Song:The Wayward Wind
Album:Her Very Best
Gogi Grant had her biggest success with the 1956 chart topper The Wayward Wind. You probably think it was in a western movie but it wasn't. Gogi's success was short lived because her kind of music became dated very quickly in a Rock 'N' Roll world. She was born Myrtle Arinsberg Sept. 20, 1924 in Philadelphia. She moved with her family to Los Angeles at age 12 and won several talent contests. She recorded in 1952 as Audrey Brown and Audrey Grant and then was named Gogi by a record executive after his favourite restaurant. She signed with Herb Newman's Era Records in 1955 and scored a top ten hit with Suddenly There's A Valley. She did even better with The Wayward Wind which stayed at #1 for eight weeks in 1956. The Wayward Wind was written by Stanley Lebowsky. He was a Broadway musical director and won a Tony for Irma La Douce in 1961. The country music version of The Wayward Wind by Tex Ritter was a top 30 pop hit. Gogi's records were arranged by Buddy Bregman. He was best known for his work with Ella Fitzgerald. Gogi Grant dubbed Ann Blyth's vocals in the 1957 film The Helen Morgan Story and the album reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 200. She also appeared with Howard Keel and Anne Jeffreys on stereo LP recordings of the musicals Show Boat and Kiss Me Kate. She continued to record for RCA and Liberty but her singing career was over by the early 60s. She retired in 1967. You can get her Era recordings on this Varese comp. After performing The Wayward Wind on the 2004 PBS special Magic Moments, Gogi Grant came out of retirement and still performs today. Here's Gogi Grant performing The Wayward Wind on the 2004 PBS special Magic Moments.
No comments:
Post a Comment