Valerie Day (born November 20, 1959) is an American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

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. Born in Portland, Oregon, she is a fourth-generation Oregonian, and grew up in a musical family. She was the lead singer and a founding member of the 1980s dance band

Nu Shooz Nu Shooz is an American R&B group fronted by husband-and-wife team of John Smith and Valerie Day, based in Portland, Oregon. Nu Shooz released four albums in the U.S. during the 1980s. '' Poolside'', their third album, brought the group's soun ...

, with her husband John Smith. Day's performances with Nu Shooz had mixed reviews. She and Smith were credited with "rewriting the book" on Portland's R&B sound. One reviewer at the ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' described her as having a "tough but perky wholesome image," and praised her dancing and

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

playing, but opined that she over-used a certain vocal hook, and was reluctant to step out as the star of the group. Day has taken on other musical genres. In the late 1990s she was a featured singer in the Woody Hite Big Band. She recorded an album of duets with pianist Tom Grant in 2005. Also in 2005, Day won a contest to have an image of her lips used in the new corporate logo for Portland's Hot Lips Pizza as part of the company's 21st anniversary. From 2010 to 2014, Day was an adjunct professor at Portland State University, where she taught Contemporary/Jazz Voice.https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerieday

References

External links

Valerie Day Interview
at NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
Chris Dunmire Interviews Valerie Day Creativity-Portal.com (2021)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Valerie 1959 births Living people American women singers Conga players American percussionists Singers from Portland, Oregon American women percussionists 21st-century American women