The Carol Lou Trio was a jazz combo which gained modest popularity in the mid-eastern United States between the 1950s and 1970s, and international distribution of its few recordings. The group was headed by Carol Lou Hedges (born May 20, 1931, Peru, Indiana), whose modest demeanor belied her piano virtuosity and swinging style. Husband and bassist John Hedges was the other permanent member of the group, with various drummers having been employed, including future drummer for the Count Basie band and Tony Bennett, Harold Jones in 1956-57. The trio's reputation spread mostly by word of mouth, but it did release several singles and one album. Having remarried, Carol Lou Woodward continued to play as a soloist and in small combos in and around her home since 1957,

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...

, where

Gennett Records Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and H ...

produced important early jazz recordings, including the first by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. In 2013 Woodward recorded an album for the Starr-Gennett Foundation called “Rags to Richmond: A Tribute to Ragtime and Starr Piano.” The album includes three compositions by erstwhile Richmond resident May Aufderheide, a leading female ragtime composer. In 2006, Woodward released a CD featuring solo piano arrangements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

standards, "An Evening With Carol Lou". In 2008 she released a holiday collection titled “Christmas With Carol Lou." She has said that her favorite pianist is Gene Harris, whose style has been described as "hard-swinging, soulful, blues-drenched". Woodward's considerable talent might have carried her to greater recognition, but she chose instead to raise a family and live quietly. John Hedges died in October, 2012. Now in her nineties, Carol Lou is a weekly entertainer at Saigon Paris Bistro, in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

Discography

;The Carol Lou Trio Album
The Carol Lou Trio and Geneta Kern
''Painting The Town'' (Parker Records LP 33-102) 1967 Side 1 * "Tricky" * "Little Things Mean A Lot" * "On Green Dolphin Street" * "Kansas City" * "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" * "I'm Gonna A Build A Mountain" Side 2 * "Hello Dolly" (feat. Geneta Kern) * "The In Crowd" * "If I Should Lose You" * "Imagination" (feat. Geneta Kern) * "Big Noise From Winnetka" * "When I Fall In Love" Personnel: Carol Lou Hedges, piano; John Hedges, bass; Jim Parker, drums; Geneta Kern, vocals. Singles (Released in the 1970s) #"

Soft Summer Breeze "Soft Summer Breeze" is a song written and performed by Eddie Heywood. It reached No. 11 on the U.S. pop chart in 1956. The song was featured on his 1955 album, ''Eddie Heywood''. Other charting versions *The Diamonds released a version of the ...

" ( Eddie Heywood-Judy Spencer)/ Canadian Sunset ( Norman Gimbel- Eddie Heywood) Juke JB2013A; " After Hours" ( Erskine Hawkins- Avery Parrish) Juke JB2013BThe composing of "After Hours" is miscredited on the record's label to "Lou Reed," which has led some to mistakenly associate the song and the Carol Lou Trio with rock musician

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

, who wrote a song of the same title. Collections including the recording are often promoted for sale based on this erroneous association. When asked in 2006, Carol Lou Woodward said she was unfamiliar with any musician or composer named Lou Reed. #"T.D. Boogie Woogie" (

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

) Juke JB 2022A; "

Lullaby of Birdland "Lullaby of Birdland" is a jazz standard and popular song composed by George Shearing with lyrics by George David Weiss (under the pseudonym "B. Y. Forster"). Background George Shearing wrote "Lullaby of Birdland" in 1952 for Morris Levy, the ow ...

" ( George Shearing) Juke JB2022B #"Big Noise From Winnetka" ( Ray Bauduc-

Bob Haggart Robert Sherwood Haggart (March 13, 1914 – December 2, 1998) was an American dixieland jazz double bass player, composer, and arranger. Although he is associated with dixieland, he was one of the finest rhythm bassists of the Swing Era. Music c ...

) Juke JB20021A; " When I Fall in Love" (

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Biogr ...

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

) Juke JB20021B ;Carol Lou Woodward ''An Evening With Carol Lou'' (2006, privately issued CD) #" I Got Rhythm" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

) #" Someone to Watch Over Me" (Gershwin) #" Rhapsody in Blue" (Gershwin) #"

Embraceable You "Embraceable You" is a jazz standard song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named ''East Is West''. It was published in 1930 and included in that year's Broadway m ...

" (Gershwin) #"12th Street Rag" (

Euday L. Bowman Euday Louis Bowman (November 9, 1886 – May 26, 1949) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime and blues who represented the style of ''Texas Ragtime''. He is chiefly remembered as the composer of the highly popular "Twelfth Street R ...

) #"Just Squeeze Me" (

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

-Lee Gaines) #"Spring is Here"/" It Might as Well Be Spring" (

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

) #" Stardust" ( Hoagy Carmichael) #"Kitten on the Keys" (

Zez Confrey Edward Elzear "Zez" Confrey (3 April 1895 – 22 November 1971)
- accessed August 2011 was an American composer and perfo ...

) #"Quiet Nights"/"

How Insensitive "How Insensitive" is a bossa nova and jazz standard song composed by Brazilian musician Antônio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics were written in Portuguese by Vinícius de Moraes and in English by Norman Gimbel. Jobim recorded the song in 1994 with Stin ...

" ( Antonio Carlos Jobim, Norman Gimbel, Mendonca/Jobim, Gimbel,

Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...

) #" Linus and Lucy" (

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

) #"That's All" (Alan Brandt-Bob Haymes) ''Christmas with Carol Lou'' (2008, privately issued CD) #"

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, ''The Andy Williams Christm ...

" ( Edward Pola-

George Wyle George Wyle (born Bernard Weissman; March 22, 1916 – May 2, 2003) was an American orchestra leader and composer best known for having written the theme song to 1960s television sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. He is the grandfather of musici ...

) #" Jingle Bell Rock" ( Bobby Helms) #"Invention In F Major" (Bach) and "We Need A Little Christmas" (

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricis ...

) #" Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

) #" Winter Wonderland" ( Felix Bernard- Richard B. Smith) #" God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (Traditional) #"We Wish You The Merriest" ( Les Brown) #"Snowfall" ( Claude Thornhill) #" Sleigh Ride" (

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ) (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as ...

) #"Have A Merry Merry Merry Christmas" #Medley: "In The Bleak Of Winter" (Traditional), "Bring A Torch" (

Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" (french: Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle) is a Christmas carol which originated from the Provence region of France in the 17th century. The song is usually notated in 3/8 time. The carol was first published in ...

(Traditional and

Charpentier Charpentier () is the French language, French word for "carpenter", and it is also a French surname; a variant spelling is Carpentier. In English, the equivalent word and name is "Carpenter (surname), Carpenter"; in German, "Zimmermann (disambigua ...

), " The Holly And Ivy" (Traditional) #" Christmas Time Is Here" (

Lee Mendelson Leland Maurice Mendelson (March 24, 1933 – December 25, 2019) was an American animation producer and the executive producer of the many ''Peanuts'' animated specials. Biography Mendelson was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Mateo gra ...

) #" Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" ( Hugh Martin- Ralph Blane) Personnel: Carol Lou Woodward, piano; Greg Hedges, bass ''Rags to Richmond: A Tribute to Ragtime and Starr Piano'' (2103 CD, Starr-Gennett Foundation) #"A Totally Different Rag" ( May Aufderheide) #"Boyer Street Rag" (G. Anderson) #"(Original) Chicago Blues" (J. White) #"Echoes From the Snowball Club" ( Harry P. Guy) #"Encore Rag" (T. Fischer) #"Extroversion" (G. Angerson) #"Felix Rag" (H. H. McSkimming) #"Hoosier Rag" (

Julia Lee Niebergall Julia Lee Niebergall (15 February 1886 – 19 October 1968) was a musician and ragtime era composer. Early life and education Niebergall was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to a family of musicians. Her father played double-bass, her sister pi ...

) #"Jungle Time Rag" (E. P. Severin) #"Kitten on the Keys" (

Zez Confrey Edward Elzear "Zez" Confrey (3 April 1895 – 22 November 1971)
- accessed August 2011 was an American composer and perfo ...

) #"Majestic Rag" (B. Rawls and R. Neel) #"Prosperity Rag" (

James Scott (composer) James Sylvester Scott (February 12, 1885 – August 30, 1938) was an American ragtime composer and pianist. He is regarded as one of the "Big Three" composers of classical ragtime along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb.Jasen David A. and ...

#"Richmond Rag "(May Aufderheide) #"The Thriller!" (May Aufderheide)

References

{{reflist, 35em

External links

Carol Lou Trio

Carol Lou Woodward playing Over The Rainbow.

Carol Lou Woodward leading a small group in July 2009.

T. D. Boogie Woogie, audio of Carol Lou Trio

After Hours, audio of Carol Lou Trio
American jazz ensembles People from Peru, Indiana Musicians from Richmond, Indiana 1931 births Living people