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Click here to see Nancy Wilson at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival 2006.
20 February 1937 - 13 December 2018
Nancy Wilson (81) passed away peacefully at her home in Pioneertown
near Joshua Tree National Park.
Nancy Wilson’s musical style is so diverse that it is hard
to classify. Over the years her repertoire has included pop style
ballads, jazz and blues, show tunes and well known standards. Critics
have described her as “a jazz singer,” “a
blues singer,” “a pop singer,” and “a cabaret
singer.” Still others have referred to her as “a
storyteller,” “a professor emeritus of body language,”
“a consummate actress,” and “the complete
entertainer.” Then who is this song stylist (that’s
the descriptive title she prefers) whose voice embodies the nuances
of gospel, blues, and jazz? Her colleague and long-time friend Joe
Williams used to call her “the thrush from Columbus.”
By the age of four, Nancy Wilson knew she wanted to be a singer.
Born in Chillicothe, OH, Nancy grew up in Columbus where her father
provided early exposure to many vocalists. These included male singers
Billy Eckstine and Louis Jordan, and the rhythm and blues of Ruth
Brown and LaVerne Baker. Nat King Cole was influential as well.
She also heard big band vocalists Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie’s
Orchestra, and Lionel Hampton’s Little Jimmy Scott. As a child
she took an active part in church music as well as school choirs
and dance bands.
Wilson’s professional singing career began at the age of
15. She had her own television show, Skyline Melody, on a local
station. Soon after, she began performing in clubs in the Columbus
area. After graduating high school, still undecided about a music
career, she enrolled in the teacher training program at Central
State College. But in 1956, Wilson’s desire outweighed the
uncertainty of a vocal career, so she left college to join The Rusty
Bryant Band. That same year she met Julian “Cannonball”
Adderley when she accompanied Bryant’s band to New York City
for a recording session. Adderley, impressed with her talent and
determination, took an immediate interest in her career and the
two kept in touch.
In 1959, Nancy Wilson moved to New York City, allotting herself
six months to attain her goals. She wanted Cannonball’s manager,
John Levy, to represent her, and she wanted Capitol Records as her
label. Within four weeks of her arrival in New York she got her
first big break, a call to fill in for Irene Reid at The Blue Morocco.
Wilson did so well that the club booked her on a permanent basis;
she was singing four nights a week and working as a receptionist
during the day. She called John Levy and he went to catch her show.
“John called me the very next day. He set up a session
to record a demo,” Nancy recalls. “Ray Bryant
and I went in and recorded “Guess Who I Saw Today,”
“Sometimes I’m Happy,” and two other
songs. We sent them to Capitol and within five days the phone rang.
Within six weeks I had all the things I wanted.”
Wilson’s debut single, “Guess Who I Saw Today,”
was so successful that between April of 1960 and July of 1962 Capitol
Records released five Nancy Wilson albums. Two of those remain in-demand
reissues to this day: “The Swingin’s Mutual” with
George Shearing (1961) and “Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley”
(1962), and earned her a permanent star in the jazz constellation.
In 1963 “Tell Me The Truth” became her first truly major
hit, leading up to her performance at the Coconut Grove in 1964
- the turning pointing of her career garnering critical acclaim
from coast to coast. Time Magazine wrote, “She is, all
at once, both cool and sweet, both singer and story teller.”
Wilson was seen performing on variety shows (The Andy Williams
Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Flip Wilson Show, and others)
and for one season she had her own popular television program, The
Nancy Wilson Show (NBC) that won an Emmy in 1975. Wilson also took
on acting roles, appearing on popular television shows throughout
the years, from I Spy, Room 222, Hawaii Five-O, and Police Story,
to The Cosby Show, Soul Food, New York Undercover, Moesha, and The
Parkers.
After years with Capitol, during many of which she was second in
sales only to the Beatles, surpassing even Frank Sinatra, Peggy
Lee, the Beach Boys, and early idol Nat King Cole, the business
had changed providing Wilson with an opportunity to seek out projects
that allowed her to express the maturity that she acquired throughout
her then 55 years of life.
One of the more interesting albums from her later period came about
in 1991, when singer Barry Manilow was given a sheath full of lyrics
written by the late Johnny Mercer which the great songwriter had
never put to music. Manilow added melodies and chose Wilson to sing
the resultant songs.
In 1995, when National Public Radio (NPR) was looking for an articulate
voice with both name value and jazz credibility to host their Jazz
Profiles series, Nancy Wilson was the obvious choice. Not only did
she know the music, but she knew the artists personally. Her first
profile for this program was the 75th birthday tribute to Charlie
Parker.
In the late 1990s, Wilson teamed up with MCG Jazz, a social enterprise
supporting the youth education programs of the Manchester Craftsmen’s
Guild, a non-profit, minority-directed, arts and learning organization
located in Pittsburgh, PA. “A Nancy Wilson Christmas,”
released for the 2001 holiday season was her only completed Christmas
album. All proceeds from the sale of “A Nancy Wilson Christmas”
went directly to support the programs of MCG Jazz.
Three years later Nancy Wilson gave MCG Jazz and the world of music
another gift – “R.S.V.P.” (Rare Songs, Very Personal)
– which was released on August 25, 2004. Receiving gifts in
return, “R.S.V.P.” (Rare Songs, Very Personal) won the
2005 GRAMMY® Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album and the 2005 NAACP
Image Award for Best Jazz Artist. (This was her second GRAMMY®,
the first being in 1964 for “How Glad I Am,” and her
second Image Award, the first being in 1986.) Other honours Wilson
has received include a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, streets
and days dedicated in her name, honorary doctorate degrees, and
in 2005, the UNCF Trumpet Award celebrating African-American achievement,
a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP in Chicago, and Oprah
Winfrey’s Legends Award. Her third CD on the MCG Jazz label,
“Turned To Blue” (released in August 2006), brought
her a third Grammy award.
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