i'm reading Cleo Laine's autobiography & im enjoying it so much!
the more i learn about her, the more i love her!
she writes in a friendly manner; clever, charming, very funny...& *EXTREMELY* self-depreciating!
sometimes it makes me sad how often she puts herself down, but maybe thats something i identify with in her.
she came from screaming horrible poverty; most jazz musicians do, but british poverty sounds much scarier than american poverty! & during the war, no less!
& not only the financial poverty but of imagination & possibilty as well; when she told people that she wanted to be a singer, they would laugh as if she said she wanted to live on the moon. women were supposed to be married off & have @ least one baby by the time they were 17.... & in fact, she *did* go that route; marrying a man she didnt care about just to get out of her mother's home & because "thats what girls do".
the moment that she realizes that she is meant for something more in this world is when she hears Nat King Cole's NATURE BOY for the first time, falls in love with it, practices it, & sings it to her first husband...& he responds by saying, "why would anyone ever wanna hear a SAD song?!?!?"
that was the push she needed to begin to take her music & life seriously; going on auditions, educating herself in used bookstores & libraries...& then landing a gig with the Johnny Dankworth Seven. with them, she would learn serious music theory & much later, find true love with John Dankworth himself.
i think Cleo & John Dankworth would make a great subject for a documentary...how two very creative perfectionists not only live together, but inspire & drive each other to achieve MORE in life!
& they *both* turned 80 this year!
i am so glad to have found out about Cleo Laine! even though i'm just beginning to learn about her vast body of work, i already feel so enriched! i dont know how i got so far along without finding her music!
Updated On: 11/7/07 at 08:54 PM