Nancy Ames (born Nancy Hamilton Alfaro; September 30, 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. She regularly appeared on the American version of the television series ''

That Was the Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

''. The TW3 Girl, as she was known, sang the show theme and special material.

Personal life

Ames was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the granddaughter of Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro, who served as

President of Panama This article lists the heads of state of Panama since the short-lived first independence from the Republic of New Granada in 1840 and the final Separation of Panama from Colombia, separation from Colombia in 1903. Since 1904 the head of state of ...

from 1931 to 1932 and who in 1949 was chairman of the legal committee of the

Third session of the United Nations General Assembly The third regular session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, was held from 21 September to 12 December 1948 in Paris, France and from 5 April to 18 May 1949 in New York City, United States. The permanent Headquarters of the United Nati ...

that drew up the text of the Convention on Genocide. The daughter of a physician, she grew up in Washington. She attended Holton-Arms School and

Bennett College Bennett College is a private university, private historically black colleges and universities, historically black liberal arts college, liberal arts Women's colleges in the Southern United States, college for women in Greensboro, North Carolin ...

, both of them for girls. By 1964, she was married to Romanian hypnotist Triaian Boyer. By 1968, they had divorced. After the divorce, she married Jay Riviere, a golf course designer. They had one child, a daughter, Nancy, but ultimately divorced. Ames has resided in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

since 1972. She and her third husband Danny Ward are the co-founders of Ward & Ames Special Events.

Career

A folk singer with a partially

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

repertoire, Ames was signed to

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

. The

A side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or r ...

of her first single was entitled "Bonsoir Cher, ("Goodnight Dear") and the

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

was "

Cucurrucucú paloma "Cucurrucucú paloma" (Spanish for ''Coo-coo dove'') is a Mexican huapango-style song written by Tomás Méndez in 1954. The title is an onomatopeic reference to the characteristic call of the mourning dove, which is evoked in the refrain. The ly ...

". Ames appeared on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' in the mid 1960s, performing her mixed language version of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

" Yesterday". She broke the top 100 twice in 1966 with "He Wore the Green Beret" (by Frank Catana and Peg Barsella), side A, and "War Is a Card Game" (by Pamela Polland), side B. These were her answer songs to Staff Sgt.

Barry Sadler Barry Allen Sadler (November 1, 1940 – November 5, 1989) was an American singer-songwriter and author whose military service influenced his work. After a stint in the United States Air Force, Sadler served in the United States Army as a Uni ...

's "

Ballad of the Green Berets "The Ballad of the Green Berets" is a 1966 patriotic song co-written and performed by Barry Sadler, in the style of a ballad about the United States Army Special Forces. It was one of the few popular songs of the Vietnam War years to cast the mi ...

". "War Is a Card Game" hit number 89 before falling to 96. Later in the year " Cry Softly" also placed in the charts. Ames had occasional TV acting appearances. She played two different characters in sketches on ''

The Red Skelton Hour ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his telev ...

'' in 1966 and 1967; the latter role was in a

Hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

themed sketch. Also in 1968 Ames had an acting appearance as "Louise Hahn" in a first season episode of '' The Name of the Game'', an NBC drama. She made a cameo appearance on ''

Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by come ...

'' in 1968, season 1, episode 5. She is listed as the co-writer of the theme song to ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' is an American television comedy, comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially consid ...

'' with

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental " Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

per Williams' own 1969 LP entitled ''Music by Mason Williams''. Ames and Williams also co-wrote " Cinderella Rockefella", an international pop hit, in 1968. Ames later had her own TV show which aired on

KPRC-TV KPRC-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Graham Media Group. Its studios are located on Southwest Freeway (I-69/ US 59) in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greate ...

Channel 2 (the Houston area NBC affiliate) from 1972 to 1977. In the late 1970s, Ames moved to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. In 1982 she and her third husband, Danny Ward, founded Ward & Ames, an events and video-production firm. Ames is also the co-founder of the Plumeria Society of America, and owned the jewelry company Alfaro, A Nancy Ames Collection.

US discography

LPs

* ''The Incredible Nancy Ames'' -

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

– LRP-3276 - (1963) * ''A Portrait of Nancy'' - Liberty – LRP-3299 - (1963) * ''I Will Never Marry'' - Liberty – LRP-3329 - (1963) * ''This is the Girl That is'' - Liberty – LRP-3369 - (1964) * ''Let It Be Me'' -

Charles Calello Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track r ...

, arranger - Liberty – LRP-3400 - (1965) * ''As Time Goes By'' -

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

– BN 26197 - (1965) * ''Latin Pulse'' - Joe Sherman, arranger, conductor - Epic – BN 26189 - (1966) * ''Spiced With Brasil'' - with

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo José de Araújo Almeida Nóbrega Neto (2 September 1917 – 26 July 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He was one of the pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the firs ...

, guitar; Stu Phillips, arranger, producer - Epic – LN 24238 - (1967)

Compilation

* ''Versatile Nancy Ames'' -

Sunset Records Sunset Records was a record label started in 1965 as the budget album subsidiary of Liberty Records to reissue and issue material originally recorded for Liberty, Imperial, Minit and other Liberty subsidiaries as well as leased material from othe ...

– SUS-5109 - (1966) Compilation of Liberty Records years material; Sunset was a subsidiary of Liberty Records.

Live album

* ''At The Americana'' - Epic – BN 26378 - (1968)

Singles (selective)

;7" * "Bonsoir Cher" / " Cu Cu Rru Cu Cu Paloma" - Liberty – F-55548 - (1963) * " Malaguena Salerosa" / "Cu Cu Rru Cu Cu Paloma" - Liberty 55737 - (1964) * "The Funny Thing About It" / "Shake A Hand" - Epic – 5-9845 - (1965) * "Let Tonight Linger On" / "It Scares Me" - Liberty – F-55762 - (1965) * "I've Got A Lot Of Love (Left In Me)" / "Friends And Lovers Forever" - Epic 5-9874 - (promo) (1965) * "He Wore The Green Beret" / "War Is A Card Game" - Epic – 5-10003 - (1966) * "I Don't Want To Talk About It" / " Cry Softly" - Epic – 5-10056 - (1966) * "Friends And Lovers Forever" (Billboard Hot 100 #123) / "Dear Hearts And Gentle" - Epic – 5-9885 - (1966) * "Love's Like Wine" / "My Story Book" - Epic – 5-10149 - (1967) * "

Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" is a song written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook. Originally recorded by Gene Pitney in 1967, the latter's version of the song reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1967, but failed to cha ...

" / " On Green Dolphin Street" -

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

11100 - (1968) * "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" / "On Green Dolphin Street" - Silvercloud Records 1001 - (1968) ;12" * Mr. Bongo - "Soul Limbo" / Nancy Ames - "Eso Beso (That Kiss)" - Sony Music Entertainment (UK) – XPR 2213 - (1995)

EP

* "1-2-3", "A Taste Of Honey" / "Call Me", "The Shadow Of Your Smile" - Epic – EP 9053 - (1966)

References

External links

Ward and Ames Special Events
*
Nancy Ames at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Nancy 1937 births American folk singers Singers from Washington, D.C. American musicians of Panamanian descent Spanish-language singers of the United States Epic Records artists Liberty Records artists Living people