WESTWOOD—Simply Irene Lauren. That’s the name of the golden voiced blonde beauty whose CD, titled “Irene Lauren,” is the rage in dinner clubs and any place romantic songs are necessary. The beautiful songstress not only delivers a beautiful melody, but she can be counted on to make the perfect romantic mood for lovers with her rendition of “Let Me Down Easy.” Although the CD is not brand new, her beautiful voice and relevant songs are timeless. “Irene Lauren” was produced by the artist herself and George Keller.

Vocals by Irene Lauren; bass by Bob Feldman; keyboards, Emilio Palame; percussion, Bernie Dresel; and guitars by George Keller. I sat down with the beautiful singer to ask about this part of her varied career, which includes actress, author and famed photographer.

Q-What made you decide to produce a CD?

A-“I’ve been singing since I was 15. It’s what I most wanted to do with my life. I spent years in bands singing back up and had many of my own bands over the years. After years of louder rock n’ roll, my hearing was being affected, so I switched to jazz, torch and standards. I think I have always been a torch singer but that wasn’t in style. If I had been born in the 1930s, I would have fit in much better. I trained with some of the best singers in the business including Rosemary Butler and Sue Raney. With my band, 'Irene Lauren and the Wiseguys,' we toured L.A. opening for Peter Tork (yes the Monkee) and his band 'Unlikely Story.' We were one of the first to put our music up on Mp3 and as a result ended up on World News Tonight talking about using the Internet for exposure and music sales. That wasn’t that long ago and now the entire industry has changed as a result.”

Q-Who worked behind the scenes with you?

A-“This CD was co-produced by my lead guitar player, George Keller, and myself. We recorded the music at Chick Corea’s Mad Hatter Studio and did some of the mixing at the great jazz studio called Sage and Sound. Emilio Palame is on piano. Emilio played with my idol Peggy Lee for 14 years. It was a thrill to work with him. Bernie Dressel is on drums. Bernie was the drummer for Brian Setzer’s orchestra. Bob Feldman is on bass. Bob was David Benoit’s bass player for many years. It was very exciting to sing with such talented people backing me up. George Keller is on guitar, and as I said [he] co-produced the album with me.”

Q-Did you write the music for your own songs?

A-“On this CD I wrote 'I’ve Known You Before' about someone I met who I just clicked with and felt like I had known forever. I co-wrote 'Pouring Rain' about a painful break-up. The other three songs were written by others. 'Let Me Down Easy' was recorded by the great Betty Lavette. 'More Than You Know' and 'You Don’t Know What Love Is' are standards."

Q-What inspires you to sing such romantic soulful songs?

A-“What inspires me to sing the music I do is a hard question to answer. I sing what I love and what works with my voice. I love the old standards, I love torch songs, I adore soul and R&B. My voice has a tone that works with those styles of music. I am lucky because I don’t sound like anyone else so I can sing the standards and make them my own.”

Irene Lauren’s music is available on iTunes, Napster and at Amazon.com.

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