The Singers Unlimited | |
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 The Singers Unlimited in 1972 (left to right: Len Dresslar, Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman, Gene Puerling) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, easy listening |
| Years active | 1967–1982 |
| Labels | MPS |
| Past members |
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The Singers Unlimited was a four-part jazz vocal group formed by Gene Puerling in 1971. [1] The group included Len Dresslar (better known as the Jolly Green Giant in General Mills commercials), [2] Bonnie Herman, and Don Shelton.
Gene Puerling (1929–2008) and Don Shelton (1934-Present) had formed part of Puerling's vocal group, The Hi-Lo's, some years previously, [3] though Shelton was a 1959 replacement for Hi-Lo's member Bob Strasen. The Singers Unlimited were created to record for commercials, but as time passed they were persuaded to record albums. [4] On the recommendation of jazz pianist, Oscar Peterson, they signed a contract with MPS Records in Germany. [4] Peterson's trio played on their first-recorded album, In Tune . The group made fifteen albums. Fourteen were recorded for MPS between 1971 and 1982 and were collected in the box set Magic Voices.
Puerling's arrangements for Singers Unlimited earned him a reputation as one of the best vocal writers in the world. Members of the vocal group Take 6 often give credit to him and the Singers Unlimited as innovators in a cappella, [5] claiming they "went to school" on his arrangements.
Puerling took advantage of cutting-edge, multi-tracking techniques of German studio engineer, Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, to create his harmonic concepts and the group's signature sound. In the overdubbing process, baritone Puerling and tenor Shelton would often add two additional middle parts, after which all parts were "doubled" and "tripled." Creating these extra tracks created the fuller, richer sound of the group's recordings. The group would record their songs by having Bonnie Herman record a simplified version of the melody, after which, Len, Gene, and Don would fill in the remaining parts. Once this process had been completed, Bonnie Herman's original melodic line would be replaced with a new one, in which she could add melodic embellishments and add "color" to the group's sound. [6]
Bass singer Len Dresslar (1924–2005) was known as the voice of the Jolly Green Giant ("Ho, Ho, Ho!") for over 40 years, as well as the voice behind other jingles. He was president of the Chicago branch of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) for several years in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Bonnie Herman was the singer of the original "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There" commercial jingle, which ran for several years. She is the daughter of Lawrence Welk original Champagne Lady, Lois Best, and Jules Herman, who was a trumpeter in the Welk orchestra. She is the niece of big band leader Woody Herman.
Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green was an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle. He played on over 250 recordings and released more than two dozen albums as a soloist. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1995.
Robert Murray Gordon McConnell was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger. McConnell is best known for establishing and leading the big band The Boss Brass, which he directed from 1967 to 1999.
Elmer "Len" Dresslar Jr. was an American voice actor and vocalist. He is best known as the deep bass voice of the Jolly Green Giant in commercials for General Mills.
The Hi-Lo's were a vocal quartet formed in 1953, who achieved their greatest fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group's name is a reference to their extreme vocal and physical ranges.
Eugene Thomas Puerling was an American vocal performer and arranger. Puerling created and led two prominent vocal quartets, The Hi-Lo's and The Singers Unlimited. He was nominated for 14 Grammys and awarded the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices in 1982.
Extensions is the fifth studio album by the Manhattan Transfer, released on October 31, 1979, by Atlantic Records.
Mecca for Moderns is the sixth studio album by the Manhattan Transfer. It was released in 1981 by Atlantic Records.
John Payne Guerin was an American percussionist. He was a proponent of the jazz-rock style.
Lawrence Benjamin Bunker was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra.
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David Pell was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and record producer. He was best known for leading a cool jazz octet in the 1950s.
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In Tune is a 1971 studio album by The Oscar Peterson Trio and The Singers Unlimited.
Frederick Eugene John Lees was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music critic and lyricist. His lyrics for Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado", have been recorded by such singers as Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Queen Latifah, and Diana Krall.
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This Time It's Love is an album made by the American vocal group, The Hi-Lo's, with an orchestral accompaniment arranged and conducted by Clare Fischer, recorded and released on the Columbia label in 1962 as CL 1723 (mono)/CS 8523 (stereo).
This is the discography for American jazz musician Clare Fischer.
The J's with Jamie was an American musical group specializing in commercial jingles in the 1950s and 1960s. The group's core members were Jamie and Joe Silvia, a married couple who played with a number of session musicians and other singers. They worked within the booming mid-20th century Chicago advertising industry in both radio and television with clients including well-known food companies, politicians, appliance manufacturers, and industry associations. The couple declined invitations to go on tour, opting to stay in Chicago with their family, but did record three albums for Columbia Records, including a combination of original songs and covers of standards and Broadway show tunes. At the 6th Annual Grammy Awards in 1964, The J's with Jamie were nominated in two categories: Best New Artist and Best Performance by a Vocal Group. Shortly before disbanding in 1967 to found a commercial production firm, the Silvias released another two albums as Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers.
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