Helen Reddy
Encyclopedia
Helen Reddy often referred to as "The Queen of 70s Pop", is an Australian-American
singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100
. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10 and three of those songs reached No. 1, including her signature hit "I Am Woman
." She also placed 25 singles on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. Fifteen of those singles made the Top 10 and 8 of those reached No. 1.
. Her mother, Stella Campbell (née Lamond), was an actress, and her father, Maxwell David "Max" Reddy, was a writer, producer and actor. Her half-sister, Toni Lamond
, and her nephew, Tony Sheldon
, are actor-singers. Reddy is of part Irish descent on her father's side. Her maternal grandfather, Colin Lamond, was a one-time mayor of Waterloo, New South Wales
, and her maternal grandmother was actress Stella Coffey.
At age four, Reddy joined her parents on the Australian vaudeville
circuit, singing and dancing; she'd recall: "It was instilled in me: You will be a star. So between the ages of 12 and 17 I got rebellious and decided this was not for me. I was going to be a housewife and mother." Reddy's teenage rebellion in favor of domesticity manifested as marriage to Kenneth Claude Weate, a considerably older musician and family friend; divorce ensued within a few months, and to support herself as a single mother – daughter Traci having been born several months after the divorce – Reddy resumed her performing career, concentrating on singing, as health problems precluded dancing (Reddy had a kidney
removed at age 17). Reddy sang on radio and television, eventually winning a talent contest on the Australian pop music TV show Bandstand, the prize ostensibly being a trip to New York City to cut a single for Mercury Records
. After arriving in New York in 1966, Reddy was informed by Mercury that her prize was only the chance to audition for the label, and that Mercury considered the Bandstand footage to constitute her audition, which was deemed unsuccessful. Despite possessing only $200 and a return ticket to Australia, Reddy elected to remain in the US with three-year-old Traci and pursue a singing career.
Reddy would recall her 1966 appearance at the Three Rivers Inn in Syracuse, New York
– "there were like twelve people in the audience" – as typical of her early US performing career. In fact, the lack of working papers made it difficult to obtain any singing jobs in the US, and she was forced to make several trips to Canada where, being a Commonwealth
country like Australia, she had the right to work. In the spring of 1968, Martin St. James – a hypnotist/entertainer and fellow Australian Reddy had met in New York City – threw Reddy a party with an admission price of five dollars to enable Reddy – then down to her last $12 – to make her rent. It was on this occasion that Reddy met her future manager and husband Jeff Wald, a 22-year-old secretary at the William Morris Agency
who crash
ed the party: Reddy told People in 1975, "[Wald] didn't pay the five dollars, but it was love at first sight.".
Wald would recall that he and Reddy married three days after meeting, and along with daughter Traci, the couple took up residence at the Hotel Albert in Greenwich Village
. Reddy would later state that she married Wald "out of desperation over her right to work and live in the United States". According to New York Magazine, Wald was fired from William Morris soon after having met Reddy, and "Helen supported them for six months doing $35-a-night hospital and charity benefits. They were so broke that they sneaked out of a hotel room carrying their clothes in paper bags." Reddy would recall: "When we did eat, it was spaghetti, and we spent what little money we had on cockroach spray." They left New York City for Chicago
and Wald landed a job as talent coordinator at Mister Kelly's
. While in Chicago, Reddy gained a reputation singing in local lounges – including Mister Kelly's – and, in the spring of 1968, she landed a deal with Fontana Records
, a division of major label Chicago-based Mercury Records
. Her first single, "One Way Ticket", on Fontana was not an American hit, but it did give Reddy her first ever appearance on any chart as it peaked at #83 in her native Australia.
, where Wald was hired at Capitol Records
, the label where Reddy was to attain stardom; however, Wald was hired and fired the same day.
Reddy became frustrated as Wald found success managing such acts as Deep Purple
and Tiny Tim
without making any evident effort to promote Reddy; after eighteen months of career inactivity, Reddy gave Wald an ultimatum: "he [must] either revitalize her career or get out...Jeff threw himself into his new career as Mr. Helen Reddy. Five months of phone calls to Capitol Records executive Artie Mogull finally paid off: Mogull agreed to let Helen cut one single if Jeff promised not to call for a month. She sang "I Don't Know How to Love Him
" from Jesus Christ Superstar
...It became a hit" – #13 in June 1971 – "Helen Reddy was on her way."
Reddy's stardom was consolidated when her single "I Am Woman
" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
in December 1972. The song was co-written by Reddy with Ray Burton; Reddy has attributed the impetus for writing "I Am Woman" and her early awareness of the women's movement to expatriate Australian rock critic and pioneer feminist Lillian Roxon
. Reddy is quoted in Fred Bronson's The Billboard Book of Number One Hits as saying that she was looking for songs to record which reflected the positive self-image she had gained from joining the women's movement, but could not find any, so "I realized that the song I was looking for didn't exist, and I was going to have to write it myself. "I Am Woman" was recorded and released in May 1972. but barely dented the charts in its initial release. However, female listeners soon adopted the song as an anthem and began requesting it from their local radio stations in droves, resulting in its September chart re-entry and eventual #1 hit status. "I Am Woman" earned a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
; at the awards ceremony, Reddy concluded her acceptance speech by famously thanking God "because She makes everything possible". The success of "I am Woman" made Reddy the first native of Australia to top the US charts and also to win a Grammy.
Over the next five years, Reddy had more than a dozen other U.S. Top 40 hits, including two more #1 hits. These included the Alex Harvey country ballad "Delta Dawn
" (#1, 1973), "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)
" (#3), "Keep on Singing
" (#15, 1974), "You and Me Against the World
" (written by Paul Williams
and featuring daughter Traci reciting the spoken bookends) (#9), "Emotion" (an English version of the French tune "Amoureuse
"), "Peaceful"
" (#12), "Angie Baby
" (#1), "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady
" (#8, 1975), Richard Kerr
-Will Jennings
-penned "Somewhere in the Night
" (#19; later a bigger hit for Barry Manilow
), and the Carole King
-Gerry Goffin
song "I Can't Hear You No More" (1976). Reddy's total sales figures for the United Sales are estimated in excess of 10 million singles and 15 million albums; her worldwide album sales tally is estimated in excess of 25 million.
At the height of her fame in the late 1970s, Reddy was a headliner, with a full chorus of backup singers and dancers to standing-room-only crowds on The Strip
in Las Vegas
. Reddy's opening acts were the then-up-and-coming Barry Manilow, and Joan Rivers
. In 1976, Reddy covered the Beatles song "Fool on the Hill
" for the musical documentary All This and World War II
.
Reddy was also instrumental in furthering the career of Olivia Newton-John
, as she encouraged her friend to move from Britain
to the United States in the early 1970s, giving her the best opportunity to expand her career. At a subsequent party at Reddy's house after a chance meeting with Allan Carr
, the film's producer, Newton-John then won the starring role in the hit film version of the musical Grease
.
, scoring eight #1 hits there over a three-year span, from "Delta Dawn" in 1973 to "I Can't Hear You No More" in 1976. However, the last named track evidenced a sharp drop in popularity for Reddy, with a #29 peak on the Billboard Hot 100
. Reddy's 1977 remake of Cilla Black
's 1964 hit "You're My World
" indicated comeback potential, with a #18 peak, but this track – co-produced by Kim Fowley
– would prove to be Reddy's last Top 40 hit. Its parent album, Ear Candy, Reddy's tenth album, would become her first album to not attain at least Gold status
since her second full-length release: Helen Reddy from 1972.
In 1978, Reddy sang as a backup singer on Gene Simmons
' solo album on the song True Confessions.
Of Reddy's eight subsequent single releases on Capitol, five reached the Easy Listening Top 50 – including "Candle on the Water
", from the 1977 film Pete's Dragon
(which starred Reddy). Only three ranked on the Billboard Hot 100: "The Happy Girls" (#57) – the follow-up to "You're My World" and, besides "I am Woman", Reddy's only chart item which she co-wrote – and the disco
tracks "Ready or Not" (#73) and "Make Love to Me" (#60), the latter a cover of an Australian hit by Kelly Marie
– which gave Reddy a lone R&B chart ranking at #59. Reddy had also ranked at #98 on the C&W chart
with "Laissez Les Bontemps Rouler", the B-side to "The Happy Girls".
Without the impetus of any major hits, Reddy's four Capitol album releases subsequent to Ear Candy failed to chart. In 1981, Reddy would say: "I signed [with Capitol] ten years ago...And when you are with a company so long you tend to be taken for granted. For the last three years I didn't feel I was getting the support from them."
May 1981 saw the release of Play Me Out, Reddy's debut album for MCA Records
, who Reddy said had "made me a deal we [Reddy and Wald] couldn't refuse"; "we shopped around and felt the most enthusiasm at MCA." In fact, Reddy's new label affiliation would result in only one minor success: her remake of Becky Hobbs
' 1979 C&W hit "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" returned her for the last time to the Billboard Hot 100 at #88. "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" also returned Reddy to the charts in the UK and Ireland (her sole previous hit in both areas was "Angie Baby"). Reddy's 14 November 1981 TOTP
performance brought "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" into the UK Top 50; the track would rise there no higher than #43, but in Ireland reached #16, giving Reddy her final high placing on a major national chart. MCA released one further Reddy album: Imagination, in 1983; it would prove to be Reddy's final release as a career recording artist. The unsuccessful Imagination was released just after the finalization of Reddy's divorce from Jeff Wald whose subsequent interference in her career Reddy would blame for the decline of her career profile in the mid-80s: "Several of my performing contracts were canceled, and one promoter told me he couldn't book me in case a certain someone 'came after him with a shotgun.'" Reddy states that it was effectively being blacklisted from her established performance areas which led to her pursuing a career in theater where Wald had no significant influence.
; the track "Surrender" – originating in Sunset Boulevard
– was remixed for release as dance maxi-single. Reddy's final album to date was the 2000 seasonal release The Best Christmas Ever.
, The Carol Burnett Show
and The Muppet Show
– Reddy helmed the 1973 summer replacement series for The Flip Wilson Show (Reddy had become friends with Flip Wilson
when she'd worked the Chicago club circuit early in her career); the series, The Helen Reddy Show, provided early national exposure for Albert Brooks
and the Pointer Sisters. Also in 1973, Reddy became the semi-regular host of the NBC
late night variety show The Midnight Special
, a position she retained until 1975.
Her film career includes an extended cameo as a nun in Airport 1975
– singing her own composition "Best Friend" – and a lone starring role in Walt Disney
's Pete's Dragon
, introducing the Oscar-nominated song "Candle on the Water
". For her part in Airport 1975, Reddy was nominated for a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female. Reddy was one of many musical stars featured in the all-star chorale in the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
, and has since played cameo roles in the films Disorderlies
(1987) and The Perfect Host (2010).
Despite her late 1970s chart decline, Reddy still had sufficient star power in 1979 to host "The Helen Reddy Special" broadcast that May, on ABC-TV
; Jeff Wald was the producer. In September 1981, Reddy announced she would be shooting the pilot for her own TV sitcom, in which she would play a single mother working as a lounge singer in Lake Tahoe
. However, this project was abandoned. Reddy has been an occasional television guest star as an actress, appearing on the series The Love Boat
, Fantasy Island
, The Jeffersons
(as herself), Diagnosis: Murder
, and BeastMaster
.
In 2007, Reddy had a voice cameo as herself in the Family Guy
television show's Star Wars
parody, "Blue Harvest
". She played a 'red'-themed ('Red'-dy) member of the Red Squadron, alongside Red Five
(Chris Griffin
), Red Buttons, Redd Foxx
, Big Red
, Red October, Simply Red
and others. In 2010 she guest starred on Family Guy again singing the opening theme song for the show's fictional Channel 5 News telecast.
In the mid-1980s, Reddy embarked on a new career in the theatre. Reddy mostly worked in musicals including Anything Goes
, Call Me Madam
, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
and – both on Broadway and the West End – Blood Brothers. She also appeared in four productions of the one-woman show Shirley Valentine
.
Notable stage roles include:
in 2002, stated in 2008 that "she will never again perform before an audience", specifying "It's not going to happen. I've moved on", and that "her voice has deepened to a lower key, and she's not even sure she could sing hits such as 'Delta Dawn'."
Reddy became a naturalized American citizen in 1974, subsequently availing herself of the opportunity to maintain dual American/Australian citizenship when said opportunity was made available. She has been married and divorced three times, and has two children.
Helen was married at age 20 to Kenneth Claude Weate, a considerably older musician and family friend, who she says she wed to defy her parents who wished her to follow them into show business; the couple separated not long after the birth of their daughter, Traci, who became Traci Wald after her adoption by Reddy's second husband Jeff Wald. In a 1975 People interview Reddy admitted her relationship with then husband and manager Jeff Wald was volatile with the couple having "huge, healthy fights" but that she owed her success – she was then the world's most successful female vocalist for two years running – to Wald: "He runs it all. Naturally when the moment of performance comes I have to deliver — but everything else is him. It's not my career; it's our career." By 2 January 1981, Reddy and Wald had separated, with Wald moving into a Beverly Hills rehab facility to treat an eight-year addiction to cocaine
. Reddy subsequently filed for divorce, yet withdrew her petition the day after filing it, stating: "After thirteen years of marriage, a separation of one month is too short to make a decision." In 1982, after finding evidence of Wald's continued substance abuse, Reddy again separated from him and initiated divorce proceedings, which this time went through in January 1983. In June 1983 Reddy married Milton Ruth, a drummer in her band; the couple divorced in 1995.
Active in community affairs, Reddy served as the state of California's Parks and Recreation Commissioner for three years. In 2002, she retired from performing and moved from her longtime residence in Santa Monica, California
back to her native Australia, living first on Norfolk Island
, before taking up residence in Sydney. There, she was a practising clinical hypnotherapist, and Patron of the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists. In April 2008, Reddy was reported to be living "simply and frugally off song royalties, pension funds, and social security...[renting] a 13th-floor apartment with a 180-degree view of Sydney Harbour." Her apartment had been recently appraised, causing Reddy concern over its future affordability; however, the New York-based landlord learned his tenant's identity and wrote her: "I had no idea it was the Helen Reddy who was living in my unit. Because of what you have done for millions of women all over the world, I will not sell or raise your rent. I hope you'll be very happy living there for years to come."
Reddy published an autobiography, The Woman I Am, and appeared on the Today show in 2006. She was also added to the ARIA Hall Of Fame, with a tribute performance by Vanessa Amorosi
of "I Am Woman" at the ceremony. Reddy suffers from Addison's disease
, a failure of the adrenal gland
s, which requires constant treatment.
She has a featured role in a crime film, The Perfect Host
, starring David Hyde-Pierce, released in theaters on July 1, 2011.
Australian American
An Australian American is a citizen of the United States who identifies with an Australian national background. This can include people of European, Asian, African or Pacific Islander backgrounds.-History:...
singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10 and three of those songs reached No. 1, including her signature hit "I Am Woman
I Am Woman
"I Am Woman" is a song cowritten by Helen Reddy and singer/songwriter/guitarist Ray Burton and performed by Reddy. Released in its most well-known version in 1970, the song became an enduring anthem for the women’s liberation movement.-Success:...
." She also placed 25 singles on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. Fifteen of those singles made the Top 10 and 8 of those reached No. 1.
Early years
Reddy was born into a well-known Australian show business family in Melbourne, where she attended Tintern Girls Grammar SchoolTintern Girls Grammar School
Tintern Schools is an independent, Anglican day for girls and boys located in Ringwood East, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. Her mother, Stella Campbell (née Lamond), was an actress, and her father, Maxwell David "Max" Reddy, was a writer, producer and actor. Her half-sister, Toni Lamond
Toni Lamond
Toni Lamond AM is an Australian cabaret singer, stage actor, dancer and comedienne...
, and her nephew, Tony Sheldon
Tony Sheldon
Tony Sheldon is an Australian actor/singer best known for his work in theatre; he is also a writer.- Career :...
, are actor-singers. Reddy is of part Irish descent on her father's side. Her maternal grandfather, Colin Lamond, was a one-time mayor of Waterloo, New South Wales
Waterloo, New South Wales
Waterloo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Waterloo is located 4 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.-History:...
, and her maternal grandmother was actress Stella Coffey.
At age four, Reddy joined her parents on the Australian vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit, singing and dancing; she'd recall: "It was instilled in me: You will be a star. So between the ages of 12 and 17 I got rebellious and decided this was not for me. I was going to be a housewife and mother." Reddy's teenage rebellion in favor of domesticity manifested as marriage to Kenneth Claude Weate, a considerably older musician and family friend; divorce ensued within a few months, and to support herself as a single mother – daughter Traci having been born several months after the divorce – Reddy resumed her performing career, concentrating on singing, as health problems precluded dancing (Reddy had a kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
removed at age 17). Reddy sang on radio and television, eventually winning a talent contest on the Australian pop music TV show Bandstand, the prize ostensibly being a trip to New York City to cut a single for Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. After arriving in New York in 1966, Reddy was informed by Mercury that her prize was only the chance to audition for the label, and that Mercury considered the Bandstand footage to constitute her audition, which was deemed unsuccessful. Despite possessing only $200 and a return ticket to Australia, Reddy elected to remain in the US with three-year-old Traci and pursue a singing career.
Reddy would recall her 1966 appearance at the Three Rivers Inn in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
– "there were like twelve people in the audience" – as typical of her early US performing career. In fact, the lack of working papers made it difficult to obtain any singing jobs in the US, and she was forced to make several trips to Canada where, being a Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
country like Australia, she had the right to work. In the spring of 1968, Martin St. James – a hypnotist/entertainer and fellow Australian Reddy had met in New York City – threw Reddy a party with an admission price of five dollars to enable Reddy – then down to her last $12 – to make her rent. It was on this occasion that Reddy met her future manager and husband Jeff Wald, a 22-year-old secretary at the William Morris Agency
William Morris Agency
WME is the largest talent agency in the world, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents elite artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, publishing, and physical production...
who crash
Gate-crashing
Gate-crashing, gatecrashing or party crashing is the act of attending an invite-only event without invitationThe person doing the gate-crashing is known as a gate-crasher...
ed the party: Reddy told People in 1975, "[Wald] didn't pay the five dollars, but it was love at first sight.".
Wald would recall that he and Reddy married three days after meeting, and along with daughter Traci, the couple took up residence at the Hotel Albert in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. Reddy would later state that she married Wald "out of desperation over her right to work and live in the United States". According to New York Magazine, Wald was fired from William Morris soon after having met Reddy, and "Helen supported them for six months doing $35-a-night hospital and charity benefits. They were so broke that they sneaked out of a hotel room carrying their clothes in paper bags." Reddy would recall: "When we did eat, it was spaghetti, and we spent what little money we had on cockroach spray." They left New York City for Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Wald landed a job as talent coordinator at Mister Kelly's
Mister Kelly's
-History:Mister Kelly's was a nightclub on 1028 North Rush Street in Chicago which operated from 1957 to 1975 that specialized in live performances, notably by popular jazz artists.The location formerly occupied by Mister Kelly's is now Gibsons Steakhouse....
. While in Chicago, Reddy gained a reputation singing in local lounges – including Mister Kelly's – and, in the spring of 1968, she landed a deal with Fontana Records
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
, a division of major label Chicago-based Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. Her first single, "One Way Ticket", on Fontana was not an American hit, but it did give Reddy her first ever appearance on any chart as it peaked at #83 in her native Australia.
The "I Am Woman" era and stardom
Within a year, Wald relocated Reddy and Traci to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where Wald was hired at Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, the label where Reddy was to attain stardom; however, Wald was hired and fired the same day.
Reddy became frustrated as Wald found success managing such acts as Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
and Tiny Tim
Tiny Tim (musician)
Tiny Tim , , born in Manhattan, was an American singer and ukulele player. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a distinctive high falsetto/vibrato voice.-Rise to fame:Born to Lebanese parents in 1932, Khaury displayed musical talent at a very young age...
without making any evident effort to promote Reddy; after eighteen months of career inactivity, Reddy gave Wald an ultimatum: "he [must] either revitalize her career or get out...Jeff threw himself into his new career as Mr. Helen Reddy. Five months of phone calls to Capitol Records executive Artie Mogull finally paid off: Mogull agreed to let Helen cut one single if Jeff promised not to call for a month. She sang "I Don't Know How to Love Him
I Don't Know How to Love Him
"I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice , a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene who in Jesus Christ Superstar is presented as bearing an unrequited love for the title character...
" from Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
...It became a hit" – #13 in June 1971 – "Helen Reddy was on her way."
Reddy's stardom was consolidated when her single "I Am Woman
I Am Woman
"I Am Woman" is a song cowritten by Helen Reddy and singer/songwriter/guitarist Ray Burton and performed by Reddy. Released in its most well-known version in 1970, the song became an enduring anthem for the women’s liberation movement.-Success:...
" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in December 1972. The song was co-written by Reddy with Ray Burton; Reddy has attributed the impetus for writing "I Am Woman" and her early awareness of the women's movement to expatriate Australian rock critic and pioneer feminist Lillian Roxon
Lillian Roxon
Lillian Roxon was a noted Australian journalist and author, best known for Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia . Her niece Nicola Roxon, the Australian politician, is currently the federal Minister for Health....
. Reddy is quoted in Fred Bronson's The Billboard Book of Number One Hits as saying that she was looking for songs to record which reflected the positive self-image she had gained from joining the women's movement, but could not find any, so "I realized that the song I was looking for didn't exist, and I was going to have to write it myself. "I Am Woman" was recorded and released in May 1972. but barely dented the charts in its initial release. However, female listeners soon adopted the song as an anthem and began requesting it from their local radio stations in droves, resulting in its September chart re-entry and eventual #1 hit status. "I Am Woman" earned a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
; at the awards ceremony, Reddy concluded her acceptance speech by famously thanking God "because She makes everything possible". The success of "I am Woman" made Reddy the first native of Australia to top the US charts and also to win a Grammy.
Over the next five years, Reddy had more than a dozen other U.S. Top 40 hits, including two more #1 hits. These included the Alex Harvey country ballad "Delta Dawn
Delta Dawn
"Delta Dawn" is a song written by former child rockabilly star Larry Collins and songwriter Alex Harvey , best known as a 1972 top ten C&W hit for Tanya Tucker and a number-one hit for Helen Reddy in 1973.-Lyrical story:The title character is a faded southern...
" (#1, 1973), "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)
Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)
"Leave Me Alone " was a Top Ten hit single for Helen Reddy in 1973-74.The song was written by Linda Laurie, a sometime recording artist best known for the 1959 novelty record "Ambrose Part 5" although she had cut mainstream Pop records up until 1964; Laurie subsequently moved into songwriting,...
" (#3), "Keep on Singing
Keep on Singing
"Keep on Singing" is a 1972 song composed by Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart. Recorded by Austin Roberts and released by Chelsea Records from the album Austin Roberts, the single reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" (#15, 1974), "You and Me Against the World
You and Me Against the World (song)
"You and Me Against the World" is a song written by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams, recorded by Helen Reddy for her 1974 album Love Song for Jeffrey....
" (written by Paul Williams
Paul Williams (songwriter)
Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
and featuring daughter Traci reciting the spoken bookends) (#9), "Emotion" (an English version of the French tune "Amoureuse
Amoureuse
"Amoureuse" is the title of a French language composition by Véronique Sanson introduced on her 1972 album of the same name.; rendered in English the song became a hit single for Kiki Dee and - as "Emotion" - for Helen Reddy....
"), "Peaceful"
Peaceful (song)
"Peaceful" is a song written by Kenny Rankin, and recorded by several artists. It is best known as a 1973 hit single for Helen Reddy.Introduced by Rankin on his 1967 debut album Mind Dusters on Mercury Records, "Peaceful" was recorded by Bobbie Gentry for her 1968 album Local Gentry on Capitol...
" (#12), "Angie Baby
Angie Baby
"Angie Baby" is a popular song that was written by American Alan O'Day, and became a hit for Australian singer Helen Reddy. The song reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at the end of December of 1974 and became one of Reddy's biggest-selling singles. The song also topped the U.S...
" (#1), "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady
Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady
-Recording and Release:An apparent farewell to a self-absorbed lover, "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" was first recorded by its composer Harriet Schock who'd recall having written the first verse and title of "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" on a serviette "on an airplane as I was leaving someone...
" (#8, 1975), Richard Kerr
Richard Kerr (songwriter)
Richard Kerr is an English composer, who co-wrote "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It" and "Somewhere in the Night" - all of which became hit singles for Barry Manilow.-Career:...
-Will Jennings
Will Jennings
Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings is an American songwriter who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On", the theme for the film Titanic .-Life and education:...
-penned "Somewhere in the Night
Somewhere in the Night (song)
"Somewhere in the Night" is a popular ballad written by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings. Introduced in 1975 on Kim Carnes' eponymous album and covered on the Yvonne Elliman album Rising Sun, "Somewhere in the Night" charted for Batdorf & Rodney at #69 in the autumn of 1975 before being issued as...
" (#19; later a bigger hit for Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
), and the Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
-Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
song "I Can't Hear You No More" (1976). Reddy's total sales figures for the United Sales are estimated in excess of 10 million singles and 15 million albums; her worldwide album sales tally is estimated in excess of 25 million.
At the height of her fame in the late 1970s, Reddy was a headliner, with a full chorus of backup singers and dancers to standing-room-only crowds on The Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Reddy's opening acts were the then-up-and-coming Barry Manilow, and Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
. In 1976, Reddy covered the Beatles song "Fool on the Hill
Fool on the Hill (novel)
Fool on the Hill is a 1988 comic fantasy novel by Matt Ruff, set at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.The novel is the story of two authors. Cornell University resident and author Stephen Titus George finds that his real life is becoming the main plot of a retired god, known as Mr. Sunshine. Mr...
" for the musical documentary All This and World War II
All This and World War II
All This and World War II is a 1976 musical documentary that juxtaposes Beatles songs, performed by a number of musicians, with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films from the 1940s...
.
Reddy was also instrumental in furthering the career of Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
, as she encouraged her friend to move from Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to the United States in the early 1970s, giving her the best opportunity to expand her career. At a subsequent party at Reddy's house after a chance meeting with Allan Carr
Allan Carr
Allan Carr was an American producer and manager of stage and screen. Carr was nominated for numerous awards, winning a Tony Award and two People's Choice Awards, and was named Producer of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners.-Early career:Born Allan Solomon in Chicago, Illinois,...
, the film's producer, Newton-John then won the starring role in the hit film version of the musical Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
.
Career eclipse
Reddy was most successful on the Easy Listening chartHot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
, scoring eight #1 hits there over a three-year span, from "Delta Dawn" in 1973 to "I Can't Hear You No More" in 1976. However, the last named track evidenced a sharp drop in popularity for Reddy, with a #29 peak on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Reddy's 1977 remake of Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
's 1964 hit "You're My World
You're My World
"You're My World" is a ballad originally recorded in 1963 as "Il Mio Mondo" by Umberto Bindi, who co-wrote the Italian-language version with Gino Paoli. Rendered with English lyrics by Carl Sigman as "You're My World",the song has reached No...
" indicated comeback potential, with a #18 peak, but this track – co-produced by Kim Fowley
Kim Fowley
Kim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
– would prove to be Reddy's last Top 40 hit. Its parent album, Ear Candy, Reddy's tenth album, would become her first album to not attain at least Gold status
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
since her second full-length release: Helen Reddy from 1972.
In 1978, Reddy sang as a backup singer on Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
' solo album on the song True Confessions.
Of Reddy's eight subsequent single releases on Capitol, five reached the Easy Listening Top 50 – including "Candle on the Water
Candle on the Water
"Candle on the Water" is a song written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn from Walt Disney Picture's live action/animation film Pete's Dragon...
", from the 1977 film Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system...
(which starred Reddy). Only three ranked on the Billboard Hot 100: "The Happy Girls" (#57) – the follow-up to "You're My World" and, besides "I am Woman", Reddy's only chart item which she co-wrote – and the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
tracks "Ready or Not" (#73) and "Make Love to Me" (#60), the latter a cover of an Australian hit by Kelly Marie
Kelly Marie
Kelly Marie is a Scottish disco singer. Her only notable hit was "Feels Like I'm in Love", a #1 hit in the UK in 1980.-Early career:...
– which gave Reddy a lone R&B chart ranking at #59. Reddy had also ranked at #98 on the C&W chart
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
with "Laissez Les Bontemps Rouler", the B-side to "The Happy Girls".
Without the impetus of any major hits, Reddy's four Capitol album releases subsequent to Ear Candy failed to chart. In 1981, Reddy would say: "I signed [with Capitol] ten years ago...And when you are with a company so long you tend to be taken for granted. For the last three years I didn't feel I was getting the support from them."
May 1981 saw the release of Play Me Out, Reddy's debut album for MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
, who Reddy said had "made me a deal we [Reddy and Wald] couldn't refuse"; "we shopped around and felt the most enthusiasm at MCA." In fact, Reddy's new label affiliation would result in only one minor success: her remake of Becky Hobbs
Becky Hobbs
Becky Hobbs is an American country music singer, songwriter and pianist. She first attracted critical attention from rock journalist Stann Findelle, who also wrote the liner notes on her debut MCA album, "Becky Hobbs." She has recorded seven studio albums, and has charted multiple singles on the...
' 1979 C&W hit "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" returned her for the last time to the Billboard Hot 100 at #88. "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" also returned Reddy to the charts in the UK and Ireland (her sole previous hit in both areas was "Angie Baby"). Reddy's 14 November 1981 TOTP
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
performance brought "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" into the UK Top 50; the track would rise there no higher than #43, but in Ireland reached #16, giving Reddy her final high placing on a major national chart. MCA released one further Reddy album: Imagination, in 1983; it would prove to be Reddy's final release as a career recording artist. The unsuccessful Imagination was released just after the finalization of Reddy's divorce from Jeff Wald whose subsequent interference in her career Reddy would blame for the decline of her career profile in the mid-80s: "Several of my performing contracts were canceled, and one promoter told me he couldn't book me in case a certain someone 'came after him with a shotgun.'" Reddy states that it was effectively being blacklisted from her established performance areas which led to her pursuing a career in theater where Wald had no significant influence.
Later recordings
In 1990, Reddy issued – on her own label – the album Feel So Young, including remakes of Reddy's repertoire favorites; her one interim recording had been the 1987 dance maxi-single "Mysterious Kind", on which Reddy had vocally supported Jessica Williams. 1997 saw the release of Center Stage, an album of show tunes which Reddy recorded for Varèse RecordsVarèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
; the track "Surrender" – originating in Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
– was remixed for release as dance maxi-single. Reddy's final album to date was the 2000 seasonal release The Best Christmas Ever.
Film, theatre and television
A frequent guest on talk shows and variety programs of the 1970s and early 1980s – with credits including The Bobby Darin ShowBobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
and The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
– Reddy helmed the 1973 summer replacement series for The Flip Wilson Show (Reddy had become friends with Flip Wilson
Flip Wilson
Clerow Wilson, Jr. , known professionally as Flip Wilson, was an American comedian and actor. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, The Flip Wilson Show...
when she'd worked the Chicago club circuit early in her career); the series, The Helen Reddy Show, provided early national exposure for Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
and the Pointer Sisters. Also in 1973, Reddy became the semi-regular host of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
late night variety show The Midnight Special
The Midnight Special (TV series)
The Midnight Special is an American musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981...
, a position she retained until 1975.
Her film career includes an extended cameo as a nun in Airport 1975
Airport 1975
Airport 1975 is a 1974 disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film Airport. It stars Charlton Heston and Karen Black and is directed by Jack Smight....
– singing her own composition "Best Friend" – and a lone starring role in Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system...
, introducing the Oscar-nominated song "Candle on the Water
Candle on the Water
"Candle on the Water" is a song written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn from Walt Disney Picture's live action/animation film Pete's Dragon...
". For her part in Airport 1975, Reddy was nominated for a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female. Reddy was one of many musical stars featured in the all-star chorale in the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a 1978 American musical film. Its soundtrack, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, features new versions of songs originally written and performed by The Beatles. The film draws primarily from two of their albums, 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club...
, and has since played cameo roles in the films Disorderlies
Disorderlies
Disorderlies is a 1987 comedy film starring the rap group, The Fat Boys, and Ralph Bellamy.-Plot summary:Winslow Lowry, the no-good, indebted nephew of elderly, infirm billionaire Albert Dennison seeks to speed his uncle's demise by hiring three of the most inept orderlies he can possibly find...
(1987) and The Perfect Host (2010).
Despite her late 1970s chart decline, Reddy still had sufficient star power in 1979 to host "The Helen Reddy Special" broadcast that May, on ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
; Jeff Wald was the producer. In September 1981, Reddy announced she would be shooting the pilot for her own TV sitcom, in which she would play a single mother working as a lounge singer in Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
. However, this project was abandoned. Reddy has been an occasional television guest star as an actress, appearing on the series The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
(as herself), Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
, and BeastMaster
BeastMaster (TV series)
BeastMaster is a Canadian television series that aired from 1999 to 2002. It was loosely based on a 1982 MGM movie The Beastmaster. The series aired for three complete seasons...
.
In 2007, Reddy had a voice cameo as herself in the Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
television show's Star Wars
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
parody, "Blue Harvest
Blue Harvest (Family Guy)
"Blue Harvest" is the hour-long premiere to the sixth season of the FOX series Family Guy and the first part of the series' trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally aired on September 23, 2007. The episode is a retelling and parody of the 1977 blockbuster film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New...
". She played a 'red'-themed ('Red'-dy) member of the Red Squadron, alongside Red Five
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
(Chris Griffin
Chris Griffin
Chris Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the son and middle child of Peter and Lois Griffin, brother of Stewie and Meg Griffin. Chris is voiced by Seth Green.-Personality:...
), Red Buttons, Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
, Big Red
Big Red (gum)
Big Red is a cinnamon-flavored chewing gum introduced by the William Wrigley Jr. Company in 1976.Big Red was available in the UK and Ireland in the mid-to-late 1990s, but is no longer available there . It is a popular souvenir for visitors to the US from Ireland or the UK. Big Red was also...
, Red October, Simply Red
Simply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
and others. In 2010 she guest starred on Family Guy again singing the opening theme song for the show's fictional Channel 5 News telecast.
In the mid-1980s, Reddy embarked on a new career in the theatre. Reddy mostly worked in musicals including Anything Goes
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
, Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.A satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries, it centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed...
, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (musical)
Drood is a musical based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It is written by Rupert Holmes, and was the first Broadway musical with multiple endings . Holmes received Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score...
and – both on Broadway and the West End – Blood Brothers. She also appeared in four productions of the one-woman show Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine is a one-character play by Willy Russell. Taking the form of a monologue by a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife, it focuses on her life before and after a transforming holiday abroad.-Plot:...
.
Notable stage roles include:
- Shirley Valentine – as Shirley
- Stage West, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(June, 1997) - 12 U.S. City Tour (February – April 1996)
- Theatre by the Sea, R.I. (1995)
- Stage West, Canada
- Blood Brothers – as Mrs. Johnstone
- West End (1997)
- Music Box TheatreMusic Box TheatreThe Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
, Broadway (January – May 1995) - Empire Theatre, LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
(1995)
- Love, Julie – as Gail Sinclair
- Sharon Stage, ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
(August, 1996) - Cape CodCape CodCape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
(July 1996) - Westport Country Playhouse (June 1996)
- Sharon Stage, Connecticut
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood – as Edwin Drood/Miss Alice Nutting
- Sacramento Music Circus (July, 1988)
- Call Me Madam – as Mrs. Sally Adams
- Sacramento Music Circus (August, 1986)
- Anything GoesAnything GoesAnything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
– as Reno Sweeney- Long Beach Civic Light Opera (July, 1987)
- Sacramento Music Circus (July, 1985)
Personal life and recent years
Reddy, who gave what she announced as her farewell performance with the Edmonton Symphony OrchestraEdmonton Symphony Orchestra
As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to country...
in 2002, stated in 2008 that "she will never again perform before an audience", specifying "It's not going to happen. I've moved on", and that "her voice has deepened to a lower key, and she's not even sure she could sing hits such as 'Delta Dawn'."
Reddy became a naturalized American citizen in 1974, subsequently availing herself of the opportunity to maintain dual American/Australian citizenship when said opportunity was made available. She has been married and divorced three times, and has two children.
- Kenneth Weate (1961–1966), Child: Traci (b. 1963)
- Jeff Wald (25 May 1966 – January 1983). Child: Jordan (b. 1972). She converted to JudaismConversion to JudaismConversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
before marrying Wald. - Milton Ruth (29 June 1983–1995)
Helen was married at age 20 to Kenneth Claude Weate, a considerably older musician and family friend, who she says she wed to defy her parents who wished her to follow them into show business; the couple separated not long after the birth of their daughter, Traci, who became Traci Wald after her adoption by Reddy's second husband Jeff Wald. In a 1975 People interview Reddy admitted her relationship with then husband and manager Jeff Wald was volatile with the couple having "huge, healthy fights" but that she owed her success – she was then the world's most successful female vocalist for two years running – to Wald: "He runs it all. Naturally when the moment of performance comes I have to deliver — but everything else is him. It's not my career; it's our career." By 2 January 1981, Reddy and Wald had separated, with Wald moving into a Beverly Hills rehab facility to treat an eight-year addiction to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. Reddy subsequently filed for divorce, yet withdrew her petition the day after filing it, stating: "After thirteen years of marriage, a separation of one month is too short to make a decision." In 1982, after finding evidence of Wald's continued substance abuse, Reddy again separated from him and initiated divorce proceedings, which this time went through in January 1983. In June 1983 Reddy married Milton Ruth, a drummer in her band; the couple divorced in 1995.
Active in community affairs, Reddy served as the state of California's Parks and Recreation Commissioner for three years. In 2002, she retired from performing and moved from her longtime residence in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
back to her native Australia, living first on Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
, before taking up residence in Sydney. There, she was a practising clinical hypnotherapist, and Patron of the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists. In April 2008, Reddy was reported to be living "simply and frugally off song royalties, pension funds, and social security...[renting] a 13th-floor apartment with a 180-degree view of Sydney Harbour." Her apartment had been recently appraised, causing Reddy concern over its future affordability; however, the New York-based landlord learned his tenant's identity and wrote her: "I had no idea it was the Helen Reddy who was living in my unit. Because of what you have done for millions of women all over the world, I will not sell or raise your rent. I hope you'll be very happy living there for years to come."
Reddy published an autobiography, The Woman I Am, and appeared on the Today show in 2006. She was also added to the ARIA Hall Of Fame, with a tribute performance by Vanessa Amorosi
Vanessa Amorosi
Vanessa Amorosi is an Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her combined album and single sales have reached over 2 million worldwide.-Early life:...
of "I Am Woman" at the ceremony. Reddy suffers from Addison's disease
Addison's disease
Addison’s disease is a rare, chronic endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient steroid hormones...
, a failure of the adrenal gland
Adrenal gland
In mammals, the adrenal glands are endocrine glands that sit atop the kidneys; in humans, the right suprarenal gland is triangular shaped, while the left suprarenal gland is semilunar shaped...
s, which requires constant treatment.
The Perfect Host
The Perfect Host is a 2010 dark comedy / thriller written and directed by Nick Tomnay. The film stars David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford. Filming took place in Los Angeles, California. It was photographed in 17 days. Editing took place in New York....
, starring David Hyde-Pierce, released in theaters on July 1, 2011.
External links
- HelenReddy.com, Reddy's official website
- Reddy at classicbands
- Listen to an excerpt of 'I am Woman' on australianscreen online
- 'I am Woman' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2009