NANCY WILSON (SINGER)

'Nancy Wilson' (born February 20, 1937) is an American singer with seventy-plus albums, and three Grammy Awards so far in her career. She's been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist.^[1] She has received many nicknames--"Sweet Nancy, The Baby" and the "Fancy Miss Nancy" are only two of them.^[2]

Contents

Background

Career

Awards and honors

Grammy history

Discography

Footnotes

Interviews

External links

Background

Nancy Wilson was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, February 20, 1937 to Olden Wilson (iron foundry worker), and Lillian Ryan.^[3] Nancy's father would buy records to listened to in the home. At an early age Nancy heard recordings from Billy Eckstine, Nat Cole, and Jimmy Scott with Lionel Hampton's Big Band. Nancy says: "The juke joint down on the block had a great jukebox and there I heard Dinah Washington, Ruth Brown, LaVerne Baker, Little Esther".^[4] By age of four, she knew she would eventually become a singer.
At the age of 15, while a student at West High School (Columbus, Ohio), she was chosen to represent the school in a talent contest sponsored by local television station WTVN. She won. The prize was an appearance on a twice-a-week television show, ''Skyline Melodies'', which she ended up hosting.^[5] She also worked every club on the east side and north side of Columbus, Ohio, from the age of 15 until when she graduated from West High School, at age 17. Nancy first attracted notice performing the club circuit in nearby Columbus.
Unsure of her future as an entertainer, she entered college to pursue teaching credentials. She spent one year at Ohio's Central State College before dropping out and following her original ambitions. She auditioned and won a spot with Rusty Bryant's Carolyn Club Band in 1956.

Career

Wilson, moved to New York City in 1956, where she met Julian Cannonball Adderley, jazz alto saxophonist, in a recording session. 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". The club booked Wilson on a permanent basis; she was singing four nights a week and working as a secretary fot the New York Institute of Technology during the day. John Levy sent demos "Guess Who I Saw Today", "Sometimes I’m Happy", and two other songs to Capitol. Capitol Records signed her in 1960.
Nancy’s debut single, "Guess Who I Saw Today", was so successful that between April 1960 and July 1962 Capitol Records released five Nancy Wilson albums, and a 1962 album with Adderley propelled her to national prominence. 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.^[6] It was covered in Time magazine, ''She is, all at once, both cool and sweet, both singer and storyteller''.^[7]
After doing numerous television guest appearances, Wilson eventually got her own series on NBC, "The Nancy Wilson Show" (1967-1968), that won an Emmy in 1975.^[8] Over the years she has appeared on many popular television shows from I Spy (more or less playing herself as a Las Vegas singer in the 1966 episode "Lori"); Room 222; Hawaii Five-O; Police Story, The Jack Paar Program; The The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show (1966); The Danny Kaye Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour; Kraft Music Hall (TV series); The Cosby Show; The Andy Williams Show, The Carol Burnett Show, Soul Food (TV series), New York Undercover; and recently Moesha; and The Parkers.^[9][10] She was in the 1993 Robert Townsend's The Meteor Man (film).
In 1982 she signed with CBS, her albums here including ''The Two Of Us'' (1984), duets with Ramsey Lewis produced by Stanley Clarke; ''Forbidden Lover'' (1987), including the title track duet with Carl Anderson; and ''A Lady With A Song'', which became her 52nd album release in 1989.
In the late 1990s, Nancy teamed up with MCG Jazz, a youth education programs of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild,^[11] nonprofit, minority-directed, arts and learning organization located in Pittsburgh, PA. ''A Nancy Wilson Christmas'', released for the 2001, all proceeds from the sale went directly to support the programs of MCG Jazz.^[12] Wilson was the host on ''Jazz Profiles'',^[13] from 1996 to 2005. It was a a jazz radio program on National Public Radio, Washington, D.C., during the show's run from 1996-2005. This series profiled the legends and legacy of jazz through music, interviews and commentary. Wilson and the program were the recipients of the George Foster Peabody Award in 2001.^[14]
Nancy’s second and third album with MCG Jazz, ''R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)'', and ''Turned to Blue'' won Grammy Awards in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

Awards and honors

Nancy Wilson received the NAACP Image Award - Hall of Fame Award in 1998, and was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1999. Nancy has received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, at 6541 Hollywood Blvd.^[15] Received honorary degrees from the Berklee School of Music and Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Wilson has a street named after her in her hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio.
Wilson was the recipient of the The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships award in 2004, the highest honors that our government bestows upon jazz musicians.^[16] The 2004 NAACP Image Awards for Best Recording Jazz Artist. 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.
Times.com, August 20, 2006: "It's been a long career for the polished Wilson, whose first albums appeared in the 1960s, and she faces that truth head-on in such numbers as ''These Golden Years'' and ''I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up''. Shorter breathed these days, she can still summon a warm, rich sound and vividly tell a song's story. With a big band behind her in ''Taking a Chance on Love'', she also shows there's plenty of fire in her autumnal mood".^[17]
At the Hollywood Bowl, August 29, 2007, Nancy Wilson celebrated her 70th birthday with an all-star event hosted by Arsenio Hall. Ramsey Lewis opened the evening on piano, with appearances by Nnenna Freelon, Regina Carter, Patti Austin, Natalie Cole and other artists.^[18]

Grammy history

★ Career Wins: 3

★ Career Nominations: 20^[19]

'Nancy Wilson Grammy History'
Year	Category	Genre	Title	Label	Result
2007	Best Jazz Vocal Album	Jazz	''Turned to Blue''	MCG Jazz	Winner
2005	Best Jazz Vocal Album	Jazz	''R.S.V.P.'' (Rare Songs, Very Personal)	MCG Jazz	Winner
1964	Female Vocal Performance	R&B	''How Glad I Am''	Capitol	Winner

Discography

Selected Singles:

★ 1959: "Guess Who I Saw Today"

★ 1963: "Tell Me The Truth" - US #73

★ 1964: "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am" - US #11 (#2 on the Adult Contemporary charts)

★ 1964: "I Wanna Be With You" - US #57

★ 1965: "Don't Come Running Back To Me" - US #58

★ 1966: "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" - US #84

★ 1968: "Face It Girl, It's Over" - US #29

★ 1968: "Peace Of Mind" - US #55

★ 1968: "In A Long White Room" - US #117

★ 1969: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" - US #52

★ 1971: "Now I'm A Woman" - US #93

★ Singles which reached the Adult Contemporary charts without making the Hot 100 included: "Where Does That Leave Me" (1965), "I'll Only Miss Him When I Think Of Him" (1965), "You've Got Your Troubles" (1966), and "This Girl Is A Woman Now" (1970).

★ In addition, Wilson charted on Billboard's Christmas Singles chart with both sides of her 1963 Yuletide single, "That's What I Want For Christmas" (#6 in 1963 and #26 in 1964) / "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" (#17 in 1965, #24 in 1967).
Charted Albums in US Top 100:

★ 1962: 'Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley' (with Cannonball Adderley) - US #30 ^

★ 1962: 'Hello Young Lovers' - US #49

★ 1963: 'Broadway-My Way' - US #18 ^

★ 1963: 'Hollywood-My Way' - US #11 ^

★ 1964: 'Yesterday's Love Songs-Today's Blues' - US #4 ^

★ 1964: 'How Glad I Am' - US #4

★ 1964: 'Today, Tomorrow, Forever' - US #10 ^

★ 1965: 'The Nancy Wilson Show' - US #24

★ 1965: 'Today-My Way' - US #7

★ 1965: 'Gentle Is My Love' - US #17

★ 1966: 'From Broadway With Love' - US #44 ^

★ 1966: 'A Touch Of Today' - US #15 ^

★ 1966: 'Tender Loving Care' - US #35 ^

★ 1967: 'Just For Now' - US #40

★ 1967: 'Lush Life' - US #46 ^

★ 1968: 'Easy' - US #51

★ 1969: 'Hurt So Bad' - US #92

★ 1971: 'Now I'm A Woman' - US #51

★ 1974: 'All In Love Is Fair' - US #94
Albums marked with a '^' have been released on CD.
The Albums have mainly been released in the United Kingdom on budget 2 on 1 CDs:

★ 'Today, Tomorrow, Forever' / 'A Touch Of Today'

★ 'Broadway-My Way' / 'Hollywood-My Way'

★ 'From Broadway With Love' / 'Tender Loving Care'
However Capitol Records have started to reissue Albums on CD; some with bonus tracks:

★ 'Something Wonderful (album)'

★ 'Broadway-My Way'

★ 'Hollywood-My Way'

★ 'Yesterday's Love Songs-Today Blues'

★ 'Today, Tomorrow, Forever'

★ 'Lush Life'
Albums that didn't chart in the top 100 have also been released on CD:

★ 'Like In Love' (1959) / 'Something Wonderful' (1960) (2 on 1 CD in the UK; 'Something Wonderful' has also been reissued by Capitol Records as a solo CD)

★ 'The Swingin's Mutual' (with George Shearing) (1961)

★ 'Welcome To My Love' (1968)

★ 'But Beautiful' (1971)
Although many Albums have yet to be released on CD; Capitol Records, in association with EMI and Blue Note Records, have released many compilations.

Footnotes

1. Nancy Wilson, NPR Biography
2. Ebony (Magazine/Journal), March 1, 2007 ''Nancy Wilson'' (Center Stage) (Biography)
3. NNDB data base
4. Nancy Wilson: 2004 NEA Jazz Master
5. Nancy Wilson
6. Nancy's own bio
7. Time Magazine, ''Wilson, Female Vocal'', Friday, July 17, 1964
8. Biography
9. Nancy's website
10. IMDB Database
11. Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild
12. "A Nancy Wilson Christmas" CD is a charitable project
13. Jazz Profiles (now available as a podcast
14. 2001 Peabody goes to Jazz Profiles
15. List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
16. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships
17. 6 Jazz Singers Worth A Listen
18. Nancy Wilson 70th Birthday Celebration
19. Thursday, March 1, 2007, ''Music Preview: Another side of Nancy Wilson'' (Retrieved August 19, 2007)

Interviews

Music Preview: Another side of Nancy Wilson

2004 NEA Jazz Master Interview

External links

★ Nancy Wilson's website

★