Corky Hale (born July 3, 1936) is an American jazz harpist, pianist, flutist, and vocalist. She has been a theater producer, political activist, restaurateur, and the owner of the Corky Hale women's clothing store in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education

On July 3, 1936, Hale was born Merrilyn Hecht in

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the county seat and largest city of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is known for hosting the second Linc ...

. She had learned piano, harp, flute, and cello by the time she was in her teens. She studied at the Chicago Music Conservatory and at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. At age 16, she enrolled in Stephens College, a school for young ladies, for her last year of high school. After graduation, she announced to her parents that she was moving to Hollywood to be a musician; her father sent her to nearby

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. After a year of college, she dropped out, again intending to move to Hollywood. A compromise with her parents led to becoming at student at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Career

During the 1950s, she was a studio musician in Hollywood, playing harp on albums by Chet Baker, June Christy,

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, and Frank Sinatra. She worked as a vocalist with

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at the

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in Los Angeles.

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invited her to perform with his band at Las Vegas, where she played piano for

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and accompanied her on tour. As a solo act, she recorded the album ''Corky Hale Plays George Gershwin and Vernon Duke'' with

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, and Chico Hamilton. On October 12, 1968, she accompanied

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on ''

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'' and sang a song by herself. In 1970, Hale married Mike Stoller of the Leiber-Stoller songwriting team. She has worked with

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, Peggy Lee, James Brown,

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, George Michael and Björk. Hale has also produced plays, including ''Give 'Em Hell, Harry'', starring Jason Alexander and ''Lullaby of Broadway'', a profile of the lyricist Al Dubin. She has appeared at Vibrato, Catalina Bar & Grill, The White House, and the Kennedy Center. At the University of Wisconsin, Hale was one of the few white students to join the NAACP. She was a birth control teacher at Planned Parenthood in New York and is on the National Advisory Board of

NARAL NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

and on the board of WRRAP. She is an American Film Institute associate and is the founder of Angel Harvest, an organization which redistributes unused food from restaurants, hotels, and events to hungry and needy people in Los Angeles.

Discography

As leader

* ''Modern Harp Vol. 17'' (GNP, 1956) * ''Harp Beat'' (Stash, 1985) * ''Harp! the Herald Angels Sing'' (LaserLight, 1995) * ''Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas'' (LML Music, 1999)

As guest

* Chet Baker, ''Sings and Plays with Bud Shank, Russ Freeman and Strings'' (Pacific Jazz, 1955) *

, ''Tony Makes It Happen!'' (Columbia, 1967) * Bjork, ''Debut'' (One Little Indian, 1993) * Bjork, ''Surrounded'' (One Little Indian, 2006) *

, ''Live and Learn'' (A&M, 1979) * Elkie Brooks, ''Two Days Away'' (A&M, 1977) * Artie Butler, ''Have You Met Miss Jones?'' (A&M/CTI, 1968) *

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

, ''Judith'' (Elektra, 1975) *

Dino & Sembello Ralph F. Palladino (born April 1938), known as Ralph Dino, and John Anthony Sembello (February 22, 1945 - May 1, 2013), were an American singing and songwriting duo in the early 1970s. They recorded one album together, which included the original ve ...

, ''Dino & Sembello'' (A&M, 1974) *

, ''Sings the Cole Porter Song Book'' (Verve, 1956) * Ella Fitzgerald, ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book'' (Verve, 1956) *

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

, ''Chapter Two'' (Atlantic, 1970) * Roberta Flack, ''Quiet Fire'' (Atlantic, 1971) *

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, ''Dean Friedman'' (Lifesong, 1977) *

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, ''Herbie Harper'' (Bethlehem, 1955) *

, ''The Bands of Renown'' (Renown, 1993) * Steve Kuhn, Gary McFarland, ''The October Suite'' (Impulse!, 1967) *

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/Ray Sims/Dave Pell/Don Fagerquist, ''The Les Brown All Stars'' (Capitol, 1955) * Peggy Lee, ''Mirrors'' (A&M, 1975) *

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, ''Rashida'' (RCA, 1995) *

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, ''Home to Myself'' (Bell, 1973) *

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, ''Turtle Bay'' (Atlantic, 1973) *

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, ''A New Era'' (Cotillion, 1971) * Les McCann, ''

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'' (Atlantic, 1972) *

Murray McEachern Murray McEachern (August 16, 1915 – April 28, 1982) was a Canadian jazz trombonist and alto saxophonist, perhaps best known for having played trombone for Benny Goodman from 1936 to 1937. McEachern is also remembered for playing both the trombo ...

, ''Music for Sleepwalkers Only'' (Key, 1956) *

, ''Anita'' (Verve, 1956) * Anita O'Day, ''In a Mellow Tone'' (DRG, 1989) *

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

, ''

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'' (RCA Victor, 1971) * Lyn Stanley, ''The Moonlight Sessions'' (A.T. Music, 2017) *

Stealers Wheel Stealers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock/ rock band formed in 1972 in Paisley, Scotland, by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Their best-known hit is "Stuck in the Middle with You". The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed bri ...

, ''Ferguslie Park'' (A&M, 1973) *

Kitty White Kitty Jean Bilbrew (July 7, 1923 – August 11, 2009), better known as Kitty White, was an American jazz singer who was popular in Los Angeles nightclubs. She recorded mostly on the West Coast with Buddy Collette, Gerald Wiggins, Chico H ...

, ''A Moment of Love'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956)

References

External links

Official site

Musician's website, ''City Cabaret''

Looking Back: Brother/sister are credit to native city
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Corky 1936 births Living people People from Freeport, Illinois Jazz musicians from Illinois American cabaret performers American women jazz musicians American harpists American jazz harpists 21st-century American women Jazz harpists