Eydie Gormé

Eydie Gormé (Last Name in the spelling Gorme , * 16 August 1928 in New York City as Edith Garmezano ; † 10. August 2013 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) was an American pop music - singer . As a soloist and in a duet with her husband Steve Lawrence , she released several successful records from the 1950s to the 1970s. She has received numerous Grammys for her records and television productions .

Life

Eydie was the youngest of three children in a Jewish immigrant family. The father was born in Sicily , the mother in Turkey . Neil Sedaka was her cousin. Eydie grew up bilingual because the family spoke English and Ladino. She appeared on a radio show at the age of three and was a member of a band as a high school graduate. After graduating from high school, she worked as a Spanish interpreter for a stage set company and attended New York City College in the evenings. From 1950 Eydie began to work professionally as a singer with various bands, including Tommy Tucker . She first changed her maiden name Edith to Edie , but switched to Eydie because the name was often misunderstood as Eddie .

In 1952 she signed a record deal with Coral Records and began to publish her first solo singles under her stage name Eydie Gormé. Her first single was released in 1952 with the title That Night Of Heaven / Tell Me More and catalog number 60879. From September 1953, she became a regular on the New York radio show Tonight . There she met her future singing partner and husband Steve Lawrence in 1954. Her first duet record, Make Yourself Comfortable / I've Gotta Crow (Coral 61313) , was released in the same year .

Gormé moved to the ABC Records label in 1955 , and with the A-side of her second ABC single Too Close for Comfort she hit the US charts for the first time in April 1956 with No. 39 as the best number. Likewise, the successor record with Mama, Teach Me to Dance was placed 34th in July of the same year. Eydie Gormé and Steve Lawrence married on December 29, 1957. In May 1958 Gormé had her greatest success to date with the title You Need Hands , it came to number 11 in the US charts. At the same time, she had her first success in Great Britain with Love Me Forever . In the hit lists there, the title rose to number 21. This was followed by a longer phase without any noteworthy single successes, and the duet records with Lawrence (Steve & Eydie) did not sell for the time being. The only exception was the title song of the duet long-playing record We Got Us , which was awarded a Grammy in 1960 for the best vocal group production. In addition, the song The Facts of Life by Johnny Mercer from the 1960 film of the same name, sung by Steve & Eydie, was nominated for an Oscar .

Worldwide success with Blame It on the Bossa Nova on Columbia # 42661

It was not until 1963 that Gormé found its way back to success. After she had switched to Columbia Records a year earlier , the title Blame It On The Bossa Nova was released there in January 1963 on the third Gormé single . In March, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 , rose to number 7 and was listed for a total of 15 weeks. It brought Gormé a Grammy nomination. Blame It on the Bossa Nova was also an international success. It reached 4th place in Canada, 32nd in Great Britain, 20th in South Africa and 18th in Germany. Gormé made a version of this recording in Spanish (her second mother tongue), which was very successful in South America. In Brazil, the homeland of Bossa Nova , the song came in 15th place. The famous Latin American group Trio Los Panchos then visited the Copacabana club in Manhattan, New York, where Gormé sang. The Latin American musicians were so impressed that they asked Gormé to create an album together. In 1964 the result was the album Amor - Great Love Songs in Spanish , Columbia Mono CL 2203, Stereo CS 9003, in which Gormé sings Latin American Spanish so perfectly that the uninitiated would not suspect a US American singer.

By 1964, Eydie Gormé had four more Hot 100 placements and the two duet titles with Steve Lawrence I Want to Stay Here (28th) and I Can't Stop Talking About You (35th) came in in 1963 40.

This was followed by another unsuccessful phase, interrupted only in 1966 with the title If He Walked into My Life . It ranked 5th on the US Adult Contemporary Charts (AC) and was awarded the Grammy Best Female Vocal Production. In 1967 she and her husband got an engagement in the Broadway musical Golden Rainbow , in which both appeared in 385 performances until 1969. Columbia Records released Gormé's musical song How Could I Be So Wrong on a single, and this track came in at number 22 in the AC charts. After two single releases in 1969 with RCA Victor , the period of regular record releases was over. Only a few singles appeared on different labels in the 1970s.

With her husband, Gormé now specialized in television productions. In 1975, the TV special Our Love Is Here to Stay was created , a homage to George Gershwin . From this a long-playing record was released, which won a Grammy. After two Grammy nominations in 1976 and 1977 for the two long-playing records La Gormé on Gala Records and Muy Amigos Close Friends released by Eydie Gormé in Latin America, seven Grammys were awarded for the TV production Steve and Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin . 1979 Gormé and Lawrence took under the pseudonym Parker and Penny on the Eurovision winning track Hallelujah , with which they reached number 46 on the US Adult Contemporary Charts. In 1989 they both released the long-playing record Alone Together on their own label GL Music . The couple also appeared in Las Vegas , New York and Los Angeles . In 1990 and 1991 they took part in Frank Sinatra's Diamond Jubilee tour on the occasion of his 75th birthday.

Solo discography

US singles

title	Catalog no.	year
	Coral
That Night of Heaven / Tell Me More	60879	1952
Don't Tell Lies / Love Me Not Just a Little	60921	1952
Frenesi / All Night Long	60977	1952
Cocoanuts / Uska Dara	60999	1952
I Danced With My Darling / I'd Be Forgotten	61036	1953
Gimme Gimme John / Fini	61093	1953
Crocodile Tears / Fallen Apples	61138	1954
Climb Up The Wall / Tea for Two	61189	1954
Chain Reaction / Sure	61213	1954
Give a Fool a Chance / A Girl Can't Say	61347	1955
Soldier Boy / What Is The Secret to Success	61481	1955
Climb Up the Wall / Usha Dara	61760	1956
	ABC
Come Home / Sincerely Yours	9655	1955
Too Close for Comfort / That's How	9684	1956
Mama, Teach Me to Dance / You Bring Out the Lover in Me	9722	1956
Soda Pop Hop / I've Got A Right to Cry	9758	1956
I'll Come Back / It's a Pity to Say Goodnight	9773	1956
I'll Take Romance / First Impression	9780	1957
You Kisses Kill Me / Kiss in Your Eyes	9817	1957
When Your Lover Has Gone / Until They Sail	9852	1957
Love Me Forever / Let Me Be Loved	9863	1957
You Need Hands / Dormi Dormi Dormi	9925	1958
Gotta Have Rain / To You From Me	9944	1958
Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye / Who's Sorry Now	9968	1958
The Voice in My Heart / Separate Tables	9971	1958
I'm Yours / Don't Take Your Love From Me	10006	1959
Taking a Chance On Love / The Years Between	10041	1959
Happiness / Fool Around	10061	1959
The Dance Is Over / To Young to Know	10111	1960
Be Sure My Love / I Will Follow You	10155	1960
Fly Me to the Moon / I'm Yours	10383	1962
	Columbia
Sonny Boy / Yes My Darling Daughter	42424	1962
Where Is Love / Before Your Time	42607	1962
Blame It on the Bossa Nova / Guess I Should Have Loved Him More	42661	1963
Theme From Light Fantastic / Don't Try to Fight It Baby	42790	1963
The Message / Everybody Go Home	42854	1963
Something to Live for / The Friendliest Thing	42953	1964
	Calendar
How Could I Be So Wrong / He Needs Me Now	1002	1967
This Girl's in Love With You / It's You Again	1004	1968
	RCA Victor
Runaway / Girl With a Suitcase	206	1969
Tonight I'll Say a Prayer / Wild One	250	1969

US vinyl long-playing records

title	Catalog no.	year
Delight	Coral 57109	1956
Eydie Gorme	ABC 150	1957
Eydie Swings the Blues	ABC 192	1957
Eydie Gorme Vamps the Roaring 20's	ABC 218	1958
Eydie in love	ABC 246	1958
Eydie Gorme Sings Showstoppers	ABC 254	1958
Love is a season	ABC 273	1958
Eydie Gorme on stage	ABC 307	1959
Eydie in Dixieland	ABC 343	1959
Come Sing With Me	WP 1412	1961
I feel so Spanish	UA 3152	1961
The Very Best of Eydie Gorme	UA 3189	1961
Blame It on the Bossa Nova	Columbia 2012	1963
Let the Good Times Roll	Columbia 2065	1963
Gorme Country Style	Columbia 2120	1964
Eydie Gorme Sings The Best of Romances	ABC 512	1965
Don't go to strangers	Columbia 9276	1966
Softly, as I leave you	Columbia 9394	1967
The look of love	Columbia 9652	1968

Chart placements

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		US
1963	Blame It On The Bossa Nova	US121 (3 weeks) US
1964	Gorme Country Style	US143 (3 weeks) US
	Cupid	US54 (22 weeks) US
1965	More Cupid	US53 (11 weeks) US
1966	Don't go to strangers	US22 (37 weeks) US
1967	Softly, As I Leave You	US85 (18 weeks) US
	Together on Broadway	US136 (6 weeks) US
1968	Eydie Gorme's Greatest Hits	US148 (9 weeks) US
1970	Tonight I'll Say A Prayer	US105 (12 weeks) US

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	UK	US
1956	Too Close For Comfort Eydie Gormé	-	-	US39 (14 weeks) US
	Mama, teach me to dance	-	-	US34 (11 weeks) US
1957	I'll take romance	-	-	US65 (11 weeks) US
	Your Kisses Kill Me	-	-	US53 (2 weeks) US
	Love Me Forever	-	UK21 (5 weeks) UK	US86 (2 weeks) US
1958	You need hands	-	-	US32 (11 weeks) US
	Gotta have rain	-	-	US63 (7 weeks) US
1959	The Voice In My Heart	-	-	US88 (1 week) US
1962	Yes My Darling Daughter	-	UK10 (9 weeks) UK	-
	Blame It On The Bossa Nova Blame It On The Bossa Nova	DE1 (20 weeks) DE	UK32 (6 weeks) UK	US7 (15 weeks) US
1963	Don't try to fight it baby	-	-	US53 (7 weeks) US
	I want to stay here	-	UK3 (13 weeks) UK	US28 (11 weeks) US	with Steve Lawrence
	Everybody Go Home	-	-	US80 (6 weeks) US
	I Can't Stop Talking About You	-	-	US35 (9 weeks) US	with Steve Lawrence
1964	I want you to meet my baby	-	-	US43 (8 weeks) US
	Can't Get Over (The Bossa Nova)	-	-	US87 (3 weeks) US
1969	Tonight I'll Say A Prayer	-	-	US45 (12 weeks) US
1972	We Can Make It Together	-	-	US68 (10 weeks) US	with Steve Lawrence & The Osmonds

literature

• Frank Laufenberg: Rock and Pop Lexicon Vol. 1 . 4th edition. Econ-und-List-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-612-26206-8 , p. 620.

Web links

Commons : Eydie Gormé  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Eydie Gormé in the catalog of the German National Library
• Eydie Gormé in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Eydie Gormé in the nndb (English)
• Biography at allmusic.com
• Discography at discogs.com
• Chart positions at musicvf.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bob Thomas: Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84 ( English ) In: Salon . August 11, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
2. ↑ AP : Eydie Gormé, popular singer, died at 84 in Las Vegas ( English ) In: nj.com . August 10, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
3. ↑ http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/singer-eydie-gorme-dead-at-84/2013/08/11/
4. ↑ Famous Sephardim: Eydie Gormé. Retrieved April 13, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Bob Thomas: Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84 ( English ) In: Salon . August 11, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2016: "Later, having grown tired of people mistaking it for Eddie, she changed the spelling to Eydie."
6. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE UK US singles US albums