Cindy Fee

Last updated
Cynthia "Cindy" Fee
Cynthia Fee, Recording Artist.jpg
Cynthia Fee, Photographed 2023.
BornDecember 6, 1954 (age 69) Detroit, Michigan
OccupationRecording Artist
Period1970–Current
Notable works"Thank You For Being a Friend," from the NBC sitcom, "The Golden Girls"

Cynthia L. "Cindy" Fee (born December 6, 1954) is an American singer and recording artist. She is best known for performing, "Thank You For Being a Friend", [1] [2] [3] the opening theme song for the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning sitcom, [4] [5] The Golden Girls .

Contents

Early life

Cynthia L. "Cindy" Fee was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Raytown, Missouri, where she was active in music and theater at Raytown High School. [6]

Career

Fee started performing professionally at the age of sixteen, working Kansas City area restaurants, clubs, local theaters, and amusement parks. In 1973, Fee became a founding member, along with Eric Bikales, of the Kansas City band Hotfoot [7] and also sang with the jazz group, the Means/Devan Trio. [8]

Golden Girls theme song — "Thank You For Being a Friend"

Fee recorded a cover of Andrew Gold song "Thank You For Being a Friend" for the credits of The Golden Girls. [9] During the show's first run and in syndication, the song became well known. In honor of Betty White's 90th birthday, President Barack Obama released a video of him listening to the theme song. [10] After White's death in 2021, [11] the sitcom and theme song were streamed 384 million times in one week alone. [12] After going viral in 2022, [13] the Golden Con Convention, a fan convention, returned to Chicago in 2023 featuring Fee as a headline performer. [14]

Other recordings

Fee also recorded chart-topping records with some of the best-selling music artists of all time. [15] Her discography includes the duet with Kenny Rogers, "I Don't Want to Know Why" [16] from the platinum selling album, What About Me? [17] Fee is also a credited background singer on the album, Kenny Rogers — Christmas [18] which peaked at #34 on U.S. charts [19] and Share Your Love , the Kenny Rogers album that peaked at #6 on U.S. charts. [20] She also performed as a background singer for Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, and Lionel Richie. [6] Fee also released her own albums Dancin In My Sleep [21] and Young at Heart, [22] [23] the latter with noted rockabilly guitarist, Eddie Angel, [24] founding member of Los Straitjackets.

Jingles and television commercials

Fee is also a prolific jingle and TV commercial singer. Fee's commercial jingle credits include: for Hoover Vacuum "Nobody Does it Like You" [25] [26] "Get on Your Pontiac and Ride", [1] and "What the Big Boys Eat", [27] from the Wheaties cereal campaign. Fee's voice was also featured in commercials for Chevy Trucks, McDonald's, Miller Beer, Chick-fil-A, Home Depot, Goodyear, Hot Pockets, Barbie, John Deere, NASCAR, Ford, Toyota, Purina, Avon, and American Airlines. [6] Fee's Wheaties and Hoover commercials were awarded Clio awards. [6] [28] [29]

Personal life

She is married to Robert Landis and has two adult children, Ethan and Rory Landis. Fee frequently performs a genre she calls, "country soul", a combination of Motown and country, [2] and has appeared live at venues including in Nashville, Chicago, Los Angeles, and in Europe. She is frequently recognized at events and conventions and interviewed about her career. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Rogers</span> American country singer and songwriter (1938–2020)

Kenny Rogers was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. He remade his career and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Gold</span> American singer, musician and songwriter (1951–2011)

Andrew Maurice Gold was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who influenced much of the Los Angeles-dominated pop/soft rock sound in the 1970s. Gold performed on scores of records by other artists, especially Linda Ronstadt, and had his own success with the U.S. top 40 hits "Lonely Boy" (1977) and "Thank You for Being a Friend" (1978), as well as the UK top five hit "Never Let Her Slip Away" (1978). In the 1980s, he had further international chart success as one half of Wax, a collaboration with 10cc's Graham Gouldman.

A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television commercials; they can also be used in non-advertising contexts to establish or maintain a brand image. Many jingles are also created using snippets of popular songs, in which lyrics are modified to appropriately advertise the product or service.

Country pop is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres like rock, pop, and country, continuing similar efforts that began in the late 1950s, known originally as the Nashville sound and later on as Countrypolitan. By the mid-1970s, many country artists were transitioning to the pop-country sound, which led to some records charting high on the mainstream top 40 and the Billboard country chart. In turn, many pop and easy listening artists crossed over to country charts during this time. After declining in popularity during the neotraditional movement of the 1980s, country pop had a comeback in the 1990s with a sound that drew more heavily on pop rock and adult contemporary. In the 2010s, country pop metamorphosized again with the addition of hip-hop beats and rap-style phrasing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Dean</span> American country music singer and songwriter

William Harold Dean Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thank You for Being a Friend</span> 1978 single by Andrew Gold

"Thank You for Being a Friend" is a song recorded by American singer Andrew Gold. It appears on Gold's third album All This and Heaven Too. The song reached number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. On the Cash Box chart, "Thank You for Being a Friend" spent two weeks at number 11. A cover by Cynthia Fee was the theme song for the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvira (song)</span> 1966 single by Dallas Frazier

"Elvira" is a song written and originally recorded by Dallas Frazier in 1966 on his album of the same name. Though a minor hit for Frazier at the time of release, the song became a bigger and much more famous country and pop hit by the Oak Ridge Boys in 1981. "Elvira" is now considered one of the Oak Ridge Boys' signature songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Mann</span> American conductor (1928–2014)

John Russell Mann was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist.

<i>Daytime Friends</i> 1977 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Daytime Friends is the third studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers for United Artists Records, released in 1977. It was his second major success following the break-up of The First Edition in 1976.

<i>What About Me?</i> (Kenny Rogers album) 1984 studio album by Kenny Rogers

What About Me? is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released by RCA Records in 1984. The album's title track, "What About Me?", is sung in trio with R&B singer James Ingram and Kim Carnes, which reached number one on the AC charts and was also a pop and country hit, giving co-writer Richard Marx his first number one hit as a writer. Marx's second number one hit as a writer was the song "Crazy", which was included on the album.

<i>Christmas</i> (Kenny Rogers album) 1981 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Christmas is the twelfth studio album and the first Christmas album by Kenny Rogers released in 1981.

Leslie Pearl is an American pop singer-songwriter.

Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

<i>Share Your Love</i> 1981 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Share Your Love is a studio album by country singer Kenny Rogers, released in 1981. Produced by Lionel Richie, it is also Rogers' first with Liberty Records besides his Greatest Hits album. The album has sold nine million copies worldwide.

<i>Love Will Turn You Around</i> 1982 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Love Will Turn You Around is the thirteenth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released in 1982.

<i>Weve Got Tonight</i> (Kenny Rogers album) 1983 studio album by Kenny Rogers

We've Got Tonight is the fourteenth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released in 1983. It is also his last with Liberty Records before signing with RCA Records.

<i>The Gift</i> (Kenny Rogers album) 1996 studio album by Kenny Rogers

The Gift is the twenty-seventh studio album and a holiday album by country music singer Kenny Rogers. It was released in 1996 via Magnatone Records. The album features a rendition of "Mary, Did You Know?" featuring Wynonna Judd. This version of the song charted at No. 55 on Hot Country Songs in 1997.

<i>Across My Heart</i> 1997 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Across My Heart is the twenty-second studio album by country artist Kenny Rogers released in 1997 by Magnatone Records. It features a wide array of artists collaborating with Rogers on various songs on the album like All-4-One, The Katinas, Tareva Henderson and Bekka & Billy. The album hit the charts, with its strongest showing on the country charts at number 26, although it did not produce any hit singles.

<i>All This and Heaven Too</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Andrew Gold

All This and Heaven Too is the third album by singer-songwriter Andrew Gold, released in 1978 on Asylum Records. It includes the hit singles "Never Let Her Slip Away" and "Thank You for Being a Friend".

References

  1. 1 2 Garber, Megan (2015-09-14). "A Brief History of 'Thank You for Being a Friend'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  2. 1 2 Arkush, Michael (1988-11-20). "Familiar Voice With New Slogan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. "Betty White celebration, set for Jan. 15 in Oak Park, to feature singer of 'Golden Girls' theme song". Chicago Tribune. 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  4. "THE GOLDEN GIRLS". Television Academy. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  5. "Golden Girls, The". Golden Globes. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Meet the Class of 2022 - Raytown C-2 School District". www.raytownschools.org. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  7. "Kansas City and other Midwestern Bands from the '50s, '60s & early '70s". www.oldkc.com. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  8. Ritter, Jess (1975-09-26). "Going Out". The Kansas City Times. p. 32. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  9. Piepenburg, Erik (2022-05-04). "Golden-Con Threw a Party, Invited Every 'Golden Girls' Fan It Knew". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  10. "President Obama wishes Betty White a happy birthday". POLITICO. January 17, 2012. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  11. Carlson, Michael (2022-01-02). "Betty White obituary". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  12. Dick, Jeremy (2022-02-05). "The Golden Girls Cracks Nielsen's Highest-Rated Shows List After Betty White's Death". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  13. Finlon, Katie (2023-03-21). "'Golden Girls' Fan Convention Returns To Chicago After Going Viral In 2022". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  14. "Golden Guests". GOLDEN CON: THANK YOU FOR BEING A FAN. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  15. "Kenny Rogers touches down in Cranbrook this week - Cranbrook Daily Townsman". 2014-07-14. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  16. I Don't Want to Know Why by Kenny Rogers with Cindy Fee , retrieved 2024-01-04
  17. "1984 Kenny Rogers – What About Me? | Sessiondays" . Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  18. "Kenny Rogers - Christmas | Releases | Discogs". Discogs .
  19. "Christmas". Music Charts Archive. 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  20. "Kenny Rogers". Music Charts Archive. 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  21. "Dancin In My Sleep". April 22, 2010 via open.spotify.com.
  22. "Cindy Fee and Eddie Angel on Apple Music". Apple Music - Web Player.
  23. "Eddie Angel "Young at Heart" CD". Hi-Tide Recordings & Nu-Tone. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  24. "Eddie Angel". www.eddieangel.com.
  25. "1993 Hoover "Nobody does it like you" TV Commercial" via www.youtube.com.
  26. Rose, Devin (2012-06-05). "Former jingle singer from Oak Park has changed her tune". Oak Park. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  27. Elsmo, Melissa (2022-01-12). "Connecting to Betty with a single song". Oak Park. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  28. "Collection: Clio Awards 2020/2021 Gold Winners • Ads of the World™ | Part of The Clio Network". Ads of the World™.
  29. "JINGLE WRITER MAKES FINE-TUNED PITCH". Chicago Tribune. 1985-06-20. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  30. "Cindy Fee, Voice Of The Golden Girls Them Song" via www.youtube.com.