Biography
Shaye Cogan remains known today chiefly through scattered appearances in two distinct categories of cult favorites. As an actress, the striking blonde featured in a pair of Abbott & Costello vehicles, Comin' Round the Mountain (1951) and Jack and the Beanstalk (1952), the latter giving her a co-starring role. As a vocalist she surfaced in the late-'50s jukebox picture Mr. Rock 'n Roll (1957), which starred Alan Freed and included performances by Little Richard and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. That screen credit mirrored her Roulette Records output, an opportunity enhanced by her marriage to Phil Kahl, Morris Levy's business partner at the label. Although Cogan never approached the stylistic territory occupied by Gale Storm, her competent voice enabled her to handle songs that might otherwise have gone to Georgia Gibbs. Several light novelty numbers came her way, the strongest being the 1957 release "Doodle Doodle Doo." Her standing, or perhaps the behind-the-scenes leverage of her marriage, earned her a slot on the Alan Freed Great Holiday Rock 'n Roll Show alongside Buddy Holly, Little Richard, the Del Vikings, Mickey & Sylvia, and the Moonglows at New York's Brooklyn Paramount between 30 August and 8 September 1957. As late as 1960 she reached the British Top 40 with the single "Mean to Me." Phil Kahl had entered the industry in 1944, risen to a senior post at Disney Music, and in 1953 joined Morris Levy in publishing ventures and Roulette; he eventually transferred his share to Levy. Cogan's professional activity ceased at the start of the following decade.