Morgana King
Morgana King (actually Maria Grazia Morgana Messina DeBerardinis, born July 4, 1930 in Pleasantville, New York ) is an American actress and singer in the fields of jazz singing and Easy Listening.
Biography
As a child of Sicilian and Portuguese parents Morgana King grew up in a small town near New York City. From the mid- 1950s, she performed as a jazz singer; In 1956, she played a their debut album For You, For Me, Forevermore with Hank Jones and Al Cailoa for Emarcy. One of her biggest hits in this period was the album A Taste of Honey in 1964, which was created in collaboration with Torrie Zito. After King had had concerts in Italy and Brazil.
Although she had received a total of thirty albums throughout her career, she began a second career as an actress in 1969. Her most famous role was the wife of Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando in the film The Godfather. She went on then in the second part of the Godfather trilogy.
After King many years with major labels such as Mercury, Reprise, or Verve had been under contract, she graduated in 1976 a contract with the label Muse and took on a series of albums in which she of musicians such as Joe Puma, Jack Wilkins and Ray Mantilla was accompanied.
King was married to the jazz trombonist Willie Dennis, and then with the jazz trumpeter Tony Fruscella.
Disco Graphical Notes
- Morgana King Sings the Blues ( Mercury, 1958) with Barry Galbraith, Harvey Leonard
- A Taste of Honey ( Mainstream, 1964)
- It's a Quiet Thing (Reprise, 1965)
- Wild is Love (Reprise, 1966)
- Gemini Changes ( Reprise, 1967)
- New Beginnings ( Paramount, 1973) with Bob James, Idris Muhammad, Bob Cranshaw, Hubert Laws
- Strechin ' Out ( Muse, 1977)
- Portraits ( Muse, 1983)
- Simply Eloquent ( Muse, 1986)
- This is Always ( Muse, 1992)
- Looking Through the Eyes of Love ( Muse, 1998)