Happy Valentine’s Day, Jukebox Heart style. Originally inspired by the stench of dead rose water and the flying shards of a shattered vase, by the shocking gross-out discovery of tiny worms in the chocolates after you’ve eaten half the box, by the sudden panic of a pathetically miscalculated Valentine card striking seconds after leaving the post office, and by the resentful misdemeanor of another’s relentless, unassuming popularity, these 22 tracks capture the essence of a Valentine’s Day gone horribly wrong. These are the divas of Jukebox Heart. These are not your typical divas – no Babs or Billie or Judy or Liza. Rather, these are, for the most part, the women scorned, the hoofers climbed over by the likes of Joan Crawford, the never-would-be’s, the Valentines that never came. These songs go for the jugular with a crippled, vulnerable warble, a single broken note, or a gravelly, throaty melody suggesting the passage of years and the consumption of many things illicit – all for the sake of a love gone bad. For best listening, one should be lying on one’s back, in a dark room, smoking vertically poised cigarettes, with a nearly full ashtray balanced on the breastbone beside a half-empty tumbler of boozey goodness. Click on the arrow below to hear many a torchlighter croon, and click on her picture below to learn more than you ever wanted to know about her music. High marks will be given to anyone who can identify – before looking! – all of the ladies below. Extra credit if you have tears in your ears from lying on your back, crying, sighing and dying. All of these are presented in their original format – surface noise be damned – for that extra touch of historical sincerity. Each page opens with the single track of the artist, too, to help you match the face to the song. Savvy listeners will also know how to download the individual tracks for their very own as well..

[audio:http://www.jukeboxheart.com/jbh018/bunny20.mp3]

The Playlist. Can you match the song to the lovely diva below?

Timi Yuro – Hurt
Miss Toni Fisher – The Big Hurt
The Ronettes – How Does It Feel?
Shelley Fabares – Johnny Angel
Dodie Fields – Miss Lonely Hearts
Marcey Joe – Sine Gary Went In The Navy
The Shirelles – The Dance is Over
The Chantels – He’s Gone
Lilian Leach and the Mellows – Smoke From Your Cigarette
Esther Phillips – Double Crossing Blues
Lavern Baker – Tomorrow Night
Wynona Carr – Should I Ever Love Again?
Brenda Lee – I’m Sorry
Gloria Lynne – I Wish You Love
Sarah Vaughan – You Go To My Head
Dodie Stevens – Poor Butterfly
Etta Jones – Don’t Go To Strangers
Ketty Lester – Once Upon A Time
The Shangri-Las – Remember (Walking In The Sand)
Lesley Gore – You Don’t Own Me
Patty Duke – Don’t Just Stand There
The Angels – Cry Baby Cry