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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer and pianist.

Early years

Born Genevieve Lillian Hering in

Royal, Nebraska Royal is a village in Antelope County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 63 at the 2010 census. History The community was established in 1890 (or 1880), and was originally named "Savage". The community was renamed after Royal Thayer ...

, 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 Natio ...

in Omaha, she joined a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

recruiting tour during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 appe ...

. 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 (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in 1951 and became known both for

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

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 Howard Hughes' last film '' One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southe ...

", 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. Young was posthumously awarded the ...

and his orchestra with lyrics by

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul", " When I Fall in Love", and " For Sentimental Reasons". He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Bi ...

, 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 advertis ...

'' 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 in June 1957. After joining

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, 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 Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

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 (TV series), The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad (TV series), T ...

Will Friedwald Will Friedwald (born September 16, 1961) is an American author and music critic. He has written for newspapers that include the ''Wall Street Journal'', ''New York Times'', '' Village Voice'', ''Newsday'', ''New York Observer'', and ''New York ...

writes that Southern's "specialty asunderstatement: some might even call her a minimalist." Bassist Charlie Haden said, "She sang the way she spoke, in the most pure, honest, and vulnerable ways. She bared her soul in her singing." In 1960, while working at the Crescendo, she collapsed on stage. She cancelled a subsequent tour and retired from singing.

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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1991, a day before her 65th birthday. She was diabetic and had been diagnosed with double pneumonia before her death.

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'' (MCA, 1999) * ''Romance in the Dark'' (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 Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arra ...

, ''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 catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{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 in California 20th-century American women pianists