Annie Ross
Encyclopedia
Annie Ross is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 jazz singer, chanteuse and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were a vocalese trio formed by jazz vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross.-History:The group formed in 1957 and recorded their first album Sing a Song of Basie for Paramount Records...

.

Early years

She was born as Annabelle Allan Short, in Mitcham
Mitcham
Mitcham is a district in the south west area of London, in the London Borough of Merton. A suburban area, Mitcham is located on the border of Inner London and Outer London. It is both residentially and financially developed, well served by Transport for London, and home to Mitcham Town Centre,...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the daughter of Scottish vaudevillians Jack Short and May Dalziel Short (née Allan). Her brother was entertainer Jimmy Logan
Jimmy Logan
Jimmy Logan OBE, FRSAMD , born as James Allan Short, Dennistoun, Glasgow, was a Scottish performer, producer, impresario and director.-Family:...

. Ross was brought up in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 by her aunt, singer Ella Logan
Ella Logan
Ella Logan was a Scottish-born actress and singer, who appeared on Broadway, recorded and had a nightclub career in the United States and internationally.-Early years:...

.

Career

Ross is one of the early practitioners of a singing style known as vocalese
Vocalese
Vocalese is a style or genre of jazz singing wherein lyrics are written for melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation. Whereas scat singing uses improvised nonsense syllables, such as "bap ba dee dot bwee dee" in solos, vocalese uses lyrics, either...

, which involves the setting of original lyrics to an instrumental jazz solo. Her 1952 treatment of saxophonist Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods.Today often overlooked, Gray's playing displays a unique style, an unmatched tone and a strong presence.-Early years:...

's "Twisted" is a classic example of vocalese. "Twisted" has been recorded by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...

, Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...

, Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman is an English actress working in television, musical theatre, and concerts. She has won three Olivier Awards for her stage work.-Early years:...

, and many others. Her first album, Singin' and Swingin' (1952,) was recorded in New York with members of the Modern Jazz Quartet
Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath , and Kenny Clarke . Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955...

. Other albums include Annie By Candlelight (1956), Sings A Song With Mulligan (1958) with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...

 and Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...

 on trumpet, A Gasser! (1959) with Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...

, In Hoagland (1981) with Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...

 and Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...

, and Music Is Forever (1995) featuring Tommy Flanagan
Tommy Flanagan
Thomas Lee Flanagan was an American jazz pianist born in Detroit, Michigan, particularly remembered for his work with Ella Fitzgerald...

 on piano.

In February 1956, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 reported that Ross's song "I Want You to be My Baby" was banned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

, due to the lyric
Lyric
Lyric may refer to:* Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view* Lyric, from the Greek language, a song sung with a lyre* Lyrics, the composition in verse which is sung to a melody to constitute a song...

 "Come upstairs and have some loving".

She recorded seven albums with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were a vocalese trio formed by jazz vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross.-History:The group formed in 1957 and recorded their first album Sing a Song of Basie for Paramount Records...

 between 1957 and 1962. Their first, Sing a Song of Basie
Sing a Song of Basie
Sing a Song of Basie is a 1957 album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. -Track listing:# "Everyday I Have the Blues" – 5:18# "It's Sand, Man!" – 2:27...

 (1957), was to have been performed by a group of singers hired by Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...

 and Dave Lambert
Dave Lambert
David Alden Lambert , was an American jazz lyricist, singer, and an originator of vocalese. He was best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Lambert spent a lifetime experimenting with the human voice, and expanding the possibilities of its use within jazz.Lambert's band debut...

 with Ross brought in only as vocal consultant. When the first two tracks were recorded and deemed unsatisfactory, it was decided that the trio should attempt recording the material and overdub all the additional vocals themselves. The resulting album was a success, and the trio became an international hit. Over the next five years, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were a vocalese trio formed by jazz vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross.-History:The group formed in 1957 and recorded their first album Sing a Song of Basie for Paramount Records...

 toured all over the world and recorded such albums as Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!
Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!
Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!, also known as The Hottest New Group In Jazz, is an album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. The CD reissue combines the full original album with the LPs "Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing Ellington" and "Rarities".-Disc one:...

 (aka The Hottest New Group In Jazz, 1959), Sing Ellington (1960), High Flying (1962), and The Real Ambassadors
The Real Ambassadors
The Real Ambassadors is a jazz musical developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Dave and Iola Brubeck, in collaboration with Louis Armstrong and his band. It addressed the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, the music business, America’s place in the world during the Cold War, the nature of God, and...

 (1962), written by Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

 and featuring Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

 and Carmen McRae
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...

.

Ross left the group in 1962 and, in 1964, opened her own nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

 in London. Annie's Room featured performances by Joe Williams
Joe Williams (jazz singer)
Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...

, Stuff Smith
Stuff Smith
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith , better known as Stuff Smith, was a jazz violinist. He is known well for the song "If You're a Viper".-Biography:...

, Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...

, Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day was an American jazz singer.Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer"...

, Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...

, and Erroll Garner
Erroll Garner
Erroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...

, as well as Ross herself. A compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 of Ross' 1965 performances from Annie's Room was released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in 2006.

Ross has appeared in a number of films. As a child, she sang "Loch Lomond" in Our Gang Follies of 1938
Our Gang Follies of 1938
Our Gang Follies of 1938 is a 1937 American musical short subject, the 161st short subject entry in Hal Roach's Our Gang series...

, and later played Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

's sister in Presenting Lily Mars
Presenting Lily Mars
Presenting Lily Mars is an American musical motion picture produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released in 1943. The film starred Judy Garland and Van Heflin and was based on the novel by Booth Tarkington...

 (1943). Other notable roles include Vera Webster in Superman III
Superman III
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...

 (1983), Mrs. Hazeltine in Throw Momma from the Train
Throw Momma from the Train
Throw Momma from the Train is a 1987 American black comedy film. It was inspired by the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Strangers on a Train, which also plays a role in the film...

 (1987), Loretta Cresswood in Pump Up the Volume
Pump Up the Volume (film)
Pump Up the Volume is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.- Plot summary :...

 (1990), Lydia in Blue Sky (1994), and most notably as Tess Trainer in Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...

's Short Cuts
Short Cuts
Short Cuts is a 1993 American drama film directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver...

 (1993).

She provided the speaking voice for Britt Ekland
Britt Ekland
Britt-Marie Ekland is a Swedish actress and singer, and a long time resident of the United Kingdom. She is best known for her roles as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun, and in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man, as well as her marriage to actor Peter Sellers, and her...

 in The Wicker Man (1973). On stage, Ross appeared in Cranks (1955) in both London and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...

 (1972) with Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...

, The Seven Deadly Sins at The Royal Opera House, Kennedy's Children (1975) at Arts Theatre, London, Side By Side By Sondheim
Side By Side By Sondheim
Side by Side by Sondheim is a musical revue featuring the songs of Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song "Side by Side by Side" from Company.-History:...

, and in the Joe Papp production of The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...

 (1982) with Tim Curry
Tim Curry
Timothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....

.

In the early 1990s, Ross starred in the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

s Basket Case 2
Basket Case 2
Basket Case 2 is a 1990 American comedy horror film written and directed by Frank Henenlotter. It was released on DVD by Synapse Films on October 30, 2007.-Cast:* Kevin Van Hentenryck as Duane Bradley* Judy Grafe as News Woman...

 and Basket Case 3: The Progeny
Basket Case 3: The Progeny
Basket Case 3: The Progeny is a 1991 American comedy horror film written and directed by Frank Henenlotter. The third installment of the Basket Case series the film follows Times Square Freak Twins Duane and Belial Bradley and several fellow freaks as they help Belial's girlfriend give birth and...

.

She has received numerous awards and honors including the ASCAP Jazz Wall Of Fame (2009), the prestigious NEA
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...

 Jazz Masters Award (2010), and the MAC Award for Lifetime Achievement (2011). She performs regularly at The Metropolitan Room (34 W. 22nd Street) in New York, with Tardo Hammer on piano, Neal Miner on bass, Tony Jefferson on drums, and Warren Vache
Warren Vache
Warren Vaché is a jazz trumpeter, cornetist and flugelhornist born in Rahway, New Jersey. He came from a musical family as his father was a bassist. In 1976 he released his first album...

 on trumpet.

Solo Albums

  • Singin' and Swingin' (with Dorothy Dunn and Shelby Davis) (1952)
  • King Pleasure
    King Pleasure
    King Pleasure was a jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a famous instrumental solo....

     Sings/Annie Ross Sings (1952)
  • Tony Crombie
    Tony Crombie
    Anthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene...

     And His Orchestra (1954) (Decca DFE6247)
  • Annie By Candlelight (1956)
  • Nocturne For Vocalist (EP) (1956)
  • Sings A Song With Mulligan
    Gerry Mulligan
    Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...

    ! (1958)
  • A Gasser! (with Zoot Sims
    Zoot Sims
    John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...

    ) (1959)
  • Gypsy (1959)
  • Loguerhythms (1962)
  • Sings A Handful Of Songs (1963)
  • Facade (1967)
  • You and Me Baby (Live at Hampstead Theatre
    Hampstead Theatre
    Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...

    ) (1970)
  • In Hoagland
    In Hoagland
    In Hoagland is an album by Georgie Fame, Annie Ross and Hoagy Carmichael, featuring a band of leading UK jazz musicians and arrangements by Harry South...

     (with Hoagy Carmichael
    Hoagy Carmichael
    Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...

     and Georgie Fame
    Georgie Fame
    Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...

    ) (1981)
  • Music Is Forever (1995)
  • Cool For Kids (2001)
  • Let Me Sing (2005)

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were a vocalese trio formed by jazz vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross.-History:The group formed in 1957 and recorded their first album Sing a Song of Basie for Paramount Records...

 Albums

  • Sing a Song of Basie
    Sing a Song of Basie
    Sing a Song of Basie is a 1957 album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. -Track listing:# "Everyday I Have the Blues" – 5:18# "It's Sand, Man!" – 2:27...

     (1957)
  • Sing Along With Basie (1958)
  • The Swingers! (1958)
  • Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!
    Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!
    Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!, also known as The Hottest New Group In Jazz, is an album by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. The CD reissue combines the full original album with the LPs "Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing Ellington" and "Rarities".-Disc one:...

     (aka "The Hottest New Group In Jazz") (1959)
  • Sing Ellington
    Duke Ellington
    Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

     (1960)
  • The Real Ambassadors
    The Real Ambassadors
    The Real Ambassadors is a jazz musical developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Dave and Iola Brubeck, in collaboration with Louis Armstrong and his band. It addressed the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, the music business, America’s place in the world during the Cold War, the nature of God, and...

     (with Louis Armstrong
    Louis Armstrong
    Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

    , Dave Brubeck
    Dave Brubeck
    David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

    , and Carmen McRae
    Carmen McRae
    Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...

    ) (1962)
  • High Flying (aka "The Way-Out Voices of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross") (1962)

Live Albums

  • Annie Ross & Pony Poindexter (1967)
  • You And Me Baby (1971)
  • Annie Ross In Poland,1965 (2002)
  • Live In London,1965 (2006)

Soundtrack Albums

  • Cranks (Original London Cast Recording) (1955)
  • Short Cuts (Soundtrack) (1993)

Compilation Albums

  • Everybody's Boppin (1990)
  • Twisted - The Best Of Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross (1992)
  • Skylark (combines Annie By Candlelight and Nocturne For Vocalist) (1996)
  • The Hottest New Group In Jazz (combines Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross, Sing Ellington, and High Flying) (1996)
  • A Handfull [sic] Of Songs...And More (combines Sings A Handful Of Songs and four previously unreleased tracks recorded live in Tel Aviv in 1956) (2000)
  • Twisted (2008)
  • Improvisations For The Human Voice (2009)
  • Zoot Sims Meets Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross. Los Angeles 1959 (2010)
  • Four Classic Albums (combines Annie By Candlelight, Sings A Song With Mulligan, A Gasser, and Gypsy) (2011)

External links

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