Darlene Love

Darlene Love
Background information
Birth name	Darlene Wright
Born	(1941-07-26) July 26, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, pop, rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Years active	1959–present
Labels	Challenge, Philles, OKeh, Reprise, Ode, MGM, Bell, Lion
Associated acts	The Blossoms, Tom Jones, the Ronettes, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Johnny Rivers, Sonny and Cher

Darlene Love (Darlene Wright; born July 26, 1941) is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a No. 1 American single in 1962, and was one of the artists who performed on the celebrated Christmas album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, produced by Phil Spector in 1963. She is ranked number 84 among Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers.^[1]

As a minister's daughter, she grew up listening to gospel music and was a dedicated member of her church in San Antonio, Texas. She began singing in her church choir at age ten. During choir practice she caught the attention of choir director Cora Martin. After singing for Martin she was asked to go to the Music Mart where she sang and did some broadcasts; Love's career began there.^[2] As it was her first musical experience, it was also the main influence for her to pursue a music career. Those who knew her described her vocals as "a voice of a nightingale." She claimed, "(singing in) the choir was a big influence on my life. I call it my learning ground. Singing in the choir, I learned harmony."^[3]

As an actress, she is perhaps best remembered for playing officer Roger Murtaugh's (Danny Glover) wife in the Lethal Weapon film series.

Biography

Early career

She was born on July 26, 1941 in Los Angeles, California as Darlene Wright to Ellen Maddox and Reverend Joe Wright.^[4][5] Her sister Edna grew up to be the lead singer of the group Honey Cone.^[6]

Love began singing with her local church choir in Hawthorne, California. While still in high school (1957) she was invited to join a little-known girl group called the Blossoms,^[7] who in 1962 began working with producer Phil Spector. With her powerful voice she was soon a highly sought-after vocalist, and managed to work with many of the legends of 1950s and 1960s rock and soul, including Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and Sonny and Cher; Darlene and the Blossoms sang backup for Sharon Marie (Esparza) (a Brian Wilson act), as well as John Phillips' solo album John, Wolfking of L.A., recorded in 1969. They also appeared on Johnny Rivers' hits, including "Poor Side of Town" and Motown covers "Baby I Need Your Loving" and "The Tracks of My Tears". (The Blossoms recorded singles, usually with little success, on Capitol 1957-58 [pre-Darlene Love], Challenge 1961-62, OKeh 1963, Reprise 1966-67, Ode 1967, MGM 1968, Bell 1969-70, and Lion 1972.)

The single "He's a Rebel" was hurriedly released by Spector in November 1962 by having the Blossoms record the track in order to get his version of the Gene Pitney song onto the market before that of Vikki Carr. The single "He's a Rebel" was credited to the Crystals.^[8] but actually featured Love singing lead for the first time on a Phil Spector recording. The ghost release of this single came as a total surprise to the Crystals who were an experienced and much traveled girl harmony group in their own right, but they were nevertheless required to perform and promote the new single on television and on tour as if it were their own.

With the Blossoms, Love contributed backing vocals behind many of the biggest hits of the 1960s including the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", Shelley Fabares' "Johnny Angel", Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash", Frank Sinatra's version of "That's Life", and the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron". As a solo artist, Love also contributed backing vocals to the Ronettes' "Baby, I Love You".

She was also part of a trio called Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, who recorded a cover version of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", an Oscar-winning song from the 1946 Walt Disney film Song of the South, which got into the Top 10 in 1963. The Blossoms landed a weekly part on Shindig!, one of the top music shows of the era. They were part of the highly acclaimed Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special, which aired on NBC.

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a song by Darlene Love from the 1963 holiday compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. The song was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, along with Phil Spector, with the intention of being sung by Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes. According to Love, Ronnie Spector was not able to put as much emotion into the song as needed. Instead, Love was brought into the studio to record the song, which became a big success over time and one of Love's signature tunes.

Career break

Darlene Love engaging audience at Barnes & Noble Tribeca, June 17, 2013.

Into the 1970s Love continued to work as a backup singer, before taking a break in order to raise a family. In 1973, she recorded vocals as a cheerleader along with Michelle Phillips, for the Cheech & Chong single "Basketball Jones", which peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

1980s return

Love returned to music in the early 1980s and to an appreciative audience she thought might have long since forgotten her. She had been performing at venues like the Roxy in L.A., and it was a conversation with Steven Van Zandt that greased the wheels for her to come to New York and begin performing there in 1982, at places like The Bottom Line. She also sang "OOO Wee Baby" in the 1980 movie The Idolmaker. Along with performing in small venues, Love served as a maid in Beverly Hills. One day while she was cleaning one of these homes, she heard her song, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", she took this as a sign that she needed to change her life and go back to singing.^[9]

In the mid-1980s she portrayed herself in the Tony Award-nominated jukebox musical Leader of the Pack, which featured the iconic rock and roll songs written by Ellie Greenwich, many of them for the young Love. The showstopping number of that show, "River Deep - Mountain High", had been recorded by Phil Spector with Ike & Tina Turner and had been less than the success they had expected. Leader of the Pack commenced as a revue at the Greenwich Village nightclub The Bottom Line, as did the later show about Love's life, Portrait of a Singer, which never made the move uptown. Portrait included covers of "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Don't Make Me Over", as well as "River Deep, Mountain High" and original music from some of the instrumental writers of early rock and roll, including Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Love contributed a cover of the Hollywood Argyles song "Alley Oop" to the soundtrack of the 1984 film Bachelor Party.

In 1986, Love's second chance came when she was asked to sing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on Letterman's Christmas show, this became a yearly tradition.^[9]

In 1987, Love sang backup for U2's cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". In 1990, Love released the album, Paint Another Picture, which included an update of her old hit, "He's Sure the Man I Love," by Mann and Weill, as well as a ballad written especially for her, "I've Never Been the Same," by Judy Wieder. The album did not make the US charts. In 1990, Cher invited Love and her sister Edna Wright as her background vocalists for the Heart of Stone tour. Love released a minor single in 1992 with "All Alone on Christmas", written and composed by Steven Van Zandt, which can be found on the Home Alone 2: Lost in New York soundtrack. Love also contributed vocals to the soundtrack of the film Jingle All the Way.

She continues to do a Christmas show every year in New York City, which is always capped by "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)".

Love recorded a duet with Bette Midler on the latter's 2014 studio release album, "It's the Girls!", an album of songs paying tribute to girl groups. The two singers performed "He's Sure the Boy I Love", a track credited to the Crystals- though actually recorded by Love, Blossom Fanita James, and other studio session singers.

Love's newest album, Introducing Darlene Love, was released September 18, 2015 on Steve Van Zandt's label, Wicked Cool Records.^[10] There are 10 songs in this album, including singles and features by Van Zandt himself, two new songs by Bruce Springsteen, and covers of Joan Jett and Elvis Costello songs, among others.[8] "Forbidden Nights", the first song, is one of the more successful songs in this album. It is a song that Elvis Costello previously produced for an unfinished Broadway musical.^[10]

Acting roles

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Love also began an acting career, playing Danny Glover's wife Trish Murtaugh in the four Lethal Weapon movies.^[7] Love has held many star roles in various Broadway productions. She acted and sang in Grease, in the short-lived musical adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie, and starred as Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway's Hairspray from August 2005 till April 2008.^[11] She later reprised the role in the Hollywood Bowl production of the show in 2011.

Television appearances

Love performed the song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" every year since 1986 on the last episode before Christmas of Late Night with David Letterman (NBC 1986 - 1992) and the Late Show with David Letterman (CBS 1993 to 2015). Her final Christmas appearance was on December 19, 2014, nine days after the official announcement of the show's finale in May 2015.^[12] Letterman has stated that the annual performance is his favorite part of Christmas. Due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, Love was unable to perform on the Letterman show in 2007;^[13] a repeat of her 2006 performance was shown instead.

She was a special guest on the December 17, 2005, broadcast of Saturday Night Live, singing "White Christmas" with the SNL band and providing the vocals for a Robert Smigel cartoon, "Christmas time for the Jews". Love was the musical guest on Late Show with David Letterman on May 7, 2007, performing "River Deep-Mountain High". Love performed with Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band in November 2009 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden.

Twenty Feet from Stardom

She appears in the documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win the Academy Award for best documentary at the 86th Academy Awards.

In the film, Love revealed that she had signed with Spector as a solo artist after the success of "He's a Rebel", and had recorded "He's Sure the Boy I Love" with the impression it would be released as her first single as a solo artist. However, Spector instead used Love's recording and released it as the newest single for the Crystals without informing Love. She only learned of the switch when she heard a DJ on the radio announce that the single was "the newest Crystals record".

Subsequently, Love recorded "Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry" which was released as a single by Spector, and now featured Love's name as the artist. She says that Spector offered $3,000 for her rights to the song. And though he said it was going to be a hit, she took the money. But, in spite of that decision, she said that she has continued to have a career because people have loved hearing her sing her songs.

The film provided an in-depth illustration of Love's musical career. Although she was exploited by Phil Spector and had not been credited for her hit song "He's Sure the Boy I Love," Darlene Love never gave up. Her perseverance and passion for the music provides inspiration for other back up singers like Judith Hill. Her hard work and dedication is one of the main reasons why she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Awards and accomplishments

In 1995 Love won the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award.^[2]

On December 15, 2010, it was announced that Love had been chosen for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[14] On March 14, 2011, Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,^[15] with a speech by Bette Midler.^[16][17]

Bette Midler said "she changed my view of the world, listening to those songs, you had to dance, you had to move, you had to keep looking for the rebel boy." Near tears, Love noted that she will turn 70 later this year, and thanked Spector "for recognizing my talent and making me the main voice in his Wall of Sound." Her speech elicited a standing ovation. Later, she sang "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" with Springsteen playing a lowdown solo on a Telecaster.^[18]

During a performance on August 10, 2014 at Stern Grove in San Francisco, CA., she shared with the world, "what people have to understand is that if you're getting more good than bad out of something, it's always worth it. But you have to keep on, you have to see to your goals and your dreams, and keep moving forward. We all have bumps in the road. We have barricades. But my whole thing about that is this: A barricade is nothing but something you have to get over. That's what I've done most of my life. Once you get over it, the joy on the other side is very fulfilling. So you just have to keep pressing on."^[19]

Darlene Love alongside Rob Haerburger, editor and writer for the New York Times wrote her autobiography "My Name Is Love". In her memoir, Love tells all about her life in the music industry, her years of struggle, and her present projects. It is an inspiring story about a resilient woman who never gave up. "The only rule was that I wanted to be completely honest," says Love. "I've been around a long time, so I have a lot of anecdotes and stories, and the publisher liked that. But I wanted it to be funny, too – even some things that weren't funny at the time."^[20]

In August, 2014, the Oprah Winfrey Network(OWN) announced that it is producing a biopic for the big screen based on Love's life, starring singing icon Toni Braxton.

In 2015, Love was featured in the September issue of Entertainment Weekly. In the music section of the magazine, it introduces Love's five decades of musical accomplishments such as different solos and albums.

Love's most recent performance came on September 26, 2015, when she provided the inaugural performance to christen the opening of the Clermont Performing Arts Center in Clermont, Florida.^[21]

2016 Tour

Beginning January 1, 2016, Love is touring her new album across the United States.

Discography

U.S. albums

• 1963 - Various Artists Today's Hits (Philles Records #4004)
• 1963 - Various Artists A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector (Philles Records #4005)
• 1977 - Various Artists Phil Spector's Greatest Hits (Warner/Spector Records #9104)
• 1978 - Various Artists Lakeshore Music presents Rock and Roll Forever (Warner Special Products #2508) (same as above release)
• 1985 - Leader of the Pack Original Broadway Cast (Elektra Records #60420)
• 1985 - Darlene Love Live! (Rhino Records RNLP #855)
• 1988 - Paint Another Picture (Columbia Records #40605)
• 1990 - Various Artists Dick Tracy: Music from and inspired by the film (Sire/Reprise Records #26236)
• 1991 - Various Artists Back to Mono (1958–1969) (ABKCO Records #7118) (box set)
• 1992 - Various Artists A Very Special Christmas 2 (A&M Records #450003)
• 1992 - The Best of Darlene Love (The Philles Recordings) (ABKCO Records #7213)
• 1992 - Bringing It Home (with Lani Groves) (Shanachie Records #9003)
• 1998 - Various Artists Grease Is the Word (Rhino Records)
• 1998 - Unconditional Love (Harmony Records)
• 2007 - It's Christmas of Course (Shout! Factory Records #10569)
• 2008 - So Much Love: A Darlene Love Anthology 1958–1998 (Ace CDCHD 1169)
• 2011 - The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love Audio CD
• 2011 - The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love Blu-spec CD (Released in November 2, 2011)
• 2015 - Introducing Darlene Love (Wicked Cool Records/Columbia)

U.S. singles

Incomplete list of recordings.

Filmography

References

External links

• Official website
• Darlene Love at the Internet Movie Database
• Darlene Love at the Internet Broadway Database
  
• Darlene Love at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• History of Rock and Roll: Darlene Love
• Who Is Darlene Love? Official blog and news site.
• Darlene Love Interview