Lena Horne
Lena Calhoun Horne (* June 30, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York City; † 9, 2010 in Manhattan, New York City ) was an American singer and actress.
Life and work
Lena Horne, which had not only African American, but also European and Native American ancestry, collected her mother Edna Scottron, a tour of the actress side, already first stage performances. In 1934, she debuted as a dancer at the Cotton Club, where she also sang in the orchestra by Cab Calloway. The Noble Orchestra Sissles she went in 1935/36 on tour and took two plate sides for Decca Records on (That's What Love Means to Me, and I Take to You ). When her career was about to begin, she married and returned only in 1938 back to the stage and music scene, had a small role in the movie " The Duke Is Tops", then her debut was on Broadway as "A Quadroon Girl" in the musical " Dance with Your Gods", appeared in 1939 on Blackbirds and sang in Charlie Barnet's orchestra ("Good for Nothing Joe ," " Haunted Town" 1940/41 ) as the first African-American singer in a pure white orchestra. But the humiliations by the racial discrimination they discouraged, and she returned to New York.
In 1941 she sang at the Café Society with Teddy Wilson ( Out of Nowhere ). After half a year, she moved to Los Angeles where she sang in the club " Little Troc ". Finally, she got a contract with MGM, conditional, however, not the usual or similar roles for black actors as maid have to play. In Hollywood, Horne took the music to Cabin in the Sky on. The song " Is not It the Truth ," which she sang in this film, a first hit for Lena Horne was. She was the first African- American woman who received a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. In 1943, she became famous for her appearance in the film Stormy Weather; the title song a more Hiterfolg horn. In the southern versions of her films she was cut out; Offers to play the exotic Latina, she refused. A role in the MGM version of Show Boat (1951 ) she lost because interracial relationships on the canvas were still a taboo.
After the Second World War, it has predominantly been seen in England, France and Belgium and married again in 1947 in Paris. Although they briefly returned to the United States; but since it was there as a communist sympathizer, she moved back to Europe, where she lived for the next seven years. In 1954 she received a recording contract with RCA, appeared in night clubs, hotels and on television. In 1957 she had a starring role in the Broadway musical Jamaica Harold Arlen and EY Harburg from. In the 1960s, Horne engaged in the civil rights movement and published the article I Want to Be Myself. They also participated in the march on Washington DC Martin Luther King and sang at the last speech of the later murdered civil Medgar Evers.
Arlen and Harburg wrote for them the song " Silent Spring " ( according to the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson ), Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green Horne composed for the song " Now". In 1969 she joined with Harry Belafonte in " Cesar 's Palace " in Las Vegas, in the 1970s she toured with Tony Bennett in Europe and the U.S. and has appeared on " Minskoff Theatre" on Broadway in New York. A short appearance was in 1978 as a good fairy Glinda in the movie The Wiz - The Wizard of Oz. Signs of their unverblassten reputation in 1981 was the success of the show Lena Horne - The Lady and her Music which won a Grammy (1982) and eg an appearance on Sesame Street, where ( German: Grobi ) along with Grover sang the song " How do you do ". In the 1990s, she appeared on the album Duets by Frank Sinatra and released on Blue Note An Evening with Lena Horne. Their last album she put 1998 Being myself before; In 1999 she had her last public appearance at a ceremony in New York " Avery Fischer Hall ." In 2000, when she retired from the stage, appeared three songs for a Duke Ellington tribute album ( "Classic Ellington "). She lived her last years withdrawn on the Upper East Side.
In addition to several Grammys Horne received in 1989 for her life's work with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Although she is almost exclusively performed with jazz musicians ( including Artie Shaw and Teddy Wilson), it is usually not referred to as a jazz singer, because they never improvised; but they often played a recording with strong jazz coinage, as Honeysuckle Rose with Benny Carter and Sometimes I'm Happy, The Lady Is a Tramp (1947). It is considered a classic interpreter of the jazz - oriented popular song material from the Great American Songbook.
Lena Horne, who was married to Lennie Hayton (1908-1971), died on 9 May 2010 in New York Presbysterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center. Lena Horne was paid at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on 27 February 2011 by Halle Berry tribute.
Quotes
" In my early days I was a sepia Hedy Lamarr. Now I'm black and a woman, singing my own way. "
" The White it was never about what a great artist I am, but only by my appearance. "
Auswahldiskographie
- Charlie Barnet: the Transscription Performances (Hep, 1941)
- Lena Horne with the Dixieland Jazz Group of NBC 's Chamber Music of Lower basin Street ( RCA)
- Sidney Bechet: 1923-1936 ( Classics )
- Billy Eckstine: Together ( Spotlite, 1945)
- Lionel Hampton: Vibebrations (Giants of Jazz, 1945)
- Artie Shaw: 1940-1941 ( Classics )
- It's Love (RCA, 1955)
- Porgy and Bess ( Harry Belafonte, RCA, 1959),
- Songs By Burke and Van Heusen (RCA, 1959)
- Lena on the Blue Side ( RCA, 1962)
- Lena Lovely & Alive ( RCA, 1963) with Marty Paich Orchestra; Lena Sings Your Requests ( 1963), Lena Goes Latin (1963 )
- Here's Lena Now ( United Artists, 1964)
- Lena Soul (1966 )
- Lena and Gabor ( Skye, 1970)
- Lena and Michel ( RCA, 1975)
- Lena, a New Album ( RCA, 1976)
- We'll Be Together Again ( Blue Note, 1994)
- An Evening with Lena Horne ( Blue Note, 1995)
- Being Myself ( Blue Note, 1998)