Perry Blackwell
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Perry Blackwell (also known as Perri Lee; born February 13, 1925) is an American singer, musician and actress. She is best known for her performance in Pillow Talk (1959).
Early Life[edit]
Perry Blackwell was born Perry Lee Blackwell on February 13, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, to Alexander and Mary Blackwell.[1] She was classically trained as a pianist at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and the University of Illinois.[2] She is also a self-taught organist, playing the electric Hammond organ.[3]
While performing in jazz clubs on the West Coast, Blackwell was discovered by singer and musician Dinah Washington.[4] Subsequently, she moved to New York and performed in Harlem at the Apollo Theatre and Count Basie's nightclub, where she recorded her first album, for Roulette Records in front of a live audience.[5]
Career[edit]
Blackwell appeared in Pillow Talk (1959) playing a singer and pianist in a bar visited by Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Blackwell's character features in just one scene, in which she performs three songs: "I Need No Atmosphere", "Roly Poly" (in part, with the other part sung by Day), and "You Lied" (directed at Hudson's character).[6]
In the early 1960s, Blackwell formed the Perri Lee Trio, playing the organ with Eddie Chamblee on tenor saxophone and John Krieg on drums.[7]. In 1961 the Perri Lee Trio performed in revues headlined by Dinah Washington, in cities such as Chicago and D.C.[8][9]
She later appeared in the movie Dead Ringer (1964) as the jazz singer and electric organ player in a bar owned by a character played by Bette Davis.
Blackwell performed for seven years at the Parisian Room, a jazz club in Los Angeles.[10] In 1966 she released an album entitled 'Miss Perri Lee at the Parisian Room'. Other albums include 'Presenting Perry Lee Blackwell'. She is credited as an organ player on Sonny Stitt's album 'Sonny Stitt & The Top Brass' (1962) and Clifford Scott's album 'Lavender Sax' (1964).
References[edit]
- ↑ U.S. Census (1930). Accessed via FamilySearch.org.
- ↑ Desert Sun, Volume 44, Number 183, 6 March 1971. Retrieved 12 November, 2022 via the California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ↑ Reed, Bill (2016). The Last Musical Hurrah:: Jazz and Pop Singing and the Onslaught of Rock. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1537613178. p.130.
- ↑ The Mississippi enterprise, October 29, 1960, Page 2. Accessed 12 November, 2022 via Chronicling America.
- ↑ Desert Sun, Volume 44, Number 183, 6 March 1971
- ↑ Sullivan, Rebecca, Remembering Doris Day and Peggy Lipton: Icons of white femininity. The Conversation. May 16, 2019.
- ↑ Billboard Music Week, 6 Jan 1962 p. 24
- ↑ Clark Hine, Darlene and McCluskey Jr, John (2012) The Black Chicago Renaissance. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07858-3. p.53.
- ↑ Evening star, May 19, 1961, Page A-23. Accessed 12 November, 2022, via Chronicling America.
- ↑ Reed (2016). p.130
External Links[edit]
- Perry Blackwell at IMDB
- Perri Lee at Discogs
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