Bobby Short
| Bobby Short | |
|---|---|
Dina Merrill, Bobby Short & Dick Sheridan in New York City, 1970
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Waltrip Short |
| Born |
September 15, 1924 Danville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 2005 (aged 80) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Swing, traditional pop, vocal jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Vocalist, pianist |
| Labels | Atlantic Records |
Robert Waltrip "Bobby" Short (September 15, 1924 – March 21, 2005) was an American cabaret singer and pianist, best known for his interpretations of songs by popular composers of the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Richard A. Whiting, Vernon Duke, Noël Coward and George and Ira Gershwin.
He also championed African-American composers of the same period such as Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, presenting their work not in a polemical way, but as simply the obvious equal of that of their white contemporaries.
His dedication to his great love – what he called the "Great American Song" – left him equally adept at performing the witty lyrics of Bessie Smith's "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer)" or Gershwin and Duke's "I Can't Get Started". Short stated his favorite songwriters were Ellington, Arlen and Kern, and he was instrumental in spearheading the construction of the Ellington Memorial in New York City. He was a personal friend of Tom Jobim and was present during the composer's final days in New York City.
He was born in Danville, Illinois, where one of his school classmates was Dick Van Dyke. He began performing as a busker after leaving home at the age of eleven for Chicago, with his mother's permission.
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