Ann Hampton Callaway (born May 30, 1958) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. She wrote and sang the theme song for the TV series ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...

''.

Career

A native of Chicago, her father, John Callaway, was a journalist and her mother was a singer, pianist, and vocal coach. She learned

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

from her father and a love of jazz from his record collection, and she learned classical music from her mother. Her sister,

Liz Callaway Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in '' Anastasia'', Odette in ''T ...

, is a singer and actress on Broadway. Callaway performed in musicals at

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in Northfield, Illinoi ...

in Winnetka. After graduation, she studied acting for two years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She moved to New York City in 1979. During the 1980s, she worked as a cabaret singer accompanying herself on piano, performing jazz, traditional pop, and standards from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is ...

Songwriting

While contributing to a CD reissue of songs by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, she received permission from the Porter estate to compose music for his unrecorded song, "I Gaze in Your Eyes." The song was included on her debut album, which was released on August 17, 1992. A year later, she wrote and performed the theme song for the TV show ''

.'' In addition to the theme for ''The Nanny'', she wrote theme songs for ''Day's End'', ''Cabaret Beat'', and ''The Jim J and Tammy Fay Show'' and composed incidental music for the play, ''Baltimore Star'' by David Weiner. Her song "Manhattan in December" was included in the 2005 off-Broadway musical revue ''A Broadway Diva Christmas''. She composed "At the Same Time" for

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

. The song appeared on Streisand's album, ''Higher Ground'', which debuted at the top of the ''Billboard'' 200 and gave Callaway her first platinum record. Streisand asked her to write lyrics to a

Rolf Lovland Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic languages, Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' (Rudolph (name), Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The O ...

melody which she entitled "I've Dreamed of You" which Streisand sang to James Brolin at their wedding. The song was later recorded on her album, ''A Love Like Ours'', released as a single, and selected for the album, ''The Essential Barbra Streisand''. Streisand performed both songs on her live double album, ''Timeless''. She chose Callaway's song "A Christmas Lullaby" for her album ''Christmas Memories''. Callaway's music and lyrics have also been recorded and performed by

Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson (pronounced ''KAR-in''; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the ' ...

Barbara Carroll Barbara Carroll (born Barbara Carole Coppersmith; January 25, 1925 – February 12, 2017) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Early life and career Carroll was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began her classical training in piano at ...

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusicDearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City over ...

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...

Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in '' Torch Song Trilogy'' and '' Hairspray'' and movie roles in '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', ''Independence Day'', an ...

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...

Amanda McBroom Amanda McBroom (born August 9, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Notable among the songs she has written is "The Rose (song), The Rose", which Bette Midler sang in the The Rose (film), film of the same name, and which has been ...

Donna McKechnie Donna McKechnie (born November 16, 1942) is an American musical theater dancer, singer, actress, and choreographer. She is known for her professional and personal relationship with choreographer Michael Bennett, with whom she collaborated on ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

Peter Nero Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow, May 22, 1934) is an American pianist and pops conductor. He directed the Philly Pops from 1979 to 2013, and has earned two Grammy Awards. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Bernard Nierow, he started ...

, and

Lillias White Lillias White (born July 21, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is particularly known for her performances in Broadway musicals. In 1989 she won an Obie Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway musical ''Romance in Hard Times''. In ...

. In September 2005, Callaway performed her song "Let the Saints Come Marching" on a national TV broadcast on the Fox News Channel. She wrote the song in honor of victims of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. Her song "Who Can See the Blue the Same Again?" was released earlier in 2005 to raise money for survivors of the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, she composed "I Believe in America" and performed it on ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...

''. Around the same time, she wrote "Let Us Be United", which was inspired by an 8,000-year-old prayer from the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

. She recorded the song with

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young ...

, the Siddha Yoga International Choir, and five-year-old Sonali Beaven, who sang in honor of her father who died on Flight 93. It was released on CD and DVD to benefit

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

and the PRASAD Project.

Other work

She appeared in the movie '' The Good Shepherd'' and in ''Volare'' for Jim Henson Productions, directed by Tamela D'Amico. Her voice has been heard in TV jingles and voice-overs, including spots for Coca-Cola, Ethan Allen, and State Farm. She has done extensive broadcasting for

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

as a performer, DJ, and interviewer. She produced ''Singer's Spotlight with Ann Hampton Callaway'' featuring

and

Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals '' 42nd Street'' and ''Grey Gardens'', winning two Tony Awards. She has co-s ...

. She starred in ''Midnight Swing'' for the PBS television special ''

Live from Lincoln Center ''Live from Lincoln Center'' is a seventeen-time Emmy Award-winning series that has broadcast notable performances from the Lincoln Center in New York City on PBS since 1976. The program airs between six and nine times per season. Episodes of ''L ...

'' and was featured in another PBS special with

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Caro ...

and

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

. She has also performed for the ''Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular'' and has made two appearances on ''Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade''. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

she received a nomination for the

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

for her performance in ''

Swing! ''Swing!'' is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz (1930s–1946), including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodma ...

Awards and honors

She performed for U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington, D.C. and was the invited guest performer for Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's Youth Peace Summit in Moscow in 1988.

Personal life

Callaway is openly bisexual. She is married to her longtime partner Kari Strand and they currently live in Tucson, Arizona.

Discography

Solo

* ''Ann Hampton Callaway'' (DRG, August 17, 1992) * ''Bring Back Romance'' (DRG, September 25, 1994) * ''To Ella with Love'' ( Shanachie, August 13, 1996) * ''Sibling Revelry'' with Liz Callaway (DRG, February 20, 1996) * ''This Christmas'' (

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

, November 23, 1998) * ''After Ours'' ( Denon, August 19, 1997) * ''Easy Living'' (Sin-Drome, October 26, 1999) * ''Signature'' ( N-Coded, February 12, 2002) * ''Slow'' ( Shanachie, August 24, 2004) * ''Blues In The Night'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

, August 22, 2006) * ''At Last'' (Telarc, February 3, 2009) * ''Boom! Live at Birdland'' with Liz Callaway (

PS Classics PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals, founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin. Recent Broadway cast recordings from PS Classics includ ...

, July 11, 2011) * ''From Sassy to Divine: The Sarah Vaughan Project'' (Shanachie, August 19, 2014) * ''The Hope of Christmas'' (

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

, October 9, 2015) * ''Jazz Goes to the Movies'' ( Shanachie, October 19, 2018)

As guest

Kenny Barron Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Biography Born in Philadel ...

, '' The Traveler'' ( Sunnyside, 2008) *

Erich Kunzel Erich Kunzel, Jr. (March 21, 1935 – September 1, 2009) was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the ''Chicago Tribune'', he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati ...

Tony DeSare Tony DeSare (born 1976) is an American jazz singer, pianist and songwriter. Early life DeSare was born in Glens Falls, New York in 1976. He began playing the piano as a young child, and had public performances in his late teens. He kept perform ...

John Pizzarelli John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCa ...

, Tierney Sutton, ''Christmastime Is Here'' (Telarc, 2006) *

Portia Nelson Portia Nelson (born Betty Mae Nelson; May 27, 1920 – March 6, 2001) was an American popular singer, songwriter, actress, and author. She was best known for her appearances in 1950s cabarets, where she sang soprano. In 1965, she portrayed ...

, ''This Life, Her Songs & Her Friends'' (DRG, 1996) *

, ''Holiday Pops'' (DRG, 2003) *

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

, ''The Man and His Music'' ( Arbors, 2010)

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callaway, Ann Hampton 1958 births Living people Cabaret singers American women jazz singers American jazz singers American musical theatre actresses New Trier High School alumni Jazz musicians from Illinois Theatre World Award winners 21st-century American women Bisexual actresses American LGBT singers Bisexual musicians LGBT songwriters Bisexual women LGBT people from Illinois