Lena def. has a haughty quality to her delivery...That's what i love about her the most. The audacity to stand and delivery with fire hell and brimstone
I aways knew she could sing but wasn't a fan(atic) until I saw her live. Every song was of the quality displayed in this clip. Probably the best concert presentation I have ever seen in my 57 years. Every detail was flawless. Johnny Mathis is such an obvious talent too, but again, as with Lena, I didn't really fall flat on my face in awe, until I saw him in person.
Lena Horne...pure diamonds She could sing, she was beautiful and classy. Had a smile so brilliant that even broke race barriers. Go buy one of her geatest cds...you will hear and fall in love. Lena Horne: The Lady and her music (has 34 of her best songs)
"The Eagle and Me" was written by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen for the1943 Broadway musical, "Bloomer Girl", which starred Celeste Holm as Dolly Bloomer. The song was introduced by Dooley Wilson who, the same year, played the role of "Sam" in the movie "Casablanca", playing and singing "As Time Goes By" whenever Bogie requested it. In "Bloomer Girl", Dooley Wilson was a black slave and introduced this great Yip Harburg song of freedom and liberation. Lena knocks this song through the roof.
The Eagle and Me is one of Yip Harburg's best lyrics. Written with Harold Arlen for the 1944 show "Bloomer Girl," its from a score that Stephen Sondheim proclaims his favorite. Premiered in the show by Dooley Wilson (Casablanca), this wartime song references the Eagle, America's symbol of freedom, vis a vis Black Americans fight for civil rights: River it likes to flow; Eagle it likes to fly; Ivy likes to climb; bird and bumblebee like freedom in summertime. We gotta be free, the Eagle AND me.
I reckon that Lena knew by both talent and experience that a song doesn't just require singing - it requires "selling" to the audience. So she projects herself accordingly. It's also obvious that she loves both songs and is having a lot of fun performing them. A magical, mesmeric lady indeed.
I bet in her life she has walked on both sides of the road. She came of age in a time when folks mostly were NOT out. We may never know the truth of it, but Ms. Horne has been very supportive of and respectful to gay and lesbian people. This is a very intelligent, fierce and creative woman. Maybe that is all we need to know.
This, I believe, is from "PERRY COMO'S KRAFT MUSIC HALL" of March 4, 1965 (originally telecast in color)- during that telecast, she and Perry sang an eight minute tribute to Nat Cole, who had passed away two weeks before.
No deep secret. Dinah is Dinah Washington, one of the great blues singers but also able to make a ballad live. Ruth is Ruth Brown. Atlantic records was known among musicians as "The House That Ruth Built" because they made such money from her R& B classics. "Give Me 5, 10 15 Minutes", "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean", "You Got A FIne Brown Frame". Sarah, Carmen, Nina, Anita, Dakota, and Peggy are also in the pantheon. Let's keep listening!
What was it? What shaped these women--Lena, Billie, Ella, Dinah, Ruth? These are great artists--singers, yes, but individuals who devoted their lives to creating the most effective and moving performance possible for them in order to give us a gem to hold in our ears and heart as we move through life. Somone mentioned Britany. Don't. The poor child has no chance to grow her talent, her soul, and her mind so she'll never be able to approach this level even stone sober. Thanx for this vid.
One of my favorite clips of all time. She not only had one of the most naturally beautiful pop voices in history, she was technically brilliant as well. Yet, purely as a vocalist (I'm not going to touch the debate about whether or not you can consider her a "jazz singer" proper) she doesn't seem to be as universally regarded as the vocal phenom she is in the way that (early) Streisand, Sarah Vaughan, or Judy Garland are. I will never understand this!
Many people imitated Lena from Polly Bergen to Diahnn Carroll, to Barbra Streisand (although she probably would not admit it). Lena was the first of her kind in nite clubs and during the 50's and 60's was the model for many.
absSolute class act, note perfect, verbally clear and distinct and personal interpretation terrific. She holds and holds onto notes where effective it seems effortlessly!. With all that she still manages to put feeling and emotion in.....I often hear todays singers word and note perfect, but lacking that personal touch and emotion boring to listen to.
you MUST read the latest biography on this complicated and very talented lady. "stormy weather" by james gavin will knock you out! it's a brilliant book intensely detailing with a fine tooth comb her difficult upbringing and all the baggage that followed her throughout her life because of it. you'll also see how hollywood due to the overt racism of the day kicked her around. suprisingly, you'll find yourself both admiring her and admonishing her at the same time. fascinating!
@heartsong4u i soo agree with u she was more than a face and despite what some ppl may say i think she had a amazing voice and she was a verrry great live performer she was funny on stage too. i have to say vocally and all she was at her peak when she was in her 60s
R.I.P Ms Horne! Your legacy will live on and hopefully encourage young girls to sing for real instead of being like these fake singers on the radio now.
I laugh when I think about how Sanford reacted when Lena appeared on that show and how Bill Cosby acted when she appeared on his show. Those shows brought many icons of the Black community on to their shows. More on the Cosby show than Sanford and Son. Though Redd Foxx used to wash dishes as Chicago Redd next to Detroit Redd (Malcolm X) before they were famous. ALL ICONS.
No, I haven't just read this in one single biography. The Hornes are of mixed ancestry. Her daughter, Gail Lumet-Buckley wrote a family biography called "The Hornes" which discussed her family ancestry. They are of Black, White, and Native American lineages, some more White in their appearance like Lena. Historically, their socio-political identity has been African-American (or what was called back then, "Negro" or "Colored".) Much of the Black bourgeousie has mixed lineage--they were members.
you are right about streisand. i wouldnt have thought that by myself but since i read your comments i detect obvious vocal parallels between Horne and Streisand, i think even Streisands facial expressions at times are an imitation of Lena Horne. critics used to say Shirley Bassey was a mixture of Horne and Garland but i personally think Bassey was influenced by Garland and Horne but developed a very own style.
Her husband, Lennie Hayton, was Jewish, not Lena. Read her bio by James Gavin, "Stormy Weather" or better yet, the family memoir written by her daughter Gail Lumet-Buckley, "The Hornes". They both go in extensive detail about Ms. Horne's family background.
There have been rumors about that, that's where it comes from. Don't fret and don't be homophobic! FYI, there's a book biography of Lena being published next year by music critic-writer James Gavin. It's supposed to be "in-depth" and should answer a lot of these questions.
@NYCguys2007 you are shi**in me?! I'm going to have to order this book. I remember reading the reviews quite a while ago, but it still seems to have stirred up everybody on this site. I have never seen in traits of Lena in Johnny's style even though we've all seen him on Tv a gazillion times. How about you? He never seemed feminine to me either, even though he was the first person I heard "queer" rumors about, way back in the early 60s when I was only 8 and didn't even know what it meant.
a567and8-Ecuse my ignorance but who and why are Dinah and Ruth?I know a Sarah,a Carmen,a Nina,an Anita,a Dakota,a Peggy etc..Could you share this deep secret with me.
Why single out Americans for your attack? Plenty of other countries are interested in the lives of their icons like the English, Japanese, and even *Bulgarians*, I'm sure. Being hateful and intolerant is no way to be at all.
