Word: singerly
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1940-1949
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Died. Charactress Edna May Nutter ("Edna May Oliver"), 59, long-faced, purse-mouthed player of acid old maids; of an intestinal ailment; on her birthday; in Hollywood. Born into a well-to-do Boston family that went broke, she was originally a singer but ruined her voice giving outdoor concerts, turned to playing in theatrical stock companies. She made her first hits in Broadway's Icebound and The Cradle Snatchers, attracted greater attention in Show Boat. In Hollywood she was a deft scene-stealer, won a reputation as a character actress. She lived alone, rarely took part in Hollywood...
...time since infantile paralysis struck her in June 1941, Operatic Soprano Marjorie Lawrence appeared before an audience: 600 guests at a Metropolitan Opera Guild luncheon in Manhattan. She arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria's ballroom in a wheelchair, sang from a settee. Lily Pons fell victim to the singer's bogey, laryngitis, canceled a concert in Houston. Artemisa Elias Calles, black-eyed, 28-year-old daughter of Mexico's ex-President Plutarco Elias Calles, made her debut as a professional dancer in Manhattan, gave flamenco and Spanish dances in a floor show at the Hotel Pierre. Cheerleader...
...only three artists have maintained a consistently high standard along with a large output: Duke Ellington, Teddy Wilson, and Mildred Bailey. Ellington and Wilson are fairly well-known, even among the lowest jive-addict, but Bailey, unfortunately, is a different case. To the swing fan she is just another singer, out of touch with the present "standards" of sexy song-singing. He probably first heard her when she sang with Goodman, bought a record of their joint efforts, and left it at that. To some jazz fans she is a pretty good singer who happened to be present...
...kind word now and then, taking her for granted most of the time. The more csoteric jazz magazines ignore her completely. As a result, the rising generation of jazz lovers misses out almost entirely. Peggy Lees may come and Ramonas may go, but Mildred Bailey remains the best female singer since Bessic Smith. The strange part of the public's ignoring of Mildred is that she resembles in many respects the greatest living male singer, Bing Crosby...
...take the present darling, Dinah Shore. She is undoubtedly a far more capable singer than Hutton, especially in projecting her personality through radio and records. In the main, though, hers is a very limited and pedestrian talent compared with even the average swing musician's. Dinah's best interpretations are expressly designed for romance, and she is more than adept. Other times she signs pleasantly, if that well. If you like her, fine. But if you can listen to Benny Goodman, can separate the slag from the gold, and still like Dinah, your standards are inconsistent...