Rosemary Clooney

BORN: May 23, 1928, Maysville, KY
DIED: June 29, 2002, Beverly Hills, CA

Vocalist Rosemary Clooney's rise to fame in the '50s came on the strength of songs that in many instances were without question novelty tunes; she wasn't a vocal improviser like Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, or Sarah Vaughan. She was an excellent lyric interpreter, with fine timing, skillful and intelligent phrasing, and performed with the dramatic quality evident among all great singers. Her background and foundation were jazz, even if her technique didn't always adhere to rigid jazz scrutiny. Clooney entered amateur events with her sister Betty in Cincinnati, and they sang on radio stations. The duo worked in Tony Pastor's band during the late '40s, then Clooney started as a soloist. She joined the Columbia roster in 1950, and made several hits for them, among them "You're Just in Love," "Beautiful Brown Eyes," "Half as Much," "Hey There," "This Ole House," the number one hit "Come On-A My House" co-written by Ross Bagdasarian of Chipmunks fame, and "If Teardrops Were Pennies." Clooney had 13 Top 40 hits in the early '50s, among them duets with Guy Mitchell and Marlene Dietrich. She also appeared in such films as The Stars Are Singing, Here Come the Girls, White Christmas, and Red Garters in 1953 and 1954. Clooney recorded with Benny Goodman Sextet, the Hi-Lo's, and Duke Ellington in the '50s. She moved to RCA in the '60s, and recorded with Bing Crosby. There were also dates for Coral, Reprise, and Capitol, among them another session with Crosby. The rock revolution and a decision to spend more time with her family resulted in Clooney going into semi-retirement. She returned in the late '70s, singing with renewed power and confidence while making swing-influenced dates and combo sessions for Concord. She maintained that relationship through the '80s and '90s, doing standards, repertory albums, and demonstrating a resiliency and energy that validated her position among the fine jazz-based vocalists in American music. She passed away, after a long battle with lung cancer, on June 29, 2002 in her Beverly Hills home. ~ Ron Wynn and Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

At age 13, singer Rosemary Clooney crossed the river from her Kentucky hometown to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she and her sister Betty sang on a local radio station. In 1949 Clooney was signed to a solo record contract by Columbia musical director Mitch Miller. Two years later, she scored her first hit, the Ross Bagdasarian novelty song "Come On'a My House," which she reprised in her first film, The Stars are Singing (52). Paramount hoped to turn Clooney into a movie star, but after Here Come the Girls (53), Red Garters (54) and White Christmas (54), she grew weary of Hollywood. Concentrating on television, Clooney headlined several network series, and also starred in her own 39-week syndicated variety show in 1955, which was distinguished by its offbeat guest-star lineup (including such non-musical celebs as Buster Keaton and Boris Karloff!) As her career began diminishing in the 1960s, her reliance upon alcohol increased, culminating in a highly publicized stay in a California psychiatric ward. Happily she recovered, successfully launching a whole new career on the concert stage as a jazz vocalist. In 1977, Clooney wrote a grimly revelatory autobiography, This for Remembrance, which was later adapted into a TV biopic starring Sondra Locke. Rosemary Clooney was for many years married to stage and film star Jose Ferrer; she is the mother of actor Miguel Ferrer, the sister of TV talk host Nick Clooney, and the aunt of TV's ER heartthrob George Clooney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide