Chris Connor

 Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer.

In 1948, she moved to New York City with the intention of having a glamorous career.Unable to find a singing job, she became an office stenographer. She spent the next seven weeks trying to secure any kind of singing job. Those weeks were quite difficult for Connor, as she was kicked out of the hotel where she was staying (for failure to pay her bill), and the hotel kept all of her belongings (including her winter coat). She met a man acquainted with orchestra leader Claude Thornhill's road manager, Joe Green. Thornhill was seeking a new singer to round out his vocal group, the Snowflakes.She successfully auditioned and joined Thornhill's group, touring around the United States and recording harmonies in the studio. Of her time spent with the Snowflakes, there is only evidence of her vocal contribution on two recorded songs: "There's a Small Hotel" and "I Don't Know Why", both performed in 1949.

In 1953, when Connor was singing on a live radio broadcast from the Roosevelt Hotel, June Christy (then vocalist for Stan Kenton's band), was listening to the radio and heard her. By 1952, Kenton had rotated several female singers as replacements. In late 1952, Christy returned to the Kenton band for some sporadic engagements. When she informed Kenton again of her impending departure to pursue a solo career, she remembered Chris Connor and recommended her to Kenton.

Connor auditioned and began touring and recording for the Stan Kenton band in February 1953. On February 11, 1953, Connor recorded her first sides with the Stan Kenton band. Her first song, "And The Bull Walked Around, Ole", peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard music charts. Other songs recorded with the band were "Baia", "Jeepers Creepers", "If I Should Lose You", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen". By June 1953, Connor found the constant traveling and vocal demands of nightly performances exhausting. She abruptly left the Kenton band; and, by fall of 1953, she was back in New York. She soon hired Monte Kay to manage her impending solo career, and he found work for her at Birdland. One night after a show, the owner of Bethlehem Records, Gus Wildi, offered her a recording contract on the spot.

She signed with the label in 1953 and, in 1954, released dual LPs, Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of Birdland and Chris Connor Sings Lullabys for Lovers. At age 26, she became a best-selling solo artist for Bethlehem Records; and the label rushed her into the studios to record additional songs. Bethlehem Records released the successful follow-up album Chris in 1955 (her only full-length 12" album release for the label before her departure). Bethlehem released her other full-length LPs This is Chris and Lullabys Of Birdland in 1957.

(Info Edited From Wikipedia )

Chris Connor died on August 29, 2009, from cancer, aged 81.

          8. All dressed Up with a Broken Heart