Sylvia Syms (singer)
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Sylvia Syms | |
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![]() Sylvia Syms | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Sylvia Blagman |
Born | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | December 2, 1917
Died | May 10, 1992 New York City | (aged 74)
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
Sylvia Syms (December 2, 1917 – May 10, 1992) was an American jazz singer and actress.
Biography[]
Syms was born Sylvia Blagman in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, she had polio. As a teenager, she went to jazz nightclubs on New York's 52nd Street and received informal training from Billie Holiday. She made her debut in 1941 at Kelly's Stable.[1]
In 1948, performing at the Cinderella Club in Greenwich Village, she was seen by Mae West, who gave her a part in a show she was doing.[1] Among others who observed her in nightclubs was Frank Sinatra who considered her the "world's greatest saloon singer." Sinatra conducted her 1982 album, Syms by Sinatra.
She was signed to a contract by Decca Records, having her major success with a recording of "I Could Have Danced All Night" in 1956, which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[2] Syms made regular appearances at the Carlyle in Manhattan. At times, impromptu, while enjoying a cocktail in the bar of the Carlyle, she would walk on stage and perform with the cabaret's other regular, Bobby Short.
Syms had a lung removed around 1972. The operation did not stop her from performing as Bloody Mary in the musical South Pacific at the Chateau de Ville Dinner Theater.
She died of a heart attack while on stage in the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City.[3] She was 74 years old.[4][5]
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Sylvia Syms among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[6]
Discography[]
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1952 | Songs By [10" version] | Atlantic |
1954 | After Dark [10"] | Version Records |
1954 | Sylvia Sings [EP] | Atlantic |
1955 | Songs By [12" version] | Atlantic |
1956 | Sylvia Syms Sings | Decca |
1957 | Songs of Love | Decca |
1959 | Torch Song | Columbia |
1961 | That Man | Kapp |
1964 | Fabulous | 20th Century Fox |
1965 | Sylvia Is! | Prestige |
1967 | For Once in My Life | Prestige |
1968 | In A Sentimental Mood
(reissue of 1964 'Fabulous' LP |
Movietone |
1970 | Love Lady | Stanyan |
1976 | Lovingly | Atlantic |
1978 | She Loves to Hear the Music | A&M |
1982 | Syms by Sinatra | Reprise |
1984 | A Jazz Portrait of Johnny Mercer | DRG |
1989 | Then Along Came Bill | DRG |
1992 | You Must Believe in Spring | Elba |
2004 | The Columbia Years | Columbia |
Films[]
- The Goldbergs (1950)
- The Blue Veil (1951)
- Night Without Sleep (1952)
- It Happens Every Thursday (1953)
- Some of My Best Friends Are... (1971)
- Born to Win (1971)
Television[]
- Eddie Condon's Floor Show – 1949
- The Tonight Show – 1954
- The Tonight Show – 1955
- The Tonight Show – 1956
- The VIP Show of the Year – Sep 9, 1956
- The Tonight Show – October 1956
- Stars of Jazz – Dec 17, 1956
- Art Ford's All-Star Jazz Party – 1958
- Playboy's Penthouse – Sep 23, 1961
- Playboy's Penthouse – Apr 21, 1962
- The Merv Griffin Show – 1962
- The Merv Griffin Show – 1963
- The Tonight Show – Sep 17, 1963
- The Mike Douglas Show – 1965
- The Merv Griffin Show – Jun 29, 1966
- Donald O'Connor Show – Oct 21, 1968
- The Merv Griffin Show – 1969
- The Mike Douglas Show – 1969
- The Mike Douglas Show – Aug 9, 1970
- The Tonight Show – Aug 6, 1972
- The Mike Douglas Show – Aug 11, 1974
- The Merv Griffin Show – 1974
- The Tonight Show – Feb 25, 1975
- The Merv Griffin Show – 1978
- The Dick Cavett Show – Nov 16, 1978
- Dinah! – Nov 17, 1978
- Over Easy – Nov 24, 1978
- Over Easy – May 23, 1980
- Glenn Miller: A Moonlight Serenade – Dec 1, 1984
- American Masters: The Long Night of Lady Day – Aug 3, 1986
- Buddy Barnes Live at Studio B – 1986
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "People". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1979-08-26. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 87. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Sylvia Blagman Syms | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
- ^ "| Archives | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ^ "Sylvia Syms". Jamesgavin.com. 1992-05-17. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ^ Rosen, Jody (June 25, 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
External links[]
- Sylvia Syms biography on oldies.com
- Sylvia Syms manuscript, printed music, and sound recordings, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University
- 1917 births
- 1992 deaths
- Singers from New York City
- American women jazz singers
- American jazz singers
- Traditional pop music singers
- Jazz-blues musicians
- Musicians who died on stage
- Prestige Records artists
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women singers
- Jazz musicians from New York (state)