Lucy was born in London, but was raised in Amsterdam and New York City. She has a very musical background: her British father is a composer and conductor and her New Yorker mother is a musicologist and an opera singer.
Raised on classical and Middle-Eastern music, Lucy studied piano and flute before asking for singing lessons at age 12. She attended a Bronx high school renowned for its music department and made her first recordings singing house music in her friends’ basements. She spent part of each summer in music camp and part in Holland, where she frequently locked herself up in her father’s studio and listened to jazz and old R&B records. At 16 she was accepted into the Manhattan School of Music to study jazz, but after a year decided to learn her songwriting and performing skills on her own. She spent the next few years performing in swing-organ trios, working as a session singer, waiting tables, and singing jazz standards in Greenwich Village restaurants. She started off singing in jazz cafes and singing for tips or dinner. "You sing with a piano player and a tip jar on top of the piano." She said in an interveiw on NZGirl.
In 2003 Lucy signed with Atlantic Records and recorded her debut album While You Can, out of which came the Top 40 hit “Dumb Girls,” produced by Kevin Kadish; other songs on the record were produced by John Shanks at Jim Henson Studios. Although her efforts won her some mainstream notoriety, making slick, radio-ready pop proved artistically unsatisfying for her.
The following year, Lucy was asked by producer friend Jaime Houston to record a version of the big-band tune "It's Oh So Quiet" for the Disney film Ice Princess. The song had originally been recorded by Betty Hutton in 1948 and was subsequently popularized by Björk. Lucy credits it as being a major creative turning point for her, one that inspired much of the writing in her second album.
Lucy began her musical reinvention on her second album, the independently released Lucy Woodward Is... Hot and Bothered (2007), a transitional effort that incorporated R&B grooves and electronic beats, while mining deep-rooted jazz influences. Hot and Bothered was produced by longtime collaborator Itaal Shur and Tim K. . Barnes & Noble named her “Artist of the Month” for August 2008. Released in 2007 on Atlantic, it was initially only available through iTunes, on July 29, 2008 getting a physical release exclusively through Barnes & Noble.
Lucy’s third album, Hooked!, was recorded at Stratosphere Sound in New York and Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood and released on Verve Records in 2010. It was largely produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex), but included contributions by Justin Stanley (Nikka Costa, Sheryl Crow), Itaal Shur and Tim K. Lucy penned much of the record with songwriters Dan Petty and Michelle Lewis, claiming she had been inspired by the music of Peggy Lee and Django Reinhardt. One song on the album, “Another Woman,” was written for her by longtime inspiration Nellie McKay (also Verve), who is also featured on background vocals.
In 2011, Lucy was asked to tour with Pink Martini after the band’s singer China Forbes had to undergo vocal surgery. Her quick study of Pink Martini’s repertoire of Croatian, Japanese, French, English and Turkish songs did not go unnoticed in the music press. She toured cross-continent with the band for a number of concerts the same year, including performances at the Toronto and Montreal jazz festivals and Ravinia, as well as a three-night stint with the San Francisco Symphony (Donato Cabrera conducting).
http://www.lucywoodward.com
I Wan'na Be Like You
Lucy Woodward Lyrics
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I reached the top and had to stop
And that's what bothering me
I want to be a man, man-cub, and stroll right into town
And be just like those other men
I'm tired of monkeying around
Now don't try to kid me, man-cub, I'll make a deal with you
What I desire is man's red fire to make my dreams come true
Give me the power of man's red flower so I can be like you
Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too
You see it's true, an ape like me
Can learn to be like you, too
Now don't try to kid me, man-cub, I made a deal with you
What I desire is man's red fire to make my dream's come true
So give me the secret, man-cub, clue me what to do
Give me the power of man's red flower so I can be like you
Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too
You see it's true, an ape like me
Can learn to be like you, too
Break it down boys, break it down boys, break it down
Break it down boys, break it down boys, break it down
Now I'm the king of the swingers, the jungle V.I.P.
I reached the top and had to stop
And that's what bothering me
I want to be a man, man-cub, and stroll right into town
And be just like those other men
I'm tired of monkeying around
Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too
You see it's true, an ape like me
Can learn to be like you, too
Can learn to be someone like me
The song “I Wan'na Be Like You” by Lucy Woodward is a playful and lively tune that recreates the classic song from Walt Disney's 1967 animated musical film, "The Jungle Book". The lyrics of the song are sung from the perspective of King Louie, a fun-loving orangutan and the king of the monkeys in the jungle, who expresses his deep desire to be more like a human.
King Louie, who is already considered as a V.I.P. in the jungle, is now dreaming of a more ambitious goal - to become a human. He is tired of monkeying around and wants to experience the human way of life by walking and talking like them. To accomplish his goal, he makes a deal with Mowgli, the man-cub, and asks him to reveal the secret of acquiring the power of man's red flower, which is the metaphorical representation of fire.
The song touches upon the theme of the desire to belong to a different society and to be accepted by them. The character of King Louie, who is already a respected and powerful figure in the jungle, yearns for something more, which he believes can be acquired by becoming human.
Overall, “I Wan'na Be Like You” is a lively and energetic song that captures the spirit of adventure and the pursuit of self-discovery.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I'm the king of the swingers, the jungle V.I.P
I am at the top of my game, the leader among all in my surroundings
I reached the top and had to stop, And that's what bothering me
I have achieved what I wanted, but I feel something is missing
I want to be a man, man-cub, and stroll right into town, And be just like those other men, I'm tired of monkeying around
I want to leave my current state and be a part of a society where I can fit in, I am done with my current way of living
Now don't try to kid me, man-cub, I'll make a deal with you
Do not lie to me, I am serious about wanting your help
What I desire is man's red fire to make my dreams come true
I want the power and success that humans possess, to achieve my dreams
So give me the secret, man-cub, clue me what to do
Please give me advice on what I need to do to achieve my desires
Give me the power of man's red flower so I can be like you
Provide me with what it takes to be like a human, to have that power
Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you, I want to walk like you, talk like you, too
I want to emulate and imitate humans in order to be like them
You see it's true, an ape like me, Can learn to be like you, too
It is possible for someone like me to learn and adapt to be more like a human
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind