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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Around The World With Me
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by PnR on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For Adult Listening
R&B - Released by Milestones Records on 1 Jan 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pearl Bailey Sings for Adults Only
Lounge - Released by Start Up Records on 28 Nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pearl Bailey Medley: Takes Two To Tango / The Birth Of The Blues / Toot Toot Tootsie, Goodbye / That's Gratitude / Somebody Else Not Me / It'll Get Worse / When Your Guy Is Gone / Drunk With Love / Changeable You / I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For
Jazz - Released by M.Z.Records on 6 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Intoxicating Pearl Bailey
Lounge - Released by Start Up Records on 15 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Guitar Town Music
Pop - Released by GTM restart rec. on 14 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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That's Why The Moon Was Smiling
Pop - Released by The Moon Was Smiling on 8 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pearl Bailey Sings For Adults Only
Pop - Released by PnR on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of Pearl Bailey
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by PnR on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Featuring Pearl Bailey
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by PnR on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More Songs For Adults Only
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by PnR on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Holy Christmas Voices
Pop - Released by HCVVV Voices timeless on 15 Dec 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For Adult Listening
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by PnR on 1 Jan 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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For Adult Listening
Lounge - Released by Start Up Records on 1 Jan 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More Songs for Adults Only
Pop - Released by Milestones Records on 14 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Intoxicating Pearl Bailey
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SINETONE AMR on 3 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo