Pearl Bailey
An uninhibited vocalist who gave more to her performances than any other singers around, Pearl Bailey gained fame for her work in Broadway, cabaret, and Hollywood. Bailey's sultry, slurred delivery livened up many a stale standard, including "Baby It's Cold Outside" and her only hit, "Takes Two to Tango."
The daughter of a preacher, Bailey began singing at the age of three (her brother, Bill Bailey, also taught her a few dance steps). She was performing professionally by her early teenage years and after touring as a dancer for several years, she featured both as a singer and dancer with jazz bands led by Noble Sissle, Cootie Williams, and Edgar Hayes. She began performing as a solo act in 1944, and wooed night club audiences with her relaxed stage presence and humorous asides. After briefly replacing Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Cab Calloway's Orchestra during the mid-'40s, she debuted on Broadway during 1946 in the musical St. Louis Woman. Bailey earned an award for most promising newcomer, and made her first film, Variety Girl, in 1947.
Though it wasn't a hit, her version of "Tired" (from Variety Girl) increased her standing in the jazz community. She recorded for several different labels, including Columbia, during the '40s and finally found a hit in 1952 after signing to Coral. Her version of "Takes Two to Tango," backed by Don Redman's Orchestra, hit the Top Ten. That same year, she married drummer Louie Bellson, and he left his position with Duke Ellington to become her musical director. Bailey recorded several albums for Coral during the early '50s, and starred as a fortune teller in the 1954 film Carmen Jones. More starring roles followed, in the W.C. Handy biopic St. Louis Blues as well as the first filmed version of Gershwin's classic operetta Porgy and Bess.
In 1959, a new recording contract (with Roulette) resulted in a change of direction. After her double-entendre LP For Adults Only was banned from radio play, it became a big seller and occasioned a string of similar albums during the early '60s. She continued to perform on Broadway, and won a Tony award in 1970 for her title role in Hello, Dolly!. She led her own television variety show in 1971, but retired from active performance several years later. Pearl Bailey was named to the American delegation to the United Nations in 1976, and awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1988.
© John Bush /TiVo
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That's Good Enough for Me
Blues - Released by Redwood Records on 26 mrt. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Ladies in Jazz - Pearl Bailey Vol. 2
Jazz - Released by Ap music on 27 jun. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Pearl Bailey - Vintage Sounds
Pop - Released by Retro Music Box on 12 jan. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart
Pop - Released by Albany on 26 aug. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Saga of My Life
Vocale jazz - Released by Music Today Records on 18 dec. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saturday Night Fish Fry
Jazz - Released by Vintage Moments on 3 aug. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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House Of Flowers
Pearl Bailey, Original Broadway Cast, Pearl Bailey & Broadway Cast
Soundtracks - Released by BROADWAY on 2 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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House Of Flowers (Original Soundtrack Recording)
Originele soundtracks - Released by Foyer on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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A Prairie Windstorm
Pop - Released by prairie windstorm on 8 feb. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Just at the Turn of the Tide
Dance - Released by turn of the tide on 2 mei 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Star of the Screen
Vocale jazz - Released by Music Manager on 15 jul. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo