Nov

Nancy Wilson – With My Lover Beside Me

After 70 albums, it’s difficult to call Nancy Wilson underrated but I had to include this particular CD because it’s one of my favorites and one of the least known of her recent releases. (However, I can make a small case for being underrated because she’s only won three Grammy Awards despite having such a long and distinguished career filled with collaborations with many of the legends of the jazz, blues and R&B worlds.)

After attending college for a year, preparing to become a teacher, Miss Nancy Wilson (her website is actually www.MissNancyWilson.com) decided to give a music career a chance. She took off from Columbus, Ohio for New York City, giving herself six months to test the musical waters. Good fate befell her almost as soon as she stepped foot in Manhattan when she met the now legendary jazz musician Cannonball Adderley. A last-minute call to substitute for an ill singer at a local nightclub led to Adderley’s manager taking her on as a client. He immediately put her in the studio to record demos. One of those songs, “Guess Who I Saw Today” caught the attention of Capitol Records and became Nancy’s first single. It’s still one of my favorites. In just a few short years in NYC, she recorded several albums for Capitol and scored several hit singles. A star talent had finally been noticed.

This particular CD, With My Lover Beside Me, came about when the widow of the late songwriter Johnny Mercer (I Remember You, Come Rain or Come Shine, That Old Black Magic, Laura, Moon River, Jeepers Creepers) found several sheets of lyrics Mercer had never set to music. She gave them to Barry Manilow who set them to music and asked Wilson to record them. It’s not one of her best-selling CDs but it is definitely one of the best.

Over the years, the power behind Wilson’s voice has diminished. But those of us who came to her during this period find her breathy punctuations part of her charm. There’s no one like her. She’s a sparkling crystal trophy in America’s display case of musical greatness.

When people refer to her as “The Complete Entertainer”, it’s an understatement. Grammy Award winner for her music, Emmy Award winner for her variety show. Actress in multiple films and television shows. Host of an National Public Radio show chronicling jazz greats, civil rights activist and AIDS awareness activist (she’s the Honorary Spokesperson for the National Minority AIDS Council). As if I needed another reason to love her, she’s now signed to a record label called MCG Jazz, which is part of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, an arts organization in Pittsburgh. Some (and sometimes all) of the proceeds from the sale of her CDs go to support the organization’s youth and arts programs.

Her website says she prefers to be called a “song stylist”. I’ll stick to calling her perfection. It would be the greatest honor to meet her someday….though I can’t promise I won’t giggle uncontrollably or shoot snot out of my nose.

With My Lover Beside Me
Look at You
When October Goes
Heart of Mine, Cry On

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