Biography
Versatile pop singer Kitty Ford and country performer Mimi Roman shared remarkably similar voices because both identities belonged to New York artist Mimi Evans, a respected nightclub entertainer and session vocalist who spent years recording publishing demos. Evans possessed the range to interpret dreamy ballads, lively country material, light novelty numbers, and big production show tunes with consistent elegance, always conveying the required mood without excess. Although she never released a full-length album in her extended show-business career, the Sundazed label assembled a detailed overview of her catalog in 2022 through two compilations titled Pussycat as Kitty Ford and First of the Brooklyn Cowgirls as Mimi Roman.
Born Miriam Lopolito in the Bronx on April 20, 1934, Evans experienced her parents’ separation early in life. At age ten her mother Estelle, a former dancer, remarried Max Rothman, proprietor of a thriving pickle business, and the blended family relocated to Brooklyn, where the young woman developed a passion for horses. Several riding stables still operated in the borough, allowing her to join a circle of peers known as the Brooklyn Cowboys. She became an expert equestrian who collected multiple regional trophies and also excelled as a marksman. Already proficient on piano and guitar with cabaret ambitions, Evans discovered Hank Williams through a riding companion and embraced country music wholeheartedly. At nineteen she entered New York’s Madison Square Garden Rodeo, one of the nation’s premier events; concerned that the surname Rothman might appear too Jewish to visiting competitors, she shortened it first to Rohman and later to Roman. Named Rodeo Queen for her appearance, personality, and riding ability, she performed nightly with Gene Autry throughout the four-week engagement. Months afterward she appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, delivering Hank Williams’ “Weary Blues from Waitin’” and claiming first prize.
Additional spots on Godfrey’s daytime program generated bookings and a recurring role on Midwestern Hayride, the Cincinnati-based country variety series. Decca Records signed her in 1954 as Mimi Roman; later that year she released her first single, “Oh! I Like It” b/w “Weary Blues from Waitin’.” Because some country listeners might reject a Jewish singer from Brooklyn, the label supplied a fictional biography placing her birth and upbringing in California before a teenage move to New York. Working under producer Owen Bradley, who also oversaw Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Brenda Lee, she recorded nine singles for Decca between 1955 and 1958. Extensive touring, including sixty weeks on the Philip Morris Country Music Show, plus multiple appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride, followed. Her command of uptempo country, proto-rockabilly, and polished countrypolitan styles was complemented by teen-oriented sides modeled on Connie Francis, yet none charted. After leaving Decca she cut two singles for Kapp in 1959 and 1960 and two more for Warner Bros. in 1961 and 1962, none of which became hits.
In 1962 she married singer-songwriter Paul Evans, then employed as a staff composer in New York. Wishing to start a family and leave the road behind, she stepped away from country performing but secured steady work as a house vocalist at Associated Recording Studios, located near the Brill Building. The studio specialized in well-crafted demo discs for publishers and songwriters, enabling producers and artists to preview new material. At Associated she sang for leading figures including Burt Bacharach, Carole King, and Neil Sedaka, and several of those demos attracted label interest and subsequent release.
For her studio work she adopted the separate identity Kitty Ford, issuing occasional singles that encompassed novelty songs, sophisticated pop, show tunes, and music for film, television, and advertising. Kitty Ford enjoyed no greater chart success than Mimi Roman, yet the consistent employment earned her recognition as a skilled and adaptable professional. After a decade at Associated Recording she transitioned into roles as a nightclub talent buyer, radio host, and real-estate agent while still performing occasional club dates with a country group.
Her earlier Mimi Roman recordings later attracted collectors of obscure country and rockabilly material, prompting the German Bear Family label to issue the 2012 anthology Juke Box Pearls: I’m Ready If You’re Willing, which gathered her Decca, Kapp, and Warner Bros. singles. A decade afterward the American reissue label Sundazed presented a broader survey of her 1950s and 1960s output across two albums. First of the Brooklyn Cowgirls collected her strongest Mimi Roman sides together with scarce radio and television performances, while the companion set Pussycat assembled nineteen Kitty Ford tracks from her Associated Recording years.
Born Miriam Lopolito in the Bronx on April 20, 1934, Evans experienced her parents’ separation early in life. At age ten her mother Estelle, a former dancer, remarried Max Rothman, proprietor of a thriving pickle business, and the blended family relocated to Brooklyn, where the young woman developed a passion for horses. Several riding stables still operated in the borough, allowing her to join a circle of peers known as the Brooklyn Cowboys. She became an expert equestrian who collected multiple regional trophies and also excelled as a marksman. Already proficient on piano and guitar with cabaret ambitions, Evans discovered Hank Williams through a riding companion and embraced country music wholeheartedly. At nineteen she entered New York’s Madison Square Garden Rodeo, one of the nation’s premier events; concerned that the surname Rothman might appear too Jewish to visiting competitors, she shortened it first to Rohman and later to Roman. Named Rodeo Queen for her appearance, personality, and riding ability, she performed nightly with Gene Autry throughout the four-week engagement. Months afterward she appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, delivering Hank Williams’ “Weary Blues from Waitin’” and claiming first prize.
Additional spots on Godfrey’s daytime program generated bookings and a recurring role on Midwestern Hayride, the Cincinnati-based country variety series. Decca Records signed her in 1954 as Mimi Roman; later that year she released her first single, “Oh! I Like It” b/w “Weary Blues from Waitin’.” Because some country listeners might reject a Jewish singer from Brooklyn, the label supplied a fictional biography placing her birth and upbringing in California before a teenage move to New York. Working under producer Owen Bradley, who also oversaw Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Brenda Lee, she recorded nine singles for Decca between 1955 and 1958. Extensive touring, including sixty weeks on the Philip Morris Country Music Show, plus multiple appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride, followed. Her command of uptempo country, proto-rockabilly, and polished countrypolitan styles was complemented by teen-oriented sides modeled on Connie Francis, yet none charted. After leaving Decca she cut two singles for Kapp in 1959 and 1960 and two more for Warner Bros. in 1961 and 1962, none of which became hits.
In 1962 she married singer-songwriter Paul Evans, then employed as a staff composer in New York. Wishing to start a family and leave the road behind, she stepped away from country performing but secured steady work as a house vocalist at Associated Recording Studios, located near the Brill Building. The studio specialized in well-crafted demo discs for publishers and songwriters, enabling producers and artists to preview new material. At Associated she sang for leading figures including Burt Bacharach, Carole King, and Neil Sedaka, and several of those demos attracted label interest and subsequent release.
For her studio work she adopted the separate identity Kitty Ford, issuing occasional singles that encompassed novelty songs, sophisticated pop, show tunes, and music for film, television, and advertising. Kitty Ford enjoyed no greater chart success than Mimi Roman, yet the consistent employment earned her recognition as a skilled and adaptable professional. After a decade at Associated Recording she transitioned into roles as a nightclub talent buyer, radio host, and real-estate agent while still performing occasional club dates with a country group.
Her earlier Mimi Roman recordings later attracted collectors of obscure country and rockabilly material, prompting the German Bear Family label to issue the 2012 anthology Juke Box Pearls: I’m Ready If You’re Willing, which gathered her Decca, Kapp, and Warner Bros. singles. A decade afterward the American reissue label Sundazed presented a broader survey of her 1950s and 1960s output across two albums. First of the Brooklyn Cowgirls collected her strongest Mimi Roman sides together with scarce radio and television performances, while the companion set Pussycat assembled nineteen Kitty Ford tracks from her Associated Recording years.
Albums
Singles