Shearing was born in the Battersea area of London, United Kingdom. Congenitally blind, he was the youngest of nine children. He started to learn piano at the age of three. After limited training and extensive listening to recorded jazz, he began playing at hotels, clubs and pubs in the London area, sometimes solo, occasionally with dance bands. In 1940, Shearing joined Harry Parry's popular band and became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing with Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early 1940s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls.
In 1946, Shearing established himself in the United States. In 1955, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Leading a quintet (piano with guitar, bass, drums and vibraphone), which over the years included Cal Tjader, Margie Hyams, Denzil Best, Israel Crosby, Joe Pass and Gary Burton, Shearing had a succession of hugely popular records including September In The Rain and his own composition, Lullaby Of Birdland (1952). His style, including the joint playing of the melody by piano and vibraphone, was also widely copied, becoming part of the idiom of pop music, so that his records from that period now sound far less innovative than they did at the time. Later, Shearing played with a trio, as a solo and increasingly in duo. Among his collaborations have been sets with the Montgomery Brothers, Marian McPartland, Brian Torff, Jim Hall, Hank Jones and Kenny Davern.
In the 1970s, Shearing's profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord Records in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance.
Over the years, Shearing has also collaborated with singers including Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Ernestine Anderson, Carmen McRae, and most notably, Mel Tormé, with whom he performed frequently in the late 80s and early 90s at festivals, on radio and for recordings.
Recently, Shearing collaborated with the John Pizzarelli Trio to create the album The Rare Delight of You, which garnered extremely good reviews. The album cover, featuring Pizzarelli and Shearing posing in front of a solid blue background, was designed to resemble the cover of Nat King Cole Sings George Shearing Plays, a legendary jazz recording with which it shares some similarities in style.
Shearing's interest in classical music resulted in some performances with concert orchestras in the 1950s and 1960s, and his solo's frequently draw upon the music of Debussy and, particularly, Erik Satie for inspiration. Shearing also made a recording with the classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell.
Shearing wrote a number of jazz arrangements of hymn tunes for the organ in collaboration with organist Dale Wood, that have been published in sheet music form.
(2) For a long stretch of time in the 1950s and early '60s, George Shearing had one of the most popular jazz combos on the planet -- so much so that, in the usual jazz tradition of distrusting popular success, he tended to be underappreciated. Shearing's main claim to fame was the invention of a unique quintet sound, derived from a combination of piano, vibraphone, electric guitar, bass, and drums. Within this context, Shearing would play in a style he called "locked hands," which he picked up and refined from Milt Buckner's early-'40s work with the Lionel Hampton band, as well as Glenn Miller's sax section and the King Cole Trio. Stating the melody on the piano with closely knit, harmonized block chords, with the vibes and guitar tripling the melody in unison, Shearing sold tons of records for MGM and Capitol in his heyday.
The wild success of this urbane sound obscures Shearing's other great contribution during this time, for he was also a pioneer of exciting, small-combo Afro-Cuban jazz in the '50s. Indeed, Cal Tjader first caught the Latin jazz bug while playing with Shearing, and the English bandleader also employed such esteemed congueros as Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and Armando Peraza. As a composer, Shearing was best known for the imperishable, uniquely constructed bop standard "Lullaby of Birdland," as well as "Conception" and "Consternation." His solo style, though all his own, reflected the influences of the great boogie-woogie pianists and classical players, as well as those of Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, and Bud Powell -- and fellow pianists long admired his light, refined touch. He was also known to play accordion and sing in a modest voice on occasion.
Shearing, who was born blind, began playing the piano at the age of three, receiving some music training at the Linden Lodge School for the Blind in London as a teenager but picking up the jazz influence from Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller 78s. In the late '30s, he started playing professionally with the Ambrose dance band and made his first recordings in 1937 under the aegis of fellow Brit Leonard Feather. He became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing a key role in the self-exiled Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early '40s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls before emigrating in New York City in 1947 at the prompting of Feather. Once there, Shearing quickly absorbed bebop into his bloodstream, replacing Garner in the Oscar Pettiford Trio and leading a quartet in tandem with Buddy DeFranco. In 1949, he formed the first and most famous of his quintets, which included Marjorie Hyams on vibes (thus striking an important blow for emerging female jazz instrumentalists), Chuck Wayne on guitar, John Levy on bass, and Denzil Best on drums. Recording briefly first for Discovery, then Savoy, Shearing settled into lucrative associations with MGM (1950-1955) and Capitol (1955-1969), the latter for which he made albums with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole. He also made a lone album for Jazzland with the Montgomery Brothers (including Wes Montgomery) in 1961, and began playing concert dates with symphony orchestras.
After leaving Capitol, Shearing began to phase out his by-then-predictable quintet, finally breaking it up in 1978. He started his own label, Sheba, which lasted for a few years into the early '70s -- and made some trio recordings for MPS later in the decade. In the '70s, his profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance in all kinds of situations. He made a number of acclaimed albums with Mel Tormé, raising the singer's profile in the process, and recorded with the likes of Ernestine Anderson, Jim Hall, Marian McPartland, Hank Jones, and classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell. He also recorded a number of solo piano albums where his full palette of influences came into play. He signed with Telarc in 1992 and from that point through the early 2000s continued to perform and record, most often appearing in a duo or trio setting. Shearing, who had remained largely inactive since 2004 after a fall in his New York City apartment, died of congestive heart failure at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on February 14, 2011. He was 91. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi
Guilty
George Shearing Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And think that we should part
It seems as though I have loved you so long
You'll always be in my heart
Is it a sin
Is it a crime
Loving you dear like I do
Guilty of loving you
Maybe I'm wrong dreaming of you
Dreaming the lonely night through
If it's a crime then I'm guilty
Guilty of dreaming of you
What can I do
What can I say
After I've taken the blame?
You say we're through
You'll go your way
But I'll always feel just the same
Maybe I'm right
Maybe I'm wrong
Loving you dear like I do
If it's a crime then I'm guilty
Guilty of loving you
The lyrics to George Shearing's song Guilty explore the theme of forbidden love, where the singer questions whether their love is a sin or a crime, but ultimately confesses to being guilty of loving their partner. The song begins with the singer acknowledging that their partner has decided their love is wrong and they should part, however, they have loved them for so long and will always carry them in their heart.
The chorus then poses the question of whether loving someone in this way is a sin or a crime, but despite this, the singer confesses to being guilty of loving their partner. The second verse goes on to explore the singer's dream of their partner, even though they know it may be wrong. They then ask themselves what they can do or say, despite taking the blame for their love. The final verse contemplates whether their love is right or wrong, before reaffirming their guilt for loving their partner.
Overall, the lyrics to Guilty are a poignant exploration of the complexities of forbidden love, and the guilt and uncertainty that can come with it. The singer wrestles with their conscience and the opinions of society, but ultimately cannot deny their love for their partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Though you've decided that our love is wrong
Despite your decision to end our relationship due to societal norms,
And think that we should part
believing that we should separate,
It seems as though I have loved you so long
I have cherished and adored you for an extensive period,
You'll always be in my heart
and my heart will always hold a special place for you.
Is it a sin
Is it an immoral act
Is it a crime
Is it a punishable offense
Loving you dear like I do
to love you as I do
If it's a crime then I'm guilty
If society deems it as illegal, then I am responsible for the action
Maybe I'm wrong dreaming of you
Although it may be considered inappropriate to fantasize about you,
Dreaming the lonely night through
I cannot help the fact that you occupy my mind during times of solitude
What can I do
How can I remedy the situation
What can I say
What can I verbalize
After I've taken the blame?
In the aftermath of accepting responsibility for my actions,
You say we're through
In your opinion, our romantic relationship has ended
You'll go your way
You will pursue a different path without me
But I'll always feel just the same
Nevertheless, my sentiments towards you remain unchanged.
Maybe I'm right
Possibly, I am correct in thinking that
Maybe I'm wrong
Alternatively, I may be incorrect in thinking that
Guilty of loving you
Whether or not it goes against societal conventions, I am answerable for loving you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Harry Akst, Gus Kahn, Richard A. Whiting
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind