Died 14 September 2013 | ||
Dee Drummond (November 16, 1927 – September 14, 2013) was a singer from Queens, New York in 1950's and 1960's who worked for MGM in Los Angeles and was signed with Music Corporation of America (MCA).
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Early childhood
Dee Drummond was born on November 16, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York and early in childhood moved with her mother, Jean to Kew Gardens, Queens, New York and attended Woodrow Wilson High School where she met her future friend and roommate, Barbara Nichols.
Dee had already been a star soloist in the All-City High School chorus upon graduation in 1944. Dee became very close to Barbara when she won a job on the chorus line with her for a trip headed to Dominican Republic, West Indies at the Hotel Jaragua in Trujillo, D.R., Barbara and Dee became roommates on this 2 month trip which also starred Doris Markey, Gretchen Hauser, Francis Wyman and Coco Eames.
Early career
After returning to New York, Dee went on to study at the Juilliard School of Music and started entering beauty and singing contests in her spare time. She gained a reputation as a young soloist with a “whistle-bait” figure. She immediately got tagged as a “be happy” entertainer that put customers in a convivial mood. Like Barbara, Dee was crowned Miss Jamaica at the Loew’s Valencia Theater. Dee went on to be a finalist to represent New York State in the Miss America Pageant.
Staying close to Barbara, Dee tried following her path in film. After screen-testing for MGM in Los Angeles in 1950, Dee decided to chase her passion: singing and live stage performing. In 1951, Dee received her first real break in winning the national Judy Garland singing contest. The Music Corporation of America (MCA) immediately signed her to a contract. Dee was quoted in New York papers that “I prefer the supper club circuit where you spend your days under the sun and your evenings in the spotlight”. Dee loved singing provocative popular ballads and became known as a “society type” singer headed for stardom. A “revelation” Earl Wilson, society columnist reported in the New York Post in 1951. This is also when Dee released her first recording “What’s New”.
Rise as a performer
As Dee embarked on a blazing trail of live performances, the New York Press really started to take notice. Columnists from all local papers and national publications: Backstage, Variety and the Weekly Sporting Review reported that this songbird is “boffo in the ballads and blues departments.” This blond, gusty song belter is worthy of talent scouts and producers patronage. “One of the most entertaining talents on the circuit.”
Columnists: Earl Wilson, Walter Winchel, Charles McHarry, Frank Farrell, John Ward Griffin, Dorothy Kilgallen, Lee Mortimer, Leonard Lyons and Hans Holzer all started to attend her shows.
Dee loved singing with an orchestra starting out with Abbey Albert and then in 1951 Steve Kisley and Orchestra, followed by many years with Eddie Lane and Eddie Bracken and Orchestra. Recording with Billy Carron added to her diversity.
The mid-fifties brought along sirens actresses but Dee was determined to be that soloist that cherished wearing strapless gowns demurely and chants in the same fashion. “Well- endowed” vocally.
From 1956-1966, Dee performed in all the top New York City clubs: The Warwick, Biltmore, New Yorker, Blue Angel, Copa, Teddy’s, Kenny’s, El Morocco, Danny’s Hideaway, Café Pierre, Metropole Café, Aracho Room, Hotel Roosevelt Grill, Tavern-On-The-Green, One Fifth Ave, The Camelot, and The Latin Quarter.
With Dee’s captivating femme vocalizations, her agents knew it was time to display her twinkling humor. She invited the audience during one performance to celebrate Christmas Eve at her infamous party “Gathering of the Orphans” and each guest had to be either newly divorced, estranged, or on the verge of divorce. Booze flowed like tears. Explaining how easy it was to change her autumn tresses to lustrous blonde, she doused her hair in honey before shampooing.
Pairing up with Barbara Nichols again in 1960, they did their “Dahling, it’s been years!” bit at The Essex House in New York City. Dee explains sharing the stage again with Barbara was easy since “we once starved as roomies”. The audience including Rex Harrison and Countess Vivenine Crespi were in “stitches”.
Then shortly thereafter; Dee paired up with Vic Damone to open the new Camelot on 49th Street. Dee captivates the audience nightly along with Vic with haunting songs. A break in one of the shows, Dee quips to the audience that she brought a lot of new material to compete with Vic; “silk, rayon, wool and velvet- all very, low cut.”
Between shows, Dee starts recording her first 45’s for Mirasonic Records: “Fallin”, followed by “Like This” and “Feelin”.
Dee performed various times with Vic Damone between 1960-1963. Nancy Sinatra, Connie Stevens, Robert Goulet, Jackie Gleason, Hugh O’ Brian, Bobby Darin and legendary Sammy Cahn all came out to see them perform. Sammy was enamored Dee’s voice and they became great friends. Opening yet another gateway to stardom, Dee began to meet the top stars. Dee spent many hours in the studio as did Vic Damone, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Cissy Houston, The Ames Brothers, Jerry Lieber, and Mike Stoller all of the famed Brill Building in NYC. Shunning away from Hollywood, she still enjoyed being a guest on various TV shows: The Ed Murrow Show, Joe Franklin, Ted Steele, Arthur Godfrey, Margus Weathers: “Chance of a Lifetime”, and she became a regular for 13 weeks on the Evelyn Tyner Show. After her Joe Franklin Show on WWOR-TV, NYC; she told everyone that when she performs at Café Bagatelle; Barbara Nichols will join her for a “bit of clowning” – “after all Barbara and I are used to sharing a room.”
Dee did try some film work but landed small extra parts in four works: Splendor In The Grass, The Apartment, Butterfield 8 and The Manchurian Candidate.
Life After Performing
Dee continued to work the clubs until she re-married in 1968 and stayed home off the road for the first time in her life, continuing hobbies she enjoyed: tennis, golf, swimming, dancing and cooking.
Dee was featured as a soloist for leading bands at top nightclubs and hotels all over America. Known as petite and blonde, a figure that induces whistles, she wore silk and chiffon and entertained thousands over a span of twenty-five years. Stylish, impressive and cheerful were all qualities she exhibited in her musical renditions. Hearing her performance of “Sometimes I’m Happy” by Richard Rogers invokes this theme in her singing.
Dee Drummond passed away while residing in Manhattan, New York City on September 14, 2013.