Singer. Original name Ruth Shirley Wohl. Dubbed the "Saucy Chanteuse from Brooklyn" and the "High Priestess of Double Entendre", she began her career singing with the Isham Jones Orchestra and briefly with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. She subsequently became known for the risque', double entendre songs she wrote and performed herself mostly on her own record label. Many of her songs were banned in Boston during the Eisenhower administration and in the 1960's her records were confiscated in Australia by Australian customs authorities. She retired as a performer in 1970 but in the years to follow, several of her songs became mainstays on the Dr. Demento radio show. She continued writing words and music for a stage musical based on her life, and on May 13, 2003, "Boobs! The Musical: The World According To Ruth Wallis" opened at the Triad Theatre in New York, receiving rave reviews by the New York theatre critics. It closed on February 8, 2004 after nearly 300 performances but later had brief revivals in New Orleans and Wichita. Some of her best known songs included "The Dinghy Song", "Drill 'Em All", "Hawaiian Lei Song", "He'd Rather Be A Girl" and "Boobs". One of her few songs to receive mainstream appeal was a song called "Dear Mr. Godfrey" which was about the public firing of Julius LaRosa by Arthur Godfrey. Her 1959 album "Love Is For The Birds" was remastered and re-released on CD in 2006. Cause of Death: Complications from Alzheimers.
Singer. Original name Ruth Shirley Wohl. Dubbed the "Saucy Chanteuse from Brooklyn" and the "High Priestess of Double Entendre", she began her career singing with the Isham Jones Orchestra and briefly with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. She subsequently became known for the risque', double entendre songs she wrote and performed herself mostly on her own record label. Many of her songs were banned in Boston during the Eisenhower administration and in the 1960's her records were confiscated in Australia by Australian customs authorities. She retired as a performer in 1970 but in the years to follow, several of her songs became mainstays on the Dr. Demento radio show. She continued writing words and music for a stage musical based on her life, and on May 13, 2003, "Boobs! The Musical: The World According To Ruth Wallis" opened at the Triad Theatre in New York, receiving rave reviews by the New York theatre critics. It closed on February 8, 2004 after nearly 300 performances but later had brief revivals in New Orleans and Wichita. Some of her best known songs included "The Dinghy Song", "Drill 'Em All", "Hawaiian Lei Song", "He'd Rather Be A Girl" and "Boobs". One of her few songs to receive mainstream appeal was a song called "Dear Mr. Godfrey" which was about the public firing of Julius LaRosa by Arthur Godfrey. Her 1959 album "Love Is For The Birds" was remastered and re-released on CD in 2006. Cause of Death: Complications from Alzheimers.
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