Happy Birthday, Diahann Carroll!

On this day in 1935, Diahann Carroll was born Carol Diahann Johnson in the Bronx, New York. While still an infant, her family moved to Harlem, which is where she grew up. By the time she was 18, she was winning talent contests with her singing ability, and starting to get booked at some of the top clubs. This lead to appearances in films and on Broadway from supporting roles to star. In 1962, Carroll won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in 'No Strings'. The show had music and lyrics by the great Richard Rodgers, but might be best remembered for that Tony win, the first win in the leading category for a woman of color. Here is the Original Cast Recording of "The Sweetest Sound" from 'No Strings', which also features costar Richard Kiley.

"Quiet Nights" by Brazilian songwriter Antônio Carlos Jobim, who is perhaps best known as the composer of the huge hit, "The Girl From Ipanema". The recording by Astrud Gilberto was #1 across the world in 1964, the same year Carroll performed on 'The Judy Garland Show', Judy's variety television show that featured so many big stars wanting to perform along side the great Garland. My God, she was so stunning in this clip, and her voice just magic. This is Diahann singing "Quite Nights" on 'The Judy Garland Show'.

In 1961, Diahann was cast as a night club singer in a film that starred Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, and Yves Montand. One of the songs she sang was "Love Is Just A Word", a delightful song written by Georges Auric. The song was inspired by Brahms' "Brahms' Symphony No. 3". This was for the film 'Goodbye Again". I love the coyness of Carroll's performance, with just the right balance of flirtation to raise the temperature.

I will admit I didn't really know who she was until I saw her on the television, starring as the lead character in a show named 'Julia'. Once again, Carroll broke new ground as the first woman of color to star into her own television show in 1968. I actually remember watching the show, and thinking just how pretty she was. She was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. She won the Golden Globe for 'Best TV Star - Female' for 1968. Later, I remember her playing the deliciously spicy Dominique Deveraux on 'Dynasty', standing her ground against Joan Collins as few could. Lately, I have enjoyed her making occasional guest appearances on 'White Collar', playing the landlady to Matt Bomer's character, Neal Caffrey. The producers have been smart enough to enlist her to sing a few times, and it proves she still has it, well into her seventies. In 2011, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. Today, we can all wish her a very happy birthday!

Want Some Sugar?

Clockwise: Fanny Brice; Nina Simone; Diahann Carroll; and Diana Krall.

Many might remember the next song as part of the soundtrack for the film 'Funny Girl', and sung by Barbra Streisand. Being an ardent fan of Streisand, I of course knew the song, but just assumed for a long time that it was written for the show by Jule Styne. However, I went on to learn the song was written by Billy Rose and Fred Fisher, and sung by Fanny Brice. I learned it wasn't in the Broadway production (I bought the album to learn there were several different songs), but added to the film version to add some authenticity from the Brice catalog. Please enjoy as Fanny Brice sings "I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy with Somebody Else)".

While she might have been inspired by a song sung by the legendary Bessie Smith, Nina Simone was never one to take the simple route. So she wrote her own version of "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl", and while it might not have been quite as suggestive as Bessie's, it certainly doesn't shy away either. Nina recorded it on her 1967 album 'Nina Simone Sings The Blues'.

In 1964, Dionne Warwick released one of many songs written by the dynamic duo Burt Bacharach and Hal David. While it might not be known as Jazz standard, I think this clip of the gorgeous Diana Krall singing "Walk On By" certainly makes a case it should at least be considered.

Diahann Carroll sings "Goody Goody". The 1936 popular song was composed by Matty Malneck and Johnny Mercer, and first recorded by Benny Goodman and his orchestra, and made popular by Bob Crosby, a singer and bandleader known for his band, the Bob-Cats. He was also the youngest brother of Bing Crosby, but I digress. Here we have the always amazing Diahann Carroll singing the song on an appearance she made on The Judy Garland Show.

Love Can Give You The Blues

Clockwise: Dorothy Dandridge; Sarah Vaughan; Ella Fitzgerald; and Diahann Carroll.

It's Saturday night, and time for to bring some of the great ladies of song to center stage, and teach us all a little something about love. The first to come out and join us will be singing a song written by Barbara Belle, Anita Leonard, Stan Rhodes, and Louis Prima in 1946. In 1947, Ella Fitzgerald recorded "A Sunday Kind Of Love" on the album For Sentimental Reasons. It was released by Etta James in 1961, on the album with her iconic hit, "At Last". But we'll return to Miss Ella singing "A Sunday Kind of Love", so smooth and gorgeous.



Although she might be known more for her acting, the gorgeous Diahann Carroll made her way their with a magnificent voice. Long before she played Dominique on Dynasty, or the working single mother on the ground-breaking Julia, or the star of the movie Claudine, she was featured on Broadway in shows like House of Flowers and No Strings. Those musicals brought her to a singing career, and engagements on variety shows for decades. While her singing career never equaled her acting, she has a magnificent voice, as she did here singing the classic "Some Of These Days" on a show in the 1980s. The song was made famous by Sophie Tucker several decades before, but Diahann brought down the house with it.



Sometime in 1942, an eighteen-year-old from Newark, New Jersey, played the piano for a friend in the Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The friend earned second place, and later, Sarah Vaughan returned to sing "Body And Soul", and was the winner. In the spring of 1943, she was booked to open for Ella Fitzgerald at the Apollo, the beginning of her career. Here is Sarah singing "Body And Soul".



Like Miss Carroll, some might be more familiar with Dorothy Dandridge as an actress, as she was the first African American woman to be nominated for Best Actress for her role in Carmen Jones in 1954. She also was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in the 1959 film, Porgy And Bess. But she worked her way to those roles singing with bands, and making "Soundies", the music videos of the early movies, showing singers and bands to entertain the audience between features. Here is one of those Soundies, with Dorothy singing Cole Porter's "You Do Something To Me".



Enjoy your weekend!

Broadway Torch

Clockwise: Dorothy Loudon; Leslie Uggams; Diahann Carroll; and Audra McDonald.

Some of the greatest love songs have been written for the Broadway stage, and sung by what are some of the most talented ladies available. This has been true for much of the 20th century, and in the 21st as well. Sometimes the most vivid songs came out of the shows with greatest reputation, while others were first heard in shows that might be forgotten, save for a single song that touched all. Take, for example, when the amazing Dorothy Loudon starred in the 1979 musical Ballroom. The show had a book by Jerome Kass and music by Billy Goldenberg, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was based on a 1977 television movie. In it, a middle-aged widow finds new love when she goes to a local dance hall. However, she finds out her new love is not hers alone. He is married. That is why she sings Fifty Percent.



Loudon was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance, only to lose to Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd. If you enjoyed this song, you can find the Original Broadway Cast album for Ballroom on iTunes and Amazon.

The next show opened on Broadway in December 1954, and had a pretty incredible pedigree. House of Flowers had music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and book and lyrics by Truman Capote. This was the only music Capote had written. It was based on Capote's short story, first published in Breakfast at Tiffany's, one of three companion pieces along side the famous story and movie. The production featured a young and beautiful Diahann Carrol, as well as Pearl Bailey, Juanita Hall, Ray Walston, and Geoffrey Holder. The following clip shows Carroll singing A Sleepin' Bee from the score.



This was the first theatrical production outside of Trinidad and Tobago to feature the new Caribbean instrument - the steel pan. If you enjoyed this song, you can find House of Flowers on Amazon, and featured on The Lady, The Music, The Legend album on iTunes.

This next treat came from an anti-war show with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Indeed, Hurray For What! had the same men who wrote the score to The Wizard of Oz, and the immortal Over The Rainbow. The song was written in 1937 for Broadway star Kay Thompson. She was replaced before opening by Vivian Vance, who later went on to gain fame as Lucy Ricardo's friend Ethel. The song went on to become a Pop and Jazz standard, and be performed by some of the greats, including Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Bobby Darin. But here we are graced with the gorgeous voice of the beautiful Audra McDonald to sing Down With Love.



Try as I might, I could not find a cast album for Hooray For What! But you can find the song on The Second Barbra Streisand Album on iTunes and Amazon.

The next story began life as a 1955 novel, Auntie Mame. By 1956, it was a Broadway play starring the incredible Rosalind Russell as the free-spirited aunt. Russell earned the Academy Award for her performance in the 1958 movie. It seems almost surprising it took another eight years for the first musical version to appear on Broadway, with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by the legendary Jerry Herman. This time, Angela Lansbury starred as Mame, and Bea Arthur as her drunken friend, Vera. The show had a great score, including a stunning song Mame sang to her nephew, Patrick. Enjoy while Leslie Uggams sings If He Walked Into My Life from the musical Mame.



If you enjoyed this song, you can find the Original Broadway Cast album of Mame, featuring Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur, on iTunes and Amazon.

Sunday Morning with Diahann & Judy

To ease you into this Sunday morning, I thought I would offer the angelic voices of Judy Garland and Diahann Carroll singing a medley of songs by the great songwriters, Harold Arlen and Richard Rodgers. This was on the The Judy Garland Show, and aired in February of 1964. Both ladies had immense talent, and respect for one another. It shows in their performance.