Nancy Wilson

She called herself a song stylist. In a 2004, interview she did with Jeffrey Brown ... he asked what she meant by that. "Give me the freedom to be a pop singer, R&B singer, jazz singer. It’s really about the lyric, as opposed to the melody. And that’s my approach to the music, is lyrically. I love the song. I love what it says. And I think song stylist gives me the freedom to sing any — all kinds of things and not be put in a box, necessarily."

Born in 1937, Wilson grew up in Ohio and began her music career shortly after high school in 1956, working for Rusty Bryant and the Carolyn Club Band. Moving to New York City in 1959 on the advice of Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, she began playing clubs while supporting herself as a secretary, and was signed to Capitol Records the next year.

Though she started out in jazz, she performed in multiple genres including R&B, Broadway and pop throughout her long career and resisted categorization, preferring instead to call herself a “song stylist.” She became famous in 1962 through a collaboration with Adderley, an album called “Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley” that produced the hit single “Save Your Love for Me.”

In 1964 and 1965, four of Wilson’s albums made Billboard’s top 10, a run that notably included her most successful hit, “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am,” which peaked at #11 and won Wilson her first Grammy for best rhythm and blues recording.

Wilson made numerous television appearances throughout her career, and hosted her own series, “The Nancy Wilson Show” in 1967 and 1968. Other television appearances include “I Spy,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “The Sammy Davis Jr. Show,” “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” “The Cosby Show,” “The Carol Burnett Show” and, more recently, “Moesha” and “The Parkers.” She also appeared in Robert Townsend’s 1993 film “The Meteor Man,” as well as the film “The Big Score.”

Wilson received numerous awards during her career, including three Grammys, an Emmy for her eponymous NBC series, the NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award in 1998, induction into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame, and induction into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

Wilson retired in 2011 and, according to her manager and publicist Devra Hall, died after a long illness in her California home.

She was married twice and had three children. She’s survived by her son, two daughters, two sisters and five grandchildren. In a statement, her family said there would be no funeral service, but a celebration of her life would be held in February.

One of my favs Guess Who I Saw Today (1960)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFbDj5RBouE

Sources:Nancy Wilson Hollywood My Way (Capitol Records); One Detroit/Detroit Public TV: Remembering Nancy Wilson (Dec. 17, 2018); The Wrap, Ross A. Lincoln (Dec. 14, 2018)