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
When A Woman Loves A Man
George Shearing Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doing what he can
But what does she care
When a woman loves a man
She'll just string along
All through thick and thin
Till his ship comes in
It's always that way
She'll be the first one to praise him
When he's goin' strong
The last one to blame him
When everything's wrong
It's such a one-sided game that they play
But women are funny that way
Tell her she's a fool
She'll say yes, I know
But I love him so
And that's how it goes
When a woman loves a man
Tel I her she's a fool
She'll say yes, I know
But I love him so
And that's how if goes
When a woman loves a man
The lyrics to George Shearing's song "When A Woman Loves A Man" capture the devotion and loyalty that a woman can have for her partner, even when others might not see his worth. The song begins by acknowledging that the man might not seem like much, but it doesn't matter to the woman who loves him. She will support him through thick and thin, waiting for his ship to come in. It's a one-sided game, but that's the nature of love. The woman will be the first to praise him and the last to blame him.
The lyrics also speak to the way women can sometimes defy reason and common sense when it comes to love. They might know that their partner is flawed or not the right fit, but they will still love him deeply and fiercely. The line "tell her she's a fool, she'll say yes, I know" captures this sentiment perfectly. The song ends on a note of resignation, with the repeated refrain of "that's how it goes when a woman loves a man." Love can be messy and complicated, but it's worth it when it's real.
Overall, "When A Woman Loves A Man" is a timeless song that speaks to the resilience and depth of love. It acknowledges that love can be difficult and one-sided, but it's something that many women are willing to endure for the sake of their partners.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe he's not much, just another man
Even if he's not exceptional, he's a man who is doing his best.
Doing what he can
He's trying his hardest.
But what does she care
She doesn't care about his imperfections; her love is unconditional.
When a woman loves a man
Her love for him is boundless.
She'll just string along
She'll hang in there with him.
All through thick and thin
She'll support him through good and bad times.
Till his ship comes in
She'll wait for him to succeed.
It's always that way
This is how it works when a woman is in love with a man.
She'll be the first one to praise him
She'll be his biggest cheerleader.
When he's goin' strong
When he's doing well, she'll acknowledge it.
The last one to blame him
She won't point fingers when things go wrong; she'll take the blame.
When everything's wrong
Even when everything is falling apart, she won't give up on him.
It's such a one-sided game that they play
It's often an uneven relationship where she gives more than he does.
But women are funny that way
Despite the inequity, women still love men wholeheartedly.
Tell her she's a fool
Even if you call her foolish, she won't care.
She'll say yes, I know
She'll admit that she may not be thinking rationally, but she loves him anyway.
But I love him so
Her love is greater than any criticism or opinion.
And that's how it goes
This is just how things are when a woman loves a man.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MILT COLEMAN, RALPH RAINGER, BILLY ROSE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind