Description of the Photo:
Publicity shot of the singer Lita Roza, born Lilian Patricia Lita Roza on March 14 1926 in Liverpool to Elizabeth Anne Fowles and Francis Vincent Roza. Lita's father, Vincent, was the son of Eulalio Roza and Josephina Delacruz, daughter of Juan (I) and Elizabeth (Winn) Delacruz. Josephina was the great aunt, Vincent the second cousin, and Lita the second cousin once removed of John de la Cruz (IV).
Additional information:
Lita was the eldest of seven children. Age 12, she auditioned as a dancer in a pantomime to help support her family. She worked her way up the bill and moved to London, but returned to Liverpool during the blitz of 1940. In Liverpool, she turned to singing and got a position as resident singer in a Merseyside club called the New Yorker. She briefly retired from showbusiness on marrying at the age of 18, but when the marriage ended she returned to the stage, working with the bandleader Ted Heath, among others. In 1953 she recorded the song for which she is best remembered, 'How Much is that Doggie in the Window?'
In 2001, Lita Roza became the first artist honoured with a bronze disc on the Wall of Fame in Matthew Street, opposite the Cavern Club, which featured every Liverpool act to have achieved a number one hit single.
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