The Carrie Nations

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The Carrie Nations are a fictitious all-girl rock 'n roll trio featuring heavily in the cult Russ Meyer film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. In the film, the band goes to Hollywood in order to try to achieve commercial success, only to get sucked into the seedy underbelly of the entertainment industry. Prior to Hollywood, the band's name was The Kelly Affair, though they changed this moniker due to it "sounding too 1950s."

The line-up of the band consisted of Kelly McNamara on vocals and guitar, Casey Anderson on bass and Petronella "Pet" Danforth on drums. Their name is an ironic play on the name of temperance advocate Carrie Nation. Supposedly, they hit it big on American radio with their number one hit "In The Long Run", followed by "Look On Up At The Bottom." Other songs include: "Find It," "Come With The Gentle People," and "Sweet Talking Candyman."

[edit] Off-Screen

Much of the cult popularity of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls has traditionally been attributed to the soundtrack, written chiefly by Stu Phillips, which was only recently reissued on CD. Beyond the quality of the music, of course, the band has retained some camp value given that The Carrie Nations are clearly lip syncing along with the recordings throughout the film.

The actual lead vocals on The Carrie Nations' recordings are not those of actress Dolly Read's but rather those of Lynn Carey, perhaps best known for her solo work and work with Mama Lion. Additional vocals were provided by Barbara Robinson. However, due to contractual reasons Lynn Carey could not appear on the original LP soundtrack, and the songs were re-recorded and released with Amy Rushes on vocals. Since that time, both versions of The Carrie Nations' songs have become available.

[edit] Reference

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls: The Original Soundtrack. Liner notes from audio CD. Stu Phillips & Alex Patterson. Harkit: HRKCD 8032, 2003.