Barbara Lea
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Biography
American jazz singer Barbara Lea was born Barbara LeCocq on April 10, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan. Her stage name came about after her father, a onetime musician turned government official, changed the familyâs name to Leacock. She knew she wanted to be a singer from an early age and performed in numerous talent competition. After formal training at Wellesley College she became acquainted with singer Lee Wiley, and Wiley became something of a role model. Leaâs recording career began in 1955 with A Woman in Love, a collection of standards that included renditions of âLove Is Here to Stayâ and âCome Rain or Come Shineâ. 1956âs Barbara Lea expressed more of her personality. She would record two more albums in the fifties, but failing to find popular success she retreated from singing and became an actress during the 1960s. She returned to song in the 1970s, appearing on the show American Popular Song and that led to a renewed recording career. She released The Devil Is Afraid of Music in 1977, 20 years after her last LP. She would record and perform steadily into the 2000s, often appearing at the most celebrated jazz festivals. She became a beloved interpreter of the American songbook, delivering faithful renditions of works by Hoagy Carmichael, Rodgers and Hart, and Cole Porter among others. She released her final album, Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans in 2007, and passed away from Alzheimerâs on December 26, 2011.
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Albums
Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- War Starts - "We Don't Want to Loose You" featuring Barbara Lea
- The Old Contemptibles Hold Fast - "Keep the Home Fires Burning" featuring Barbara Lea
- Come Blow Your Horn by Barbara Lea
- The Germans Advance - "His Luggage Labelled 'England'" featuring Barbara Lea
- Into Battle - "The Ragtime Infantry" featuring Barbara Lea
- Soldiering - "Blame It on the Last Long Mile" featuring Barbara Lea
- Going over the Top - "The Bells of Heaven" featuring Barbara Lea
- With Every Breath I Take by Barbara Lea
- The Scene of Battle - "We're 'Ere" featuring Barbara Lea
- Thoroughly Modern Millie by Barbara Lea
- But Beautiful by Barbara Lea
- Darn That Dream/Deep in a Dream by Barbara Lea
- Everybody Loves You by Barbara Lea
- I Could Have Told You by Barbara Lea
- Oh! You Crazy Moon by Barbara Lea
- My Heart Is a Hobo by Barbara Lea
- The Second Time Around by Barbara Lea
- It Could Happen to You by Barbara Lea
- Shake Down the Stars by Barbara Lea
- The Last Dance by Barbara Lea
- Sleigh Ride in July by Barbara Lea
- I Thought About You by Barbara Lea
- Road to Morroco by Barbara Lea
- More Than You Know
