Loulie Jean Norman

Last updated

Loulie Jean Norman (March 12, 1913 - August 2, 2005) was a coloratura soprano who worked with arranger Gordon Jenkins. Jenkins and Norman collaborated on a number of albums. Norman was also a member of The Rhythmaires and the Ray Conniff Singers.

Contents

Career

Norman was born in Birmingham, Alabama. During her adolescence in Birmingham at Phillips High School, and later at Birmingham–Southern College, it became apparent that she was a gifted soprano with a four-octave range. Initially, she wanted to pursue opera, but she decided to move to New York to try for a career as a radio singer. Her beauty led to modeling jobs and, in 1936, she joined The Rhythm Singers on Kay Thompson’s Chesterfield Program. She married naval pilot Norman Price and eventually moved to Los Angeles where they raised four children. In 1940, Norman was selected as the summer replacement for Dinah Shore on the NBC radio program The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street.

Norman became a member of the successful singing group, The Campus Kids, who worked with Kay Kyser. Another member of the group was Judd Conlon and he formed a new group called The Rhythmaires which began as backing singers on Bing Crosby’s Philco show. Crosby singled Norman out several times on radio for solo passages which required an obbligato. She was once introduced by him as "The Lorelei from Birmingham, Alabama" and another time as "The Hartz Mountain Canary." A favorite standard of Crosby's, Whispering Hope, was reprised on his Chesterfield show with his brother Bob Crosby, and Norman was given the role of performing their sister Catherine’s part. [1]

Norman appeared as a member of The Mel-Tones on Mel Torme’s recording of California Suite , and many popular arrangers and conductors used her on their albums. She recorded with Sam Cooke and provided the voice of The Future on Frank Sinatra's Trilogy album.

Norman contributed to several films: The Big Hangover , Dream Wife , G.I. Blues , Blue Hawaii (in which she sang with Elvis Presley on Moonlight Swim ), Too Late Blues , and A Boy Named Charlie Brown . Jerry Lewis secured her for the role of the Princess for the cast of the soundtrack album of Cinderfella .

Her television credits included frequent appearances on The Dinah Shore Show , The Dean Martin Show , and The Carol Burnett Show . Norman delivered the non-lexical vocables over Alexander Courage's opening theme song for the first season of Star Trek . The music was remixed without Norman’s voice for the show’s second and third season so the producers could avoid paying her royalties. [2]

Other significant singing roles

During the 1960s, she recorded as a member of various easy-listening choral groups, most notably the Ray Conniff Singers. [3] A few notable songs she can be heard in are The Tokens' rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and the Disney Parks song "Grim Grinning Ghosts". (Wikipedia articles on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Anita Darian" say that it was Anita Darian on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight.")

Norman voiced Penelope Pinfeather in Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom . She was a member of an all-female singing group, the G-6, with Henry Mancini's wife. Norman died on August 2, 2005, in Studio City, California.

Related Research Articles

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denise Crosby</span> American actress

Denise Michelle Crosby is an American actress and model known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar mainly in season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Yar's daughter, the half-Romulan Commander Sela, in subsequent seasons. She is also known for her numerous film and television roles, and for starring in and producing the film Trekkies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Conniff</span> American bandleader (1916–2002)

Joseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dixie Lee</span> American actress, dancer, and singer (1909–1952)

Dixie Lee was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby.

<i>The Big Broadcast</i> 1932 film

The Big Broadcast is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Bing Crosby, Stuart Erwin, and Leila Hyams. Based on the play Wild Waves by William Ford Manley, the film is about a radio-singer who becomes a popular hit with audiences, but takes a disrespectful approach to his career. His repeated latenesses leads to the bankruptcy of the radio station, but his career is saved by a new friend who buys the station and gives him his job back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norma Zimmer</span> Musical artist

Norma Zimmer was an American vocalist, best remembered for her 22-year tenure as Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Lady" on The Lawrence Welk Show.

"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan (song)</span> Original show tune by Rodgers and Hart; from the 1925 musical revue "The Garrick Gaieties"

"Manhattan" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. It has been performed by the Supremes, Lee Wiley, Oscar Peterson, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mel Torme, among many others. It is often known as "We'll Have Manhattan" based on the opening line. The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1925 revue Garrick Gaieties. It was introduced by Sterling Holloway and June Cochran.

"'S Wonderful" is a 1927 popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Funny Face (1927) by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns.

"I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" is a 1938 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics added by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The song became a number one hit for Ellington in 1938. Other hit versions the same year were by Benny Goodman, Connee Boswell, Hot Lips Page, and Mildred Bailey. It was performed as part of The Cotton Club Parade of 1938.

Charles Parlato was an American musician who performed with the Lawrence Welk orchestra. His instrument was the trumpet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remember (Irving Berlin song)</span> 1925 song by Irving Berlin

"Remember" is a popular song about nostalgia by Irving Berlin, published in 1925. The song is a popular standard, recorded by numerous artists.

Justin "Judd" Conlon was an American vocal arranger and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Darian</span> American singer and actress

Anita Darian was an American singer and actress who had an extensive career from the 1950s to the 2010s.

"I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" is a 1926 popular song and jazz standard composed by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Clarence Gaskill.

"Love Is the Sweetest Thing" is a popular song written in 1932 by British band leader and singer Ray Noble. Using guest vocalist Al Bowlly, Noble's recording was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic, bringing Noble his first American success. It was published by Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd. Like most compositions published in the period, its main refrain is preceded with what were then called "sectional verses" or "introductory verses" which are usually omitted from early recordings and modern performances.

<i>The Bing Crosby – Chesterfield Show</i>

The Bing Crosby Show for Chesterfield was a 30-minute musical variety old-time radio program starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran on CBS Radio from 1949–1952.

<i>El Señor Bing</i> 1961 studio album by Bing Crosby

El Señor Bing is a long-playing vinyl album recorded in June 1960 by Bing Crosby for his own company, Project Records. It was released by MGM Records (E-3890P) in October, 1961. The album consists of ten tracks each consisting of two songs set to a Latin American rhythm. Billy May & his Orchestra provided the musical accompaniment. The album was later issued under the title "Bing Goes Latin" MGM Records – 2354 028.

The Bing Crosby Show for General Electric was a 30-minute variety old-time radio program starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran on CBS radio from 1952-1954. The series was sponsored by the General Electric company and was usually recorded in Hollywood, although some shows were recorded in Palm Springs. The last seven shows of the first season were broadcast as though they had come from Paris, France, but they had actually been recorded in the US prior to Crosby’s departure for Europe.

References

  1. ↑ McQuade, Martin (Winter 2007). "Zing a Little Zong". BING Magazine: 36–42.
  2. ↑ Herbert Solow, Robert H. Justman (1997). Inside Star Trek: The Real Story. Simon & Schuster. pp.  351–352. ISBN   0-671-00974-5.
  3. ↑ On the album Speak to Me of Love (Columbia, 1963);.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.