With Jackie Souders Orchestra at The Olympic Hotel, Seattle, Washington, c. 1948. Souders recorded for Columbia. 
With Wyatt Howard Orchestra at Town & Country Club, Seattle, c. 1948
With Norm Hoagy’s Orchestra at The Magic Inn, Seattle, 1955
Lola Sugia - 1943
The Frank Sugia Quartet (from left to right): Floyd Standifer, Frank Sugia, Joe Venuti and Lee Humes
In 1959 Lola met songwriter, playwright and radio broadcaster, John “Johnny” Forrest, while recording a radio jingle that he had composed. Johnny wrote the song, “Blue Tears,” a pop ballad which featured Lola’s clear, warm, unaffected vocals and “Patti Page style” overdubbing. The song was recorded at Joe Boles Recording Studio in Seattle and was released in December 1959 by Golden Crest of Huntington Station, New York. Musicians on the record are Phil Odle (piano), Joe Adams (saxophone), Al Wied (bass), Norm Hoagy (vibes) and Keith Purvis (drums).
Lola Sugia died in 2016 at the age of 90.
Her daughter Maia Santell, a jazz and blues vocalist, carries on the family tradition. Today, she continues to delight audiences with her own group, Maia Santell and House Blend.
For more background information, visit the Northwest Music Archives (nwmusicarchives.com) founded by author/researcher Peter Blecha, whose work is acknowledged with this story.
For a look at Frank Sugia’s illustrious career, see this article: https://italoamericano.org/frank-sugia-seattle-fair/
Photographs: The Lola Sugia and family archive, courtesy of Maia Santell:
