Cleo Laine

Cleo Laine
Dame; Cleo Laine; DBE
	Laine in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Clementine Dinah Bullock
Born	28 October 1927 (age 90); Uxbridge, Middlesex, England
Genres	Jazz, pop
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1950–present

Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE (born 28 October 1927) is an English jazz and pop singer and an actress, known for her scat singing and for her vocal range. Though her natural range is that of a contralto, she is able to produce a G above high C, giving her an overall compass of well over three octaves.^[1]

Laine is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, popular and classical music categories. She is the widow of jazz composer Sir John Dankworth.

Early life[edit]

Laine was born Clementine Dinah Bullock in Uxbridge, Middlesex,^[2] to unmarried parents:^[3] Alexander Sylvan Campbell, a black Jamaican who worked as a building labourer^[4] and regularly busked,^[5] and Minnie Bullock, a white English farmer's daughter from Swindon, Wiltshire. The family moved round constantly, but most of Laine's childhood was spent in Southall. She attended the Board School there on Featherstone Road (later known as Featherstone Primary School) and was sent by her mother for singing and dancing lessons at an early age. She went on to attend Mellow Lane Senior School in Hayes^[4] before going to work as an apprentice hairdresser, a hat-trimmer, a librarian, and in a pawnbroker's shop.^[3]

In 1946, under the name Clementina Dinah Campbell,^[6] Laine married George Langridge, a roof tiler, with whom she had a son, Stuart. The couple divorced in 1957.^[7]^[8] It was not until 1953, when she was 26 and applying for a passport for a forthcoming tour of Germany, that Laine found out her real birth name, due to her parents not being married at the time and her mother registering her under her own name.^[3]

Early career[edit]

Laine did not take up singing professionally until her mid-twenties. Her early influences as a singer were Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Lena Horne.^{[citation needed]} She auditioned successfully, at the age of 24, for John Dankworth's small group, the Dankworth Seven, and later his orchestra, with which she performed until 1958. Dankworth and Laine married that year^[4] in secret at Hampstead Register Office. The only witnesses were the couple's friend, pianist Ken Moule, and Dankworth's arranger, David Lindup. The couple had two children, who are both successful musicians in their own right: Alec who lives in the US, and Jacqui, a British singer who has released a number of albums.^[9]

Laine began her career as a singer and actress. She played the lead in a new play at London's Royal Court Theatre, home of the new wave of playwrights of the 1950s such as John Osborne and Harold Pinter. This led to other stage performances, such as the musical Valmouth in 1959, the play A Time to Laugh (with Robert Morley and Ruth Gordon) in 1962, Boots With Strawberry Jam (with John Neville) in 1968, and eventually to her role as show-stopping Julie La Verne in Wendy Toye's production of Show Boat at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1971.^[10] Show Boat had its longest run to date in that London season with 910 performances staged.^[11]

1960s–1970s: Recording and performing[edit]

Cleo Laine (1962)

During this period, she had two major recording successes. "You'll Answer to Me" reached the British Top 10 while Laine was "prima donna" in the 1961 Edinburgh Festival production of Kurt Weill's opera/ballet The Seven Deadly Sins, directed and choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan. In 1964 her Shakespeare and All that Jazz album with Dankworth was well received. Dankworth and Laine founded the Stables theatre in 1970 in what was the old stables block in the grounds of their home. It was an immediate success, with 47 concerts given in the first year.

Laine's international activities began in 1972, with a successful first tour of Australia. Shortly afterwards, her career in the United States was launched with a concert at New York's Lincoln Center, followed in 1973 by the first of many Carnegie Hall appearances. Coast-to-coast tours of the US and Canada soon followed, and with them a succession of record albums and television appearances, including The Muppet Show in 1977.^[12] This led, after several nominations, to her first Grammy award, in recognition of the live recording of her 1983 Carnegie concert. She has continued to tour periodically, including in Australia in 2005.^[13]

She has collaborated with many well-known classical musicians including James Galway, Nigel Kennedy, Julian Lloyd Webber and John Williams.

Other important recordings during that time were duet albums with Ray Charles (Porgy and Bess) as well as Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, which won Laine a classical Grammy nomination.

1980s–1990s: Broadway[edit]

Laine's relationship with the musical theatre started in Britain and continued in the United States with starring performances in Sondheim's A Little Night Music and Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow (Michigan Opera). In 1980 she starred in Colette, a new musical by Dankworth. The show originally opened at the Stables theatre, Wavendon, in 1979 and transferred to the Comedy Theatre, London, in September 1980. In 1985 she originated the role of Princess Puffer in the Broadway hit musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which she received a Tony nomination, and in 1989 she received the Los Angeles critics' acclaim for her portrayal of the Witch in Sondheim's Into the Woods.

In May 1992, Laine appeared with Frank Sinatra for a week of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, London.^[14] She told a reporter in 2007: "I was very impressed with his singing, to me he sounded even better in those concerts than he did on the records. It was a real thrill to be part of his show."^{[citation needed]}

Laine recorded more albums, including one with another jazz legend Mel Tormé (Nothing Without You). In 1991 she recorded the 12-track CD Jazz for the RCA label, which featured her vocals on classics such as "Lady Be Good", "St. Louis Blues" and "The Midnight Sun". The album also featured jazz musicians Gerry Mulligan, Clark Terry and Toots Thielemans.

She also returned to Carnegie Hall during the late 1990s to mark 25 years since her hit record Cleo – Live at Carnegie. Her performance was recorded and released as Cleo Laine – Live in Manhattan.

2000s: Later career[edit]

By the late 1990s, her concerts sold out across the globe, usually supported by Dankworth with his band, orchestra or smaller group. Her usual band included John Horler (piano), Alec Dankworth (bass), Allan Ganley (drums) and Mark Nightingale (trombone).

Laine's autobiography, Cleo, was published in September 1994 by Simon & Schuster. Her second book, You Can Sing If You Want To, was published by Victor Gollancz in October 1997. In 2000, she appeared as vocalist Gwen in the movie The Last of the Blonde Bombshells.

On 28 October 2007, Laine turned 80. She marked her birthday with a series of special concerts in Britain, including an appearance with the John Dankworth Sextet at Birmingham Town Hall on 18 December 2007. She said of her milestone birthday: "I don't think about being 80. What would be the point? I'm limping a bit because they've given me a new knee, but that's about the only difference. I don't want to start thinking about what I should or shouldn't be doing at my age. It's not right."^{[citation needed]}

To celebrate the 80th birthdays of both Laine and Dankworth, Union Square Music released the four disc box set I Hear Music – the most comprehensive and lovingly produced examination of their careers ever assembled: Disc 1: Early Days (1944–56), Disc 2: John, Big Band and the Movies (1956–74), Disc 3: Focus On Cleo (1955–91), Disc 4: A Family Affair (including recordings made with their children, Alec and Jacqui, from 1982 to 2005). In 2008, Dankworth and Laine won the Gold Award at the BBC Jazz Awards. The couple got a standing ovation for their performance with Guy Barker's specially-assembled big band at the finale of the award ceremony.

A New York critic wrote of Laine and Dankworth's September 2008 engagement at Blue Note: "Dankworth’s alto sax and clarinet sound as gossamer as ever, while Laine’s voice remains a wonder of agility and plummy richness. After 57 years of dual music-making (and 50 of marriage), the Dankworths can anticipate one another’s every move; they make a stage seem as comfortable as their living room."^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, Laine and her husband appeared in an episode of the CBeebies children's show ZingZillas. The episode was called "ScatZilla!".

In the 1997 New Year's Honours list, Laine became a Dame Commander, and she was appointed Dame Cleo Laine DBE. In the 2006 New Year's Honours list, her husband was made a knight bachelor, becoming Sir John Dankworth. They were one of the few couples where both partners held their titles in their own right and the only couple in jazz to be thus recognised.

Death of Dankworth[edit]

Dankworth died on 6 February 2010, hours before a planned concert at the Stables theatre in Wavendon to celebrate the venue's 40th anniversary. He had been ill for several months following a concert tour in the United States. Despite her grief, Laine performed at the 40th anniversary concert, along with the John Dankworth Big Band and several members of her family – only announcing his death at the end. Laine's decision to perform featured on newspaper front pages all over the world, including a full photograph of her on the front page of The Times.

A week after Dankworth's death, Laine stepped in for her late husband and appeared again in concert at Pinner in north west London. Laine continued to perform and give interviews in the months following Dankworth's death. She appeared as a headline act at the Music in the Garden festival at Wavendon in June and July 2010.

In March 2010, Laine and Dankworth's final musical collaboration was released on CD and for download – Jazz Matters. The recording featured the Dankworth Big Band playing new compositions written by Dankworth for the couple's performance at the 2007 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

Voice[edit]

Laine is famed for not only her interpretative style, but also her almost-four-octave range and vocal adaptability. As well as hitting deep soulful notes, Laine's scatting and top notes have become her signature. Though her natural range is that of a contralto, she is able to produce a G above high C. Derek Jewel of the Sunday Times dubbed her "quite simply the best singer in the world."^[15]

Discography[edit]

1950–52 Get Happy Esquire ESQ317 Reissued in 1985–86 (3 tracks)
1955 Cleo Sings British (10"), Esquire
1957 Meet Cleo Laine
1957 In Retrospect, MGM
1957 She's the Tops, MGM 2354026
1959 Valmouth (original cast), Pye
1961 Jazz Date (with Tubby Hayes), Wing
1961 Spotlight on Cleo
1962 All About Me, Fontana
196? Cleo Laine Jazz Master Series, DRG Records MRS 502
1963 CindyElla (original cast of 1962 Xmas production), Decca
1963 Beyond the Blues (American Negro Poetry), Argo
1964 Shakespeare and All That Jazz, Fontana
1964 This Is Cleo Laine, Philips
1966 Woman Talk, Fontana
1967 Facade (with Annie Ross), British reissue: Philips, Fontana
1968 If We Lived on Top of a Mountain, Fontana
1968 Soliloquy, Fontana
1969 The Idol (Dankworth soundtrack w/ 2 Cleo vocals), Fontana
1969 The Unbelievable Miss Cleo Laine, Fontana
1971 Portrait, Philips
1972 An Evening with Cleo Laine and the John Dankworth Quartet, Philips, Sepia
1972 Feel the Warm with Cleo Laine, Philips
1972 Showboat (single LP), EMI, Columbia
1972 Showboat (double LP), EMI/Stanyan
1972 This Is Cleo Laine, EMI
1973 I Am a Song, RCA Victor
1973 Day by Day, Stanyan
1974 Live at Carnegie Hall, RCA Victor
1974 Close Up, RCA Victor
1974 Pierrot Lunaire (Schoenberg) Ives Songs, RCA Red Seal
1974 A Beautiful Thing (with James Galway), RCA
1974 Easy Living (anthology of Fontana tracks), RCA
1974 Spotlight on Cleo Laine (double LP), Philips
1974 Cleo's Choice, Pye
1975 Cleo's Choice (abridged issue on Quintessence Jazz), Quintessence
1975 The Unbelievable Miss Cleo Laine, Contour 6870675
1976 Born on a Friday, RCA Victor
1976 "Best Friends", RCA Records
1976 Close Up (reissue?), RCA Victor
1976 Live at the Wavendon Festival, BBC (Black Lion)
1976 Porgy & Bess (with Ray Charles), London
1976 Return to Carnegie, RCA Victor
1976 Best Friends (with John Williams), RCA
1976 Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz in the '70's, RCA
1977 20 Famous Show Hits, Arcade
1977 The Sly Cormorant (read by Cleo and Brian Patten), Argo (Decca)
19?? Romantic Cleo, RCA
1978 Showbiz Personalities of 1977, 9279304
1978 The Early Years, Pye GH653
1978 Gonna Get Through, RCA
1978 A Lover & His Lass, Esquire Treasure
1978 Wordsongs (double LP), RCA
1979 One More Day, DRG
1979 The Cleo Laine Collection (double LP), RCA
1980 Cleo's Choice (reissue?), Pickwick
1980 Collette (original cast), Sepia
1980 Sometimes When We Touch (with James Galway), RCA Red Seal
1980 The Incomparable, Black Lion BLM51006
1981 One More Day, Sepia
1982 Smilin' Through (with Dudley Moore), CBS
1983 Platinum Collection (double LP), Magenta
1983 Off the Record, WEA Sierra GFE DD1003
1984 Let the Music Take You (w/ John Williams), CBS
1985 Cleo at Carnegie: the 10th Anniversary Concert, RCA
1985 That Old Feeling, CBS
1985 Johnny Dankworth and His Orchestra,
1985 The John Dankworth 7 featuring Cleo Laine, EMI
1986 Wordsongs, Westminster
1986 The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Philips
1986 Unforgettable: 16 Golden Classics, Castle
1986 Cleo Laine: The Essential Collection, Sierra
1987 Unforgettable, PRT
1987 Classic Gershwin (1 track, "Embraceable You"), CBS
1988 Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim, RCA
1988 Showboat (reissue of 1972 cast album), EMI/Stanyan
1988 Cleo Laine & John Dankworth: Shakespeare and All That Jazz, Affinity
1989 Woman to Woman, RCA
1989 Jazz, RCA
1989 Portrait of a Song Stylist, Harmony
1991 Young at Heart Castle ATJCD 5959
1991 Spotlight on Cleo Laine, Phonogram 848129.2
1991 Pachelbel's Greatest Hits (1 track), RCA
1992 Nothing Without You (with Mel Tormé), Concord
1993 On the Town (1 track)
1994 I Am a Song, RCA
1994 Blue and Sentimental, RCA
1995 Solitude, RCA
1997 The Very Best of Cleo Laine, RCA
1997 Mad About the Boy, Abracadabra
1998 Ridin' High (Early Sessions), Koch
1998 Trav'lin' Light: The Johnny Mercer Songbook (1 track) Verve
1998 Let's Be Frank (1 track) MCA
1998 The Collection Spectrum Music
1999 Sondheim Tonight Live From the Barbican (1 track) Jay
1999 The Best of Cleo Laine Redial
1999 The Silver Anniversary Concert (Carnegie Hall, Limited Edition), Sepia
1999 Christmas at the Stables
1999 That Old Feeling, Sony
2001 Quintessential Cleo, Gold Label
2001 Live in Manhattan, Gold Label
2002 Quality Time, Universal/Absolute
2003 Loesser Genius, Qnote
2005 Once Upon a Time, Qnote
2006 London Pride (two tracks with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra), Castle Pulse
2010 Jazz Matters, Qnote

Awards and recognition[edit]

Honorary doctorates:
1979, Laine was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music.
1983, Laine nominated for the Grammy Award – Best Female Jazz Vocalist, for Smilin' Through.
1986 Grammy Award, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
1991, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the US recording industry in Los Angeles.^[10]
2008 BBC Jazz Awards – Gold Award.
Made Honorary Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge
The Worshipful Company of Musicians awarded her their Silver Medal for a Lifetime Contribution to British Jazz (1998)
Worshipful Company of Musicians awarded her a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
Made an ambassador for SOS Children's Villages UK in recognition of her support for the Cambridge based charity.
A subject of This Is Your Life in October 1962.
2016, Laine was presented with BASCA Gold Badge Award ^[16]