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{{Short description|American musician (born 1936)}}
'''Corky Hale''' (born July 3, 1936) has been a working jazz musician for more than 50 years. As both a leader and an in-demand session player, she has traveled across the United States and throughout Europe, playing harp, piano and flute, and singing, as well. In addition to her musical resume, Hale as been a music and theater producer, an actress, an activist, a restaurateur and even the owner of a once-famous Los Angeles clothing store for women.


{{BLP sources|date=April 2023}}
'''Corky Hale''' (born July 3, 1936) is an American jazz harpist, pianist, flutist, and vocalist. She has been a theater producer, political activist, restaurateur, and the owner of the Corky Hale women's clothing store in Los Angeles, California.


== Early life and education==
On July 3, 1936, Hale was born Merrilyn Hecht in [[Freeport, Illinois]].<ref name="Chadbourne">{{cite web |last1=Chadbourne |first1=Eugene |title=Corky Hale |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/corky-hale-mn0000117089/biography |website=AllMusic |accessdate=1 October 2020 }}</ref> She had learned piano, harp, flute, and cello by the time she was in her teens.<ref name="Chadbourne" /> She studied at the Chicago Music Conservatory and at [[Interlochen Center for the Arts]] in Michigan.<ref name="Chadbourne" />
At age 16, she enrolled in [[Stephens College]], a school for young ladies, for her last year of high school. After graduation, she announced to her parents that she was moving to Hollywood to be a musician; her father sent her to nearby [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]]. After a year of college, she dropped out, again intending to move to Hollywood. A compromise with her parents led to becoming at student at [[UCLA]].


She is Jewish. In a 1997 interview with SFGATE, she describes herself as a "Jewish princess who had a wonderful childhood".
== '''Upbringing''' ==


== Career ==
During the 1950s, she was a studio musician in Hollywood, playing [[harp]] on albums by [[Chet Baker]], [[June Christy]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]] [[Anita O'Day]], and Frank Sinatra.<ref name="Myers">{{cite web |last1=Myers |first1=Marc |title=Corky Hale: The Swinging Harp |url=https://www.jazzwax.com/2012/05/corky-hale-the-swinging-harp.html |website=www.jazzwax.com |accessdate=1 October 2020 |date=24 May 2012}}</ref> She worked as a vocalist with [[Freddy Martin]] at the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Coconut Grove]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="Myers" /> [[Jerry Gray (arranger)|Jerry Gray]] invited her to perform with his band at Las Vegas, where she played piano for [[Billie Holiday]] and accompanied her on tour.<ref name="Myers" /> As a solo act, she recorded the album ''Corky Hale Plays George Gershwin and Vernon Duke'' with [[Buddy Collette]], [[Howard Roberts]], and [[Chico Hamilton]].<ref name="Myers" /> On October 12, 1968, she accompanied [[Tony Bennett]] on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' and sang a song by herself.<ref name="Myers" /> In 1970, Hale married [[Mike Stoller]] of the Leiber-Stoller songwriting team.


She has worked with [[Liberace]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Barbra Streisand]], [[Elkie Brooks]], [[Tony Bennett]], [[Billie Holiday]], [[Harry James]], [[Peggy Lee]], [[James Brown]], [[Spike Jones]], [[George Michael]] and [[Björk]]. Hale has also produced plays, including ''Give 'Em Hell, Harry'', starring [[Jason Alexander]] and ''Lullaby of Broadway'', a profile of the lyricist [[Al Dubin]]. She has appeared at Vibrato, Catalina Bar & Grill, The White House, and the Kennedy Center.
Born Merrilyn Hecht, Corky was born and raised in the small town of Freeport, Illinois, where she been playing piano at the age of three. At seven, she was enrolled in classical piano studies at the Chicago Conservatory. It was here that she also became interested in the harp and a life in music was born. In addition to her classical studies, she learned to love and play show tunes and standards, and soon embraced the jazz sounds of Stan Kenton.


At the University of Wisconsin, Hale was one of the few white students to join the [[NAACP]]. She was a birth control teacher at [[Planned Parenthood]] in New York and is on the National Advisory Board of [[NARAL]] and on the board of WRRAP. She is an [[American Film Institute]] associate and is the founder of Angel Harvest, an organization which redistributes unused food from restaurants, hotels, and events to hungry and needy people in Los Angeles.
When Corky was 16, her parents sent her to Stephens College, a school for young ladies, for her last year of high school. After graduation, Corky announced to her parents that she was moving to Hollywood to be a musician, whereupon her father immediately sent her to nearby University of Wisconsin. But it was too late; she’d been bitten by the "show biz bug" and after one year, she announced that now she was definitely going to Hollywood. A compromise was reached: Her parents would drive her to Los Angeles and enroll her at UCLA, where she would live in the sorority house. However, life as a student lasted only a few weeks. Through a friend, she began playing harp on the Freddie Martin Show. Her career had began.


==Discography==
'''CAREER'''
===As leader===
* ''Modern Harp Vol. 17'' (GNP, 1956)
* ''Harp Beat'' (Stash, 1985)
* ''Harp! the Herald Angels Swing'' (LaserLight, 1995)
* ''Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas'' (LML Music, 1999)


===As guest===
From the 1950s through today, Corky has amassed a long list of performance and recording credentials, including sessions, shows and concerts with Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Steisand, Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday, Harry James, Peggy Lee, James Brown, George Michael and Bjork, to name a few.
* [[Chet Baker]], ''Sings and Plays with Bud Shank, Russ Freeman and Strings'' (Pacific Jazz, 1955)
* [[Tony Bennett]], ''Tony Makes It Happen!'' (Columbia, 1967)
* [[Bjork]], ''Debut'' (One Little Indian, 1993)
* Bjork, ''Surrounded'' (One Little Indian, 2006)
* [[Elkie Brooks]], ''Live and Learn'' (A&M, 1979)
* Elkie Brooks, ''Two Days Away'' (A&M, 1977)
* [[Artie Butler]], ''Have You Met Miss Jones?'' (A&M/CTI, 1968)
* [[Judy Collins]], ''Judith'' (Elektra, 1975)
* [[Dino & Sembello]], ''Dino & Sembello'' (A&M, 1974)
* [[Ella Fitzgerald]], ''Sings the Cole Porter Song Book'' (Verve, 1956)
* Ella Fitzgerald, ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book'' (Verve, 1956)
* [[Roberta Flack]], ''Chapter Two'' (Atlantic, 1970)
* Roberta Flack, ''Quiet Fire'' (Atlantic, 1971)
* [[Dean Friedman]], ''Dean Friedman'' (Lifesong, 1977)
* [[Herbie Harper]], ''Herbie Harper'' (Bethlehem, 1955)
* [[Harry James]], ''The Bands of Renown'' (Renown, 1993)
* [[Steve Kuhn]], Gary McFarland, ''The October Suite'' (Impulse!, 1967)
* [[Ronny Lang]]/Ray Sims/Dave Pell/Don Fagerquist, ''The Les Brown All Stars'' (Capitol, 1955)
* [[Peggy Lee]], ''Mirrors'' (A&M, 1975)
* [[Jon Lucien]], ''Rashida'' (RCA, 1995)
* [[Melissa Manchester]], ''Home to Myself'' (Bell, 1973)
* [[Herbie Mann]], ''Turtle Bay'' (Atlantic, 1973)
* [[Wade Marcus]], ''A New Era'' (Cotillion, 1971)
* [[Les McCann]], ''[[Invitation to Openness]]'' (Atlantic, 1972)
* [[Murray McEachern]], ''Music for Sleepwalkers Only'' (Key, 1956)
* [[Anita O'Day]], ''Anita'' (Verve, 1956)
* Anita O'Day, ''In a Mellow Tone'' (DRG, 1989)
* [[Nina Simone]], ''[[Here Comes the Sun (Nina Simone album)|Here Comes the Sun]]'' (RCA Victor, 1971)
* [[Lyn Stanley]], ''The Moonlight Sessions'' (A.T. Music, 2017)
* [[Stealers Wheel]], ''Ferguslie Park'' (A&M, 1973)
* [[Kitty White]], ''A Moment of Love'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956)


== References ==
She has also produced a number of musicians, not to mention a number of movies and plays, including Lullaby of Broadway, a personal profile of the lyricist Al Dubin.
{{reflist}}


==External links==
'''PERSONAL'''
* [http://www.corkyhale.com/ Official site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080305014118/http://www.citycabaret.com/corkyhale/ Musician's website, ''City Cabaret'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713122537/http://www.journalstandard.com/lifestyle/x289831121/Looking-Back-Brother-sister-are-credit-to-native-city Looking Back: Brother/sister are credit to native city]


{{Authority control}}
In the late 1960s, Corky was called to play a session being produced by the legendary songwriting team of Leiber & Stoller. Almost immediately, Corky Hale and Mike Stoller fell in love and, since 1970, have been happily married.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Corky}}
'''OFF STAGE'''
[[Category:1936 births]]

[[Category:Living people]]
Corky has been active outside of the performing arena:
[[Category:People from Freeport, Illinois]]

[[Category:Jazz musicians from Illinois]]
• At the University of Wisconsin, Corky was one of the first, and certainly one of the few white students to join the NAACP.
[[Category:American cabaret performers]]
• She was a birth control teacher at Planned Parenthood in New York, and is presently on the National Advisory Board of NARAL.
[[Category:American women jazz musicians]]
• She is an American Film Institute Associate.
[[Category:American women harpists]]
• She works for charities such as the Los Angeles Free Clinic, where she produced and headlined a show co-starring Rod McKuen.
[[Category:American jazz harpists]]
• She is founder of Angel Harvest, an organization which redistributes unused foods from restaurants, hotels, and events, to the hungry and needy people of greater Los Angeles.
[[Category:21st-century American women]]

[[Category:American theatre managers and producers]]
'''DISCOGRAPHY'''
[[Category:Women theatre managers and producers]]

[[Category:American women activists]]
CORKY HALE
[[Category:American flautists]]
Corky Hale Plays Gershwin & Duke (1956)
[[Category:American women flautists]]
Harp Beat (1985)
[[Category:American jazz pianists]]
Harp, The Herald Angels Sing (1995)
[[Category:American women jazz pianists]]
Corky (1998)
Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas (2000)

CHET BAKER
Pacific Jazz Years (1952)
Grey December (1953)
My Funny Valentine (1953)
Chet Baker Sings and Plays (1964)

LOUISE BARANGER
Trumpeter’s Prayer (1998)

TONY BENNETT
Jazz (1954)
Tony Makes It Happen (1967)

BJORK
Debut (1993)
Venus As A Boy (1993)

ELKIE BROOKS
Live & Learn (1979)

BENNY CARTER
Journey to Next (1996)

JUNE CHRISTY
Misty Miss Christy (1955)

JUDY COLLINS
Judith (1975)
Bread and Roses (1976)

ELLA FITZGERALD
Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook (1956)
Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956)

ROBERTA FLACK
Chapter Two (1970)
Quiet Fire (1971)

THE FOREMAN
What’s Left? (1996)

DEAN FRIEDMAN
Well Well Said the Rocking Chair (1978)

GODSPELL
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1973)

ARTHUR HURLEY & GOTTLIEB
Arthur Hurley & Gottlieb (1973)

HERBIE HARPER
Herbie Harper Sextet (1957)

STEVE KUHN
October Suite: Three Compositions of Gary McFarland (1966)

PEGGY LEE
Mirrors (1975)

JON LUCIEN
Rashida (1973)

CLAROLYN MAIER
Sessions (2000)

MELISSA MANCHESTER
Home To Myself (1973)

HERBIE MANN
Turtle Bay (1973)

LES McCANN
Les McCann Anthology: Relationships (1960)
Invitation to Openness (1971)

GEORGE MICHAEL
Songs From The Last Century (1999)

BYRON MOTLEY
Jazz & Cocktails (2004)

ANITA O’DAY
Jazz ’Round Midnight: Anita O’Day (1954)
This is Anita (1955)
In A Mellow Tone (1989)

FELIX PAPPALARDI
Don’t Worry, Ma (1979)

CAMERON SILVER
Berlin to Babylon (1996)

FRANK SINATRA
Songs for Swinging Lovers (1955)

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE
Original Soundtrack (2004)

STEALERS WHEEL
Ferguslie Park (1974)
Stuck in The Middle With You (1978)

BARBRA STREISAND
A Happening in Central Park (1968)

STACY SULLIVAN
At The Beginning (1997)

MEL TORME
It’s A Blue World (1955)

WINDHAM HILL
Jazz Christmas (1998)

Latest revision as of 23:17, 8 November 2024

Corky Hale (born July 3, 1936) is an American jazz harpist, pianist, flutist, and vocalist. She has been a theater producer, political activist, restaurateur, and the owner of the Corky Hale women's clothing store in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education

[edit]

On July 3, 1936, Hale was born Merrilyn Hecht in Freeport, Illinois.[1] She had learned piano, harp, flute, and cello by the time she was in her teens.[1] She studied at the Chicago Music Conservatory and at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.[1]

At age 16, she enrolled in Stephens College, a school for young ladies, for her last year of high school. After graduation, she announced to her parents that she was moving to Hollywood to be a musician; her father sent her to nearby University of Wisconsin–Madison. After a year of college, she dropped out, again intending to move to Hollywood. A compromise with her parents led to becoming at student at UCLA.

She is Jewish. In a 1997 interview with SFGATE, she describes herself as a "Jewish princess who had a wonderful childhood".

Career

[edit]

During the 1950s, she was a studio musician in Hollywood, playing harp on albums by Chet Baker, June Christy, Ella Fitzgerald Anita O'Day, and Frank Sinatra.[2] She worked as a vocalist with Freddy Martin at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles.[2] Jerry Gray invited her to perform with his band at Las Vegas, where she played piano for Billie Holiday and accompanied her on tour.[2] As a solo act, she recorded the album Corky Hale Plays George Gershwin and Vernon Duke with Buddy Collette, Howard Roberts, and Chico Hamilton.[2] On October 12, 1968, she accompanied Tony Bennett on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and sang a song by herself.[2] In 1970, Hale married Mike Stoller of the Leiber-Stoller songwriting team.

She has worked with Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Elkie Brooks, Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday, Harry James, Peggy Lee, James Brown, Spike Jones, George Michael and Björk. Hale has also produced plays, including Give 'Em Hell, Harry, starring Jason Alexander and Lullaby of Broadway, a profile of the lyricist Al Dubin. She has appeared at Vibrato, Catalina Bar & Grill, The White House, and the Kennedy Center.

At the University of Wisconsin, Hale was one of the few white students to join the NAACP. She was a birth control teacher at Planned Parenthood in New York and is on the National Advisory Board of NARAL and on the board of WRRAP. She is an American Film Institute associate and is the founder of Angel Harvest, an organization which redistributes unused food from restaurants, hotels, and events to hungry and needy people in Los Angeles.

Discography

[edit]

As leader

[edit]
  • Modern Harp Vol. 17 (GNP, 1956)
  • Harp Beat (Stash, 1985)
  • Harp! the Herald Angels Swing (LaserLight, 1995)
  • Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas (LML Music, 1999)

As guest

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Chadbourne, Eugene. "Corky Hale". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Myers, Marc (24 May 2012). "Corky Hale: The Swinging Harp". www.jazzwax.com. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
[edit]
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