Born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in Philadelphia, Gogi's family moved to California when she was young. At age 12 she won a teenage singing contest and appeared on television talent shows.
In 1952, she began to record, using first the name "Audrey Brown" and later "Audrey Grant." She was given the name "Gogi" by Dave Kapp, the head of Artists and Repertory at RCA Records, who liked to patronize a restaurant called "Gogi's LaRue."
In 1955, she signed with a small record company, Era Records, and had her first top ten hit with "Suddenly There's a Valley". The next year, she had an even bigger hit reaching Billboard magazine's #1 position with "The Wayward Wind" and holding the position for eight weeks. She was voted the most popular female vocalist by Billboard magazine. This single returned to the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.
In 1957, she performed the vocals for Ann Blyth's portrayal of Helen Morgan in the biographical film The Helen Morgan Story. The soundtrack album climbed to #25 in the Billboard album chart, and she had a minor hit the following year with "Strange Are the Ways of Love."
In 1958, Grant was one of the three solo singers featured in the first stereo LP of the classic musical Show Boat. Although she made albums and appeared on television into the 1960s, her popularity declined and she retired from singing in 1967 after a final U.S. chart single, "The Sea."
In 2004, aged 80, she made an appearance on the PBS 50s Pop music special Magic Moments and sang "The Wayward Wind." Grant is still performing today.
Recommended:
####
No comments:
Post a Comment
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT