‘SONG STYLIST’
Jazz legend Nancy Wilson dies at 81
Iconic vocalist Nancy Wilson, who topped the music charts with jazz standards, Broadway show tunes, R&B ballads and popular pop pieces, died Thursday at her home in Pioneertown, Calif. She was 81.
Her manager, Devra Hall Levy, who confirmed Wilson’s death, said the singer had been ill for a while and gave no further details.
Rather than being pinned to a particular music genre, Wilson called herself a “song stylist” in a musical and acting career that spanned more than six decades.
Wilson retired from live performances in 2011, telling fans that she wanted “to spend all of her time with her family, especially her grandchildren,” according to her website.
The decision came several years after she won her second and third Grammy awards in 2005 and 2007.
Wilson’s first Grammy came in 1964, when she scored her biggest hit “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am,” which rose through the charts to the #11 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles and earned her a Grammy Award for best R&B recording.
In the 1990s, Wilson became the host of National Public Radio’s “Jazz Profiles,” a documentary series featuring jazz legends and the music legacy.
Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, Wilson began her singing career in church at 4 years old. She won a talent contest in high school and briefly hosted her own local television program before she hit the road to sing with big bands.
It was during one of those tours that she met jazz legend Cannonball Adderley, with whom she later collaborated. Adderley encouraged her to move to New York, where she recorded a demo in 1961 that would become her breakthrough single, “Guess Who I Saw Today.”
Wilson followed with a string of albums, eight of which broke the Top 20 during the 1960s.
Wilson also made regular appearances on TV and film with roles in “Hawaii Five-O,” “Police Story” and “The Meteor Man.”
Tributes poured in from fans and fellow artists, including singer and songwriter John Legend.
“So sad to hear about the passing of the great Nancy Wilson. She was a magical performer,” he tweeted. “I’m so glad I was able to spend time with her and hear her beautiful voice in person.”
“My soul mourns the loss of my dear friend Nancy Wilson,” tweeted singer Chaka Khan. “She was such a beautiful person & songstress that the world of jazz will forever miss. Her polished vocals & style were unmatched as the #SongStylist. I will miss her dearly as friend & mentor. RIP Nancy.”
Wilson was married twice — first to drummer Kenny Dennis, whom she divorced in 1970. Her second husband, Wiley Burton, died in 2008.
Wilson is survived by her three children and five grandchildren.
There will be no funeral service, according to the family. To comply with her wishes, the family will host a celebration of her life sometime in February, the month of her birth.
Nancy Wilson (r.) in concert in 1967 and performing at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Tribute Concert For Herbie Hancock in 2007 in L.A.