Corky Hale (born July 3, 1936) is an American jazz harpist, pianist, flutist, and vocalist. She has been a theater producer, political activist, restaurateur, and the owner of the Corky Hale women's clothing store in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education

On July 3, 1936, Hale was born Merrilyn Hecht in

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the county seat and largest city of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is known for hosting the second Linc ...

. She had learned piano, harp, flute, and cello by the time she was in her teens. She studied at the Chicago Music Conservatory and at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. At age 16, she enrolled in

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acad ...

, a school for young ladies, for her last year of high school. After graduation, she announced to her parents that she was moving to Hollywood to be a musician; her father sent her to nearby

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. After a year of college, she dropped out, again intending to move to Hollywood. A compromise with her parents led to becoming at student at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Career

During the 1950s, she was a studio musician in Hollywood, playing

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

on albums by

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

June Christy June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a so ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band app ...

, and Frank Sinatra. She worked as a vocalist with Freddy Martin at the

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

in Los Angeles. Jerry Gray invited her to perform with his band at Las Vegas, where she played piano for

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

and accompanied her on tour. As a solo act, she recorded the album ''Corky Hale Plays George Gershwin and Vernon Duke'' with Buddy Collette, Howard Roberts, and

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader ...

. On October 12, 1968, she accompanied

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'' and sang a song by herself. In 1970, Hale married

Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

of the Leiber-Stoller songwriting team. She has worked with

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, Elkie Brooks,

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

, Spike Jones,

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

. Hale has also produced plays, including ''Give 'Em Hell, Harry'', starring

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' ...

and ''Lullaby of Broadway'', a profile of the lyricist

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swit ...

. She has appeared at Vibrato, Catalina Bar & Grill, The White House, and the Kennedy Center. At the University of Wisconsin, Hale was one of the few white students to join the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&n ...

. She was a birth control teacher at

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

in New York and is on the National Advisory Board of NARAL and on the board of WRRAP. She is an

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

associate and is the founder of Angel Harvest, an organization which redistributes unused food from restaurants, hotels, and events to hungry and needy people in Los Angeles.

Discography

As leader

* ''Modern Harp Vol. 17'' (GNP, 1956) * ''Harp Beat'' (Stash, 1985) * ''Harp! the Herald Angels Sing'' (LaserLight, 1995) * ''Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas'' (LML Music, 1999)

As guest

, ''Sings and Plays with Bud Shank, Russ Freeman and Strings'' (Pacific Jazz, 1955) *

, ''Tony Makes It Happen!'' (Columbia, 1967) * Bjork, ''Debut'' (One Little Indian, 1993) * Bjork, ''Surrounded'' (One Little Indian, 2006) * Elkie Brooks, ''Live and Learn'' (A&M, 1979) * Elkie Brooks, ''Two Days Away'' (A&M, 1977) *

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American composer, arranger, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums ...

, ''Have You Met Miss Jones?'' (A&M/CTI, 1968) *

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

, ''Judith'' (Elektra, 1975) * Dino & Sembello, ''Dino & Sembello'' (A&M, 1974) *

, ''Sings the Cole Porter Song Book'' (Verve, 1956) * Ella Fitzgerald, ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book'' (Verve, 1956) *

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", " W ...

, ''Chapter Two'' (Atlantic, 1970) * Roberta Flack, ''Quiet Fire'' (Atlantic, 1971) *

Dean Friedman Dean Friedman (born May 23, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter who plays piano, keyboard, guitar and other instruments, including the harmonica. Although considered a one-hit wonder in the US, he has had multiple singles chart in other terr ...

, ''Dean Friedman'' (Lifesong, 1977) * Herbie Harper, ''Herbie Harper'' (Bethlehem, 1955) *

, ''The Bands of Renown'' (Renown, 1993) * Steve Kuhn, Gary McFarland, ''The October Suite'' (Impulse!, 1967) * Ronny Lang/Ray Sims/Dave Pell/Don Fagerquist, ''The Les Brown All Stars'' (Capitol, 1955) *

, ''Mirrors'' (A&M, 1975) * Jon Lucien, ''Rashida'' (RCA, 1995) *

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

, ''Home to Myself'' (Bell, 1973) *

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (inclu ...

, ''Turtle Bay'' (Atlantic, 1973) *

Wade Marcus Wade Marcus was a music producer and arranger associated with the Motown sound during the 1970s. He composed the music to the film ''The Final Comedown'' with Grant Green. He also produced albums by The Blackbyrds, Gary Bartz, A Taste of Honey, T ...

, ''A New Era'' (Cotillion, 1971) *

Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (born September 23, 1935) is an American jazz pianist and vocalist.Feather, Leonard, and Ira Gitler (2007), ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 448. Oxford University Press. Early life Les McCann was born in ...

, '' Invitation to Openness'' (Atlantic, 1972) * Murray McEachern, ''Music for Sleepwalkers Only'' (Key, 1956) *

, ''Anita'' (Verve, 1956) * Anita O'Day, ''In a Mellow Tone'' (DRG, 1989) *

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

, ''

Here Comes the Sun "Here Comes the Sun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. It was written by George Harrison and is one of his best-known compositions. Harrison wrote the song in early 1969 at the country house o ...

'' (RCA Victor, 1971) * Lyn Stanley, ''The Moonlight Sessions'' (A.T. Music, 2017) * Stealers Wheel, ''Ferguslie Park'' (A&M, 1973) * Kitty White, ''A Moment of Love'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956)

References

External links

Official site

Musician's website, ''City Cabaret''

Looking Back: Brother/sister are credit to native city
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Corky 1936 births Living people People from Freeport, Illinois Jazz musicians from Illinois American cabaret performers American women jazz musicians American harpists American jazz harpists 21st-century American women Jazz harpists