Cleo Laine

Cleo Laine

From her modest beginnings as a singer in English dance halls, Cleo Laine has gone on to achieve international fame by continually expanding her talents in a career which spans some four decades. She is one of the most celebrated singers of our time. Cleo commands a dazzling array of vocal styles and is the only singer ever to receive Grammy nominations in the Female Jazz, Popular, and Classical categories. Laine began her musical career in the early 50's in her native England, where she was born in a London suburb. Cleo showed early singing talent which was nurtured by her Jamaican father and English mother who sent her to singing and dancing lessons. In addition to concert appearances, Cleo has carved a niche as an illustrious actress. Laine's professional career in the legitimate theatre began in London when she starred in Flesh to a Tiger, directed by Tony Richardson at the Royal Court Theatre. Her theatrical credits include A Midsummer Night 's Dream, Valmouth, Women of Troy and the title role in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. In 1983 Cleo became the first British artist to win a coveted Grammy award - Best Female Jazz Vocalist, for the third of her "live" Carnegie Hall albums, all recorded at the famous New York auditorium. She has been a frequent guest on American television including such specials as "An Evening at the Boston Pops with Cleo Laine" and "Cleo Laine: Live at Wolftrap". In addition to her numerous international television specials, she has also been a featured performer on the classic British television show 'That Was The Week That Was". In addition to receiving an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Boston's prestigious Berklee School of Music and being named, along with her husband John Dankworth, the Variety Club's "Show Business Personality of the Year," Cleo Laine was honoured by Queen Elizabeth with an O.B.E. The beginning of this decade has already brought Cleo new acclaim with a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), and a Lifetime Achievement Accolade from the British Jazz Awards in 1996. Whether interpreting a collection of Shakespeare's sonnets set to music, appearing in Jazz Festivals, operas, or singing with Symphony orchestras and big bands, Cleo Laine is consistently finding new forums for her considerable range of talents.

stories,westindians

1927-10-28

Person

6195

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Cleo

Laine