Birthday of singers Dandridge and Travers on this date

November 9, 2:57 PMSwing and Big Band ExaminerRick Busciglio

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Today, November 9th was the birth dates of singers;

Dorothy Dandridge, Cleveland OH 1923, actress/singer/dancer  Dandridge—who had a mixed racial heritage, early on confronted the segregation and racism of the entertainment industry.

She became an international star, performing at glamorous venues in London, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, and New York. She won her first starring film role in 1953’s Bright Road, playing opposite Harry Belafonte. Her next role, as the lead in Carmen Jones (1954), a film adaptation of Bizet's opera Carmen that also costarred Belafonte. The film catapulted her to the heights of stardom. With her sultry looks and flirtatious style, Dandridge became the first African-American to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.  In 1955, she was featured on the cover of Life magazine, and was treated like visiting royalty at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.

In the years that followed her success with Carmen Jones, however, Dandridge had trouble finding film roles that suited her talents. Her only other great film was 1959’s Porgy and Bess, in which she played Bess opposite Sidney Poitier. She died in 1965. VIDEO CLIP BELOW

Mary Travers, Louisville Ky 1936, singer-songwriter: Mary was the earnest, sweet-voiced member of the folk, pop group Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey. Peter, Paul and Mary was one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s.  With hits like "Leavin' on a Jet Plane," "If I Had a Hammer," and "Puff (the Magic Dragon)," they were leaders of the folk music revolution of the 1960s and active members of the "flower power" political protests of the decade. Travers was born in Kentucky but raised in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, where she began singing casually with friends. In 1960 she joined Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey in a trio that began performing in New York folk clubs as Peter, Paul & Mary. They were a hit, due both to their music and to their friendly-beatnik looks; the boys had trim beards, and slender Mary stood out with her long, straight blonde hair. They had a hit with Bob Dylan's tune "Blowin' In the Wind," sang it at the 1963 civil rights march on Washington, and later sang it as a protest against the Vietnam War. Their 1962 debut album Peter, Paul & Mary sold over two million copies; it was followed by albums including In the Wind (1963), See What Tomorrow Brings (1965).  The group broke up in 1970, but reunited for concerts many times over the years after that, becoming nostalgic fund-raising favorites on public television. Travers also released five solo albums, including Mary (1971) and All My Choices (1973). She had a bone marrow transplant in 2006 and battled leukemia for many years before her death in September 2009.

Here is Dorothy Dandrige and the Nicholas Brothers singing and dancing to the "other" version  of the "Chattanooga Cho Cho" song. It was written for the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle and Joan Davis. It was performed in the film as an extended production number, featuring vocals by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, and the Modernaires followed by a production number showcasing Dorothy Dandridge and an acrobatic dance sequence by The Nicholas Brothers. This was the #1 song across the United States on December 7, 1941.

Read more about the Chattanooga Cho Cho.