Shirley Horn was born and raised in Washington, D.C.. Encouraged by her grandmother, an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. Aged 12, she studied piano and composition at Howard University, later graduating from there in classical music. Horn was offered a place at the Juilliard School, but her family could not afford to send her there. Horn formed her first jazz piano trio when she was 20. Horn's early piano influences were Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal, and moving away from her classical background, Horn later said that "Oscar Peterson became my Rachmaninov, and Ahmad Jamal became my Debussy." She then became enamored with the famous U Street jazz area of Washington (largely destroyed in the 1968 riots), sneaking into jazz clubs before she was of legal age.
Horn first achieved fame in 1960, through her association with Miles Davis. Davis' praise had particular resonance in two respects: because he was so highly respected as a musician, and because he rarely offered public praise for fellow musicians at that time. Horn had, though, recorded several songs with violinist Stuff Smith in 1959 both as a pianist and a singer. After her discovery by Davis, she recorded albums on different small labels in the early 1960s, eventually landing contracts with larger labels Mercury Records and Impulse Records. She was popular with jazz critics, but did not achieve significant popular success.
Quincy Jones attempted to make Horn into a pure vocalist in several recording sessions, something he later hinted may have been a mistake. Horn was also disturbed by the changes in popular music in the 1960s following the arrival of The Beatles. Largely rejecting efforts to remake her into a popular singer, she stated: "I will not stoop to conquer."[4] From the late-1960s, she concentrated on raising her daughter Rainy with her husband, Shepherd Deering (whom she had married in 1955), and largely limited her performances to her native Washington, D.C.
Miles Davis made a rare appearance as a sideman on Horn's 1991 album You Won't Forget Me. Although she preferred to perform in small settings, such as her trio, she also recorded with orchestras, as on the 1992 album Here's to Life, the title song (lyrics by Phyllis Molinary, music by Artie Butler) of which became her signature song. A video documentary of Horn's life and music was released at the same time as "Here's To Life" and shared its title. At the time, arranger Johnny Mandel commented that Horn's piano skill was comparable to that of the noted jazz great Bill Evans. A follow-up was made in 2001, named You're My Thrill.
Horn worked with the same rhythm section for 25 years: Charles Ables (bass) and Steve Williams (drums). Don Heckman wrote in the Los Angeles Times (February 2, 1995) about "the importance of bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Williams to Horn's sound. Working with boundless subtlety, following her every spontaneous twist and turn, they were the ideal accompanists for a performer who clearly will tolerate nothing less than perfection".
Her albums Here's to Life, Light Out of Darkness (A Tribute to Ray Charles) and I Love You, Paris all reached number one on the Billboard jazz charts.
Due to health problems in the early 2000s, Horn had to cut back on her performances. After 2002, a foot amputation (from complications of diabetes) led her to leave the piano playing to pianist George Mesterhazy. In late 2004, Horn felt able to play piano again, and recorded a live album for Verve, at Manhattan's Au Bar with trumpet player Roy Hargrove, which did not satisfy her.[citation needed] It remains unreleased except for tracks on But Beautiful - The Best of Shirley Horn.
A breast cancer survivor, she had been battling diabetes when she died of complications from the condition, aged 71. She is interred at Ft. Lincoln Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Horn was nominated for nine Grammy Awards during her career, winning the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards for I Remember Miles, a tribute to her friend and mentor (the album's cover featuring a Miles Davis drawing of them both).
She was officially recognized by the 109th US Congress for "her many achievements and contributions to the world of jazz and American culture", and performed at The White House for several U.S. presidents. Horn was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music in 2002.
She was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2005 (the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians).
On The Street Where You Live
Shirley Horn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
All at once am I several stories high
Knowing I'm on the street where you live
Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Does enchantment pour out of every door?
And oh, the towering feeling just to know somehow you are near
The overpowering feeling that any second you may suddenly appear
People stop and stare, they don't bother me
For there's nowhere else on earth that I would rather be
Let the time go by, I won't care if I
Can be here on the street where you live
Shirley Horn's song On The Street Where You Live is a beautiful exploration of the wonder and magic of love. It begins with the singer describing a familiar street that they have walked down many times before, yet suddenly everything is different. The singer feels that they are several stories high and that they are on the street where their beloved lives. The sense of heightened awareness and anticipation is palpable, as the singer describes the lilac trees in the heart of town, the larks singing, and the enchantment that seems to pour out of every door. Yet, the singer knows that it isn't really the street itself that is magical, but the presence of their beloved that makes it so special.
The second half of the song is more focused on the singer's emotional state as they wait for their beloved to appear. The towering feeling of being near to someone they love is overwhelming, and the singer knows that at any moment their beloved might appear. The other people on the street don't bother the singer, as there is nowhere else they would rather be than on this street where their beloved lives. Time can go by, and the singer won't care as long as they can stay on this street and be close to the person they love.
Line by Line Meaning
I have often walked down this street before
I have been to this neighborhood multiple times before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
But, so far, nothing stands out about this street
All at once am I several stories high
All of a sudden, I feel like I'm on top of the world
Knowing I'm on the street where you live
Just because I'm on this street where you live
Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you find lilac trees in this town's center?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Is there any other spot in the neighborhood where you hear the sound of a lark?
Does enchantment pour out of every door?
Is it that enchantment flows out from the interior of every door around?
No, it's just on the street where you live
It's just so because you are living on this street
And oh, the towering feeling just to know somehow you are near
Oh, the overwhelming sensation of feeling your presence is somewhere close
The overpowering feeling that any second you may suddenly appear
An overpowering feeling that at any moment, you might just show up
People stop and stare, they don't bother me
Others turn and gaze, but their presence doesn't irritate me
For there's nowhere else on earth that I would rather be
That's because there's no other place in the world I'd want to be
Let the time go by, I won't care if I
No matter how much time passes, I don't mind
Can be here on the street where you live
Being present on the street where you live is more than enough
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind