Late Life Jazz: The Life and Career of Rosemary Clooney (52 page)

23
. Hedda Hopper syndicated column, December 1952.

24
. Bosley Crowther, “Movie Review: The Stars Are Singing,”
New York Times
, March 12, 1953.

25
. James Bacon, nationally syndicated column, September 1, 1952.

26
. “Here Come the Girls,”
Variety
, October 21, 1953.

27
. Crowther, “Movie Review: Here Come the Girls.”

28
. “Here Come the Girls,”
Time
, December 28, 1953.

29
. Rosemary Clooney, with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

30
. Hy Gardner, syndicated column, December 19, 1952.

31
. “Girl in the Groove.”

32
.
Red Garters
publicity pack, Paramount Pictures, 1954.

33
. Bosley Crowther, “Movie Review: Red Garters,”
New York Times
, March 27, 1954.

34
.
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross.

35
. Millstein, “Fabulous Joe Ferrer.”

1
. In January 1949, Columbia also introduced 7’’ 33-rpm singles, a number of which featured Rosemary Clooney.

2
.
Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music
, recorded in August 1946 and released by RCA as a 4x78 “Musical Smart Set” was one of the earliest examples.

3
. “There’s Only One Bing,”
TV Radio Mirror
, October 1954.

4
. Virginia Bird, “Hollywood’s Favorite Songbird,”
Saturday Evening Post
, January 1955.

5
.
White Christmas
, Paramount Home Video DVD, Retrospective interview with Rosemary Clooney.

6
. There is considerable conjecture as to the reasons for Astaire’s unavailability, with temporary retirement, dislike of the script, or a feeling that he was, at 54, too old for the part, the ones most commonly cited.

7
. Some sources suggest that Rosemary provided both voices for the “Sisters” duet, but the soundtrack recording clearly contains Stevens’s voice.

8
. John G. Ekizian, “Me, Bing & the Best Christmas Film Ever,”
New York Post
, December 14, 2001.

9
. “Bingle All The Way,”
Life
Magazine, October 11, 1954.

10
.
White Christmas
, Paramount Home Video DVD.

11
. Ibid.

12
. Bosley Crowther, “Movie Review—White Christmas,”
New York Times
, October 15, 1954.

13
. “White Christmas,”
Variety
, September 1, 1954 (review was based on a critics’ preview of the film on August 27 in Hollywood).

14
. “Rosemary’s Old Kentucky Home,”
White Christmas
, Paramount Home Video DVD.

15
. Todd S. Purdum, “The Street Where They Lived,”
Vanity Fair
, April 1999.

16
. Ibid.

17
. When Crosby appeared on
The Joe Franklin Show
in New York, December 3, 1976, the host asked him about “the battle of the baritones” and whether it was a straight fight between Crosby and Columbo. “[Rudy] Vallee was in there somewhere,” Crosby said, typically using horseracing parlance. “I think he ran third, but it was a photo between Russ and me.”

18
. The circumstances relating to Columbo’s death made the national news throughout the United States and were widely reported. Contemporary accounts clearly state that the shooting occurred at Brown’s home, not Columbo’s.

19
. Michael Feinstein, author interview, April 9, 2011.

20
. Rosemary Clooney, with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

21
. Ibid.

22
. Rosemary Clooney, “Putting My Visit on Record,”
Picturegoer
, February 20, 1954.

23
. Crosby lived his life believing that his birth date was May 2, 1904. It was discovered from baptismal certificates, after his death, that the true date of his birth was May 3, 1903.

24
. “While We’re Young,”
Billboard
, September 18, 1954.

25
. Kirtley Baskette, “What Makes Rosie Glow?”
Redbook
, September 1953.

1
.
Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz
, National Public Radio, October 14, 1991.

2
. Quoted in
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross, National Public Radio, January 18, 1997.

3
.
The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder
, CBS-TV, February 16, 1999.

4
. Rosemary Clooney, with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

5
. “Girl in the Groove,”
Time Magazine
, February 23, 1953.

6
. “The Rosemary Clooney Story,”
Prevue
, May 1954.

7
. Jimmy Watson, “Clooney’s Sensational Glasgow Opening,”
New Musical Express
(UK), July 8, 1955.

8
. London Palladium concert, July 1976.

9
. Expressed in 2013 prices, the cost would range from $10 to $60.

10
. “London Palladium: Rosemary Clooney,”
The Times
, London, July 19, 1955.

11
.
Primetime Live
, Diane Sawyer interview, January 16, 1992.

12
. Nick Clooney, author interview, May 16, 2011.

13
.
An Interview with Dinah!
The Nashville Network, September 1, 1989.

14
.
The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder
.

15
. Ian Bernard, author interview, March 24, 2011.

16
. Bob Foster,
San Mateo Times
, October 5, 1956. See also Michael Feinstein’s sleeve notes to
The Rosemary Clooney Show
, CD, Concord Jazz, 2004.

17
. Erskine Johnson, syndicated column, March 27, 1956.

18
. Robert L. Sokolsky,
Syracuse Herald Journal
, September 12, 1956.

19
. “TV Program & Talent Awards,”
Billboard
, July 29, 1957.

20
.
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross.

21
. Peter J. Levinson,
September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle
, Taylor Trade Publishing, Lanham, MD, 2005.

22
. Will Friedwald,
Sinatra! The Song Is You
, Da Capo, New York, 1997.

23
. Riddle’s birthday was June 1, Rosemary’s May 23.

24
. Levinson,
September in the Rain
.

25
. Ibid.

26
. Deborah Grace Winer,
Memories of You
, Bear Family Records, Hambergen, Germany, 1998.

27
. Whitney Balliett, “Recording Reports; Jazz on LPs,”
Saturday Review
, February 1956.

28
. John Fass,
Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport ’56
, Rutgers University Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2008.

29
. Will Friedwald, unpublished essay in authors’ possession, 2011.

30
. Ken Vail,
Duke’s Diary: Part Two: The Life of Duke Ellington 1950–1974
, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD, 1999.

31
. “Swee’ Pea is Still Amazed at Freedom Allowed in Writing for Ellington Orchestra,”
Downbeat
, May 30, 1956.

32
. David Hajdu,
Lush Life, A Biography of Billy Strayhorn
, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1996.

33
. Interview by Marian McPartland,
Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz
, National Public Radio, October 14, 1991.

34
. Friedwald, unpublished essay.

35
. Ibid.

36
. Ibid.

37
. Gary Giddins,
Visions of Jazz
, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998.

38
. “Rosemary Clooney—An American Treasure,” National Public Radio, Jazz Profile, December 3, 2008.

39
. When Rosemary shared a guest spot on
The Perry Como Show
with Nat “King Cole” around this time, Como could slip his hand around her waist during one duet whereas Rosemary had to maintain clear daylight between herself and Cole on another.

40
. Friedwald, unpublished essay.

41
. Ibid.

1
. Bob Foster,
San Mateo Times
, October 5, 1956.

2
. “Sing, Little Birdie” by Joe Shapiro and Lou Stallman is a different song from “Sing, Little Birdie” by Syd Cordell and Stan Butcher that was a 1959 hit in the United Kingdom for the husband and wife team of Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson.

3
. Bob Bernstein, “Miss Clooney Blooms in her New TV Show,
Billboard
, September 30, 1957.

4
. “Television: Review,”
Time
, October 7. 1957.

5
. Rosemary Clooney, with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

6
.
The Pat Sajak Show
, CBS-TV, April 18, 1989.

7
.
The Rosie O’Donnell Show
, syndicated TV, September 17, 1996.

8
. Whitney Balliett, “The Head, the Heart and the Pipes,”
New Yorker
, August 3, 1992.

9
. Bob Foster,
San Mateo Times
, March 20, 1958.

10
. “Oh Captain,”
Billboard
, May 5, 1958.

11
. “Sands, Reno: Rosemary Clooney,”
Variety
, July 9, 1958.

12
. Quoted by Gary Giddins in notes to Mosaic Records “The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings 1954–56,” 2009.

13
. Buddy Cole in taped message to English collector, Stan White, published in
The Crosby Post
, August 1962.

14
. Deborah Grace Winer,
Many A Wonderful Moment
, Bear Family Records, Hambergen, Germany, 1999.

15
. Clooney, with Barthel,
Girl Singer
.

16
. Interview included in
Girl Singer—The Rosemary Clooney Show
, Concord Records DVD, 2004.

17
. Bing Crosby in sleeve notes to album,
Fancy Meeting You Here
.

18
. Adam Sweeting, Billy May obituary,
The Guardian
(UK), January 27, 2004.

19
. Winer,
Many A Wonderful Moment
.

20
. “Fancy Meeting You Here,”
The Gramophone
(UK), April 1959.

21
. “Fancy Meeting You Here,”
Time
, January 12, 1959.

22
. Will Friedwald,
A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers
, Pantheon, New York, 2010.

23
. “Johnny Green’s World of Music,” KRHM, June 1961.

1
. Peter Hugh Reed,
American Record Guide
, Vol. 27, July 1960.

2
.
The Pat Sajak Show
, CBS-TV, April 18, 1989.

3
. Gary Giddins, author interview, March 16, 2011.

4
. Murray Schumach,
New York Times
, October 8, 1961.

5
. Ibid.

6
. Billy May had put together an item called “Solving the Riddle” for an album in 1958.

7
. Peter J. Levinson,
September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle
, Taylor Trade Publishing, Lanham, MD, 2005.

8
. “Rosie Solves the Swingin’ Riddle,”
Billboard
, December 31, 1960.

9
.
Rosie Solves the Swingin’ Riddle
, sleeve notes to CD release, Peter J. Levinson, 2004.

10
. Quoted by James Gavin in sleeve notes to 1995 CD reissue of
Love
.

11
. Ian Bernard, author interview, March 24, 2011.

12
. Levinson,
September in the Rain
.

13
. Bruce Eder, “Love,”
All Music Guide
,
http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-mw0000176922
.

14
. Joel Selvin,
San Francisco Chronicle
, November 5, 1995.

15
.
Associated Press
, September 23, 1961.

16
.
Associated Press
, October 20, 1961.

17
. All quotations taken from
Associated Press
reports, May 1–3, 1962.

18
. Ibid.

19
. Rosemary Clooney, with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

20
. Levinson,
September in the Rain
.

21
. Whitney Balliett, “The Heart, the Head, and the Pipes,”
New Yorker
, August 3, 1992.

22
. “Rosemary Clooney, Copacabana, NY, with Bob Thompson,”
Variety
, April 11, 1962.

23
. “Rosemary Clooney Sings Country Hits from the Heart,”
Billboard
, February 16, 1963.

24
.
Associated Press
, July 26, 1962.

25
. Dorothy Manners, syndicated column,
Cedars Rapid Gazette
, August 3, 1962.

26
. Maria Ferrer Murdock, author interview, February 3, 2010.

27
. Rafael Ferrer, interview included in
Girl Singer—The Rosemary Clooney Show
, DVD, Concord Records, 2004.

1
.
The Larry King Show
, CNN, May 10, 1997.

2
.
Associated Press
, September 14, 1967.

3
.
Up Close with Tom Cottle
, syndicated TV, December 1982.

4
.
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross, National Public Radio, January 18, 1997.

5
. Barbara Bladen,
San Mateo Times
, March 16, 1963.