Teri Thornton, born Shirley Enid Avery (September 1, 1934 – May 2, 2000) 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 piano player. Thornton first performed in local Detroit clubs in the 1950s. She moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the 1960s, where she found work singing for television advertisements, and recorded for several different labels. Late in the 1960s, Thornton faded from public view, and only decades later was discovered to have been singing on various song poem records in Los Angeles on the Preview label as "Teri Summers." She played clubs in New York after moving back there from

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, ...

in 1983, and in the 1990s she fully revived her career. She was a resident of the

Actors' Fund The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. Se ...

Home in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

. In 1998, she won the

Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The i ...

Vocal Competition in Washington, DC. (Singers

Jane Monheit Jane Monheit (born November 3, 1977"Jane Monheit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 33. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2001. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2017-05-07.) is an American jazz and traditional pop singer. Early life Mo ...

Tierney Sutton Tierney Sutton (born June 28, 1963) is an American jazz singer. Career Sutton was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, majoring in Ru ...

and Roberta Gambarini were runners-up in the same competition.) Thornton signed with

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

, which released ''I'll Be Easy to Find''. That same year, she was diagnosed with

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...

and died of the disease in 2000.

Teri Thornton Teri Thornton, born Shirley Enid Avery (September 1, 1934 – May 2, 2000) was an American jazz singer and piano player. Thornton first performed in local Detroit clubs in the 1950s. She moved to New York City in the 1960s, where she found work ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Discography

* '' Devil May Care'' ( Riverside, 1961) * ''Open Highway'' (Columbia, 1963) * ''Somewhere in the Night'' (Dauntless, 1963) * ''I'll Be Easy to Find'' (Verve, 1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Teri 1934 births 2000 deaths American jazz singers Singers from Michigan Musicians from Englewood, New Jersey Riverside Records artists Verve Records artists 20th-century American singers Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Deaths from bladder cancer in the United States Jazz musicians from Michigan