Maureen McGovern

Last updated

Maureen McGovern
Maureen McGovern - The Morning After, 1973.png
Ad for the album The Morning After (1973)
Background information
Birth nameMaureen Therese McGovern
Born (1949-07-27) July 27, 1949 (age 75)
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Genres Broadway, pop
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
Years active1967–2022 (as performer)
Labels 20th Century Fox, Columbia, RCA Victor, Sterling

Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure ; "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974; [1] [2] and her No. 1 Billboard adult contemporary hit "Different Worlds", the theme song from the television series Angie .

Contents

Biography

Early life

McGovern was born in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, the daughter of James Terrence McGovern and Mary Rita (née Welsh). [3] She has Irish ancestry. [1] As a child, McGovern would listen to her father's singing quartet rehearse in their home. She was told by her elders that she began singing at the age of three, and would sometimes sing herself to sleep with things she heard on the radio. She decided at age eight that she wanted to be a professional singer. Her influences include Barbra Streisand, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell.

Early work and breakthrough recording

After graduating from Boardman High School in 1967, she worked as a secretary and performed part-time as a singer for a local folk band called Sweet Rain. Her singing caught the attention of Russ Regan, then head of 20th Century Records, subsidiary of 20th Century-Fox, in 1972 when he heard a demo record she had recorded. At the time, Regan was searching for a singer to record "The Morning After" (the theme from The Poseidon Adventure) for release as a record. [2] He hired McGovern sight unseen to record the song, which resulted in her contracting with 20th Century Records. After it won an Oscar for Best Original Song, [2] "The Morning After" scored well on the popular chart, reaching No. 1 during 1973. [1] It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in August 1973. [4] Following the success of "The Morning After", she received a Grammy Award nomination in 1974 for 'Best New Artist'.

During 1974, she recorded two movie themes: "We May Never Love Like This Again" from the disaster film The Towering Inferno, [2] in which she made a short appearance when she is seen singing the song as the evening's entertainment, and "Wherever Love Takes Me" from the British disaster film Gold. The former won an Oscar [2] (though it was only a minor pop hit), and the latter received an Oscar nomination.

In 1976, she recorded her cover version of "The Continental", the very first Oscar-winning track for Best Original Song. [2] It proved to be her only hit on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 16. [2]

Subsequent challenges

McGovern's contract with 20th Century ended during 1976. Her career declined and so did her finances.[ citation needed ] In an interview on BBC Woman's Hour on May 18, 2009, McGovern stated that exorbitant fees charged by her manager (40%) together with her band being on a full-time salary, whether she was performing or not, were the cause of her perilous financial state. Ready to begin her life over again, she moved to Marina del Rey and took a secretarial job under an assumed name, Glenda Schwartz. Nevertheless, she was still in demand occasionally for international live concerts. Her career improved when McGovern was asked to record a version of "Can You Read My Mind", the love theme from 1978's Superman , which was not recorded for the film. The single achieved minor success on the pop chart. Toward the end of the decade, McGovern recorded "Different Worlds", the theme from the ABC-TV sitcom Angie . The song, her only other Top 40 pop single aside from "The Morning After", soared to No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 during 1979 and hit at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. [5] In 1980, McGovern made a brief appearance as Sister Angelina, the singing nun, in the comedy-disaster movie Airplane!

Broadway career and return to music

At the beginning of the 1980s, McGovern gave up singing movie themes to begin a career on Broadway (her first foray into acting). During 1981, she made her Broadway debut as Mabel in a revival of Gilbert & Sullivan's musical The Pirates of Penzance , taking over from fellow 1970s popular singer Linda Ronstadt. She then performed in two productions with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera: The Sound of Music (1981; as Maria) and South Pacific (1982; as Nellie Forbush). She returned to Broadway in 1982 to replace Karen Akers in Nine starring alongside Raul Julia. She continued her theatrical career throughout the 1980s and originated the role of Mary in the Off-Broadway production of Brownstone in 1985. In 2005 she originated the role of Marmee in Little Women The Musical .

She slowly returned to music during the mid-1980s, contributing songs to musical soundtracks and recording for various-artist compilations. She also returned to touring and performing in concerts and began establishing herself as a nightclub and cabaret performer. Starting in 1987, she released three albums for CBS in three years: Another Woman in Love (a voice/piano album), State of the Heart (a fully orchestrated album), and Naughty Baby (recorded live on November 20, 1988, Studio A at Clinton Recording Studios, New York City, it features an early first recording of a lost Gershwin song, "A Corner of Heaven With You" (written ca. 1917). Naughty Baby was released in 1989 coinciding with McGovern's Gershwin concert at Carnegie Hall.

Later career

From the 1990s into the 21st century, McGovern continued her careers in musical theatre, performing in concerts, and recording albums, and she occasionally made guest appearances on television. Other recordings include Baby I'm Yours (1992), a collection of her favorite songs from 1955 to 1970, and Out of This World (1996), a collection of songs by Harold Arlen. She was nominated twice for a Grammy, for her albums The Music Never Ends (1997), a collection of songs by Alan & Marilyn Bergman, and The Pleasure of His Company (1998), another voice/piano album. McGovern voiced the character of Rachel in the animated film Joseph: King of Dreams .

In 2003, Out of This World and The Music Never Ends were re-released by Fynsworth Alley Records; both albums included bonus tracks, the former two, and the latter three.

In 2005, McGovern returned to the Broadway stage as Marmee opposite Sutton Foster's Jo in the musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women . With negative reviews, it ended quickly, but McGovern reprised her role for the successful subsequent national tour. [1]

She continued to appear in concert as a headliner and as a guest with symphony orchestras around the country. A Long and Winding Road , released on the PS Classics label, covers singer–songwriters of the 1960s including Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Lennon–McCartney, and Randy Newman. She performed a concert act based on this material at the Metropolitan Room in New York City and the Rrazz Room in San Francisco.

McGovern continues her work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and appeared regularly on The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon through 2014.

She created, along with Philip Himberg, a one-woman biographical musical Carry It On which premiered at Geva Theatre Center October 12 – November 14, 2010. [6] [7]

In 2012, she was listed as a guest star with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California. [8]

McGovern was scheduled to headline the North Coast Men's Chorus 30th Anniversary Concert on March 24, 2018, at the KeyBank State Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.

Retirement from performing

In 2021, McGovern was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy, which is thought to be a form of Alzheimer's disease. [9] She publicly announced her diagnosis the following year, saying she would no longer perform in concert, but planned to continue working on musical projects for children, and advocating for musical therapy. [10] As of 2022, she lives at a retirement community in Columbus, Ohio. [9]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

Singles

YearSingleChart positionsAlbum
US Billboard Hot 100
[11]
US AC
[12]
Canada Pop Canada AC Australia
[13]
UK
[14]
1973"The Morning After"
(Oscar-winning; recorded in 1972)
16431-The Morning After
"I Won't Last a Day Without You"8914-12--
1974"Nice to Be Around"
(Oscar-nominated)
10128888--Nice to Be Around
"Give Me a Reason to Be Gone"71125016--
"We May Never Love Like This Again"
(Oscar-winning)
8320--5-Academy Award Performance
1975"Even Better Than I Know Myself"----65-
"Love Songs Are Getting Harder to Sing"-24----
1976"The Continental"
(Oscar-winning in 1934)
-----16Academy Award Performance
1978"Can You Read My Mind"5256840--Maureen McGovern
"Very Special Love"------
1979"Different Worlds"181481--
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"-27-5--
1980"We Could Have It All"-16-6--
"Bottom Line "-----
1981"Halfway Home"-24---
1985"A Love Until the End of Time" (with Placido Domingo)----54-
1987"I Could Have Been a Sailor"------Another Woman in Love
1988"The Same Moon"------State of the Heart
1992"You Belong To Me"------Baby I'm Yours
1996"Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home"------Out of This World

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Cara</span> American singer and actress (1959–2022)

Irene Cara Escalera was an American singer and actress who rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film Fame, and for recording the film's title song "Fame", which reached No. 1 in several countries. In 1983, Cara co-wrote and sang the song "Flashdance... What a Feeling", for which she shared an Academy Award for Best Original Song and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlene Love</span> American singer and actress (born 1941)

Darlene Wright ,[a] better known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne Elliman</span> Hawaiian singer, songwriter, and actress

Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". The song also reached #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 4 in the UK Chart. Her cover of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger" went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and "Love Me" was #5; at the time she had 3 top 10 singles. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she left music to be with her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheena Easton</span> Scottish singer (born 1959)

Sheena Shirley Easton is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series The Big Time: Pop Singer, which recorded her attempts to gain a record deal and her eventual signing with the EMI label. Her first two singles, "Modern Girl" and "9 to 5", both entered the top ten of the UK Singles Chart simultaneously. She became one of the most successful British female recording artists of the 1980s. Easton became the first and only recording artist in Billboard history to have a top five hit on each of Billboard's primary singles charts: "Morning Train ", "We've Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers and "Sugar Walls".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicki Sue Robinson</span> American singer (1954–2000)

Vicki Sue Robinson was an American singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Cox</span> Canadian musician and actress (born 1974)

Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before becoming a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion. In 1994, Cox relocated to the United States and was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album the following year. Her second studio album, One Wish (1998), was certified platinum in the United States. It was marked by the commercial success of the pop crossover single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", which would become her most successful entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two and remaining there for eight consecutive weeks. Cox signed with J Records for her third studio album The Morning After (2002), which saw moderate commercial success.

Sheila Diana Ferguson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and author, who has worked primarily in the United Kingdom. Between 1966 and 1986, she was a member of the American female soul music group The Three Degrees, singing lead vocals on most of the group's biggest hits, most notably "When Will I See You Again", which had international success, topping the UK Singles Chart and peaking at #2 in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Mills</span> African-American musician (born 1957)

Stephanie Mills is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical The Wiz from 1974 to 1979. The song "Home" from the show later became a Number 1 U.S. R&B hit and her signature song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Holliday</span> American Tony award-winning actress and singer

Jennifer Yvette Holliday is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls (1981–83), Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (1980–1981) and later became a successful recording artist. She is best known for her debut single, the Dreamgirls number and rhythm-and-blues/pop hit, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", for which she won a Grammy in 1983. She also won a 1982 Tony Award for Dreamgirls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe Snow</span> American singer, songwriter and guitarist (1950–2011)

Phoebe Snow was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals backing Paul Simon on "Gone at Last". She was described by The New York Times as a "contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves". Snow also sang numerous commercial jingles for many U.S. products during the 1980s and 1990s, including General Foods International Coffees, Salon Selectives, and Stouffer's. Snow experienced success in Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s with five top 100 albums in that territory. In 1995 she recorded a gospel album with Sisters of Glory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Know How to Love Him</span> 1970 single by Yvonne Elliman

"I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera she is presented as bearing an unrequited love for the title character. The song has been much recorded, with "I Don't Know How to Love Him" being one of the rare songs to have had two concurrent recordings reach the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine, specifically those by Helen Reddy and Yvonne Elliman, since the 1950s when multi-version chartings were common.

<i>Academy Award Performance: And the Envelope, Please</i> 1975 studio album by Maureen McGovern

Academy Award Performance: And the Envelope, Please is Maureen McGovern's third studio album, released in 1975. It was her last album for 20th Century Records.

"Journey to the Past" is a song written by lyricist Lynn Ahrens and composer Stephen Flaherty for the animated musical film Anastasia (1997). Originally recorded for the film by American actress and singer Liz Callaway in her title role as the singing voice of Anastasia – who is going by her nickname "Anya" at the time – the song expresses the character's desire to follow sparse clues about her past in the hopes of learning more about her family and who she is. The third song written and recorded for the film, Ahrens and Flaherty conceived "Journey to the Past" as a means of expressing the different emotions Anya feels while she prepares to venture out on her own for the first time. Accompanying a musical sequence during which Anya travels from her Russian orphanage to St. Petersburg, the song incorporates the film's central themes about home, love and family.

"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is sung at the close of the first act by the Mother Abbess. It is themed as an inspirational piece, to encourage people to take every step toward attaining their dreams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We May Never Love Like This Again</span> 1975 single by Maureen McGovern

"We May Never Love Like This Again" is a song written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn for the 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was performed by Maureen McGovern both for the film score and, briefly, in the film itself with McGovern portraying a singer.

Dean Pitchford is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, eight Grammy Awards, and two Tony Awards.

Beverly Ann Bremers is an American singer and actress. After roles on Broadway, Bremers recorded the 1972 Top 20 hit single, "Don't Say You Don't Remember".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Love Call</span> Song composed by Herbert Stothart, Rudolf Friml

"Indian Love Call" is a popular song from Rose-Marie, a 1924 operetta-style Broadway musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. Originally written for Mary Ellis, the song achieved continued popularity under other artists and has been called Friml's best-remembered work.

<i>Come Saturday Morning</i> (Liza Minnelli album) 1969 studio album by Liza Minnelli

Come Saturday Morning is the fifth studio album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, released in 1969 by A&M Records, her second with the label. In the UK it was released as Introducing Liza Minnelli.

<i>Maureen McGovern</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Maureen McGovern

Maureen McGovern is Maureen McGovern's fourth studio album, released in 1979 on Curb Records. It reached #162 on the Billboard Hot 200 list of popular albums.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Irish American Post". Gaelicweb.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. "Maureen McGovern Biography". Filmreference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  4. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  331. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 165.
  6. Archived October 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Latest News!!! Maureen McGovern Home Page". Maureenmcgovern.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  8. "OUR ALL-NEW SPECTACULAR SEASON". Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. 1 2 Kruh, Nancy (December 27, 2022). "Maureen McGovern on Living with Alzheimer's Disease: 'You Go One Day at a Time'". People . Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  10. Evans, Greg (August 22, 2022). "Singer-Actress Maureen McGovern Reveals Diagnosis With Posterior Cortical Atrophy, Will No Longer Perform In Concert". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  12. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 159.
  13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 . St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  14. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 339. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.