Musicians

Mel Torme

Bill Thompson

Does this song help put you in the Christmas spirit?
..
That song was written by Mel Torme. He was born and raised in Chicago. He first sang in public and at age 4, wrote his first song at age 13, and was an actor in a radio show by his teens.

From the 1940s through the 1990s, Mel Torme established himself as one of America’s favorite and most popular singers, songwriters, and the Rangers.

He acquired a nickname: The Velvet Fog. In 1988, when he wrote his autobiography, he actually called o. Ot Wasn’t All Velvet. And that’s what I met him.

So here now, from 1988, Mel Torme.

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Mel Torme died in 1999 at age 73.

Tony Bennett

Bill Thompson

He had his first number-one song in 1951, a tune called “Because of You” — and Tony Bennett has never slowed down since.

Photo: John Mathew Smith

Over his seven-decade show business career, Bennett has proven to be as popular today, among all age groups as we was when he was just beginning his rise to stardom.

In 1998 Bennett finally wrote his autobiography, a book called “The Good Life.” That’s when I met him, and yes, I was hugely starstruck.

So here now, from 1998, Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett is 93 now. And still making millions happy with his music,

Beverly Sills

Bill Thompson

Any list of the greatest operatic singers of modern times will include, somewhere near the top, the name Beverly Sills.

The statuesque soprano was an audience favorite for decades. Time Magazine once dubbed her :America’s Queen of Opera.”

By the late ‘60s the singer whose nickname was Bubbles had also become a very popular TV talk show guests.

But she also struggled with personal crises.

Her daughter Muffy was deaf and suffered from multiple sclerosis. Her son Bucky, born two years later, was severely mentally disabled.

In 1988 Sills wrote her autobiography. And that’s when I met Bubbles.

So here now, from 1987, Beverly Sills.

Beverly Sills died in 2007. She was 78. Her daughter Muffy died in 2016, at age 57.

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Donovan

Bill Thompson
Photo: Donovan (r) with Bill and Hi;llary Thompson

The people of Scotland and Ireland have a centuries-old tradition of song, poem, and story.

In the early 1960s a young poet, Storyteller, and songwriter emerged, and uickly captured the imagination of millions.

His name is Donovan Leitch, but he has always been known professionally as simply Donovan.

His more than 200 songs included ,amu mpw-classic ‘60s tunes.

But in 1970, still only in his mid-twenties, Donovan walked away from it. And he explained why, in a 2007 book that he called “The Autobiography of Donovan.”

I interviewd him when he visited the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC that January.

So here now, from 2007, Donovan:

Donovan is 75 now. He lives in County Cork, Ireland.

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Ralph Cooper

Bill Thompson

In 1935, a young actor, screenwriter, and dancer had an idea.

He started a weekly amateur night competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, in New York City. And before long, Ralph Cooper and his amateur night at the Apollo became a major influence in Black Entertainment.

Over the next five decades, Cooper’s amateur night made hundreds of previously unknown performers into Stars.

I met Ralph Cooper in 1991, when he wrote A Memoir of his many years at the Apollo.

So here now, from 1991, Ralph Cooper.

Ralph Cooper died in 1992, at the age of 84.

Micky Dolenz

Bill Thompson
Micky Dolenz in upper right. Photo: NBC Television

Fifty years ago this week, NBC TV introduced America to four young men who would change the way music and television interact.

Looking to capitalize on the humongous an ongoing success of the Beatles and so many other groups,NBC assembled a team of four actors who also happened to have musical talent: Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and, of course, Micky Dolenz who, years before, actually started in a short-lived series called Circus Boy.

After The Monkees premiered something strange happened. It wasn’t clear whether this was a TV show about musicians or musicians doing a TV show ,, or something in between.It was a strange and new hybrid that actually frightened some people in the entertainment industry.

The Monkees — the musical act — became a phenomenon, with concert tours and records. And a hit TV show.

In 1993, Micky Dolenz wrote about all that in a memoir. That’s when I met him.

So here now, from 1993, Micky Dolenz.

Micky Dolenz is 76 now. He is touring this fall with Mike Nesmith, in what they’re calling the last tour for the group. They’ll be on the road until November.

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Maxene Andrews

Bill Thompson

This weekend marks the 76th anniversary V-J Day, the day that the Japanese surrendered to the United States to end World War II.

And the interview you’re about to hear includes one of the most moving and poignant stories associated with that day. More on that in a minute…

For the entire duration of the war, America’s entertainers provided an invaluable service to their country, by putting on literally thousands of shows for servicemen and women in the US and abroad.

And one of the most popular entertainment Acts what’s The Andrews Sisters, a trio from Minnesota that included Laverne, Maxine, and Patti. To this day, they are known for a number of hit songs…

I met Maxine Andrews a 1993, when she wrote a book about The Andrews Sisters and their experience in the USO during World War II.

Along with her co-author, writer Bill Gilbert, Andrews described the long days and weeks and months of performing, which no one complained about.

And I promise you, the story Maxine Andrews tells about V-J day is a story you will always remember.

So here now, from 1993, Maxine Andrews.

Maexene Andrews died two years after this interview. She was 79.

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Charlotte Church

Bill Thompson

A lot of people say that is the voice of an

It’s actually the voice of young Welsh soprano Charlotte Church. And when I say young, I mean Young. Charlotte got a record contract when she was just 11. By age 13 she was, literally, world-famous.

I met her when she was a grizzled old veteran of 15, in 2001. She had written a book called voice of an angel, with the subtitle, my life so far.

So here now, from 2001, Charlotte Church.

Charlotte Church is 35 now, married, and has three children.

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Martha Reeves

Bill Thompson
Photo: Aug856

When you think of the best of Motown in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, one of the names that has to be near the top of the list it Martha and the

Behind lead singer Martha Reeves, they racked up a series of hit singles.

Finally, 30 years after their heyday, Martha Reeves wrote a memoir. And that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1994, Martha Reeves:

Martha Reeves celebrated her 80th birthday a couple of weeks ago. And she still tours and performs.

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Naomi Judd

Bill Thompson
Photo: State Farm

Naomi Judd was born “Diana Judd” not long after World War II ended. Her dad ran a gas station in Ashland, Kentucky,

By the time she was in her mid 30s, Judd was a divorced single mom with two daughters, struggling to keep a household going.

That’s when she and her older daughter discovered that they liked to sing and harmonize with each other. And they got pretty good at it.

Before long, they came to the attention of the right people, and in 1983, they formed The Judds.

And for the next eight years, they’ve dominated country music, with a string of #1 hits.

But a 1991, a diagnosis of hepatitis-C forced Naomi to break up the act.

In 1993 she wrote a memoir named after one of their hit songs: Love Can Build a Bridge. And that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1993, Naomi Judd:

The Judds reunited in 1999 for a New Years Eve concert, and toured the next year. Since then Naomi has done many TV appearances. She is 75 now.

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