She is the only person to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, popular and classical music awards.
Laine was born in a London suburb to a Jamaican father and English mother who sent her to singing and dancing lessons at an early age. She did not take up singing seriously until her mid-twenties, however. She auditioned successfully for a band led by musician John Dankworth, with which she performed until 1958, when she and Dankworth married.
She then began her career as a singer and actress. She played the lead in a new play at London's famous Royal Court Theatre, home of the new wave of playwrights of the 1950s: Harold Pinter and the like. This led to other stage performances such as the musical Valmouth in 1959, the play A Time to Laugh (with Robert Morley and Ruth Gordon) in 1962, and eventually to her show stopping Julie in the Wendy Toye production of Showboat at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1971.
During this period she had two major recording successes. You'll Answer to Me reached the British Top 10 while Laine was 'prima donna' in the 1961 Edinburgh Festival production of Kurt Weill's opera/ballet The Seven Deadly Sins. In 1964 her Shakespeare and All that Jazz album with Dankworth received widespread critical acclaim, and to this day remains an important milestone in her identification with the more unusual aspects of a singer's repertoire.
1972 marked the start of Laine's international activities, with a successful first tour of Australia. Shortly afterwards, her career in the United States was launched with a concert at New York's Lincoln Center, followed in 1973 by the first of many Carnegie Hall appearances. Coast-to-coast tours of the U.S. and Canada soon followed, and with them a succession of record albums and television appearances. This led, after several nominations, to Cleo's first Grammy award, in recognition of the live recording of her 1983 Carnegie concert.
Laine colaborated with many great classical musicians including James Galway, Nigel Kennedy, Julian Lloyd Webber and John Williams.
Other important recordings during that time were duet albums with Ray Charles (Porgy and Bess) and Mel Tormé (see Nothing Without You), as well as Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire which won Laine a classical Grammy nomination.
Laine's relationship with the musical theatre, started in Britain, continued in the United States with starring performances in Sondheim's A Little Night Music and The Merry Widow (Michigan Opera). In 1985 she originated the role of Princess Puffer in the Broadway hit musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which she received a Tony nomination, and in 1989 she received the Los Angeles critics' acclaim for her portrayal of the Witch in Sondheim's Into the Woods.
In the 2006 New Years Honours list, her husband John Dankworth was made a knight bachelor, becoming Sir John Dankworth. As his wife, she is entitled to be known as "Lady Dankworth," however, she uses her own professional name.
Bidin' My Time
Cleo Laine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause that's the kinda guy I'm
While other folks grow dizzy
I keep busy
Bidin' my time.
Next year, next year,
Somethin's bound to happen,
I'll just keep on nappin'
And bidin' my time
Cause that's the kinda guy I'm.
There's no regrettin'
When I'm settin'
Bidin' my time.
The lyrics of "Bidin' My Time" by Cleo Laine talk about a person who is patient and is willing to wait for the perfect time to achieve their goals. The person describes themselves as "bidin' my time" and "keep(ing) busy" while everyone else around them is getting anxious and frantic. The person is confident that something good is bound to happen eventually, even if it's not this year but the following year.
The words "there's no regrettin'" suggest that this person doesn't want to rush into anything and regret their actions later. Instead, they prefer to wait patiently for the right time to come. The song paints a picture of a person who is content with their current life and is not in a rush to make big changes until they are absolutely sure that the time is right. The lyrics are filled with optimism and hope for the future, and the music is lively and upbeat, adding to the positive theme of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
But I'm bidin' my time,
I'm waiting patiently and not rushing into anything,
Cause that's the kinda guy I'm
I'm someone who takes things slow and steady,
While other folks grow dizzy
Others might get carried away and lose focus,
I keep busy
I stay productive and make good use of my time,
Bidin' my time.
Still, I'm waiting for the right moment to come,
Next year, next year,
Possibly in the future,
Somethin's bound to happen,
I believe that something significant will occur,
This year, this year,
For now, in the present,
I'll just keep on nappin'
I'm not going to worry or stress too much about it,
And bidin' my time
Continuing to wait, slowly and steadily,
Cause that's the kinda guy I'm.
It's my nature to be patient and wait for the right moment,
There's no regrettin'
I won't have any regrets or second-guesses later on,
When I'm settin'
While I'm relaxing and taking it easy,
Bidin' my time.
I'm still patiently waiting for the right opportunity,
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ken Drabinsky
What a marvellous final song....in this "Last Show tribute"....Just before this, my son and I were lucky enough to pop in to a Seattle performance and meet them afterward backstage...and as a Canadian cousin of Alan Zeffertt (one of her songwriters from Portsmouth) it was indeed an amazing opportunity to meet my all-time favourite jazz singer and duo.
AMHardulak
What a beautiful tribute
E Gil
Best singing voice I've ever heard! I was there, met them, loved them.
matt rosengarten
Brings back memories, timeless, tasteful, elegant, and uplifting. Sir John and Dame Cleo set the standard and beyond. Miss them like all the ones I love.
sophie lise Hannibal
I was at that gig, it was magical, such a treat to see them in the U.S.!
Bobbie Howard
Have seen them eight times in the U.S. - They were THE BEST !
Peter Greenhill
What a lovely video. Moving but also sad. I saw John at the BFI in London in June 2009 following a showing of Accident, a film he scored in 1967. He talked about his score and played a few numbers Charming man. None of us expected him to go so soon.
richard gornalle
This is a wonderful thrill seeing this video. Thank you.
Kurt Diminieux
FANTASTIC :) ;) :) Bravo, Bravo Sir John and Dame Cleo :) ;) ;) WHO gave the thumbs down, NO WAY BRILLIANT :) ;) ;) ;) ;)
Jeffery Wines
I was there that evening, what fantastic talents.