Eydie Gormé
| Eydie Gormé | |
|---|---|
Eydie in 1962.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Edith Gorme (some sources indicate Edith Gormezano or Garmezano) |
| Born |
August 16, 1928 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 10, 2013 (aged 84) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Genres | Latin pop, big band, swing, traditional pop music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1950–2009 |
| Website | Official website |
Eydie Gormé (also spelled Gorme; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who performed solo as well as with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in popular ballads and swing. She earned numerous awards, including a Grammy and an Emmy. After retiring in 2009, she died in 2013, and is survived by Lawrence, who continues to perform as a solo act.
Gormé was born Edith Gorme (her obituary said Edith Gormezano, and census sources indicate Edith Garmezano) on August 16, 1928, in Manhattan, the daughter of Nessim and Fortuna, Sephardic Jewish immigrants. Her father, a tailor, was from Sicily and her mother was from Turkey. Gormé was a cousin of singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka.
She graduated from William Howard Taft High School in 1946 with Stanley Kubrick in her class. She worked for the United Nations as an interpreter, using her fluency in the Ladino and Spanish languages, while singing in Ken Greenglass's band during the weekends.
She got her big break and her recording debut in 1950 with the Tommy Tucker Orchestra and Don Brown. She made a second recording which featured Dick Noel. MGM issued these two recordings on 78.
Gormé worked in Tex Beneke's band. In 1951 she made several radio recordings that have been reissued on vinyl LP and recently on CD. In 1952 Gormé went on to record solo, and her first recordings were issued on the Coral label. During this time, she was featured on the radio program "Cita Con Eydie" ("A Date with Eydie"). She changed her name from Edith to Edie but later changed it to Eydie because people constantly mispronounced Edie as Eddie. Gorme also considered changing her family name; however, her mother protested, "It's bad enough that you're in show business. How will the neighbors know if you're ever a success?"
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Wikipedia