Rondi Charleston | |
---|---|
Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, journalist |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 2001–present |
Labels | Motéma, LML, Emmamuse |
Website | rondicharleston |
Rondi Charleston is a jazz vocalist and songwriter (in collaboration with Lynne Arriale). She is also an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television journalist and investigative reporter for Primetime . [1]
Charleston was born in Chicago, [2] and grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood, the only daughter of an English professor father and voice teacher/singer mother. Her father, a jazz enthusiast, played jazz piano, and took her to a performance by Duke Ellington, where she met the man. After performing as a guest artist with the University of Chicago's theatre program, she enrolled at Juilliard as a theatre major, but soon transferred to music. She also studied journalism at New York University, desiring to work with Charles Kuralt. [3]
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(October 2017) |
While in school, she discovered a Metropolitan Transportation Authority cover-up that claimed a train crash was caused by an engineer high on illegal drugs, when no illegal drugs were in his system, according to the coroner's report. ABC News hired her when she broke the story, and she worked with Diane Sawyer for the next five years. She then worked at NBC News for a year before taking time off to be a mother.
During her time off from journalism, she studied jazz singing with Peter Eldridge of New York Voices, and began performing in Greenwich Village.
Her third album, In My Life, had a special promotion with Virgin Megastore, which sold it with an exclusive live DVD. [3]
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were among her neighbors; she considers them role models for raising her family. [4]
Her mother continues to teach voice lessons in Chicago. Her father hosts a classical music program for Philadelphia radio, and her brother plays percussion with the New York Philharmonic. [3]
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, racing driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American retired actress. She made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a characteristic nuance and depth of character. Her accolades include an Academy Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She is the oldest living Best Actress Oscar-winner.
Natalie Maria Cole was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut album Inseparable (1975), along with the song "This Will Be ", and the album's title track. Its success led to her receiving the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards, for which she became the first African-American recipient, as well as the first R&B act to win the award. The singles "Sophisticated Lady" (1976), "I've Got Love on My Mind", and "Our Love" (1977) followed.
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Karrin Allyson is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the New York Times, which has called her a "singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation."
Amy London is a jazz singer and educator who has appeared on Broadway and in the vocal group The Royal Bopsters. London grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She moved to Manhattan in 1980 and began teaching jazz vocals in 1984.
Elinor Teresa Newman is an American former child actress who performed under the name of Nell Potts. She is an environmentalist, biologist, and a prominent supporter of sustainable agriculture, who became an entrepreneur when she founded an organic food and pet food production company, Newman's Own Organics.
Melissa Stewart Newman, also known as Lissy Newman, is an American artist, singer and former actress who appeared in the 1990 film Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, and at the 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
Lucy Woodward is an English-American singer-songwriter. She has recorded for Atlantic, Verve, and GroundUP and has sung background vocals for Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Snarky Puppy, Celine Dion, Pink Martini, Gavin DeGraw, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Nikka Costa, and Randy Jackson. She co-wrote Stacie Orrico's Top 40 hit "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life".
Alyson Cambridge is an American operatic soprano. In addition to opera, she sings classical song, jazz, and American songbook and popular song. She is also known for her work as a model, actress, and host.
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