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Bobby Short

After he took up residence in the lounge of New York's elegant Hotel Carlyle in the late 1960s, vocalist and pianist Bobby Short became an icon of New York and American cultural life. Short called himself a saloon singer, but actually he roosted at the top of the hierarchy of entertainers who perform in cocktail lounges, and indeed he did much to define the modern categories of lounge singer and cabaret singer. New York visitors stopped in at the Café Carlyle for decades to hear Bobby Short, to glimpse the lifestyles of the city's well-heeled residents, and to take a tour through the classics of American popular song with one of its most knowledgeable curators for a guide. Robert Waltrip Short, the ninth of ten children, was born in the small town Danville, Illinois, on September 15, 1924. His father was a coal miner from Kentucky, who sometimes landed higher-paying jobs, and the family had a piano and a radio tuned to jazz. At age four, Short taught himself to play the piano. The resourcefulness that put Short on the road to performing in posh nightclubs was inherited in part from his mother. The young musician had a childhood remarkably free of racial discrimination. . When he was nine, Short began to supplement the household's income by playing and singing in taverns. His skills developed quickly, and he turned into something of a teenage sensation. Agents who heard of his talent booked him into clubs and hotels in Chicago and New York. Short developed a taste for fine clothes, and later in life he would frequently appear on lists of best-dressed men. But his father's death in 1936 interrupted his high-flying career; he went back to Illinois to be with his family . Short launched his adult career in 1942, performing at Chicago's Capitol Lounge. His reputation spread, and he landed nightclub slots in other large cities. Sometimes he shared a bill with singer Nat "King" Cole, a friend who influenced his expressive vocal style. By 1948, Short was a regular at the Cafe Gala in Los Angeles, staying there for three years and leaving only when he felt that he had become stuck in a "velvet-lined rut." Indeed, Short constantly tried to expand his musical horizons. In the early 1950s he traveled to Paris, finding club jobs there and adding a layer of sophistication to his stage personality. Short also spent time in England, and his speaking voice took on a British accent.

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Performance / Tour

Duke Ellington's Family Teams up with Grenada to Honor Bobby Short in Central Park Extravaganza

Duke Ellington's Family Teams up with Grenada to Honor Bobby Short in Central Park Extravaganza

Source: All About Jazz

The series of events marking the 110th Anniversary of Duke Ellington continues: On Wednesday, July 1 at 6:30 p.m., The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts will host a spectacular and unprecedented event in Central Park featuring their Duke Ellington Big Band and 14 grand pianos on the Great Mall. Mercedes Ellington, granddaughter of the Duke and the shows producer, will pay personal tribute to Bobby Short, the famous pianistwho, 14 years ago on the same date, unveiled the Duke ...

253

Obituary

Singer Bobby Short dead at 80

Singer Bobby Short dead at 80

Source: All About Jazz

NEW YORK - Bobby Short, the suave, tuxedoed cabaret singer who epitomized Manhattan glamour and sophistication with renderings of the great American songbook, died of leukemia Monday at 80.

Calling Short “an American treasure," Cafe Carlyle, the nightclub at the Carlyle Hotel where Short was an institution since 1968, said it would close Monday in homage to the musician who helped make it famous.

Over the years, Short withstood constant changes in popular music tastes, from Sinatra to Springsteen to ...

127

Obituary

Cabaret Singer Bobby Short Dies

Cabaret Singer Bobby Short Dies

Source: All About Jazz

By Larry McShane, Associated Press Writer NEW YORK -- Cabaret singer Bobby Short, the tuxedoed embodiment of New York style and sophistication who was a fixture at his piano in the Carlyle Hotel for more than 35 years, died Monday. He was 80. Short died of leukemia at New York Presbyterian Hospital, said Virginia Wicks, a Los Angeles-based publicist. The hospital did not immediately return a call seeking further detail. As times changed and popular music shifted from Sinatra to ...

91

Event

Bobby Short: Harlem On My Mind at the The Jazz Museum In Harlem

Bobby Short: Harlem On My Mind at the The Jazz Museum In Harlem

Source: All About Jazz

Wednesday, October 8 at 6:30 PM

Series of Wednesday night talks and concerts hosted by the THE JAZZ MUSEUM IN HARLEM's Executive Director Loren Schoenberg. $40/$30* for the series, individual tickets for lectures $10/$8, concerts $15/$12* The series will be held at: The Museum of The City of New York 1220 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10029 Advance reservations required; please call 212-534-1672, ext. 207. The Museum is located between 103rd and 104th Streets ...

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