Sally Dworsky is an American singer-songwriter and playback singer in animated films. In addition to her solo work and co-fronting the alt-rock band Uma, Dworsky served as the singing voice for lead characters in iconic animated films including ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' and ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...

'', both of which won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

– as well as ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

''. She has also recorded or performed with

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

and many others.

Early life

Dworsky was born to Robert and Shirley Dworsky, and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has one sister, Rabbi Susan Dworsky, and two brothers, pianist Richard Dworsky and former lawyer turned drummer and author Alan Dworsky.

Career

In Minnesota, she was a member of the bands Moore by Four and Players. In Moore by Four, her voice was described as "sparkling", "marvelous separately – together ith band members they're dynamite." She also appeared in lead roles in musicals at the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. After moving to California, where she appeared in a featured role in the Los Angeles production of

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

, she toured with Don Henley as a back-up singer, and was noted by a reviewer for a "strong solo" in " Sunset Grill". She also sang back-up vocals in the studio, and on stage, for artists including

Shelby Lynne Shelby Lynne (born Shelby Lynn Moorer, October 22, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter and the older sister of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. The success of her pop rock album '' I Am Shelby Lynne'' (1999) led to her winning the Grammy A ...

Teddy Thompson Teddy Thompson (born 19 February 1976) is an English folk and rock musician. He is the son of folk rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and brother of singer Kamila Thompson. He released his first album in 2000. Biography Teddy Thompso ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

, and many others. She began singing in films including leading roles in ''

'', ''

'', and ''

''. As the singing voice of

Nala Nala () is a legendary king of ancient Nishadha kingdom and the central protagonist of the '' Nalopakhyana'', a sub-narrative within the Indian epic '' Mahabharata'', found in its third book, '' Vana Parva'' (Book of the Forest). He is renown ...

in ''

'', she sang part of "

Can You Feel the Love Tonight "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film ''The Lion King'' composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. Released as a single in May 1994, the song was a hit in the UK, peaking at nu ...

", which won the 1995

. One of the songs she recorded for ''

'' (in the role of Miriam) was "When You Believe" (in a duet with

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She was one of the most bankable stars in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, and her List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, performances ...

), which won the 1999

. One reviewer wrote about the song, which was also recorded and released by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, "the film version of the song will move you in a wholly good way ... singers Sally Dworsky and Michelle Pfeiffer convey the hope and amazement every living Hebrew must have felt at hearing Pharaoh's own emancipation proclamation." In the early 1990s, she gave her first solo performances, in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

and in Los Angeles, and in 1995 released a solo EP, ''Habit Trail''., produced by

Jay Joyce John Joseph "Jay" Joyce is an American record producer, songwriter and session musician. In the 1990s, Joyce, with Chris Feinstein and Brad Pemberton, recorded and toured as Iodine. He also fronted the band Bedlam, featured on the soundtrack to ...

. Dworsky has also performed 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 ...

''. Dworsky joined the group Uma ( Chris Hickey and Andy Kamman) and they signed a record deal with producer Don Gehman's label Refuge, an MCA affiliate. They released the album ''Fare Well'' in 1997 and toured throughout the U.S. and Canada with artists such as

Jonatha Brooke Jonatha Brooke (born January 23, 1964) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a ...

and

Chris Whitley Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was an American blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. Whitley's sound was drawn from the traditions of blues, jazz and rock and he recorded songs by artists from many g ...

. Dworsky released ''Start It All Over Again'', an album of covers, with her brother Richard Dworsky in 2006 and followed up in 2008 with ''Boxes'', an album of original songs. She has since released two singles, ''Same Room'' in 2018 and ''This Day'' in 2020, both produced by Marshall Vore.

Personal life

Dworsky was married to singer-songwriter Chris Hickey. They have fraternal boy-girl twins, daughter Lila, and son singer-songwriter Charlie Hickey (b. 1999).

Discography

Soundtracks

* '' The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' –

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's Walt Disney Studios (division), motion picture studios, television shows, Disney Experiences, them ...

(1994) * ''The Prince Of Egypt Soundtrack'' – DreamWorks (1998) * ''Disney's Greatest Vol. 3'' –

(2003) * ''Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection'' –

(2004) * ''The Magic of Disney'' –

(2009) * ''Best of the Lion King'' –

(2011) * '' Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection: The Lion King'' –

(2011)

Solo

* ''Habit Trail'' – Sally Dworsky (1996) * ''Start It All Over Again'' – Sally Dworsky and Richard Dworsky (2006) * ''Boxes'' – Sally Dworsky (2008) * ''Same Room'' – Sally Dworsky (2018) * ''This Day'' – Sally Dworsky (2020)

Uma

* ''Fare Well'' – Uma ( Chris Hickey, Sally Dworsky, Andy Kamman) (1997)

Filmography and TV appearances

* 1989 – '' The Wizard'' – song "I Found My Way" * 1992 – '' The Cutting Edge'' – song "Turning Circles" * 1994 – ''

'' – Adult Nala (singing voice) * 1997 – ''

The End of Violence ''The End of Violence'' is a 1997 American drama film by the German director Wim Wenders. The film's cast includes Bill Pullman, Andie MacDowell, Gabriel Byrne, Traci Lind, Rosalind Chao, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Udo Kier, and Loren Dean, among ...

– songwriter, ''Bad News'', performed by Eels * 1998 – ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...

'' – Young Bride (singing voice) * 1998 – ''

'' – Miriam (singing voice) * 2001 – ''

'' – Princess Fiona (singing voice) * 2014 – '' A to Z (TV Series, Ep 4)'' – song "There Will Be a Light" * 2018 – ''

Transparent (TV series) ''Transparent'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Joey Soloway for Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014. The story revolves around a Los Angeles family, the Pfeffermans, and their lives after learning that th ...

'' appeared in episode * 2022 – '' The Patient (TV series)'' appeared in episode

Awards and recognition

* 1996, 1997 –

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

award-winner, most-performed songs, with " That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dworsky, Sally Living people Musicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Minnesota Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women