Susannah McCorkle (January 1, 1946 – May 19, 2001) was an American jazz singer.

Life and career

A native of Berkeley, California, McCorkle studied Italian literature at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

before dropping out to move to Europe. She was inspired to become a singer when she heard

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

sing "I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues". She began her career in the early 1970s by singing at pubs in London with bandleader

John Chilton John James Chilton (16 July 1932 – 25 February 2016) was a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s, he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts. He won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1 ...

. She also worked in London with

Keith Ingham Keith Christopher Ingham (born 5 February 1942) is an English jazz pianist, mainly active in swing and Dixieland revival. Early life and education Ingham was born in London on 5 February 1942. His father played the organ in churches. Ingham was ...

and Dick Sudhalter and recorded her first two albums, one a tribute to

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

, the other to

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

. After moving back to the U.S. in the 1970s, she sang at the Cookery in Greenwich Village and the Riverboat in Manhattan. Later in her career she sang often at the

Algonquin Hotel The Algonquin Hotel is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett for the Puritan Realty Company. The hotel has hosted numer ...

. ''No More Blues'' (1989), her first album for

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, was recorded with guitarists

Emily Remler Emily Remler (September 18, 1957 – May 4, 1990) was an American jazz guitarist, active from the late 1970s until her death in 1990. Early life and influences Born in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,Staff"Emily Remler Dies On Australia Tour; Gu ...

and

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

and pianist

Dave Frishberg David Lee Frishberg (March 23, 1933 – November 17, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and lyricist. His songs have been performed by Blossom Dearie, Rosemary Clooney, Shirley Horn, Anita O'Day, Michael Feinstein, Irene Kr ...

. Her writing was published in ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Newsday'', ''New York'', and the O. Henry Award Prize Stories. ''

Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' is an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review''. ...

'' magazine named ''How Do You Keep the Music Playing'' (1985) as the album of the year, while critic Leonard Feather named it vocal album of the year. A

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

survivor, McCorkle suffered for many years from depression. She died by suicide at age 55 by leaping off the balcony of her apartment at 41 West 86th Street in Manhattan. She was alone in her home at the time. The police immediately entered her home after identifying her body and found no evidence of foul play. Suicide was ruled the cause of death.

Discography

* ''The Music of Harry Warren'' (Inner City, 1976) * ''The Quality of Mercer'' (Inner City, 1980) * ''Over the Rainbow: The Songs of E.Y. 'Yip' Harburg'' (Inner City, 1981) * ''The People That You Never Get to Love'' (Inner City, 1981) * ''Thanks for the Memory: Songs of Leo Robin'' (Pausa, 1984) * ''How Do You Keep the Music Playing?'' (Pausa, 1985) * ''Dream'' (Pausa, 1987) * ''As Time Goes by'' (CBS/Sony, 1987) * ''No More Blues'' (Concord Jazz, 1989) * ''Sabia'' (Concord Jazz, 1990) * ''I'll Take Romance'' (Concord Jazz, 1992) * '' From Bessie to Brazil'' (Concord Jazz, 1993) * ''From Broadway to Bebop'' (Concord Jazz, 1994) * ''Easy to Love: The Songs of Cole Porter'' (Concord Jazz, 1996) * ''Let's Face the Music: The Songs of Irving Berlin'' (Concord Jazz, 1997) * ''Someone to Watch Over Me: The Songs of George Gershwin'' (Concord Jazz, 1998) * '' From Broken Hearts to Blue Skies'' (Concord Jazz, 1999) * '' Hearts and Minds'' (Concord Jazz, 2000) * ''Most Requested Songs'' (Concord Jazz, 2001) * ''

Ballad Essentials ''Ballad Essentials'' is an album by Susannah McCorkle, released in 2002. Reception Music critic Ronnie D. Lankford of Allmusic praised the album and wrote "For those less familiar with the great vocalist's work, ''Ballad Essentials'' serves as ...

'' (Concord Jazz, 2002) * ''The Beginning: 1975'' (Challenge, 2002) * ''Adeus: The Berlin Concert'' (Sonorama, 2015)

Biography

''Haunted Heart'' by Linda Dahl (University of Michigan Press, 2006).

References

External links

Susannah McCorkle Papers, 1946–2001
Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCorkle, Susannah 1946 births 2001 deaths 2001 suicides American expatriates in the United Kingdom American jazz singers American women jazz singers Suicides by jumping in New York City Musicians from Berkeley, California Concord Records artists Pausa Records artists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from California