| Look here for news about our Miss Corey, together with thoughts and comments from among the legion of fans whom she has touched and inspired over her long career. |
| Do you remember watching Jill on television during the Fabulous Fifties or perhaps hearing her hit records on your first transistor radio? Maybe you saw her in a musical comedy in summer theater or attended one of Jill's cabaret performances. If so, why not e-mail us and tell us about the experience, your recollections of Jill, or how with her unique talent she may have brought you a smile or a tear. We'll post your comments right here! Perhaps you have a question for our Jill. E-mail us and we'll do our best to get you an answer. |
| When
I was about 5 years old, I lived in Corona, New York, and my grandmother
had a friend that lived across the street from us. I called her Titsie
Maria. Her niece was Jill Corey and I met her and was so excited.
I remember seeing her on the Ed Sullivan Show
that Sunday . . . and for a kid it was so exciting to know that I had just
seen her in person and now she's on the TV. Well, today my
brother called me and said he was sending me a picture of someone
and the hint was "think of Corona." As soon as I saw her picture
I said, "OMG, it's Jill Corey," and after all these years (I'm 60
now) I could still remember that day.
Pamela
Greco
I would like to thank you for the wonderful moments of listening and imagining all through my time in the Navy, eighteen months, 1955-'57. I was one of your silent fans in the 'fifties. I'm so pleased to learn that you're still alive and singing. I am too, and it's a great life! Sincerely,
Please visit our website: thenewchristyminstrels.com Randy
Sparks, founder of
I clearly remember Jill's debut on Garroway at Large when she admitted to being scared and then sang I've Got the World On A String flawlessly. She had the kind of rapport with the camera that can't be invented and she had just the right girl-next-door persona for the times. Her voice and register were unusual and her looks were unusual. Watching her, my mother, father and brother commented what a success she would be. I thought Sometimes I'm Happy Sometimes I'm Blue was one of the most creative albums Columbia released--Mitch Miller was not high on experimentation or originality and I'm surprised he agreed to it--and today sounds just great. Wayne
Brasler
Happy? Sad? Hey, forget the happy side! It's a bunch of Mitch Miller - Arthur Godfrey style: Bouncy and up-beat. Hey, the music is so perky it could fit right in with Petticoat Junction (Last Night on the Back Porch, I Double Dare You) - not that that's bad. In fact, we need perky now and again. But as I said, forget the happy! Concentrate on side two, which is the BLUE SIDE. Oh, man, Jill Corey could sing! Her rich, strong alto voice envelopes the words and you just know she is really, really blue . . . but in a nice way. When she sings "There ain't gonna be no next time . . ." you know the end of the world is near! Lucious songs with lush orchestral accompaniment by Glenn Osser. John
DeForest
My name is Larry Geren. I was in the U.S. Coast Guard (enlisted) in the Captain-of-the Port office in Miami, Florida in 1955-56. Ensign Speranza [Jill's brother Bernard] was assigned to the office during this period. He announced one day that his sister Jill Corey was going to visit him. After we asked, "WHO?," he brought in a copy of LIFE magazine with Jill on the cover. He asked me if I would show her around the area. I don't remember all the details, since this was over 50 years ago! However, Jill and I went to the beach (I believe Crandon Park), where I took three pictures of her. Jill then went on a trip to Bermuda (I don't recall if her father went with her.), but I took another picture of her and her father upon her return. Larry
E. Geren
Click
here to see the actual pictures Mr. Geren speaks about above.
Dear Jill: I don't know if you'll remember me, but you were my next door neighbor at the BOQ on Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico, sometime in March or April of 1962. You and a group known as the Heartbreakers were there to perform for a group of military "wheels" that were meeting there. I was working for IBM as a civilian technical representative to the USAF on the bombing and navigation system on the B-52. I have a photograph of you and me together at the officers' club that was taken by the base photographer. I also have a few pictures that I took of you standing by my Austin Healey at the BOQ, and I still have my copy of Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue that you autographed for me. Derald
Nye
Click here to see the actual pictures Mr. Nye describes above.
I don't have any "direct" memories of Jill Corey. In fact, I hadn't even heard of her until the early 1980's, when I was in my mid-twenties. A friend of mine excitingly told me of this "new voice" she had heard on the local "good music" radio station here in Baltimore, WITH-AM. They began to include in their play list about four tracks from one side of the Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue LP. I actually spoke with one of the station's hosts inquiring where I could obtain the music of this truly unique artist. All he could advise was checking the local record shops. It didn't take me long to find Jill's LP, and while it was a joy to listen to the "happy" side in its entirety, the Sometimes I'm Blue side really "floored" me. She is truly an exceptional singer - one of those rare and talented individuals who can make the delivery of any style lyric an event. Over the years the versatility of Jill Corey's voice continues to amaze me. John
Greenstreet
I remember as a child going to the movies with my mom and dad and watching
Senior Prom. My memory of Jill is indelibly marked
in my mind. Her beauty struck me when I was eight or ten, when we
saw her in Senior Prom, and has been with me all these years.
I thought I was the only one in the whole world whose heart had a place
for such a crush!!! I'm just now learning the extent of her talent
. . . I had no idea!!!
Charles
A. Fulghum
I love Jill's voice. Has she made any new CD's since Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue? I listen to it all the time. I like happy music, and Jill's CD reminds me of music from way back and the flappers who sang and danced to it in the movies and on TV. Arthur
Schottenheimer
I just discovered this website and am pleased to find it. I remember in the fifties when Miss Corey played in a TV performance in something like Kraft Theatre live. A song she sang, Let It Be Me, has haunted me for years. I remember my sister had this in a 45 record and used to play it often. Over the years I've collected many records from certain artists, but just lately found a good copy of Let It Be Me! The Everly Bothers also recorded the song, but I've yet to hear anyone sing it like Jill Corey. At present I'm looking for a 78 rpm copy by Jill. It's great to know Miss Corey is well. She's number one in my book!!! George
Mathews
In cleaning out the attic I recently ran across an old program and script for High Button Shoes, which played at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City in 1957 or 1958. My mother, who was active in local productions, made me try out for a part and, to my surprise, I was selected to play Stevie, a kid in the story. I was around 13 at the time. The memories are still intact from that adventure and especially of Jill Corey. She was, to say the least, most impressive in her singing and stage presence. She was also very kind to me and made me feel like one of the cast. To be among those veterans like Paul Gilbert, Hal LeRoy, Denise Lor and others was a somewhat daunting experience, but Jill was constantly encouraging and supporting my initial entry into this realm. This was my first and last theatrical endeavor, and she helped make it fun. She wrote in my program book, which I had signed by everyone at the end of the production, "To Charlie, I Love You. Jill Corey." She was special and I'm sure still is. If you could pass this along to her and tell her that someone she passed along the way still thinks of her and her kindness, it would be most appreciated. R.
C. Shoemaker
I teach elementary music in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a child I loved the song Love to Pieces by Jill. As a very young child I remember that song on the radio when we went camping in north Minnesota. Now I teach music, and one bright gal in class is a good singer, so I gave her the song to sing. She performed it at the school's spring program and everybody loved it. Especially me! Here it is, both vocalists [singing in duet on an .mp3 file which he sends us]. Send it to Jill; it may make her happy that we still think about her singing. Jill had such a clarity of voice and articulation back then, and it is so important to have kids hear her voice now! One of my causes in life is to bring back the melody into music with clear, clean singing, and this is what Jill epitomizes. John-Hans
Melcher
[Editor's
Note: John-Hans was percussionist for Elvis Presley during the 1976
Tour USA. He is currently actively involved in the movement to introduce
young people to greater variety in music through the Kids Media project.
He is scheduled to meet with legendary folk artist Pete Seeger in May to
further the aims of that program.]
I was happy to find a site about Jill Corey on the web. For Christmas of 1973, when I was seven years old, my parents gave me a new General Electric automatic portable phonograph that played LP's, 45's and 78's. Over the years to come Mom and Dad would give me old records they had bought in the 1950's and 1960's to listen to as I went to sleep. One of my very favorites was one called Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue by Jill Corey. For years that album from the late 1950's was all I ever knew her to have done, but I played it very often. I loved it, and I am listening to that LP as I write this message! I still have that old portable phonograph, but I play my records on much better equipment now. I became a big fan of music from the 1920's and 1930's, and of great vocal music, largely due to Jill Corey, because she did so many classic songs so wonderfully on that album. Jeff
Hed
It was in 1955, whilst serving with the British Army in Cyprus, that during an interval in the camp cinema a recording of Cleo and Me-o was played over the 'Tannoy' sound system. The French horns of Mitch Miller and the voices of the Four Lads were easily recognizable, but the female voice, which I took an instant liking too, was new to me. It was not until several months later, back home in England following demob', that I was able to associate the name of Jill Corey with the voice. Since then I have accumulated all of her known recordings apart from three titles and have them stored on either commercial or home-spun CD's. Brian
Eccles
Ben
Cooper
When I was ten years old (I believe that was when Senior Prom was made, in 1958.), I saw Jill Corey on TV. I am assuming it was Senior Prom that I was watching. If not, then it must have been a special show. That is when I heard my very first rock and roll song, Love Me to Pieces. Somehow that song (I could not remember the girl's name.) stuck with me all these years. I could remember the tune and most of the words. About three or four years ago, I was playing on my brother's computer and got into the Napster site. My very first attempt to get a song was Love Me to Pieces, AND I GOT IT! When I played it, it was exactly as I remembered it to be. I was really amazed, and I found out the name of the girl who sang the song. Since then I have tried to find out all I could about Jill Corey, but it was only yesterday that I found this website. I am glad to hear that Jill is still around and doing well. Pastor
Arnie Wyllie
I really enjoyed Miss Corey's singing and her work on the weekly show Your Hit Parade. When I was growing up, I really appreciated the singers that had the talent and ability to present a song. That was the case of Miss Corey. She did not have to use gimmicks or other special effects when singing a song to the audience. The talent is there and back in the 50's it was apparent Miss Corey was a star among stars. Miss Corey's hit in 1958, Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue is considered a standard and will always be a favorite of mine. George
Love
Yes, I remember watching Jill perform on television during the fifties. And I remember my mother sitting beside me on the sofa, telling me that Jill was a cousin of ours. Although we never met her, we were always happy that she did well by her talent and beauty. My mother passed on in July of 1998 and our ancestry is clouded. I would love to be in touch with others in the Speranza family to learn more about our background and family members. I do know that my mother's father worked in the coal mines, so that is a shared background as well as the name. I also live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I have relatives in New York. If any Speranzas would like to contact me, my e-mail address is veronica8@comcast.net. Joanie
Speranza
Having been born back in 1934, you can understand why I am a long-time fan of Jill Corey and her wonderful singing style. As a much younger man I enjoyed so many of her recordings and danced to many of them too. You may be interested in knowing also that I saw her husband play in many Pittsburgh Pirates games. Acme is located about 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh as the crow flies, so it was easy to get to the games. At that time they played at Forbes Field, which was a great ball park. My best to Miss Corey, and I hope she is well and enjoying life. She made my life a bit more delightful with all her wonderful songs. Ronald
E. Daugherty
I have been a big fan of Jill Corey since she was a regular on the Johnny Carson Show in the 1950's, prior to his taking over from Jack Parr in October 1962, and also when she became a singer on Your Hit Parade. She was very bouncy, perky and very uplifting in her musical performances on both shows with songs like I Love My Baby and my personal favorite, Big Daddy, in her 1920's style. She was different in her style of music, and that is why I liked her so much. Her music lifted your spirits and made you feel happy! Bob
Slate
Yes, I "fell in love" with Jill many years ago when I saw her in person in summer stock locally doing Gigi. This lovely lady is so talented. Here is something that may be of interest: While reciting her lines perfectly in her sweet voice, sitting about eight feet away from me on the circular stage, she noticed a paper clip or some other small object that didn't belong on the stage. I was amazed when she picked up the paper clip, or whatever it was, and examined it closely, while not detracting in the least from her magnificent performance. I sure would have loved to have met her in person, especially if both of us were single! . . . You might tell Jill how much my wife Jean and I enjoyed her performance in Gigi over forty years ago. Bill
Hawes
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I was born on October 2, 1935, two days after Norma Jean, in New York City.
I've never met her, but we did write for a while shortly after I enlisted
in the U.S. Army in 1953. I was assigned to a band and some of the
bandsmen saw the November 1953 LIFE magazine article
(which I still have) that featured her. They asked if she and I were
related. I wasn't sure, so I called my dad, and he told me that some
Speranzas had moved somewhere in Pennsylvania and were part of our family.
I wrote Jill and sent the letter to the Barbizon Hotel in New York City,
where she was staying. I was so thrilled when she wrote back, ending
the letter " . . . from one Speranza to another." We communicated
for a while but lost contact after my assignment to another band in Frankfort,
Germany.
Nonetheless, I did follow her career and always was so proud of her. She is a wonderful talent and entertainer, but sadly, she has never been given the recognition she deserves. While I was living in Philadelphia, Jill appeared at the Playhouse in the Park in Irma La Douce, and I enjoyed seeing her performance there several times in June, 1978. Sebastian
Speranza
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I think she's wonderful and never got the recognition she deserved.
She's a real entertainer. I think men and women loved her equally.
She just had that kind of personality. I never met her, but she always
gave off the aura that she enjoyed singing, enjoyed people, enjoyed performing,
and we all enjoyed her.
I lived just outside Pittsburgh (in McKeesport) from 1953 until 1965, and she was very popular there, as was her husband. (Go Bucs!) I admit I only have one album of hers, Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue, but those were the songs of my parents' youth, and there was many a summer night that they would sit outside on the porch and sing those songs, so I knew them all. Jill Corey had such a wonderful lilt in her voice that it just made you want to listen to her over and over. I remember when they [Jill and Don Hoak] got married. It was big news in Pittsburgh and so sad that he passed away so young. I wish her well. She has provided lots of pleasant memories for me. Every time I play the album, I think of my family (all gone now) and the summer nights we hung out together. Families don't do that anymore. Too bad. We had such good times, and they are indeed great memories. Barbara
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| Jill currently resides on the upper east side of Manhattan, where among other leisure activities, she is an avid bird watcher! She has an uncanny knack for spotting rare or unusual species. As a consequence, Jill has developed a cult following of fellow practitioners of the art who hope to add to their list of sightings with the help of her perceptive eye. Jill tells us that Central Park is an ideal locale for bird watching, because it offers a well situated resting stop for birds migrating both north and south along the eastern flyway. Even living in the midst of the nation's greatest metropolis, Jill has developed a close kinship with nature and describes herself as a tree hugger! |
My
business partner was Harriett H. Hubbs. She and Jill stayed at the
same rooming house for girls when both came to New York City to begin their
respective careers. Harriet was attending photography school at the
time, while Jill began appearing on network television and started to record
for Columbia Records. Harriett told me that Jill held the record
for being the youngest performer ever to appear at the famed New York nightclub,
the Copacabana. Years later Harriett and I learned that Jill
would be appearing in Irma la Douce at the Corning Summer
Theatre in upstate New York, near where we were living at the time.
Jill came to the theater lobby and spent a half hour chatting with her
old friend Harriett, myself and my kids. She gave us all a lift that
day. Her clever tunes have always stayed with me.
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| Jill has a great reverence for words. She's a competitive Scrabble player and is addicted to the New York Times weekend crossword puzzles, the most challenging ones, which Jill confidently completes in ink! |
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I
certainly remember Jill Corey. One summer in the 50's, she was doing
summer stock and came to a summer theatre just outside Toronto, Ontario
called Music Fair. She was appearing in Meet Me in St. Louis,
and I happened to be a an apprentice at the time. As an apprentice,
we got walk-ons and bit parts in the shows, and I had the good fortune
to play one of the "creeps" she danced with to make her boyfriend jealous
at one of the local dances. Pretty exciting for a small town guy
in his teens. I have always treasured that experience and, as a matter
of fact, I still have the program.
Robert
Smith
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I was born and raised in Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia. I have long been a fan of the music of the 1950's , and when I got my computer two years ago, I started looking for information on singers and stars of the 50's. Jill was one of them. I wanted to get a video of Your Hit Parade with Jill on it. I was very young when the show was on TV, but my parents would never miss the show. I always thought she had a cute personality and a great singing voice. I wish I had some memories of seeing Jill in person, but unfortunately I never got to see her in person. Betty
Racine
Who can ever forget the Lucky Strike Hit Parade and the expectation each week when everyone would gather around the radio [and later television] and listen for their favorite song to make number one. All the stars were so unique and talented. One, of course, caught my eye, and that was Jill Corey. She took a country western favorite, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? and transformed it into a masterpiece. It was 1959, and I bought a 45 of the song and played it constantly, thinking about my girlfriend and now wife of 45 years. And even after that tenure I still play that song by Jill , along with her fabulous rendition of the Robe Of Calvary. I will never forget Jill Corey. She adds a warmth and innocence to music that not too many stars have been able to do. Benny
Crow
Clip
courtesy of the Classic Appliances web site
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It was Jill who conceived the idea of Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes
I'm Blue, which so effectively demonstrated her innate ability to sing
in such contrasting styles. As she explained in her interview with
Gerry Stonestreet for In Tune International:
"Yes, whenever I listened to records, I always got into the mood of a ballad and then the next track would be a fast number and change the mood. So I specifically asked on this LP all the fast tunes would be on one side and all the ballads on the other. I think I chose the ballads pretty well. When Frank Sinatra was recording his album In the Wee Small Hours, I remember he called me to ask for suggestions for inclusion, and I suggested I Get Along Without You Very Well, which he ended up doing." |
| A
Splendid Look Back at Jill Corey's Unique Talent!
During the '50's many new promising perky, bright-voiced female singers appeared, and following the demise of the big-bands, were able to learn their craft by appearing on television, only to lose both pace and race when rock 'n roll became the ruling factor. Jill Corey was certainly one who shone brightly, with proof clearly evident on this delightful collection which puts its spotlight on an album originally released by Columbia in 1958. Ironically, the focus falls initially on songs written in the Twenties and Thirties, and nicely packaged with punchy orchestral arrangements by Glenn Osser, so I Double Dare You, Ain't We Got Fun? and Bye, Bye Blues emphasize the fun side of the set. With Osser's string section in place, He Was Too Good to Me, Better Luck Next Time and In Love in Vain slow the pace for contrasting heartbreakers from a wider time-span and they really display Jill's considerable emotional range in ballad mode. Six welcome bonus tracks, originally singles, include Exactly Like You and Have You Ever Been Lonely?, which contain some soft-rock arrangements. Allen
Pollock from Plymouth, Devon, UK
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Gerry Stonestreet of In Tune International asked Jill about her
live performances during the '50's:
"I'll never forget what happened. I didn't want to sing live in clubs. I was singing live on television every week in front of millions of people, but I didn't like the idea of singing in front of 250 strangers in a small room! So they took me out of town. I had Neal Hefti doing the arrangements, they selected a band, they selected a room somewhere, so that in case I bombed, no one would know! Anyway, it ended up being quite satisfying, so I did a lot of them. My television work took up 39 weeks of the year, and I did the clubs and theatre for the rest of the time." |
| Jill
Corey: Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue
The renowned Columbia LP of twelve songs now comes with an additional six singles which simply blow you away. I'd like to trumpet in print this overdue reissue. On the heels of your editor and Robert Rice, my take on this glorious musical delight hopefully will prompt you to rush out and add this treasure to your collection. Jill covers both bases here. The first six songs zip along in joyous robust Dixieland frenzy. Sounds like great music for speedily cleaning a room. It's a wide-awake and very exhilarating vocal session. Then, on the title song followed by five additional ballads, Jill lets it entirely hang out emotionally, pouring out every ounce of her inner being. Jill certainly has that been there, done that, vocal intensity. She charmingly touches many of our innermost sensibilities. In Love In Vain (Robin/Kern) sounds so personal that you will be saying, as I did, "No, I didn't hear that, did I?" The pair of Rogers and Hart masterpieces, Nobody's Heart and He Was Too Good to Me, will have you crying. The 1958 single My Reverie by orchestra leader Larry Clinton is sung so tenderly that it's over much too quickly. Jill brings new meaning to the heartfelt lyrics with her sincere mellow approach. There ought to be a warning on the cover of the CD saying that playing it just might bring tears to your eyes. Dan
Singer in his column
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Jill Corey Stars on New WMIT Pop Music Show Yesterday evening at 11 p.m. WMIT presented the first in its new series of late evening popular music shows, the Jill Corey Show. Successor to last year's Patti, the program stars 19-year-old singer Jill Corey. It will be broadcast every evening, Monday through Friday, at eleven. The program has many advantages over its predecessor. Miss Corey manages to keep the commercials to a minimum; in addition, she manages to get four records, usually including one of her own songs, into the fifteen-minute program. Miss Corey is also easy to listen to; she is very straightforward and sounds as if she really enjoyed doing the show. Listening to her is a pleasure, for she sounds like a close friend. All things considered, the program is an unusually pleasant one to listen to. It is certainly a vast improvement over any similar nationally sponsored program that MIT has presented. Reprinted
from Vol. 75 of the Archives,
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