Wilson, Nancy

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Nancy Wilson

Singer

Self-taught jazz, pop, and rhythm and blues vocalist Nancy Wilson released her first album, Like in Love, in April of 1960 and went on to record 55 more albums between 1960 and 1994. Wilson’s unique vocal style melds a jazzy elegance with an earthy, heartfelt blues timbre, and more than 30 of her LPs between 1960 and 1976 were prominent on the Billboard music charts.

Wilson is noted for choosing songs with lyrics that tell a compelling tale as well as provide melodic pleasure. The singer strives to avoid being categorized into a particular musical slot—such as jazz, pop, or blues—and prefers to be classified only as a “song stylist.” Adept at creating an array of musical moods, she upholds in her songs the theme of timeless love. Wilson balks at being dubbed a jazz singer, telling Zan Stewart of the Los Angeles Times, “I don’t scat… I just sing my songs.” She added, “If the material doesn’t have feeling and warmth, I don’t want to do it…. My strongest suit is the big ballad.”

In the course of her long career, Wilson has also ventured into the realm of television, garnering an Emmy Award for NBC’s The Nancy Wilson Show: Red, Hot, & Cool, which was televised in 1967 and 1968. On the Fox television comedy Sinbad, Wilson portrayed the comedian’s mother, Louise, in 1993 and 1994. She has also enjoyed cameo appearances on The Tonight Show, I Spy, The Cosby Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Carol Burnett Show, Hawaii Five-O, The Today Show, and Police Story Wilson gave talk-show host Arsenio Hall his first break when she asked him to open for her during a concert tour. As a result, she was a frequent guest on The Arsenio Hall Show.

Nancy Wilson was born in Chillicothe, a small town in southern Ohio, and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. She knew by the age of four that she had a strong singing voice. She sang in church choirs throughout her childhood, attempting to emulate such early influences as Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Ruth Brown, Louis Jordan, Billy Eckstine, and Jimmy Scott. By the time Wilson was in her mid-teens, she was performing in theater clubs in the Columbus area and perfecting her sultry signature style. She also appeared on the local television show Skyline Melody

Two of Wilson’s grounding influences were her mother and stepmother, both of whom provided constant encouragement and unflagging emotional support. By the time she was a teen, Wilson had moved in with her father, Olden, and stepmother, Bertha. Wilson’s mother lived only a few blocks away, and along with her six younger siblings, Nancy was raised in an atmosphere of strong family unity and community ties.

For the Record…

Born February 20, 1937, in Chillicothe, OH; daughter of Olden (an iron foundry worker) and Lillian (a housekeeper) Wilson; married Kenny Dennis (a drummer), 1960 (divorced 1970); married Reverend Wiley Burton; children: (first marriage) Kenneth “Kacy” Dennis Jr. Wilson; (second marriage) Samantha, Sheryl. Education: Attended Central State College in Ohio.

Began singing in church choirs as a child; performed in theater clubs in Columbus, OH, area and appeared on local television show Skyline Melody as a teen; toured U.S. and Canada with Rusty Bryant’s Carolyn Club Band; New York Institute of Technology, New York City, secretary, beginning in 1959; signed with Capitol Records, 1959, and released debut album, Like in Love, 1960. Television appearances include The Nancy Wilson Show: Red, Hot, & Cool, 1967-68; Sinbad, 1993-94; and guest spots on The Tonight Show, I Spy, The Cosby Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Carol Burnett Show, Hawaii Five-O, The Today Show, and Police Story.

Selected awards: Grammy Award, 1964, for How Glad I Am; Grammy Award nominations, 1965, for Gentle Is My Love, 1988, for Forbidden Lover, and 1994, for With My Lover Beside Me; Emmy Award for The Nancy Wilson Show: Red, Hot, & Cool; winner of Tokyo Song Festival, 1983; received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1990; Image Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Essence Award, 1992; Martin Luther King Center for Social Change award, 1993; Turner Broadcasting Trumpet Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1994; Whitney M. Young Award; honorary doctorate from Berkeley College of Music.

Addresses: Management —Lynn Coles Productions, P.O. Box 93-1198, Los Angeles, CA 90093.

After Wilson graduated from high school in Ohio, she attended Central State College, planning to be a teacher. She left school, however, in favor of touring with Rusty Bryant’s Carolyn Club Band in Columbus and performed for three years throughout the United States and Canada. While touring, Wilson met jazz saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, who became a close friend and would later record an album with her.

Adderley helped Wilson define her professional goals, which were to remain a solo recording artist, record albums for Capitol Records, and to persuade Adder-ley’s manager, John Levy, to work with her. Upon moving to New York City in 1959, the singer gave herself six months to reach these goals. She worked as a secretary by day at the New York Institute of Technology and sang four evenings a week in nightclubs. Within only three weeks, Wilson attained all three of her goals: she recorded two solo demos, John Levy became her manager, and she signed with Capitol Records.

In 1960 Wilson married drummer Kenny Dennis and had a son, Kenneth “Kacy” Dennis Jr. Wilson. After ten years together, the couple divorced in 1970; Wilson would eventually marry Reverend Wiley Burton of Pittsburgh and have two daughters, Samantha Burton and Sheryl Burton.

Also in 1960, Wilson released her debut album, Like in Love. The singer’s first recorded single was a heartrending version of “Guess Who I Saw Today?” Her second album, Something Wonderful, followed six months later. In early 1961, she released The Swingin’s Mutual, and her first big rhythm and blues hit, “Save Your Love for Me,” was put out in 1962.

In 1964 Wilson received a Grammy Award for How Glad I Am and a year later earned a Grammy nomination for Gentle Is My Love. Wilson’s third Grammy nomination came in 1988 for Forbidden Lover, and her fourth followed in 1992 for With My Lover Beside Me.

Wilson learns songs by listening to the melody as opposed to learning how to read music. A large part of her success is due to two factors: instinctually knowing which songs best set off her rich, flexible voice and choosing memorable, classic songs to record. The Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn composition “Day Dream,” Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and Stephen Sondheim’s “I Remember” are examples of songs that Wilson successfully chose to showcase her vocal talents. Other works, including Wilson’s 1991 album With My Lover Beside Me, which features a collection of previously unpublished lyrics written by Johnny Mercer setto music by Barry Manilow, were further evidence of her distinctive taste.

In 1994 Wilson released her fifty-fifth album, Love, Nancy. Reviewer Harry Allen commented in Vibe, “With naked emotion as her fuel, Wilson’s voice usually blasts through her orchestral ballads like a blowtorch through candle wax.” Wilson expressed to Allen that she values popular singers like Anita Baker and Regina Belle, noting, “They’ve got emotion …very much like me.” She continued, “There are some really phenomenal voices out there. We just need people to write material that matters.”

In addition to her active recording career, Wilson has an abiding interest in charity work and has contributed generously to the Martin Luther King Center for Social Change, the National Heart Association, the Cancer Society, and the United Negro College Fund. She was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990, and has received awards such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award, a 1994 Trumpet Award for outstanding achievement from the Turner Broadcasting Company, the 1992 Essence Award, the Whitney M. Young Award, and an honorary doctorate from the Berkeley College of Music. She was also the winner of the 1983 Tokyo Song Festival. In addition to her philanthropic endeavors, Wilson successfully—and tirelessly—divides her time between family, concert tours, and television work.