Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
) is an American composer, arranger, vocalist, and jazz pianist. For many years, he was best known as a "confidant", music director, and piano player for
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 ...
.
Early life and career
Stritch was born on February 12, 1962, in Houston, Texas, and raised in
Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around th ...
. At the age of 8 or 9, he heard big band music for the first time, and went to the large suburban John Foster Dulles High School (Class of 1979) of Sugar Land, TX that had a "great"
music education
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
program, in which he played in the "jazz band". He played in a jazz vocal trio while at college that played jazz festivals for nine years. The trio broke up and Stritch moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He attended
Dulles High School
John Foster Dulles High School, more commonly known as Dulles High School, is a high school in Sugar Land, Texas. It was the first site purchase and new build, in the 1950s, of the newly formed Fort Bend Independent School District, which held i ...
and the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
. Stritch met singer
Marilyn Maye
Marilyn Maye McLaughlin (born April 10, 1928) is an American jazz singer, cabaret singer, and musical theater actress. She began her career as a young child, performing in Kansas in concerts and on the radio. After graduating from high school, ...
circa 1980, while she was playing a club in Houston. Since then, he has worked as her frequent accompanist and music director.
Stritch recorded his first album in 1992, the self-styled jazz LP, ''Billy Stritch''.
Stritch and Sandy Knox composed the 1994 Grammy Award-winning country song, "
Does He Love You
"Does He Love You" is a song written by Sandy Knox and Billy Stritch, and recorded as a duet by American country music artists Reba McEntire and Linda Davis. It was released in August 1993 as the first single from Reba's compilation album '' Gre ...
," which was recorded by
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...
and
Linda Davis
Linda Kaye Davis (born November 26, 1962) is an American country music singer. Before beginning a career as a solo artist, she had three minor country singles in the charts as one half of the duo Skip & Linda. In her solo career, Davis has recor ...
trope
Trope or tropes may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept
* Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device
* Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...
. It peaked as a number one
Country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
hit in both
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the United States, and ended 1993 as the 52nd biggest hit in Canada, and in the top 40 in the United States. The single went on to win the
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration, and although nominated, Stritch lost the best song Grammy to
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
for "
Passionate Kisses
"Passionate Kisses" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 1989 as the fourth single from her third album, ''Lucinda Williams'' (1988).
The song was famously covered by Mary Chapin Car ...
." Stritch and Knox had written the song when they were part of the trio back in 1982, but until McEntire "grabbed it ... in 1993" and made a surprise hit with it, nobody had recorded the ballad; even
Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Ellen Judd or simply Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964) is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles, incl ...
rejected it because she "didn't like to sing songs about marital problems." In 1996, Minnelli released the song as a duet with
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...
, from Minnelli's album, " Gently". In 1997, it appeared on
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman.
LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul".
She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...
's album, ''
Flame
A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
''.
Collaboration with Liza Minnelli
For 23 years, Stritch was associated with Liza Minnelli, as her "confidant", music director, and piano player. They met when Stritch was playing piano in Manhattan, in March 1991; that night, seeing her, he played musical themes from films of
Vincent Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...
, her father, and they hit it off immediately. He arranged the music for her show at
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
and opended her act on a national tour of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In 1999, he arranged music for Liza Minnelli's
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
one-woman show
A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...
Brian Lane Green
Brian Lane Green (born March 9, 1962) is an American stage and television actor and singer. He is known for his stage roles throughout the country such as the title character in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Green garnered a Tony ...
Johnny Rodgers
Johnny Steven Rodgers (born July 5, 1951) is an American former football player. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. Rodgers played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) ...
, ''I Would Never Leave You'' for ''Liza's at the Palace...'', which was produced by
Phil Ramone
Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business par ...
.
In 2008, Minnelli praised Stritch for their long collaboration on her
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page. They performed together for the 2009 grand re-opening of the Guildhall in Easthampton; Stritch joked that he couldn't afford a "cottage" in
The Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...
.
Mature career
In 2001, he performed as Oscar in the 2001 Broadway revival of '' 42nd Street''. In the same year, he issued his third major disc, ''Jazz Live'' on Sin-Drome Records, receiving excellent reviews. At that time, he first met
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- ...
, who was also in the cast.
Stritch performed in a 2003 concert of
Amanda Green
Amanda Green (born December 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. In 2021, she was elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America, the first woman to hold the role in the Guild's 100-year history.
Early life and edu ...
's original revue ''Put a Little Love in Your Mouth!'', at
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
's
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...
in March 2003, which also featured
Jessica Molaskey
Jessica Molaskey (born January 9, 1962) is an American professional actor and singer of torch songs and show tunes. She has appeared in a dozen Broadway shows, including '' Sunday in the Park with George'', ''Tommy'', '' Crazy for You'', ''Chess' ...
and
Mario Cantone
Mario Cantone (born December 9, 1959) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and singer with numerous appearances on Comedy Central including ''Chappelle's Show''. He also played Anthony Marentino in ''Sex and the City'' and Terri in ''Men In T ...
.
On most Monday nights since 2003 Stritch provides piano accompaniment for the open mic smorgasbord that is known as Cast Party " hosted by his long-time friend Jim Caruso at Birdland in Manhattan.
In 2006, he developed a new show to serve as a tribute to his idol,
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...
, opening at New York's Metropolitan Club. The ''New York Times'' reviewer wrote that "Mr. Stritch, who even looks a bit like his idol, exudes a similarly cultivated bonhomie. But he has a bigger, rougher voice." He has taken that show nationally, starting in 2007 and continuing to at least 2013.
For Christmas 2006 he played at the
Iridium
Iridium is a chemical element with the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density of ...
in New York with guest performers Liza Minnelli,
Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for ''St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...
,
Ann Hampton Callaway
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''.
Career
A native of Chicago, her father, John Callaway, was a journalist and her mot ...
, and
Sally Mayes
Sally Lee Mayes is an American actress and cabaret and concert singer.
Biography
Born in Livingston, Texas, Mayes began her career as a rock and jazz singer in Houston. She attended the University of Houston.
His recording of ''Dreaming of a Song: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael'' with
Klea Blackhurst
Klea Blackhurst is an American actress. She is best known for ''Everything the Traffic Will Allow'', her tribute to Ethel Merman that debuted in New York in 2001. Among many accolades, this production earned her the inaugural Special Achievement ...
was released in October 2008.
He has performed frequently with
Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom ''Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway.
After acting as a child, Lavin joined the C ...
, touring nationally with her in 2017 and 2018. He has also performed with duets with Christine Ebersole; ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called his collaboration with her "punctuating the lady's repertoire with vigorous piano and vocal support."
He performed at a benefit for
Broadway Cares
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is an American nonprofit organization that raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States, headquartered in New York City. It is the theatre community's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. ...
with Luann de Lesseps, of the reality television show, RHONY, whom she called among "the best in the business."
In 2013, Stritch joined Jim Caruso in a cabaret show in New York.
Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, occasional actor, and television host. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for '' The New York Observer''.
Early life
Reed was born on October 2, 1938, in Fort Wo ...
wrote about their show that "Every Sunday in December, when the Café Carlyle across the hall is dark, the glamorous Bemelmans Bar is hosting the most enchanting holiday party in town."
Stritch returned to his home town for a gig in 2014, where the Sugar Land Auditorium was renamed the "Billy Stritch Stage" in his honor.
In 2015, Stritch toured Canada and the United States with Jim Caruso for their show, "The Sinatra Century." He headlined at the 2016
Provincetown Jazz Festival The Annual Provincetown Jazz Festival was founded in 2005 and is held in Provincetown, which is the oldest continuous arts colony in the United States, and a portion of the proceeds are donated to JAZZ in the Schools program on Cape Cod.
Jazz musi ...
* "The Sunday Set: Recorded Live at The Birdland Theatre" with Jim Caruso (2022)
* "Billy's Place" (2020)
* "Christmas at Birdland" with Jim Caruso and Klea Blackhurst (2019)
* "A Swinging Birdland Christmas" with Jim Caruso and Klea Blackhurst (2016)
* "Billy Stritch Sings Mel Tormè" (2012)
* "Dreaming of a Song: the Music of Hoagy Carmichael " with Klea Blackhurst (2008)
* "Sunday in New York" with Christine Ebersole (2008)
* "Billy Stritch -- Jazz Live" (2006)
* "In Your Dreams" with Christine Ebersole (2005)
* "Waters of March -- The Brazilian Album" (1997)
* "Billy Stritch" (1992)
* "The Life"
* "Sondheim - a Celebration at Carnegie Hall"
* "Jim Caruso: Live and In Person"
* Guest artist on
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
's ''
Benny Carter Songbook
''Songbook'' is an album by American saxophonist and composer Benny Carter, released in 1996 by MusicMasters Records.Benny Carter Songbook Volume II
''Songbook Volume II'' is an album by American saxophonist and composer Benny Carter, released in 1997 by MusicMasters Records.MusicMasters 65134-2 1997)
* Schechter, Scott and Stritch, Billy (2004). ''The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook''. Citadel. .