Mary Saenz - MY KIND OF BOY (1965)

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED - (Unreleased when originally recorded in November 1965) Born in Tuscon, Arizona on October 19, 1941, by the time she was in her early twenties, Mary Saenz migrated to Hollywood with her boyfriend/manager, Tom Lane. Within a few months, she recorded a fine girl pop single for Era entitled 'He Didn't Even Say Hello' issued in late October 1963. The following year Mary signed with Dot records for a short run of two singles. Tom had hooked up with songwriter, Buddy Wayne who would furnish Mary with the four sides she waxed with Dot. The first from March 1964, 'I Waited' backed with 'Let Me Be Your Baby' and the follow-up from June 1964, the finger-snappy, 'I Have Something You Can't Get' backed with the dreamy, 'My Three Friends'. At this point in time, Buddy Wayne brought Mary to the attention of songwriting/producing pal, Gary Paxton, who was hired to supervise her next single. Securing a recording contract with Fred Astaire's Ava Records in late 1964 went nowhere as the company was circling the drain eventually filing for bankruptcy in early 1965. Mary's single was ultimately issued on Tom Lane's Big Ben label. The tunes were both Buddy Wayne compositions, 'Would She Do That For You' backed with 'I Think It's You'. Paxton took Wayne's mediocre demo of 'Would She Do That For You' and transformed it into an on-fire, drum-laden, hip-shaking dance number with Mary's girly lead vocals riding on top. A fantastic performance that although promoted in print and on television, the record failed to break nationally. A few months later in November of 1965, Miss Saenz worked with Paxton for one last session held at the Capitol Tower to record the tunes, 'It's Too Late Now', and 'My Kind Of Boy' which is what is presented here. These two tracks would ultimately be the finest Mary would ever record but sadly were not released at the time. They did however finally see the light of day when they were included in a 2004 compact disc compilation of Gary Paxton productions entitled, 'Boy Trouble: Garpax Girls' from Ace Records. In 1966, Miss Saenz began performing as ROBERTA DARREN, primarily in Las Vegas and Reno showrooms and casino lounges. Along with her solo performances she would also share the stage with a quintet of talented male musicians known as LOS ELEGANTES.
Residing in Las Vegas for many years, Mary Saenz / Roberta Darren (Santa Cruz) passed away in 2023 with no obituary or burial details.