RSS
Home
Today in Jazz - Lena Horne
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Lena Horne in 'Till the Clouds Roll By'.
Lena Horne's birthday was yesterday and I thought this would be a good occasion to discuss the impact this incredible lady had upon the jazz world.
Lena Horne was born on June 30, 1917 in New York City. Raised mainly by her grandparents, she began singing professionally at the age of sixteen when she joined the chorus at new York's famed Cotton Club'. Despite her youth, Horne's talents gained her rapid prominence and by 1934 - less than a year after joinging the chorus - she had gained a featured rol in the Coton Club Parade.
Horne's vocal talents gained her additional prominence and she began touring with various bands- first the Noble Sissle Orchestra and later with the better-known Charlie Barnett orchestra. However, she was not fond of travel and would make her biggest claim to fame as a nightclub performer and as an actress.
Horne made her cinematic debut in 1938's 'The Duke is Tops', and she followed this up with another musical short in 1941 called 'Boogie Woogie Dream'. She was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942 - the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. She released the song with which she would be forever identified the following year- the classic performance of 'Stormy Weather' from the film of the same name. She subsequently appeared in several other musicals, though because of racial laws at the time, her scenes were rarely able to be in continuity with the films' story lines. The lone exception was the 1943 all-black musical 'Cabin in the Sky'.
Horne returned to nightclub singing in the 1950s and focused primarily on that aspect of her career for the remainder of her life, though she did frequently perform on the many variety shows of the era. She was a staple on the shows of Dean Martin, Ed Sullivan, Andy Williams and others. She also made guest appearances on such shows as 'The Muppet Show' and 'Sanford and Son'.
Horne continued performing until 1998, when she retired from public performance. Throughout her career, she was noted both for the incredible depth and emotion she could bring to a performance and for the power of her voice. Her vocal skills and her range set the standard for many other singers and she is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz singers of all time.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
