Cleo Laine
With a multi-octave voice similar to Betty Carter's, incredible scatting ability, and ease of transition from a throaty whisper to high-pitched trills, Cleo Laine was born in 1927 in the Southall section of London, the daughter of a Jamaican father and English mother. Her parents sent her to vocal and dance lessons as a teenager, but she was 25 when she first sang professionally, after a successful audition with the big band led by Johnny Dankworth. Both Laine and the band recorded for Esquire, MGM and Pye during the late '50s, and by 1958, she was married to Dankworth.
With Dankworth by her side, Laine began her solo career in earnest with a 1964 album of Shakespeare lyrics set to Dankworth's arrangements, Shakespeare: And All That Jazz. Laine also gained renown for the first of three concert albums recorded at New York's Carnegie Hall, 1973's Cleo Laine Live! At Carnegie Hall. She also recorded two follow-ups (Return to Carnegie and The 10th Anniversary Concert) the latter of which in 1983 won her the first Grammy award by a Briton. She has proved a rugged stage actress as well, winning a Theater World award for her role in the Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, (in addition to Tony and Drama Desk nominations as well). In 1976 she recorded a jazz version of Porgy and Bess with Ray Charles, and also recorded duets with James Galway and guitarist John Williams. Laine and Dankworth continued to tour into the 1990s, and she received perhaps her greatest honor when she became the first jazz artist to receive the highest title available in the performing arts: Dame Commander.
© John Bush /TiVo
Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Sometimes When We Touch
Classical - Released by RCA Victor on Nov 1, 1901
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nothing Without You
Jazz - Released by Concord Records on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Laine: That Old Feeling (Voice)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Jan 1, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim
Jazz - Released by RCA Victor on Jan 1, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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A Lover and His Lass
Cleo Laine, John Dankworth, Dankworth Seven
Jazz - Released by Esquire Records on Dec 14, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All Of Me
Pop - Released by Sunset Blvd. Records on Aug 26, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Quintessential Cleo
Vocal Jazz - Released by Qnote Records on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Façade - An Entertainment (Poems By Dame Edith Sitwell)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Soundtrack Classics on Apr 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All About Me
International Pop - Released by Trunk Records on Aug 26, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let The Music Take You
Vocal Jazz - Released by Qnote Records on Jan 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Britannica, Vol. 1
Alexis Korner, George Melly, Cleo Laine
Jazz - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on May 21, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loesser Genius
Cleo Laine, Laurie Holloway, Friends
Vocal Jazz - Released by Qnote Records on Jan 19, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smilin' Through
Vocal Jazz - Released by Qnote Records on Jun 15, 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Once Upon A Time
Vocal Jazz - Released by Qnote Records on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Britannica, Vol. 4: Annie Ross / Cleo Laine
Jazz - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on Sep 24, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All About Me
Pop - Released by Milestones Records on Aug 26, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Precious (Original Recordings)
Jazz - Released by Silan Records on Mar 24, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo