While his son Arthur wrote several books about his father, and daughter Miriam put together a collection of letters, young Melinda's been...elusive. Which beats being bitter but funny, or alcoholic and Sapphic, as her siblings turned out to be.
You'll recall, if you're a Grouchophile, that cute Melinda turned up on her Daddy's quiz show. Proud poppa insisted that she sing, and back then she did seem like she was auditioning for an "Our Gang" revival that might need a new Darla. However Melinda's enthusiasm waned. So did everyone's...to the point where you can see just what kind of dysfunctional family they became...
...a chagrined kid, an alky wife and a grouchy old hubby. (The comments section duly noted that this picture shows Eden Marx, Melinda's step-mother. Melinda's mother was Groucho's second wife Kay). Listening to this A-side single, cut post-puberty (about six years after the photo you see on this page), you get the idea with "East Side of Town" that Melinda Marx doesn't want to be the next "Downtown" Petula Clark.
You can almost imagine her telling the sound engineer: "can I get this over in one take?" Turning Fabian's echo chamber into a mausoleum, here's Melinda Marx singing her way out of show business...
The East Side...and Down Side of Being a Celebrity Daughter.... New link, Instant Download or Listen on Line
