By the end of the '50s, she'd scored a recording contract with Capitol Records and debuted with the Take a Number LP (1959), which was arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. More records followed: Hooray for Love (1960, Capitol), arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall; The Simple Life (1960, Capitol), arranged and conducted by Dick Reynolds; Mavis (1961, Reprise), arranged and conducted by Marty Paich; Swing Along With Mavis (1961, Reprise), arranged and conducted by Van Alexander; Mavis Meets Shorty Rogers (1961, Reprise), arranged by Chuck Sagle; and, finally, We Remember Mildred Bailey (1964, Vee-Jay).
In the early '80s, she returned to singing, appearing on two of her son's albums: Matt Catingub's My Mommy and Me (1983, Sea Breeze) and Hi-Tech Big Band (1984, Sea Breeze). In addition, she released a solo album of her own during this sudden period of activity, It's a Good Day (1983, Delos). In 1990, she contributed to her son's I'm Getting Cement All Over Me album, and then unfortunately suffered from an untimely fatal stroke on-stage in 1992, bringing her singing career to a close. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi