Tally Brown

Tally Brown (August 1, 1934 in New York City–May 6, 1989 in New York City) was a singer and actress who was part of the New York underground performance scene and who appeared in or was the subject of films by Andy Warhol and Rosa von Praunheim.

Brown received classical musical training at Juilliard; however, she later took up the genres of jazz and the blues after having met Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood in 1947.

Along with Ruth W. Greenfield, Brown was one of the founders in 1951 of the Fine Arts Conservatory, in Miami, which The New York Times described as, "one of the first racially integrated theaters and art schools in the South."

By the 1950s, Brown had developed a rhythm-and-blues style akin to such performers as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, and during this time, she released an album entitled, A Torch for Tally, with the Jimmy Diamond Quartet. The album featured the songs Limehouse Blues, Honeysuckle Rose, and My Man.

Brown was also cast in productions of Mame, The Pajama Game, Medea, and other shows, which were staged on and off Broadway.

In the 1960s and 70s, Brown sang in notable New York City nightclubs such as Reno Sweeney's and S.N.A.F.U. She also provided entertainment at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in New York City. Following her death, The New York Times published an obituary in which Brown and her singing style were thus described: "A short, stout singer with wild black hair, Ms. Brown was known for her intense, dramatic renditions of songs by Kurt Weill, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie."

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