
Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian;
August 26, 1949 – May 30, 2019) was a singer-songwriter and musician specializing in
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 ...
,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, and
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...
classics. Recognized by his hat (often a
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
), dark sunglasses, and black tie, he was born in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
of
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
ancestry and first appeared on stage in
Toronto, Canada
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, in the early 1970s. He also appeared on film and television in acting and voice-over roles.
In concert, Redbone often employed comedy and demonstrated his guitar-playing skill. His recurrent gags involved the influence of alcohol and claims he had written works originating well before he was born. He favored music of the
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...
era, circa 1890–1910. He sang the theme to the 1980s television series ''
Mr. Belvedere
''Mr. Belvedere'' is an American sitcom that originally broadcasting, aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 15, 1985 until its cancellation (television), cancellation following the 107th episodic television, episode on December ...
'', and released 18 albums.
Early life
Redbone was elusive about his origins, and never explained the origin of his stage name.
[ According to a '']Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'' report in the 1980s, he came to Canada in the mid-1960s, and changed his name via the Ontario Change of Name Act.[Quill, Greg]
"Redbone careful to preserve the mystery."
''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'' (The Star.com) June 13, 2007. Biographical research published in 2019 corroborated his birth name, and confirmed that his family was of Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
origin.[ His parents lived in ]Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
,[ but fled in 1948 for ]Nicosia
Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities.
Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
, Cyprus, where Redbone was born. By 1961, the family had moved to London, England, and by 1965 to Toronto.[
]
Career
While living in Canada in the late 1960s,[ Redbone began performing in public at Toronto area nightclubs and folk music festivals. He met ]Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
at the Mariposa Folk Festival
Mariposa Folk Festival is a Canadian music festival founded in 1961 in Orillia, Ontario. It was held in Orillia for three years before being banned because of disturbances by festival-goers. After being held in various places in Ontario for a fe ...
in 1972. Dylan was so impressed by Redbone's performance that he mentioned it in a ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' interview, leading that magazine to do a feature article on Redbone a year before he had a recording contract. The article described his performances as "so authentic you can hear the surface noise
In sound and music production, sonic artifact, or simply artifact, refers to sonic material that is accidental or unwanted, resulting from the editing or manipulation of a sound.
Types
Because there are always technical restrictions in the way a ...
f an old 78 rpm">78_rpm.html" ;"title="f an old 78 rpm">f an old 78 rpm" Dylan said that if he had ever started a label, he would have signed Redbone.[ Redbone's first album, ''On the Track'', was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1975.]
He was introduced to a larger public as a semi-regular musical guest on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', appearing twice in the first season. During the 1980s and '90s he was a frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...
''. He was also a guest on ''A Prairie Home Companion
''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
''.
A self-taught musician, he played by ear, sometimes changing the chords of established tunes, never rehearsing with a band, and not following set lists.[ In an interview in the Winter 2017 edition (No. 177) of ''BING'' magazine, the publication of the International Club Crosby, clarinetist ]Dan Levinson
Daniel A. Levinson (born July 8, 1965) is an American jazz clarinetist, saxophone, saxophonist, and bandleader. He is best known for his mastery of the jazz styles of the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s.
Career
Born in Los Angeles County, California, Le ...
recounted working with Redbone:
I toured with Redbone for 12 years. We used to listen to early Crosby while we were on the road. edbone'staste in music was more eclectic than that of anyone I've ever known – it included Emmett Miller, Blind Blake, Paganini, Caruso, Gene Austin
Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...
, John McCormack, Moran and Mack, Cliff Edwards
Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American pop singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop sta ...
, Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz ...
, Ted Lewis, Mustafa the Castrato, the Hungarian singer Imre Laszlo, Jimmie Rodgers
James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...
('the Singing Brakeman'), Mongolian throat singers, W. C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...
... and early Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
.
Redbone was described as "both a musical artist and a performance artist whose very identity was part of his creative output."[ He usually dressed in attire reminiscent of the ]Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
era, performing in a Panama hat with a black band and dark sunglasses, often while sitting at attention on a stool, with a white coat and trousers and a black string tie. With his reluctance to discuss his past came speculation that "Leon Redbone" was an alternative identity for another performer. Two common suggestions in years past were Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. He has sometimes been called an "anti-humor, anti-comedian". He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was tra ...
and Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
, both of whom Redbone outlived. Though sometimes compared to Zappa and Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
for "the strength and strangeness of his persona", he almost exclusively played music from decades before the rock era, occasionally writing his own new material in a similar blues-influenced Tin Pan Alley style. (As well, Redbone's only Billboard chart hit, "Seduced", was a newly written tune by Gary Tigerman arranged in Redbone's decades-old style.) Redbone disdained "blatant sound for people to dance to",[ and in a 1991 interview, he said: "The only thing that interests me is history, reviewing the past and making something out of it."][
Redbone survived a small plane crash in ]Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 16,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, tenth-most populous city ...
, on February 12, 1979. He thereafter traveled to engagements exclusively by car, saying, "I carry around many unusual items and devices. They make life difficult for airport security personnel and flying impossible for me."
On May 19, 2015 on his website, his publicist referred to concerns about his health and announced his retirement from performing and recording.
Death
Redbone died on May 30, 2019, from the effects of dementia
Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
. At the time he was living in New Hope, Pennsylvania, in hospice care. He was survived by his wife Beryl Handler, daughters Blake and Ashley, and three grandchildren.
A statement on Redbone's website noted his death with cheeky humor: "It is with heavy hearts we announce that early this morning, May 30, 2019, Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127. He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover, and a simple tip of his hat." His longtime publicist Jim Della Croce confirmed that Redbone was actually 69.[
]
Appearances in other media
One of Redbone's songs, "Seduced", was featured prominently in the 1978 film '' The Big Fix''. He sang " Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Zooey Deschanel over the closing credits of the 2003 film ''Elf
An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...
'' and provided the voice of Leon the Snowman in the film. He performed the theme songs for the TV shows ''Mr. Belvedere
''Mr. Belvedere'' is an American sitcom that originally broadcasting, aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 15, 1985 until its cancellation (television), cancellation following the 107th episodic television, episode on December ...
'' and ''Harry and the Hendersons
''Harry and the Hendersons'' is a 1987 American fantasy comedy film directed and produced by William Dear and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David Suchet, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Lainie Kazan, and Kevin Peter Hal ...
''.
Redbone appeared regularly on the PBS children's show '' Between the Lions''. On ''Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'', he sang several songs over film footage, including "Blueberry Mouth", "Have You Ever", and "What Do They Do When They Go Wherever They Go?" He also appeared as Leon in the 1988 film '' Candy Mountain'', and on an episode of the TV show '' Life Goes On''. He narrated the 2011 Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
-winning documentary ''Remembering the Sirens'', celebrating the exceptional, yet little-known musical legacy of the Scranton Sirens, one of the most significant "territory" dance bands in American musical history.
He performed in TV commercials for various companies, including Budweiser beer
Budweiser () is an American lager, American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beers in the United States, beer company in t ...
(where he lay on a surfboard singing "This Bud's for You"), the U.S. automobile brand Geo, All laundry detergent, and InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
British Rail service (where he sang the song "Relax"). He also lent his voice to an animated caricature of himself in a commercial for Ken-L Ration dog food.
Redbone was the subject of the 2018 short documentary film ''Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone'' by Mako Funasaka, Liam Romalis and Jason Charters, produced by Riddle Films.
Discography
Source:
Studio albums
* '' On the Track'' (Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
, 1975)
* '' Double Time'' (Warner Bros., 1977)
* '' Champagne Charlie'' (Warner Bros., 1978)
* '' From Branch to Branch'' (Emerald City / Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to:
Businesses
* ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies
** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company
* Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...
, 1981)
* '' Red to Blue'' (August, 1986)
* '' No Regrets'' (Sugar Hill, 1988)
* ''Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
'' (August, 1988)
* ''Sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
'' (August / Private Music, 1990)
* '' Up a Lazy River'' (August / Private Music, 1992)
* ''Whistling in the Wind'' (August / Private Music, 1994)
* '' Any Time'' (August / Blue Thumb, 2001)
* ''Flying By'' (August, 2014)
* ''Long Way from Home: Early Recordings'' ( Third Man, 2016). Features 8 live tracks recorded live at the S.U.N.Y. Buffalo coffee house and 10 tracks recorded live in the studio at WBFO radio, Buffalo, New York.
Live albums
* ''Mystery Man'' (Accord, 1982)
* ''Leon Redbone Live'' (Green Stone, 1985, also released as ''Live!'', Pair Records, 1991, as ''Live & Kickin'', Purple Pyramid / Cleopatra, 1999, Master Classics Records, 2004, and as ''If We Ever Meet Again'', Concert Archive-Delta-Special Markets, 2021.) Some releases have incorrect song titles for certain performances including "Bootleg Rum Dum Blues" (as "Whiskey"), "Skeedle Loo Doo Blues" (as "That's All I Do"), and "Mamie's Blues" / "2:19" (as"2:17").
* ''Live – October 26, 1992: The Olympia Theater, Paris, France'' (Rounder, 2005)
* ''Strings & Jokes: Live in Bremen 1977'' (MIG, 2018)
References
External links
*
*
Leon Redbone Tribute Channel
at youtube.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redbone, Leon
1949 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singer-songwriters
20th-century guitarists
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century guitarists
Acoustic guitarists
American blues guitarists
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues singers
American harmonica players
American jazz guitarists
American jazz singers
American male guitarists
American male jazz musicians
American male singer-songwriters
Cypriot emigrants to the United States
Cypriot guitarists
Cypriot people of Armenian descent
Deaths from dementia in Pennsylvania
Private Music artists
Rounder Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania
Third Man Records artists
Warner Records artists