Tag Archives: Irving Mills

Episode 225. Joya Sherrill

November 29, 2023African American Singers, Behind the Iron Curtain, Black History Month, Comic Relief, Interview, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicA Drum Is a Woman, Barney Bigard, Benny Goodman, Billy Strayhorn, Bob Russell, Doc Pomus, Don George, Duke Ellington, Ernie Harper, Harold Ashby, Ian Grant, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills, Jack Scholl, Jimmy Jones, John Lamb, Johnny Hodges, Joya Sherrill, Lionel Rand, Luther Henderson, M.K. Jerome, Mack David, Manny Kurtz, Mort Shulman, René Hall, Sam Woodyardcountermelody

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This week’s episode is the first in what I hope will be a series featuring vocalists who performed with Duke Ellington, Today’s artist is the playful and sophisticated Joya Sherrill (20 August 1924 – 28 June 2010) who, by a series of happy “accidents,” became one of the best-remembered and most enduring of Ellington’s songsters while still a teenager. For she was not only a musically- and vocally-gifted singer, she was also a lyricist and composer. She herself composed the lyrics to the Billy Strayhorn classic “Take the ‘A’ Train,” as well as another Ellington standard, “Kissing Bug,” she also was the first singer to record “I’m Beginning to See the Light” and numerous other Ellington and Strayhorn standards. Though she left the Ellington Orchestra before 1950, she continued to appear with them in various projects, including his 1957 television extravaganza A Drum Is a Woman (alongside soprano Margaret Tynes), and My People, his 1963 extravaganza commemorating the centenary of the Emancipation Proclamation. She also performed with the Benny Goodman Orchestra on their 1962 tour of Russia, and was the first African American host of a children’s television program, Time for Joya (later renamed Joya’s Fun School) which began in 1970 and ran in reruns until 1982 on local New York television. In this endeavor she was assisted by another powerhouse Black musician, Luther Henderson, who also arranged and conducted her altogether individual 1959 studio album, Sugar and Spice, which put a sophisticated spin on old Mother Goose rhymes. As late as 1994 she continued to perform and record the music of Duke Ellington and others. Here is an artist whose combination of élan and exuberance is well worth rediscovering and celebrating.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 207. Henry Wright and Pals

July 28, 2023African American Singers, Broadway, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Pop Icons, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAcey Prince, Alexander Borodin, Alfredo Bracchi, Anthony Newley, Arthur Rebner, Augusto Martelli, Bataille-Henri, Bill Evans, Biri, Bruno Martelli, Buddy Johnson, Cole Porter, Das Land des Lächelns, Dorsey Burnett, Duke Ellington, Eddie Cooley, Ennio Neri, Erich Korngold, Erich Werner, Francesco Specchia, Franco Calabrese, Franz Lehár, Frasquita, George Forrest, Gianfranco Intra, Gianni Ravera, Giovanni D’Anzi, Giulio Libano, Henry Defreyn, Henry Glover, Henry Wright, Irving Mills, Jimmy Kennedy, Joe Osborn, John Davenport, Johnny Mercer, José María Lacalle García, Joseph Kosma, Juan Tizol, Kismet, Lady Gaga, Leslie Bricusse, Little Willie John, Louis Lemarchand, Mario Buzà, Mario Cenci, Miguel Fleta, Mina, Nathaniel Shilkret, Nolan Lewis, Peggy Lee, Percy Faith, Peter Alexander, Peter Knight, Petula Clark, Ray French, Richard Tauber, Richy Nelson, Robert Stolz, Robert Wright, Romano Mussolini, Sinéad O’Connor, Titus Tee Turner, Tony Bennett, Tony Dallara, Tullio Romano, Vittorio de Sica, Vittorio Mascheronicountermelody

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Today’s episode is first and foremost a tribute to a forgotten African American trailblazer, the pop singer Henry Wright, born in 1933, who, in the late fifties, claimed Italy as his adoptive country after touring there as a vocal soloist with Lionel Hampton. With a voice as suave and seductive as any of the great crooners of the 1950s and 1960s, Henry Wright first came to international prominence as the voice on the record to which Sophia Loren performed her legendary striptease in the 1962 film Ieri, oggi, domani [Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow]. He went on to make a great impact on Italian pop music throughout the 1960s. Your fearless podcaster discovered this fascinating singer almost by accident sometime in the past year and he (that is, I) have been collecting his rare and valuable recordings which I am thrilled to share with my listening public. Many of these songs exist in earlier versions, either from the Great American Songbook, from Italian films, from early American singers of R&B, from Italian pop stars of the 1950s, even from Viennese operetta! So I had the idea of playing those original versions alongside Henry Wright’s recordings. Thus you will encounter singers like Ricky Nelson, Peggy Lee, Tony Dallara, Peter Alexander, Mina, Petula Clark, Vittorio de Sica (who in his acting days was an Italian matinee idol!) and even opera legends Miguel Fleta and Richard Tauber. It’s a fascinating episode (if I do say so myself!) and I am thrilled beyond words to introduce the seductive, charming, compelling Henry Wright to my listeners. The episode begins with memorial tributes to recently departed pop music greats Tony Bennett and Sinéad O’Connor.

Episode 199. Tina and the Expats

June 2, 2023African American Singers, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAdelaide Hall, Al Green, Ann Peebles, Arthur Freed, Barbara Ruskin, Barrett Strong, Beauty Milton, Bertice Reading, Betty Dorsey, Billy Sherrill, British Electric Foundation, Cher, Claus Doll, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Donna Gaines, Donna Summer, Duke Ellington, Elisabeth Welch, Erwin Halletz, Felicia Weathers, Fred Neil, Galt MacDermot, Gene McFadden, Gerome Ragni, Harold M. Kirchstein, Heaven 17, Ike Turner, Irving Gordon, Irving Kahal, Irving Mills, J.C. Johnson, Jacques Brel, James Rado, Jimmy Kennedy, John Lennon, John Whitehead, Joséphine Baker, Jürgen Phil, Keith Mansfield, Ken Leray, Leon Huff, Lotar Olias, Manos Hadzidakis, Michael Carr, Nacio Herb Brown, Nina Simone, Norman Whitfield, Olive Moorefield, Peter Knight, Peter Lahn, Pierre Spiers, Ralf Cromy, Roger Desbois, Roger Spooner, Salena Jones, Sammy Fain, Steve Gillette, Sylvia Robinson, Tammy Wynette, Tina Turner, Vickie Henderson, Walter Brandin, Zack Laurencecountermelody

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If you’re like me (and I hope that, at least in this way, you are!) you have adored Tina Turner since you first became aware of her. In my case, it was circa 1971, seeing her perform “Proud Mary” on television. At the time I was a pretty snooty (and snotty) kid much more prone to Mahler and Britten than I was to pop music. But something about Tina got to me. And when, against all odds, her star rose again in the 1980s, I was once again drawn into her orbit. So when she died last week in Switzerland, aged 83, I was really thrown for a loop. For a week I racked my brains about how I could pay proper tribute to a figure who, as one of the biggest pop stars in the world, not only changed the face of music, but also of our culture in general. Normally I prefer to stay focused on an artist’s work, but in Tina’s case, her compelling personal story also commanded attention, and in a way the two are inseparable. As much as we rightly revile Ike Turner for his inexcusable abuse and torture of his wife and everyone else around him, he was also a musical innovator in the rock ‘n’ roll scene and one who, one hopes at least, recognized the genius of Anna Mae Bullock, whom he plucked from obscurity to assume the persona of his wife and co-creator. Even if his contributions are now irreparably tainted, it was Tina who was the lifeblood of that duo, and who became known as the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In my podcast I often focus on US artists, predominantly those of color, who chose to relocate to Europe and forge careers there. I have devoted a lot of time, space, and research to the Black opera singers who came here, but there is an equally fascinating story to be told about the pop singers of many eras and genres, who also chose to make Europe their home. Though this episode focuses primarily on Tina and some of the less-explored material throughout her career, I seek to contextualize her by also discussing the many African American singers, from Adelaide Hall to Joséphine Baker, from Donna Summer to Dee Dee Bridgewater, who either spent formative time in Europe or settled there permanently. Along with the aforementioned favorites, I also focus on lesser-known artists such as Beauty Milton, Vickie Henderson, Betty Dorsey, Salena Jones, and Bertice Reading (my latest mega-discovery). It has been cathartic and inspirational for me to create this episode; I hope it provides a similar experience for you.

Episode 149. Music Black and Queer

June 17, 2022African American Singers, BHM2023WK2, Black History Month, Drag Performance, Interview, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAgustín Lara, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Billy Preston, Billy Strayhorn, Bobby Short, Carmen McRae, Carolyn Franklin, Charlie Shavers, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Esquerita, Frankie "Half-Pint” Jaxon, Gladys Bentley, Irving Berlin, Irving Mills, Jackie Shane, Jacques Prévert, Jo Bouillon, Joan Armatrading, Johnny Mathis, Joseph Kosma, Joséphine Baker, Larry Owens, Mabel Mercer, Michael R. Jackson, Nona Hendryx, Oscar Peterson, Rona Siddiqiui, Sylvester, Tracy Chapman, Wendell Marshallcountermelody

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Over the course of history, for Persons of Color who also happen to be queer, the interface between these two populations is sometimes an enormously challenging one, but one which also frequently produces path-breaking musical artists of enormous courage and originality. In celebration of Juneteenth this coming weekend, and as a follow-up to my Queer Blues episode published last year, I once again pay tribute to an extraordinary array of Black and Queer musical artists across a wide spectrum of popular musical styles, be it Blues, jazz. middle-of-the-road pop, musicals, rock ‘n’ roll, disco, and folk. Artists represented include Billy Strayhorn, Billie Holiday, Johnny Mathis, Tracy Chapman, Mabel Mercer, Joan Armatrading, Nona Hendryx, Sylvester, Joséphine Baker, Jackie Shane, Carmen McRae, Billy Preston, Esquerita, and Carolyn Franklin, Michael R. Jackson, the 2022 Tony Award winner for A Strange Loop, is introduced by my dear friend the theater scholar David Savran, who describes what makes this piece and its creator so daring and original.