Connee Boswell

Connee Boswell (1941)

Constance "Connee" Boswell (* 3. December 1907 in Kansas City , Missouri ; † 11. October 1976 in New York City ) was an American blues - and jazz - singer and actress .

Life

Early years

Connee Boswell was the daughter of the manager and former circus artist Alfred Clyde Boswell (1877-1944) and his wife Meldania George, née Foore (1871-1947), in Kansas City and grew up in New Orleans. Connee had been in a wheelchair since she was four. Allegedly she developed polio when she was three years old . In addition, her back and legs were injured when she fell from a hotel window. The family also had a story that she was injured in a handcart accident as a child . As a therapeutic measure, Boswell was to learn the cello at her mother's request; there were also piano , trombone , guitar and alto saxophone .

The Boswell Sisters

With her sisters Martha and Helvetia (Vet), who were also very musical, she founded the jazz ensemble The Boswell Sisters . At first only playing instrumental music they could be heard on the local radio station from 1925. They have also performed in vaudeville theaters in and around New Orleans. The siblings were trained classically by the cellist Otto Finck, but soon turned to jazz and singing. From 1930 to 1936 the siblings had their most successful period with recordings for Victor and Brunswick . They were sponsored by Harry Henry Leedy, who discovered them in the late 1920s. He later married Connee and supported her even after the group broke up.

Solo career

Connee Boswell made her first solo record with Cryin 'Blues in 1925 , which became a hit in the southern United States. Even after the dissolution of the Boswell Sisters in 1936, Connee continued her career; Since at least 1932 solo recordings have been made for Brunswick Records . She often appeared on the radio shows Bing Crosby , with whom she also made recordings. One of Boswell's and Crosby's hits was Alexander's Ragtime Band . Boswell first met Crosby when he was still a member of Paul Whiteman's group The Rhythm Boys and his orchestra. In the 1930s and 1940s Boswell was one of the most popular singers on the radio. She also had her own program and appeared on CNN and NBC programs . During her performances she always used a wheelchair equipped with a lifting mechanism that gave the impression that she was standing. She also appeared in films, including a. 1937 in the Paramount film Artists and Models , in which she sang the song Whispers in the dark . Connee Boswell also appeared on the Broadway shows Star Time, Curtain Time and Show Time .

She worked mostly for television until the 1960s . She had her last vocal appearance in 1975 at Carnegie Hall with the Benny Goodman Orchestra.

social commitment

Even since she was four years old, Boswell campaigned for people with disabilities. She was with Eddie Cantor among the founders of the March of Dimes organization and from 1960 appeared more and more in hospitals and at charity events. Already during the Second World War she gave appearances for the troop entertainment of the army and the navy . However, because of her walking difficulties, she was unable to perform abroad.

Private life and death

Connee Boswell married in Peekskill on December 14, 1935, Harry Henry Leedy, who was the manager of the Boswell Sisters . The marriage remained childless. They were married until his death in 1975.

In her spare time she trained dogs, which she also brought with her to appearances in hospitals to entertain children with disabilities.

In February 1976 she had to undergo cancer surgery, followed by chemotherapy from May 1976 . On October 11, 1976, at the age of 68, she died of stomach cancer in Mount Sinai Hospital with her sister Vet by her side. The funeral ceremony took place at the Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in New York . She was buried with her husband in Ferncliff Cemetery , Harksdale .

reception

Connee Boswell's singing played a major role in the music and development of its time. Her singing was influenced by the blues singer Mamie Smith and the opera singer Enrico Caruso . The jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, on the other hand, often referred to Boswell as her only source of inspiration. In her early recordings with the Chick Webb Orchestra , Fitzgerald sounded very similar to Boswell's voice.

Discography

• The Star Maker (1951)
• Connee Boswell (1951)
• Singing the Blues (1951)
• Connee (1956)
• Connee Boswell & the Original Memphis 5 (1956)
• Connee Boswell Sings Irving Berlin (1958)

Filmography (selection)

• 1937: It's All Yours
• 1937: Artists and Models
• 1941: Kiss the Boys Goodbye
• 1942: Syncopation
• 1946: Swing Parade of 1946
• 1958: Senior Prom

Web links

Commons : Connee Boswell  - collection of images

• Connee Boswell in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Connee Boswell at Allmusic (English)
• The Boswell Museum of Music
• findagrave.com
• www.nytimes.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Connee Boswell. In: Findagrave.com. January 1, 2001, accessed October 14, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Alfred Boswell. In: findagrave.com. September 14, 2014, accessed October 16, 2019 . 
3. ^ ^{A b} Mary Grace: What's So Special About New Orleans ?: Boswell Sisters revived in New Orleans. In: What's So Special About New Orleans? March 24, 2014, accessed October 16, 2019 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Boz Bios - CBoz - Bozzies. Retrieved October 16, 2019 (American English). 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame | The Boswell Sisters. Retrieved October 16, 2019 (American English). 
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Werner Bamberger: Connee Boswell Is Dead at 68; Long a Popular Singer and Actress . In: The New York Times . October 12, 1976, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed October 14, 2019]).
7. ↑ ^{a b} Harry Henry Leedy. In: findagrave.com. August 31, 2010, accessed October 16, 2019 .  
8. ↑ Lauryn Gould: Connee Boswell. In: Jazzwomen. January 8, 2019, accessed October 16, 2019 . 
9. ↑ The Boswell Sisters | American vocal trio. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .