Lee Wiley

One of the great jazz vocalists of all time, Lee Wiley was possessed of a wonderful warm, sensuous and somewhat smoky voice and was able to project more emotion into her songs than most of her contemporaries. She rose to fame at a young age in the 1930's, singing with the bands of Leo Reisman (at the Central Park Casino), Paul Whiteman (radio shows) and Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra. She also recorded with Johnny Green and film composer Victor Young, a collaboration which resulted in her writing the lyrics for 'Anytime,Anyday,Anywhere', 'Got the South in My Soul' and 'Eerie Moan'. Throughout the 1940's, Lee did prodigious recordings of standards by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Rogers & Hart and others. She interpreted them in her uniquely intimate way, invariably backed by small combos of first rate musicians, such as Bud Freeman, Fats Waller, Billy Butterfield and Eddie Condon. Her renditions of 'Can't Get Out of This Mood', 'How Long Has This Been Going On?' and 'As Time Goes By' are possibly the best versions ever recorded. In June 1943, Lee married pianist and bandleader Jess Stacy, but this union only lasted four years. In the 1950's, she made fewer recordings, though her two RCA albums arranged by Ralph Burns, West of the Moon (1956) and A Touch of Blues (1957), are stand outs. Lee Wiley effectively stepped out of the limelight in the 1960's, except for a brief appearance at the 1972 New York Jazz Festival. She died of colon cancer, aged 67. A unique talent, she merited greater fame than was accorded her in her lifetime and since.