Marina and the Diamonds: Primadonna

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Electra Heart, Marina and the Diamonds, Music, Music Video, Primadonna

Adele – Make You Feel My Love

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19, Adele, Ballad, Love, Make You Feel My Love, Mellow, Music, Urban

 

Ellie Goulding – Your Song

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Ellie Goulding, Elton John, John Lewis, Music, Your Song

Seals & Crofts – Summer Breeze

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1972, Music, Seals & Crofts, Summer Breeze, Sunshine

Julie London

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Cry Me A River, Icon, Jazz, Julie London, Music

Discovered whilst working as an elevator operator Julie London spent most of the 1940s as a nubile young actress in Hollywood where her undisputed beauty and poise made her a popular pinup girl for the GIs in World War II. However it was during the 1950s that she became best known for her sensuous and smoky singing.

Songs such as ‘Cry Me A River’ and ‘Go Slow’ showcased Julie London’s unique soft seductive style. An image that was further enhanced by her suggestive portrait photos which helped make her album covers become collectors items worldwide.

As a notoriously heavy smoker Julie suffered a stroke in her 60s and struggled with ill health until her death in the year 2000. Yet ironically, despite paying the price for her nicotine habit, she freely admitted its unique effects on her voice declaring “It’s only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to use it close to the microphone. But it is a kind of over-smoked voice, and it automatically sounds intimate.”

Dinah Washington

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Dinah Washington, Icon, Jazz, Mad About The Boy, Music

Sexy, curvy and vivacious Dinah Washington packed an incredible amount of living into a tragically short life. Almost as if she knew she was short on time. By her late 30s she’d had eight husbands, seven divorces and many lovers of both sexes. Nicknamed ‘Queen of the Blues’ Dinah started her career as a gospel singer in local churches but was versatile enough to turn her distinctively gritty voice to blues, RB and jazz vocals.

Famous for vampy torch songs such as ‘Mad About The Boy’ Dinah used her crystal clear diction and unique phrasing throughout a stellar career that lasted right up until her untimely death. Whilst adored for her curves Dinah always struggled with her body image, leading to an addiction to both diet pills and alcohol. Sadly it was a combination of these that caused her death aged a mere 39 years. Dinah will be forever remembered for her tough, direct yet emotional approach to life and love. A characteristic which shone through in her singing and performance style. We can only imagine what heights her career may have reached or what remarkable music she may have gone on to record – in her own words “There is only one heaven, one earth and one queen – me.”

Billie Holiday

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Billie Holiday, Icon, Icons, Jazz, Music

If tone of voice can suggest experience then Billie Holiday’s life perhaps explains the emotion and pain behind her music. A turbulent childhood that involved violence, abuse and prostitution eventually led to drug use and a subsequent prison sentence. Whilst in jail she refused to sing a single note and waited until her release before singing once more in the jazz clubs of 1930s Harlem.

Her untrained but remarkable improvisational skills soon got her noticed enough to work with highflyers such as Artie Shaw and Count Basie. As she sang classics such as ”The Man I Love’ she became the first black women to work with an all white orchestra, a brave and notorious move in such times of racism. With her trademark gardenia in her hair she was the epitome of the swing jazz era.

Yet despite her success as a jazz singer she fell victim to swindlers and at her death had less than a dollar to her name. Sadly her drug addiction continued throughout her life and even as she lay dying in hospital, merely 44 years old, the authorities raided her room seeking further evidence for prosecution. Yet it is perhaps the tragedies in her life that gave her ability to sing such haunting songs. As she wrote in her autobiography ” “Singing songs like I Love You ‘Porgy’ is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck……I’ve lived songs like that.

Sarah Vaughan

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Diva, Icon, Jazz, Music, Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Vaughan, was nicknamed “The Divine One”, “Sassy” and perhaps most memorably, “Sailor”, thanks to her bawdy speech. She may have had a mercurial temper but was an energetic, gregarious personality and performer. Raised by a deeply religious Baptist family in 1930s Newark she was heavily influenced by both gospel music and the contrasting local live music scene. Sneaking illegally into night clubs as a teenager she would perform primarily as a pianist, however her impressive vocal range led to solo singing spots.

Sarah had the very rare ability to swoop easily from high mezzo soprano to low baritone notes. Whilst often termed a jazz singer Sarah was actually one of the primary performers of bebop harmonies. She worked with and was inspired by legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Parker. Even though she suffered from an almost incapacitating stage fright Sarah battled on to perform and remain a star throughout her life. Over the years her voice eventually deepened but she never lost her strength or stunning range, cheekily informing the world “There are notes between notes, you know.”

Lena Horne – Stormy Weather

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1943, 20th Century Fox, African-American, Harold Arlen, Lena Horne, Music, Selina Rogers, Song and Dance, Stormy Weather, Ted Koehler

Paloma Faith – Upside Down

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Burlesque, Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful, Fashion, Music, Paloma Faith, Retro, Upside Down