By 1964, Nancy Wilson was already a celebrated track stylist with 4 charting LP’s to her identify and the biggest-selling artist on Capitol earlier than The Beatles crossed the pond. That 12 months she would even have the largest hit of her profession with the breakout single and chart-topping album, How Glad I Am.
All through the early 60s, Wilson loved a multi-genre attraction, switching effortlessly between pop, jazz, and R&B. Ever since her debut single “Guess Who I Saw Today” in 1960, she established herself as a singular storyteller, with the distinctive intonation and phrasing of a jazz singer, the fervour of a blues singer, and the crystal clear supply of a business pop star.
Having reduce her enamel in nightclubs as a young person, Wilson’s sultry track styling was a pure match for jazz requirements like “Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe” and he or she earned loads of cred inside the jazz world for her collaborations with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Ramsey Lewis, and George Shearing.
Wilson was impressed by the information her father would play whereas she was rising up, like Little Jimmy Scott of The Lionel Hampton Large Band, finally mixing these big-band influences with pop orchestration and a soulful model that may very well be edgy and mainstream concurrently.
All through her profession, she discovered the label of jazz singer too limiting and most well-liked to think about herself as extra of an interpreter, which explains the various kinds that span How Glad I Am. From the sweeping ballads (“Never Less Than Yesterday”) to point out tunes (“Don’t Rain On My Parade” and “People” from Humorous Lady) bossa nova (“The Boy From Ipanema” and “Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars”) and jazz-blues (“West Coast Blues”).
She would pull materials from the pop cannon irrespective of its origin, as evident on her earlier LP’s, Hollywood – My Means and Broadway – My Means, that tackled pop requirements from stage and display screen. However out of this entire assortment of singles, the title monitor “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am” is what would propel “Miss Nancy” to the highest of the charts and earn her a Grammy for Finest Rhythm And Blues Recording.
The one would turn out to be an enormous radio hit, topping the US High 10 Pop and R&B charts and would attain No. 11 on the Billboard Scorching 100 in August of 1964, simply edging out The Seaside Boys’ “I Get Around.” That very same 12 months, Aretha Franklin would cowl the one on her Runnin’ Out of Fools report. Whereas many artists would go on to cowl the track, it’s Wilson’s track by means of and thru. The melody floats like Glenda’s bubble in The Wizard Of Oz and her syncopated vocals make you grasp onto each notice. It’s no surprise the track has turn out to be a favourite amongst Northern Soul followers through the years.
Because of her subtle stage presence and soulful voice, Nancy Wilson would turn out to be the mom of adult-contemporary music, paving the best way for the likes of Diana Ross and Dusty Springfield. She was capable of outsell lots of her contemporaries by making the leap from the jazz and R&B charts to a wider pop viewers, a strategic step that may show helpful for a lot of Black artists like Nat King Cole and Dionne Warwick.
The identical 12 months How Glad I Am was launched, Time journal heralded Wilson as “the greatest pretender to Ella Fitzgerald‘s crown for a long time to come. She is, all at once, both cool and sweet, both singer and storyteller.” Wilson was additionally a dynamic dwell performer and her innate theatricality and ease on digicam would result in quite a few tv appearances within the Sixties and finally her personal TV collection in NBC, The Nancy Wilson Present which ran from 1967-1968 and gained an Emmy.
Though she would spend the subsequent few a long time embracing a extra pop-soul sound, Nancy Wilson by no means deserted her jazz roots totally and would go on to host a profitable jazz radio present on NPR and launch over a staggering 60 albums.
Nancy Wilson’s How Glad I Am will be purchased right here.
