Gertrude Richards Moreault (April 25, 1920 – April 4, 2008) was an American, Manhattan-born, 1950s jazz and swing singer. She originally did background singing, and soon became lead vocalist with the Charlie Barnet band, with whom she recorded such songs as " Gloomy Sunday", " Easy Living" and " Ill Wind". She was signed by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

as a solo artist, recording such songs as ''Nashville Blues'' and

Blacksmith Blues "The Blacksmith Blues" is a song which was written for Ella Mae Morse by Jack Holmes. The recording reached #3 on the '' Billboard'' chart when it was released in 1952, and sold over a million copies. Recordings were later made by Bing Crosby, th ...

with Sy Oliver. She also recorded for

Derby Records Derby Records was an independent record label founded by Larry Newton in 1949. The label's logo featured a Derby hat. First headquartered in New York City, it moved to Los Angeles shortly before going out of business in 1964. The label offered s ...

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

and

Jubilee Records Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company ...

. She was signed as a solo artist on

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

and released the album ''Crazy In Love!'' with

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'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with '' Batgirl'' them ...

's orchestra in 1957. She worked with such musicians as

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) a ...

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

, George Barnes, Pete Rugolo, Artie Shaw, and

Dave McKenna Dave McKenna (May 30, 1930 – October 18, 2008) was an American jazz pianist known primarily as a solo pianist and for his " three-handed" swing style. He was a significant figure in the evolution of jazz piano. Career He was born in Woonsock ...

, and performed at clubs including Freddy's, Jan Wallman's and La Chansonette. Following her marriage to Henri Moreault, she relaunched her career as Trudy Richards Moreau for a second series of albums on such labels as Musicor Records, Black Swan, and Beekman Place. Her recording of Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man was used on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (soundtrack). She died on April 4, 2008 and was pre-deceased by her son Richard Shore. A CD compilation of her recordings was released in 2016.

Songs

The following is a list of songs recorded as singles by Richards. *''Nashville Blues'' with Sy Oliver, Decca 24840 *''Hawaii''/''Wha'd'ya Say?'', MGM 10728 *''I'll Never Love You''/''Somewhere, Somehow, Someday'', MGM 10804 *''I'm Afraid to Love You''/''Winter Waltz'', MGM 10831 *''I Am Loved''/''Where Oh Where'', MGM 10863 *''I'll Be All Smiles Tonight''/''That's How Our Love Will Grow'', MGM 10922 *''Blacksmith Blues''/''Any Time'' with Sy Oliver, Decca 27972 *''I Never Loved Anyone But You''/I Don't Mind'' with Sy Oliver, Decca 28084 *''I May Hate Myself in the Morning''/''I Waited a Little Too Long'', Decca 28190 *''I'm Never Satisfied''/''Some Folks Do and Some Folks Don't'', Decca 28389 *''A Fool''/''Go 'Way From My Window'', Decca 28564 *''The Breeze''/''Can't Love You Anymore'', Derby 45-823 *''Bye Bye Blackbird''/''I Believe What I Feel'', Derby 45–830 *''Sugar-Loaf Junction''/''T'aint Nobody's Bizness'', Derby 45-847 *''The Song is You''/''It's Been So Long'' with Pete Rugolo, Arco 1221 *''Temptation''/''Travelin' Home'', Capitol 3481 *''Paradise''/''Once Upon a Dream'', Capitol 3555 *''Next Time''/''All of My Life'', Capitol 3614 *''Wishbone''/''Hangin' Around'', Capitol 3694 *''I Want a Big Butter and Egg Man''/''Weaker Than Wise'', Capitol 3729 *''The Night When Love Was Born''/''Somebody Just Like You'', Capitol 3946 *''Don't Rush Me''/''Promises, Promises'', Jubilee 5197 *''Mercy (Have Mercy)''/''Strangers'', Jubilee 5209 *''I Want You to Be My Baby''/''I'll Never Stop Loving You'' with Vincent Lopez, 18 Top Hits 159 *''24 Hours a Day'', Ronnex 1140 *''My Boy Flat Top'', Ronnex 1141

Albums

The following is a list of albums recorded by Richards. *''Crazy in Love'', with

, Capitol T838, rel. 1957 *''Trudy'', with

Jimmy Wisner James Joseph Wisner (December 8, 1931 – March 13, 2018) was an American pianist, arranger, songwriter, and producer. He is best known for his 1961 hit single "Asia Minor", released under the name Kokomo. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Wisne ...

, Musicor MUS-2503, rel. 1977 *''Trudy Richards Sings'', with

, Black Swan BS-100, rel. 1984 *''Manhattan Serenade'', with

Frank Owens Frank Walter Owens (January 25, 1886 – July 2, 1958) played the position of catcher for professional baseball teams in the American League in 1905 and 1909, and for teams in the Federal League in 1914 and 1915. Sources

1886 births 1958 ...

, Jay Leonhart and Grady Tate, Beekman Place BPR-1001, rel. 1990 *'' Charlie Barnet—The Capitol Big Band Sessions'' (reissue), Capitol Jazz CDP 7243

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Trudy 2008 deaths 1920 births American women jazz singers American jazz singers Capitol Records artists Decca Records artists MGM Records artists Singers from New York City People from Manhattan Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women