Jeri Southern (born Genevieve Lillian Hering, August 5, 1926 – August 4, 1991) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer and pianist.

Early years

Born Genevieve Lillian Hering in Royal, Nebraska, United States, Southern was the granddaughter of a German pig farmer who came to the United States in 1879. He built a flour mill in Royal, Nebraska. Her father ran the mill but lost it after the stock market crash of 1929. He then began operating an elevator of the Royal Farmers Union. Her secondary education came at Notre Dame Academy in Omaha, Nebraska, with vocal lessons added to her other classes. She began playing piano at age three and at age six began studying classical piano. She studied piano and voice at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart (Nebraska), where she became interested in jazz.

Career

After beginning her career at the

Blackstone Hotel The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Nation ...

in Omaha, she joined a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

recruiting tour during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In the late 1940s, she worked in clubs in Chicago where she once played piano for

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 ...

. During this period, she became known for her singing, particularly for her renditions of

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

s. Southern signed a contract with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

in 1951 and became known both for

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and jazz. She was the first to record "

When I Fall in Love "When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film ''One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the firs ...

", accompanied by the song's composer,

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

and his orchestra with lyrics by Edward Heyman, in April 1952. In 1955, her recording of "An Occasional Man" reached number 89 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' magazine

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. She sang in films and in 1957 had a hit with "Fire Down Below". The song peaked at number 22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in June 1957. After joining

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

, she had success with interpretations of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

songs arranged by

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with ''Batgirl'' theme ...

Personal life

Southern's marriage to jazz and pop musician Bill Holman ended in divorce. Her only child, Kathryn King, said Southern stopped performing because of its negative psychological effect. In a 2010 newspaper article, King talked about Southern's shyness, saying she had "a paralyzing case of performance anxiety. Just contemplating performing made her enormously anxious and depressed."

Death

Southern died of a heart attack in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in 1991 at the age of 64, a day before her 65th birthday. Although the cause of death was a heart attack, Southern was diabetic and had been diagnosed with double pneumonia.

Discography

* ''Warm Intimate Songs in the Jeri Southern Style'' with

Dave Barbour David Michael Barbour (May 28, 1912 – December 11, 1965) was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Peggy Lee and was her co-writer, accompanist, and bandleader. Biography Barbour was born in Long Island, New York, United States ...

(Decca, 1954) * ''The Southern Style'' (Decca, 1955) * ''You Better Go Now'' (Decca, 1956) * ''When Your Heart's on Fire'' (Decca, 1957) * ''Jeri Gently Jumps'' (Decca, 1957) * ''Jeri Southern Meets Johnny Smith'' (Roulette, 1958) * ''A Prelude to a Kiss'' (Decca, 1958) * ''Southern Breeze'' (Roulette, 1958) * ''Coffee, Cigarettes & Memories'' (Roulette, 1958) * ''Southern Hospitality'' (Decca, 1958) * ''Jeri Southern Meets Cole Porter'' (Capitol, 1959) * ''Jeri Southern at the Crescendo'' (Capitol, 1960) * ''

The Dream's on Jeri ''The Dream's on Jeri'' – a Jasmine Records collection of Jeri Southern performances culled from various sources – radio, television and live appearances. The album was released in 1998. Track listing # "I've Got Five Dollars" (Richard Rodge ...

'' (Jasmine, 1998) * ''The Very Thought of You: The Decca Years: 1951–1957'' (GRP, 1999) * ''

Southern Hospitality/Jeri Gently Jumps Jeri Southern (born Genevieve Lillian Hering, August 5, 1926 – August 4, 1991) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Early years Born Genevieve Lillian Hering in Royal, Nebraska, United States, Southern was the granddaughter of a German pi ...

'' (MCA, 1999) * ''

Romance in the Dark ''Romance in the Dark'' is a 1938 American comedy musical film directed by H. C. Potter and starring Gladys Swarthout, John Boles, John Barrymore, and Claire Dodd. It is one of five films produced by Paramount in the 1930s featuring Gladys Swart ...

'' (Delta Music, 2009) * ''The Complete Roulette and Capitol Recordings'' (Fresh Sound, 2014) * ''Jeri Southern Blue Note, Chicago, March 1956'' (Uptown Records, 2016)

As guest

* Shorty Rogers, ''The Shorty Rogers Quintet'' (Studio West, 1990)

Bibliography

References

External links

Jeri Southern recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Southern, Jeri 1926 births 1991 deaths Jazz musicians from Nebraska Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Singers from Nebraska 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers American women jazz singers American jazz pianists American jazz singers Traditional pop music singers Capitol Records artists Decca Records artists Roulette Records artists Deaths from pneumonia in California People from Antelope County, Nebraska Deaths from diabetes 20th-century women pianists