Emma Thompson Kelly (December 17, 1918 – January 17, 2001) was an American musician. Known as the "Lady of 6,000 Songs",
[ she appeared in both ]John Berendt
John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.
Biography
Ber ...
's 1994 book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt. The book, Berendt's first, was published in 1994 and follows the story of an antiques dealer on trial for the murder of a male prostitute. Subtitled ''A Savannah S ...
'' and its 1997 movie adaptation.
Her nickname was given to her by Johnny Mercer, who — after challenging her to play numerous songs he named — estimated she knew 6,000 songs from memory.["Our 'Mrs. Emma'"]
- ''Statesboro Herald
The ''Statesboro Herald'' is a newspaper published one day a week located in Statesboro, Georgia, United States. Owned by Morris Multimedia, it has a circulation of about 5,300, and primarily serves Bulloch, Screven, Evans, and Candler counties.
T ...
'', October 18, 2015
Personal life
Kelly was married to George Kelly for 47 years — from 1936 until his death from a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 70.[ Together they had ten children.][
]
Death
Kelly died on January 17, 2001, from a liver ailment. She was 82.["Emma Kelly, 82, 'Lady of 6,000 Songs'"]
- ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', January 29, 2001
Accolades
Kelly was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Miller to attract the music ...
in 1998. She performed at the event."Emma's acceptance piano speech Emma Kelly Ga Music Hall of Fame"
- YouTube, October 26, 2014
References
External links
*
Emma Thompson Kelly
at FindAGrave.com
Emma Kelly - Statesboro
- YouTube, May 7, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Emma
1918 births
2001 deaths
People from Statesboro, Georgia
20th-century American women pianists
20th-century American pianists
21st-century American women pianists
21st-century American pianists