Showing 179 results

Authority record
Person

Fitzgerald, Ella

  • LC83021406
  • Person
  • 1917-04-25 - 1996-06-15

American National Biography Online, accessed December 23, 2014, via Oxford African American Studies Center database: |b (Fitzgerald, Ella; jazz singer; Ella Jane Fitzgerald; born 25 April 1917 in Newport News, Virginia, United States; sent to segregated New York State Training School for Girls in Hudson (1934); Chick Webb, was persuaded to give her a try in his band (1935); was among the very first African-American women invited to join American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) (1940); began a long association with Decca Records’ Milt Gabler (1943); joined producer Norman Granz’s newly formed organization Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) (1949); her best recordings fall mainly in the decade between 1956 and 1966; produced exceptional live albums such as Ella Fitzgerald at the Opera House (1957) and Ella in Rome (1958); was generous contributor to charities, notably to the organization in Los Angeles named in her honor, the Ella Fitzgerald Child Care Center; died 15 June 1996 in Beverly Hills, California, United States)

Willson, Meredith

  • LC83042585
  • Person
  • 1902-05-18 - 1984-06-15

Meredith Willson (1902-1984) was born Robert Meredith Willson in Mason City, Iowa. Willson’s first career was as a flautist with the John Philip Sousa Band and the New York Philharmonic. He later pursued a career as conductor and music director in both radio and television. Following a stint in the Army during World War II, he saw success with the production of “The Music Man,” for which he wrote the music, lyrics, and the book. He also wrote the musicals “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” “Here’s Love,” and “1491.” He was married three times, to Elizabeth Wilson (divorce), Ralina “Rini” Zarova (her death), and Rosemary Sullivan (his death).

Whiting, Margaret

  • LC83152877
  • Person
  • 1924-07-22

Margaret Whiting (1924-2011) was a singer and actress and was one of the first artists signed to Mercer’s Capitol Records.

Tatum, Art

  • LC84005894
  • Person
  • 1909-10-13 - 1956-11-05

Cole, Nat King, 1919-1965

  • LC84072857
  • Person
  • 1919-03-17 - 1965-02-15

Nat "King" Cole was an American jazz pianist and singer noted for his small jazz ensembles. Born in Alabama and raised in Chicago, Cole learned to play organ and piano, and after only a few years of formal training, dropped out of school at 15 to be a jazz pianist. He recorded a few singles with his brother, Eddie, and played in a revival of the musical "Shuffle Along". In the late 1930s he played in clubs; upon the request of a club owner, he hired bassist Wesley Prince and guitarist Oscar Moore to form the King Cole Trio. Cole had his first hit performing "Sweet Lorraine" in 1940 for Capitol Records, for whom he would record for almost his entire career.
By the end of World War II, Cole paid for his own 15-minute radio program, the first ever sponsored by a black musician, and continued to record. His popularity kept growing. At the end of 1956, NBC debuted "The Nat King Cole Show," a television variety show. It was the first television program ever hosted by an African American. Despite Cole's immense popularity, the show failed to attract a national sponsor and only lasted a year on air. Despite this, and changing tastes in music going into the 1960s, Cole was still a huge music star and continued recording hits. He was particularly well-known for a series of Spanish-language albums in 1958, '59, and '62 that extended his popularity into Latin American as well as the United States. He also continued to appear onscreen in television shows and short films.
Cole died of lung cancer at the age of 45.

Bennett, Tony, 1926-

  • LC85006632
  • Person
  • 1926-08-03 -

Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born in Queens to Italian parents. He grew up poor and began singing for money in restaurants at age 13. He briefly attended New York's School of Industrial Art, learning painting and music, but dropped out at age 16 to work and support his family. Bennett was drafted into the US Army in late 1944 and was part of the military force that pushed the German army out of France and back into their homeland. He remained briefly as part of the occupying force after the end of the war, and was assigned to sing with a special services band entertaining American forces. He returned to the US in 1946 and studied at the American Theatre Wing. It was during this period that he developed the technique of imitating the style and phrasing of other artists that helped him learn to improvise while performing.
In 1949, Bennett was invited by singer Pearl Bailey to open for one of her shows. Bob Hope attended the performance and hired Bennett to perform with him on his tours. Bennett signed with Columbia Records the next year, and recorded his first hit "Because of You" a year after that. For the rest of the 1950s he continued to be a certifiable hit. In August 1956 he hosted a temporary television variety show, "The Tony Bennett Show," in Perry Como's NBC slot as part of a summer show series that also featured Patti Page and Julius La Rosa. Bennett would do so again in 1959.
Despite the arrival of rock'n'roll, Bennett continued to release a steady stream of popular and jazz albums and remained a highly popular nightclub performer. In 1962, he sang as part of the initial broadcast of the "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and recorded one of his most famous songs, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". Unfortunately, however, the 1970s were not kind to Bennett. Attempts to get into acting, recording more contemporary songs, and even starting his own record label all failed; by 1979 Bennett was rarely performing outside of Las Vegas clubs, was all but bankrupt, and had developed a drug addiction. He turned to his adult children for help, and his oldest son Danny became his manager.
In the late 1980s and into the '90s, Bennett worked to reintroduce his music to a new generation of listeners back in New York City. He recorded several successful themed albums and even appeared on MTV in 1994. He continued to tour and record well into his 80s.

Whiting, Richard A., 1891-1938

  • LC85173099
  • Person
  • 1891-11-12

Richard Whiting (1891-1938) was born in Peoria, Illinois to Frank and Blossom Whiting. He was a composer, often collaborating with Johnny Mercer. He was known for songs such as “Hooray for Hollywood.”

Young, Ralph

  • LC85199175
  • Person
  • 1918-07-01 – 2008-08-22

Garrett, Betty

  • LC85376586
  • Person
  • 1919-05-23 - 2011-02-12

Gilbert, Ray

  • LC85381424
  • Person
  • 1912-09-15 - 1976-03-03

Raymond “Ray” Gilbert (September 5, 1912 – March 3, 1976) was an American lyricist. He is best known for writing the lyrics to the song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”, which won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Although the song originally appeared in the 1946 Disney film Song of the South, it has been used in a variety of other Disney productions since, such as the television program Wonderful World of Disney. Gilbert also wrote English lyrics for another Disney film, The Three Cabelleros (1944), which featured a number of songs translated from their original Spanish and Portuguese.

In addition to writing lyrics for a number of songs that were part of Disney films, Gilbert is known for translating many songs by Latin American composers into English, particularly those of Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. Gilbert also collaborated with American composers to produce several original hits, such as “In A World Of No Goodbyes” and “Drip Drop” with Hoagy Carmichael. He is also responsible for the lyrics for the 1965 Andy Williams hit “… And Roses and Roses.”

Como, Perry, 1912-2001

  • LC86869295
  • Person
  • 1912-05-18 - 2001-05-12

Pierino Ronald Como, known professionally as Perry Como, was an American singer and television personality that dominated the early broadcast era. Como continually hosted a music variety show from 1948 to 1967. He was famous for his insistence on keeping the content of his shows clean, as well as his natural demeanor on and off screen.
Como was the first American-born child of Italian parents who immigrated to Canonburg, Pennsylvania in 1910. He didn't learn English until he started school, but quickly learned to play a variety of instruments including the organ, piano, trombone, and guitar. Ironically, he never had formal voice lessons. Beginning at the age of 10 Como trained to be a barber; by the time he was 14, he had his own shop. He was extremely popular around town because he would sing while he worked. A career as a musician was not what Como had in mind for his life, but in 1933 he was offered a job as the vocalist for a traveling dance band headed by Freddy Carlone. Despite the fact that he would make only a quarter of what he did as a barber, Como's father urged him to accept, and he did.
Como toured with Freddy Carlone for the next 3 years. He then received an offer to become a vocalist for the nationally renowned Ted Weems Orchestra, which he accepted at Carlone's insistence. The position came with a raise and a change of location to Chicago, although the band also toured regularly. It was with the Weems orchestra that Como did his first recording work. Despite his incredible success as a vocalist, in 1942 Como left the music business and returned to Pennsylvania so that he could spend more time with his wife and young child. Offers for radio and recording contracts followed him all the way there. Como was reluctant to take any but was convinced by his wife to accept an offer for a no-sponsored radio show and recording contract from CBS. He went live in March 1943; he began performing at the Copacabana Night Club later that year, and signed a recording contract with RCA. The live performances didn't last very long, but in 1944 he moved to NBC to front the sponsored radio musical variety program "Chesterfield Supper Club". He would also continue recording with RCA for the remainder of his career, an arrangement that proved to be so profitable for the label that it eventually stopped trying to tally how many Como hits had been sold.
In 1948, NBC decided to try something new: they simulcast "Chesterfield Supper Club" on both radio and television. The experiment proved successful, and Como became a television staple for the next 20 years. In 1950, his show moved to CBS and became the "Perry Como Chesterfield Show". In 1955 he returned to NBC, where he would remain for the next 12 years with "The Perry Como Show" (1955-59) and "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall" (1959-67). In addition to his regular shows, Como recorded constantly. Nearly every year, from 1948 to 1994, he recorded an annual Christmas special for broadcast. When "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall" went off air in 1967, Como began limiting his television appearances until his holiday specials were his only major broadcasts. He returned to radio in the 1990s, but for the most part he enjoyed his later life out of the public eye.
Como died a few days before his 89th birthday.

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