Barbara Lea
Barbara Lea (April 10, 1929 – December 28, 2011) was an American actress an… Read Full Bio ↴Barbara Lea (April 10, 1929 – December 28, 2011) was an American actress and singer.
Born into a musical family in Detroit, she worked with small dance bands there before attending Wellesley College on scholarship and majoring in music theory. Boston was a hotbed of jazz in the late 40s and early 50s, allowing Barbara to sing with major instrumentalists such as Marian McPartland, Bobby Hackett, Vic Dickenson, Frankie Newton, Johnny Windhurst, and George Wein.
Her early recordings for Riverside and Prestige met with immediate critical acclaim and led to her winning the DownBeat International Critics' Poll as the Best New Singer of 1956. She appeared in small clubs in New York, including the renowned Village Vanguard, and throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada, as well as on radio and TV.
She studied acting to improve her stage presence and, with the near-demise of classic pop in the early 60s, turned to the legitimate theatre, performing in everything from Shakespeare to Sondheim. She moved to the West Coast and received her M.A. in drama at Cal. State-Northridge, then returned to New York and taught speech at the American Academy of Dramatic Art and acting at Hofstra College. In the 1970s, with the resurgence of interest in show tunes and popular standards, Barbara Lea was sought out to appear in the Peabody Award-winning National Public Radio series "American Popular Song with Alec Wilder and Friends". This led to two lengthy feature articles in The New Yorker and a renewed singing career.
She has over a dozen CDs currently available on the Audiophile label, plus reissues of two early LPs on Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics, and two recent releases on the European-based label Challenge.
Barbara Lea died at the age of eighty-two on December 28, 2011.
Born into a musical family in Detroit, she worked with small dance bands there before attending Wellesley College on scholarship and majoring in music theory. Boston was a hotbed of jazz in the late 40s and early 50s, allowing Barbara to sing with major instrumentalists such as Marian McPartland, Bobby Hackett, Vic Dickenson, Frankie Newton, Johnny Windhurst, and George Wein.
Her early recordings for Riverside and Prestige met with immediate critical acclaim and led to her winning the DownBeat International Critics' Poll as the Best New Singer of 1956. She appeared in small clubs in New York, including the renowned Village Vanguard, and throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada, as well as on radio and TV.
She studied acting to improve her stage presence and, with the near-demise of classic pop in the early 60s, turned to the legitimate theatre, performing in everything from Shakespeare to Sondheim. She moved to the West Coast and received her M.A. in drama at Cal. State-Northridge, then returned to New York and taught speech at the American Academy of Dramatic Art and acting at Hofstra College. In the 1970s, with the resurgence of interest in show tunes and popular standards, Barbara Lea was sought out to appear in the Peabody Award-winning National Public Radio series "American Popular Song with Alec Wilder and Friends". This led to two lengthy feature articles in The New Yorker and a renewed singing career.
She has over a dozen CDs currently available on the Audiophile label, plus reissues of two early LPs on Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics, and two recent releases on the European-based label Challenge.
Barbara Lea died at the age of eighty-two on December 28, 2011.
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Barbara Lea Lyrics
Ain't Misbehavin' No one to talk with All by myself No one to walk…
Autumn Leaves The falling leaves drift by the window The autumn leaves of…
Baltimore Oriole Baltimore Oriole Took one look at that mercury, forty below…
Basin Street Blues Won't you come along with me To the Mississippi We'll take…
Begin the Beguine When they begin the beguine It brings back the sound of…
Blue Again Blue again Blue again And you know darn well It's you aga…
Brooklyn Bridge Like the folks you meet on Like to plant my feet…
But Not for Me Old man sunshine listen you Never tell me dreams come true …
Do It Again! Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans And…
Easy to Love I know too well that I'm just wasting precious time In…
Fine And Dandy Please forgive this platitude But I like your attitude You…
Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You Love makes me treat you The way that I do Gee baby,…
How High The Moon Somewhere there's music How faint the tune Somewhere there's…
How Little We Know How little we know! How much to discover What chemical…
How Sweet You Are How sweet you are, how sweet you are, How dear your…
I I took a trip on a train And I thought about…
I Had Myself A True Love I had myself a true love A true love who was…
I've Got A Pocket Full Of Dreams Happiness comes with success And that I guess is true But …
I've Got My Eyes On You I've got my eyes on you, So best beware where you…
Just A Little Lovin' Just a little lovin' Early in the mornin' Beats a…
Miss Brown to You Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans And…
More Than You Know Whether you are here or yonder, Whether you are false…
Mountain Greenery On the first of may, it is moving day, Spring is…
Pick Yourself Up Please teacher, teach me something, Nice teacher, teach me …
Someone to Watch over Me There's a saying old says that love is blind Still were…
The Music Stopped It was a most romantic interlude And we were in a…
The Nearness of You Its not the pale moon that excites me That thrills and…
The Song Is Ended My thoughts go back to a heavenly dance A moment of…
The Very Thought Of You The very thought of you and I forget to do The…
Thursday's Child Monday's child is fair of face And Tuesday's child is full…
Time on My Hands When the day fades away into twilight The moon is my…
where have you been If ever you love again, if such luck could be You…
Where haveyou been If ever you love again, if such luck could be You…
You Are There How sweet you are, how sweet you are, How dear your…
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To You'd be so nice to come home to You'd be so…