Carolyn Dennis (born April 12, 1954), sometimes known professionally as Carol Dennis or Carol Dennis-Dylan, is an American singer and actress best known for her work with and marriage to
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
.
Career
Dennis has also sung back-up for
Wonderlove
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, so ...
,
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979)
was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...
,
Táta Vega
Táta Vega (born Carmen Rosa Vega, October 7, 1951) is an American vocalist, whose career spans theater, film, and a variety of musical genres.
Early life
Vega was born in Jamaica Queens, New York and raised between New York, Chicago, Texas, P ...
,
The Carpenters
The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...
,
Kenny Loggins
Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...
,
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
, and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's ''
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I''. In 1982, Dennis performed the role of Poppea in a modern adaptation of
Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...
's ''
L'Incoronazione di Poppea
''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ( SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni ...
'' (The Coronation of Poppea) at
Xenon Discothèque in New York City. She was the singing voice for the 1991 made-for-television movie ''
The Josephine Baker Story
''The Josephine Baker Story'' is an American television film that first aired on HBO on March 16, 1991. It stars Lynn Whitfield as Josephine Baker, who was an international African-American star, who was especially successful in Europe. The film ...
'' starring
Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...
as
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
. Dennis was also part of the performance group
The Young Americans
The Young Americans is a non-profit organization and performing group based in Southern California. First founded in 1962 by Milton C. Anderson, the group was credited with being the first show choir in America, mixing choreography with choral ...
.
On Broadway, she was a member of the original cast of such notable musicals as ''
Big River'' (1985) and ''
The Color Purple
''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. '' (2005).
Personal life
Dennis and Dylan have a child, Desiree Gabrielle Dennis-Dylan, born on January 31, 1986. They married in June 1986; Dennis was Dylan's second wife. The couple divorced in October 1992.
Their marriage and parenthood was completely unknown to both Dylan's fans and the media until the 2001 publication of ''Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan'' by
Howard Sounes
Howard Sounes (born 1965) is a British author, journalist and biographer.
Biography
Born in Welling, South East London, Sounes began his journalistic career as a staff reporter for the ''Sunday Mirror''. He broke major stories, including one ...
.
See also
*''
Slow Train Coming''
*''
Saved''
*''
Empire Burlesque''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Carolyn
1954 births
American women singers
Living people
Bob Dylan
The Young Americans members