Chris Connor

Chris Connor ranked among the leading vocalists of the 1950s, celebrated for her habit of reshaping ballad rhythms, her restrained vibrato used only on select occasions, and her emphasis on a full, smoky tonal quality. She took up singing toward the end of her teenage years, performed with Claude Thornhill and Herbie Fields, and later entered Stan Kenton’s organization, where she cut her signature rendition of “All About Ronnie.” In the early 1950s she launched a solo career, producing well-received and commercially viable discs for Bethlehem and Atlantic. Her peak visibility arrived with widely praised interpretations of “Lush Life” and “Lullaby of Broadway.” After an interval of reduced activity she returned in the mid-1970s, cutting later sessions for Progressive, Stash, Contemporary, and Enja.

While attending the University of Missouri—where she had begun clarinet studies in childhood—she performed with a Stan Kenton-style orchestra directed by trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, then departed her hometown of Kansas City for New York in 1947. Fittingly, she next appeared with the lyrical pianist Claude Thornhill’s ensemble in the early 1950s. Upon exiting that group, Kenton engaged her on Christy’s endorsement; the resulting ten-month tenure from 1952 to 1953 yielded the hit “All About Ronnie.” She stepped out as a solo performer in 1953, completing three Bethlehem albums before transferring to Atlantic in 1955, where she recorded twelve more. During the 1950s she attained maximum recognition through her acclaimed readings of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” and George Shearing’s “Lullaby of Broadway,” along with such strong LPs as The Rich Sound of Chris Connor and Lullabies of Birdland on Bethlehem and Chris Craft and Ballads of the Sad Cafe on Atlantic. In 1962 she made an unwise professional choice by leaving Atlantic for FM Records, a fledgling imprint launched by her manager; only two albums appeared before the company collapsed. Her recording activity revived in the 1970s, leading to further releases on Progressive, Stash, and Contemporary throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Into the 1990s she retained a loyal audience and sustained international touring.