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
-
Carmen Jones (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Olga James, Joe Adams
Film Soundtracks - Released by Music Manager on 25 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Dansons gaiement, vol. 12 (Mono Version)
Pop - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
-
Ain't She Sweet
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Freewings on 2 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pearl Bailey and Louis Bellson
Jazz - Released by Archive of Folk & Jazz Music on 14 Oct 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Classy Lady Singers of Jazz, Vol. 3
Jazz - Released by Platinum Collection on 28 Feb 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pearl Bailey at Her Best
Jazz - Released by Good Time Records on 20 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of Pearl Bailey
Pop - Released by Parlophone UK on 8 Oct 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Intoxicating Pearl Bailey
Jazz - Released by Mercury Records on 15 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Classy Lady Singers of Jazz, Vol. 4
Jazz - Released by Platinum Collection on 6 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The One And Only Pearl Bailey Sings
Jazz - Released by Mercury Records on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legend of Pearl Bailey (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Master Tape Records on 8 Nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The One and Only Pearl Bailey Sings / Pearl Bailey A-Broad
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Stage Door on 13 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Around the World With Me
Vocal Jazz - Released by Guest Star Records on 1 Jan 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1947 - 1950
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 15 Oct 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Classy Lady Singers of Jazz, Vol. 6
Jazz - Released by Platinum Collection on 13 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pearl Bailey Sings Gershwin
Jazz - Released by AP Digital on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -