Tangia

So many more made millions from their own brand of sex appeal. Well, it sells records, fills concert halls, makes one a star overnight...But that's now...Tangia belonged to another time...

Why didn't she make it big like her talented counterparts? Pushing the papers away, Ralph got on the phone and called one of his colleagues, an entertainment lawyer and serious R&B fan. If someone knows more about Tangia, Darryl should. After all, he had a huge LP and CD collection representing nearly every major and minor star, biographies, concert memorabilia, fanzines, promotion photographs, reviews. A slightly annoyed Ralph fidgeted as Darryl's answering machine kicked in. He left a message: "Darryl ? Ralph Burton here. Say, I just ran into a woman I'm sure is Tangia. Her name is Sadie Cooper and she's a waitress over at Dinah's Soul Shack. You know anything about her? Call be back. Maybe we can meet for a drink. Later!"

******

He didn't want to go back there, but he did. All he wanted was to see her again, perhaps catch her in a quiet moment. Well, it was after five o'clock, and the diner usually closed at three. Maybe she lingered after closing, tidying up and getting ready for tomorrow's business. Ralph, on the way to the bus stop, passed the now-darkened diner. He paused and peered inside. Chairs had been stacked on the tables, lights turned out, doors locked, the security gate lowered to protect from vandals. Perhaps she went on home to her children...

"Hey, man. We're closed."

Ralph turned around and saw the towering, hulking form stare down at him. Not a menacing stare, mind you, but firm enough to send the message home. Ralph said, "I know, but I thought I'd catch Sadie before she left. I just wanted to talk to her, maybe get to know her better."
The man smiled, saying, "Man, every brother wants to get next to Sadie, but she ain't bitin', know what I mean?"

He extended his hand, introducing himself. "Leroy Pitts. I'm the head cook."
Ralph returned the smile, shook Leroy's hand and said, "Ralph Burton. I was in your place today. You sure cook up a mean mess of greens."
"Well, it's Dinah's recipe but I get to do my own thing, like the ribs and meatloaf. Sadie does the sweet stuff...pies, cakes, cookies."
"Sadie did the chess pie? Wow, that girl can get down."
"Yeah, she's all right. She had some bad luck in her life, but she's back on track now."
"What do you mean, 'bad luck'?"

Ralph's interest was more than piqued. Wonder if this 'bad luck' was Tangia's downfall...

"Oh," Leroy replied, "her man skipped out on her, got into dope, took her money. At least that's what she told me. That woman was on welfare before Dinah hired her. I don't know much else about her."

Ralph thought it over. So, Sadie/Tangia had a boyfriend...That boyfriend was a dopehead, the habit obviously compelling him to dip into his girl's money...money she earned singing...

"Well," he said before resuming his journey, "I just wanted to say Hi to her, thank her for being so attentive this afternoon."
Leroy smiled, lit a cigarette and said, "OK, man. She'll be happy to hear that."

******

The cell phone went off midway through Ralph's long bus ride to the shopping center where his car was parked. Flipping it open, he noted the number: Darryl.

"Hello?"
"Hey, Ralph? What's up?"
"Oh, not much. Just plugging away."
"I hear you. Say, I got your message. Did I hear you right when you said you met Tangia?"
"Darryl, I'm sure the woman I saw today was her. She goes by her real name now."
"Sadie Cooper."
"Yeah. Anyway, what do you know about Tangia? I didn't get to listen to her stuff when I was a kid–"
"You mean your folks wouldn't let you listen to her stuff. Man, I have the first two of her three albums, and I'm trying to track down the last. That woman was something else."
"Well, I did hear one of her songs on the jukebox in that diner. It was called 'Rough Love'."
"'Rough Love'? Yeah, I'm surprised that even showed up in a jukebox. That record got banned because it was too sexy for radio."
"Wow, I've heard of records getting banned because of suggestive lyrics. Of course that was back in the early 60's. These days anything goes."
"Well, Tangia was way ahead of her time. Say, if you want, why not drop by tomorrow night and I'll show you why Tangia didn't quite reach the top, at least in mainstream music circles."
"OK. Oh, will you be downtown any time this week?"
"I have a court date Thursday, but it shouldn't be too long."
"Well, if you can, why not join me for lunch? We can meet at Dinah's and you can see Sadie Cooper for yourself."

******

He didn't have to wait. When he returned home, Bev was gone but had already prepared dinner which was in the oven. He forgot this was her bridge party night. The kids had been sent to a babysitter, so Ralph had the house to himself for a few hours. Plopping down at his desk and forgetting all about the work he had to catch up on, Ralph decided to do more digging. Whatever Darryl had in his extensive collection would definitely shed light on why Tangia suddenly dropped out of sight. He logged into his Internet account then started surfing. The same pages came up, but Ralph had an idea. Why not enter 'Rough Love' in the search box? That he did, and several results popped up.

Hmm...there are a few collectible 45's for sale...What about lyrics...Huh? She made a movie? Sure enough, Ralph stumbled upon a link to a rare VHS copy of a movie featuring Tangia. Clicking that link, he was taken to a page complete with full plot description, a few production stills, and ordering information. What blew Ralph away was not the sole fact Tangia starred in a movie, but the KIND of movie. This was no mainstream rock 'n' roll flick, not even one of those cheesy low-budget 60's pop music films. Even the title suggested this film didn't play at the local neighborhood theater. Released in 1963, Tanya Deep, if there was a rating system back then, would have earned at least an R for sexual content. What kind of sexual content? Well, from what Ralph gathered reading the brief synopsis, the plot centered on a small town girl wanting to break into show business. The lead character, played by Tangia, fell victim to the casting couch, was re-christened "Tanya Deep", then simply slept her way to fame and fortune. As Tanya, Tangia was no more than her own stage persona: an incredibly beautiful woman who possessed a voracious sexual appetite. The few production stills posted on the site suggested the character totally discarded those "wholesome small town values" to become a celebrated, and troubled, sex symbol.

Staring and studying a photo of a twenty-something Tangia clad in a skintight, daringly low-cut black lamé dress, Ralph wondered if making this movie sealed the woman's fate. After all, not too many up and coming musicians, not matter how much they had to struggle, resorted to making low-budget soft porn films. Such activity, back then, usually spelled the end for the most promising career in mainstream entertainment. Whatever possessed Tangia to do this? Something inside – call it insatiable curiosity – made Ralph grab his credit card. He had to order that video, but was cautious not to use his and Bev's joint card. She wouldn't understand anyway. Best to keep this purchase to himself, and to be on the safe side, have the video shipped to the office. Perhaps, during a lull in business obligations, he would watch this film, maybe understand more about Sadie Cooper AKA Tangia.

******

He waited until after 4:30, when everyone else had gone for the day. That package, yet to be opened, still lay on his desk. Ralph didn't have the heart to tell his secretary exactly what was in that parcel; he just said it was an audition video sent from a prospective client. Settled in his darkened office, and after he called his wife to tell her he was working late, Ralph opened the package. The video case sported a steamy photo of Tangia in the arms of her male co-star. It certainly wasn't a 'moonlight and roses' pose; it was blatantly sexual, what with Tangia's dress unzipped, revealing a deliciously flawless back. Taking the video out of its case, Ralph felt his heart beating hard, his palms sweating. What should he expect?

After inserting the video in the VCR, he sat back in his chair. The movie started. Black and white, no color as this was low-budget. Even the camera work was a bit cheesy, grainy, the sound not the best. Then again, this was definitely not the type of movie that wins Oscars. Those opening scenes were innocent enough: Little Rock native "Sarah Sweet" getting off the bus in Hollywood, suitcase in hand, dressed in the usual conservative outfit that screamed greenhorn. She is then seen in a diner where she meets a sleazy agent who promises to get her an audition. So far so good, even the acting isn't half bad. Tangia certainly pulled off the innocent country girl bit, but the woman's true talents, the ones that made her famous, would soon become evident in subsequent scenes.
Ralph watched intently as Sarah goes on her first audition. She reads the requested lines, runs through a scene, then is told she's a natural. Then the inevitable. The "casting director" says Sarah can become a bigger star if she does a few "favors", and Sarah wastes no time. Gee, thought Ralph, they didn't pull any punches in this movie, even if it was made in '63. What blew Ralph away was Tangia's evidential enjoyment of her character. As Sarah, she wasn't as green as she led on, letting the casting director pounce her, strip off her clothes, and have his way with her. The sex scenes were not as explicit as Ralph had expected, but they were steamy enough.

Cut to Sarah, now renamed "Tanya Deep", performing a song for her first movie. She plays a singer and the scene is a nightclub. Sure enough, the song is 'Rough Love', and Tangia makes the most of her sexy trademark performance. The band played the intro as Tangia, as Tanya, literally slithered on stage. Wearing a dangerously tight sequined black dress with a slit clear up the thigh, her glossy generous hair piled into a an outrageous beehive, she grabbed the microphone. Bumping and grinding her way into the song, Tangia moaned and panted, growling those suggestive lyrics that demanded her lover to "Make me quiver, make me shiver, make me scream 'til I cream..."

Obviously turning herself on, Tangia straddled the mike stand, thrusting her pelvis as if making love, the moaning and wailing crescendo with every wave of passion. It was too obviously the woman was coming right there onstage as she lowered herself to the floor, mike in hand. There, prone on her back, she continued the song, moaning and writhing deliciously. She panted in ecstasy, thrust and wriggled that fantastically curvy body all over that floor, belting out the closing notes...

Ralph couldn't watch any more. Snapping off the VCR, he got on the phone and called Darryl. Was this movie the death knell of Tangia's career? And what did Leroy mean by "Sadie's man took her money then skipped out on her"? Perhaps it was the combination of a too sexy performance and poor choices in men. And it was too evident, just from watching less than half of this movie, that Tanya Deep was actually a mirror of Tangia's short, tumultuous career.

"Darryl? Ralph here. Say, I got hold of a movie Tangia made...Tanya Deep...Yeah, that's it! I watched some of it...Well, I can tell you I got a little hot under the collar watching this woman. Hey, I got an idea...You got a spare moment tonight? Cool...Then why not meet me at Dinah's Soul Shack for lunch tomorrow...I have a feeling Tangia might make a comeback..."

******

Ralph Burton wasn't the only one watching that movie. Across town, in a modest apartment, she watched in awe as the seductive siren shimmied her way through one sexual escapade after another. The more she watched, the more she wanted to recapture that lost glory. Nothing compared to the erotic image she created for herself, and she thought it was time to get it together, make that comeback. After all, times had changed; attitudes were freer, looser. Perhaps she should make that phone call, take up that woman's offer to resurrect Tangia. It was the chance of a lifetime, and Sadie Cooper was still young and vital enough to pull it off. No way would she spend the rest of her days baking pies, serving barbecue, or cleaning tables. Not that she wasn't grateful for the job, but she wanted more, a chance to prove to herself that her time had finally arrived. She got on the phone then, with the woman's card in hand, dialed the number. How long would it take to get herself back in shape? How long before she regained that famous curvaceous figure? Would she be able to get into the steamy skintight costumes again? Did she still have the moves? Time would only tell, and Sadie Cooper had that man who came into the diner yesterday. If he hadn't stared at her so, listened to her song so intently, maybe she would've cast aside that lady talent scout's card...

"Hello? Mrs. Egan? This is Sadie Cooper...Yes, I think I can swing it again...No, I don't think Dinah would mind if I up and quit. Didn't really like the job anyway...I'll be packed and ready to go tomorrow afternoon."

TO BE CONTINUED...Go to Chapter 3

Copyright©2005 by P.R. Parker. All Rights Reserved.