Rosemary Clooney - Great Women Singers of the 20th Century
Rosemary Clooney began her long and rewarding career more than six decades ago.  During the early part of her career, she recorded with Tony Pastor, Harry James and Benny Goodman. In 1950, along with her friend and creative peer Tony Bennett, under Mitch Miller, she signed a contract Columbia Records.  Within a year, she had no fewer than three top 10 hit singles including "Beautiful Brown Eyes," "Mixed Emotions" and the odd ball "Come On To My House" which went to #1 on the Hit Parade.   By 1954 Rosemary had become a top recording star with 10 singles that were top ten hits, including the classic "Hey There" which also went to #1.   In 1956 she achieved a recording peak with an album called "Blue Rose" arranged by Billy Strayhorn and backed by the legendary Duke Ellington orchestra.  It remains a classic. Like Tony Bennett, Rosemary was a superior popular singer with clean and intelligent phrasing, recording a library of classic interpretations of the American popular songbooks. While not primarily a jazz singer like her longtime friend Ella Fitzgerald, she possessed an innate sense of jazz timing and rhythm.  Her career had a setback in the 1960s.  She rebounded in the late 1970s, when she began a successful two-decade recording association with Concord Records. She also became a "sold out" concert performer, capping an ultimately rewarding career. She received the recording industry’s GRAMMY Award for lifetime achievement in 2002.  She died at her home on June 29, 2002 .  This exclusive performance was taped "live" at the Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago in 2000.  Backed by a five piece band, "Rosie" is very relaxed, funny, self-effacing and, in great voice. The concert features nine songs including her hits "Hey There" and "Come On To My House."  She offers a lovely "Thanks For The Memory" in tribute to Bob Hope and closes with the contemporary "The Secret Of Life" written by James Taylor. This "ENCORE Signature" concert is one of Rosemary Clooney’s last recorded performances.  She is unforgettable.  There is also included an exclusive "one to one" conversation with "Rosie" at her home. Warm and insightful, she talks about her childhood, early career and her professional associations with Bill Crosby and Frank Sinatra.