Another sparkling diamond in the vocal world has "booped" her last "doop" and departed for Fabulon, to join the pantheon of jazz greats - Dame Cleo Laine!
Famed for her long, long professional as well as personal relationship with husband Johnny Dankworth as much as for her singing, together they carved out a niche for themselves in the oft-fractious world of post-war British jazz, she with her remarkable multi-octave voice and he with his musical talent and business savvy. She successfully straddled classical and pop cross-overs, as well as the scat-jazz vocalese for which she was famed, made numerous guest appearances on TV over the years [indeed, on hearing of her death today in the office I reminisced that she was probably the first prominent black person I remember seeing on telly apart from on children's programmes like Play School], became successful Stateside, and together in 1970 the couple founded the Stables Theatre at the back of their family home near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, which has helped develop the careers of many generations of performers.
By way of a fitting tribute - and a prime example of why we adored her so much - here is a selection of the divine Miss Laine's interpretations of the work of house fave Mr Stephen Sondheim:
RIP, Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth DBE (born Clementine Dinah Hitching, 28th October 1927 - 24th July 2025)
And finally... What on earth?
Eartha Kitt, Phyllis Diller and Cleo Laine playing cricket!
Is there any room left at Fabulon ?!
ReplyDeleteYa just know they’re playing cricket now :-)
The place is filling up...
Delete...but the cricket pitch is popular! Jx
I was lucky enough to see her years ago when she appeared in concert in Columbus, Ohio (of all places). I think I was the only person in the audience who know who she was (the rest were retired seasoned ticket holders that just showed up to whoever was appearing). That being said, by the end of her performance (with hubby present), she had them eating out of the palm of her hand.
ReplyDeleteShe was superb - shame we never got the opportunity to see her live. And yes, Dame Cleo could get even the most apathetic of audiences to sit up and pay attention! Jx
DeleteWell, bugger! I'm dripping saltiness into my coffee...
ReplyDeleteIt is sad news, indeed. Jx
DeleteNot a Diva. She was way above that. One of the great vocal artists of this and the last century.
ReplyDeleteYou have chosen a wonderful collection of videos to pay her tribute and like dinahmow my eyes were more that a little moist from beginning to end.
She indeed had a talent that surpassed most others. A great loss! Jx
Delete