Tennessee native Anita Kerr (born Anita Jean Grilli) was only in her early twenties when her eight-voice choir achieved a spot on WSM Radio, venerable home of the Grand Ole Opry. Her weekly broadcasts led to a call to join “Mr. Country Music,” Red Foley, in the recording studio for “Our Lady of Fatima.” Foley’s tune became a No. 16 Pop hit in 1950, and from there, Anita Kerr’s career took off to the stratosphere. The Second Disc has just learned of the singer-pianist-composer-arranger-producer’s death at the age of 94 in Geneva,…
Tender Words: The Anita Kerr Singers, The Mike Sammes Singers Collected On él Label
A pair of recent releases from Cherry Red’s él imprint shines a well-deserved spotlight on two famed groups of background vocalists, one from each side of the Atlantic: The Anita Kerr Singers and The Mike Sammes Singers. As a major pioneer of The Nashville Sound alongside producer-guitarist Chet Atkins, Anita Kerr led her distinctive choir on records by Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Brenda Lee, Eddy Arnold, Willie Nelson and Floyd Cramer. The Kerr Singers’ distinctive harmonies were also heard behind Roy Orbison, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Bobby Vinton, and too many others to…
Cherry Red’s él Label Spends Christmas In Nashville with Anita Kerr and Chet Atkins
Cherry Red Records’ él imprint is celebrating this Christmas in Nashville with the recent release of The Anita Kerr Singers and Chet Atkins at Christmas. This new two-for-one CD includes both Christmas with Chet Atkins (1961) and The Kerr Singers’ On This Holy Night (1959) plus a smattering of related bonus tracks. It’s nearly impossible to sum up the career of Chet Atkins in a mere few words. The fourteen-time Grammy winner (1924-2001) was a mainstay of the RCA Victor label between 1947 and 1982 as a performer, producer and executive. Ranked…
The Anita Kerr Singers Step Out of the Background On Reissue of “The Genius in Harmony”
The release of director Morgan Neville’s documentary 20 Feet from Stardom has rightfully placed the spotlight on those dynamite vocalists who toil in the shadows on record and onstage, often without credit. Background singers are part and parcel of the story of popular music, and Neville’s film has given richly-deserved attention to Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Claudia Lennear, Judith Hill, and other greats of the field. The story of background groups like The Breakaways, The Jordanaires, The Andantes and The Sweet Inspirations could fill an entire motion picture, too. And one of…
